Meet the Mainstreet Australia Hero: Steve Bentley – Experienced Place Manager, Events and Activity Centre Leader
It’s been a privilege to play a part in the evolution of, and contribute to the outcomes of, Mainstreet Australia.
Throughout the years, we have never lost focus on ‘who’ we are serving and ‘why’ we exist.
Great main streets and town centres are all about the people who live, work, learn and visit there.
These great streets and centres need to be safe, vibrant, prosperous, creative and feel like home.
They should be authentic and reflect the community in which they exist.
Yet, with the exponential growth of indoor shopping centres and online shopping, main streets and the tens of thousands of small businesses within them are at risk.
It was, and is, one of those circumstances where everyone was saying, “someone should do something to support and protect main streets.”
So that ‘someone’ has been Mainstreet Australia.
We realised we couldn’t do it alone.
Working on the theory that ‘the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts’, we sought alliances and partnerships.
Through conferences, workshops, networks, advocacy and grants, we have achieved excellent engagement with State and Local Governments, Business Associations (Presidents and Centre Coordinators) and the community.
Engaging, listening, empowering, educating, supporting and collaborating has seen Mainstreet Australia build capacity in others.
One of the most rewarding outcomes was when we took the 2011 National Conference to Adelaide, and through collaboration, we saw the formation of MainstreetSA.
MainstreetSA has achieved, and is achieving, outstanding outcomes for South Australian main streets and town centres.
Legacies such as MainstreetSA truly make our involvement a highlight.
