BY ROBYN SIDERSKY

Fredericksburg's Main Street program announced its new name, Real Fredericksburg--A Main Street Initiative, and its board members Monday.

The board members are: Scarlett Pons, owner of PONSHOP; Dave Minckler, owner of Schooler House Bed and Breakfast; Wilson Greenlaw Jr., senior associate with Cushman & Wakefield|Thalhimer; Megan Mason, owner and director of Village Montessori Fredericksburg; Paul Cymrot, owner of Riverby Books; and Sue Bridi, a community banker for more than 20 years.

Cymrot sent a letter to all business and property owners and residents within the Real Fredericksburg District announcing the board and informing them of the organization's plans.

He wrote that the organization will be called Real Fredericksburg "to emphasize that our historic downtown has something that no other neighborhood or shopping area has--a rich and varied community of shops, restaurants, nonprofits, churches and businesses, artists, residents and government, all packed in together in a bricks and mortar downtown that has evolved over 300 years of continuous use into something beloved by all of us, but not perhaps well enough known by the world at large."

The organization is applying for nonprofit status and will join the state and national Main Street Organization later this year, Cymrot wrote.

He also said the organization will hire a full-time director "with experience in areas that are most important to us" and that the organization will hold a public meeting soon.

In addition to the board of directors, there will also be committees dedicated to marketing, preservation and infrastructure, and the arts and special events.

More than 20 Virginia communities are members of the Main Street Program, which is part of the state's Department of Housing and Community Development. Other states have similar programs.

Communities that join receive training, architectural consultation and other resources from the state, but success or failure is mostly up to the individual city.

The organization's district would include William Street from the river to Hurkamp Park, as well as Sophia, Caroline and Princess Anne streets between the train station and downtown library. It could later be expanded.

The program is set to receive $30,000 from the city's $78.9 million budget.

In a few months, the program's organizers will likely ask Fredericksburg's Economic Development Authority for additional financial support. The EDA has supported Main Street generally, but hasn't committed to an exact amount of funding yet.

Robyn Sidersky: 540/374-5413
Email: rsidersky@freelancestar.com