A community television series is giving a personal look at downtown businesses.
A series of short videos entitled “Your Downtown” is being produced by Marshfield Community Television in collaboration with nonprofit organization Main Street Marshfield. Each episode will showcase professional and retail business downtown and get to know the people behind them.
“Marshfield’s downtown has many fun, entertaining, and special shops that are part of what makes the city a great place to live,” said Brett Butler, MCTV Program Manager. “The goal of ‘Your Downtown’ is to help showcase Marshfield’s unique businesses, whether they are unique because of what they sell, or the fact they they have been family-run for decades.”
“We want to get to know the heart behind the business,” said Executive Director Kaelie Gomez, Main Street Marshfield. “We’ll learn more about their families, what makes them special, how they fit into the Marshfield community, and why you should pay them a visit!”
The series started in May 2016 under the previous executive director, Angie Eloranta, focusing on how each business got started and the passion behind them. “With the rebooted version of Your Downtown, we are creating the show especially for social media,” Butler said. “This means programs will usually be under 10 minutes rather than our traditional 20-25 minutes. We hope to reach more people, especially those outside of our normal viewing area, to help bring them into our city to eat, work, and play.”
“This has been very fun for me personally because I love hearing the story behind the business and hearing the passion of our very talented business owners,” Gomez said. “It’s just so much fun. It’s great to hear the little tidbits that humanize the storefronts.”
Marshfield Insurance was the first business to be featured, with guest Nick Arnoldy. “Knowing they were the Small Business of the Year, they were the perfect kickoff. We’re proud to have them downtown,” she said. “I knew he would be an approachable first guest.”
It was also a chance to get to know more about the causes the business cares about. Along with the staff at Marshfield Insurance, Arnoldy and his brother are hosting the Fore Roger golf fundraiser in September in memory of founder Roger Arnoldy. Proceeds from the event will go towards a Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation fund for families affected by Alzheimer’s and Dementia and research. “Knowing how much Roger did for the community, it made sense to make sure they got the spotlight,” said Gomez.
The next episode will feature 2 1/2 Cups bakery later this month. “We are excited for the opportunity to showcase another local, unique business such as 2 1/2 Cups,” Butler said. “We typically film 1-2 programs per month, so stay tuned this summer as we bring you more episodes!”
