<div dir="ltr"><div style="text-align:center"><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif">

<i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:small;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif"><b style="font-size:small;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:right;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif"><img src="cid:ii_jgic82ai1_16308889efae2849" width="217" height="109" style="margin-right: 0px;"></b><span> </span></i> </b></div><div style="text-align:left"><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif"><br></b></div><div style="text-align:left"><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif">For Immediate Release</b></div>

<font color="#000000" style=""><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><i style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Oklahoma City, Okla. (April 27, 2018)</i><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline"><span> </span>- Stockyards City Main Street has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach.</span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">“We are thrilled to honor this year’s 829 nationally accredited Main Street America programs for their commitment to preservation-based economic development and the revitalization of their commercial districts,” says Patrice Frey, President & CEO of the National Main Street Center. “The power of Main Street shines across the country through these vibrant communities, who have all worked to generate impressive economic returns, preserve community character, and celebrate local history.”<span> </span></span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">In 2017 alone, Main Street America programs generated $4.48 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 6,211 net new businesses, generated 30,294 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 8,737 historic buildings, and clocked 2.7 million volunteer hours.<span> </span></span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">The Stockyards City Main Street performance is annually evaluated by Oklahoma Main Street Center which works in partnership with the National Main Street Center to identify the local programs that meet ten national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.</span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><a href="http://www.stockyardscity.org/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px">Stockyards City Main Street</a><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">, Oklahoma's first urban Main Street community, continues to be a thriving community since statehood (1907) when the idea of adding a stockyards was only a vision of the chamber of commerce president and a savvy businessman from the Midwest seeking to expand his meat packing business ventures. Today, Stockyards City still maintains this vision for progress and success with dedication from business and property owners, restaurateurs, ranchers, service providers and nonprofit organizations. In total, Stockyards City Main Street has generated more than $20 million of reinvestment into the district and added 166 new businesses that created 677 new jobs. A sense of community also lives strong with special events, festivals, parades and true cowboy determination with support from volunteers giving more than 19,470 hours of their time.</span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">“For more than 100 years, this historic district not only tells a story about agriculture, farming and ranching, but also paints a vibrant picture of how the state of Oklahoma was shaped from statehood. A special thank you to all the merchants, the tireless effort of all the volunteer hours and the tenacity of the property owners who all work together everyday to bring our story to life for visitors around the world,” said Todd Branson, Stockyards City Main Street Executive Director.</span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">Stockyards City Main Street was formed twenty-five years ago and continues to carry on the legacy of the original leaders by representing more than 60 local businesses, two separate shelters, a fire station, one of the oldest continuously operating libraries in Oklahoma City, a music school and a young residential community with an elementary school within a half mile of the district’s east end. The mission of Stockyards City Main Street is to educate the public about the western heritage while preserving history and creating a welcoming and active tourist destination area that promotes economic vitality and business success.</span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><a href="https://www.mainstreet.org/" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px">Main Street America</a><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline"><span> </span>has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 35 years. Today, it is a network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have leveraged more than $74.73 billion in new public and private investment, generated 614,716 net new jobs and 138,303 net new businesses, and rehabilitated more than 276,790 buildings. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.<span> </span></span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">##</span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">Contact:</span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline">Stockyards City Main Street</span></span><br style="font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"></font><div>405-235-7267 (w)<div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><a href="http://www.stockyardscity.org" target="_blank">www.stockyardscity.org</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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