From May 5-9, Chase Barnes, assistant policy scientist at the Institute for Public Administration (IPA), attended the Main Street Now 2024 Conference in Birmingham, Alabama. The conference was focused on economic development in Main Street communities. Barnes was one of 10 representatives awarded a conference stipend as part of a U.S. Department of Transportation Thriving Communities Program grant that the Grant Assistant Program (GAP) team helped develop for Milford and Slaughter Beach. Barnes was invited to an exclusive Main Street America Founders Reception, where he connected with fellow U.S. DOT Thriving Communities Program–Main Street America (MSA) cohort members, including Chase Milner at the First Tennessee Development District and Shane Hampton and Maggie Gillespie, the MSA technical assistance providers for Milford and Slaughter Beach. Throughout the four-day conference, Barnes networked with people from across the country. He connected with local government and Main Street organization leaders from Delaware, representing Dover, Newark, Rehoboth Beach, Smyrna, Seaford and Wilmington. Barnes will apply the knowledge from the conference to future GAP and IPA-related work. The Institute for Public Administration is a research and public service center in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration.

Article by Sophonie Milord. Originally posted in UDaily's For the Record​​.​​​