Dover Main Street honored for 25 years of service to community

posted on 3/5/2025

Mayor Robert Carrier and the City Council recognized Dover Main Street for 25 years of service to the community during the Feb. 26 City Council meeting, presenting the organization with a proclamation celebrating its contributions to the city.

Dover Main Street board members, including Chair Gail Daudelin, attended the meeting to accept the honor.

"Dover Main Street continues to support other local organizations, including the Arts Commission, downtown merchants and restaurants, the Chamber of Commerce, and various community groups," the mayor said, reading from the proclamation.

The proclamation highlighted Dover Main Street's dedication to its mission of "Preserve the past, promote the present, and facilitate the future" since its founding in 1999. It noted numerous community initiatives, including the annual Clean Up Day, maintenance of 33 historical markers throughout the city, holiday events, the Run Before You Crawl 5K Race and Pub Crawl, and the annual Food Drive.

"The next event is the Run Before You Crawl and that kicks off March 8," Carrier reminded everyone. "It's a great community event." 

Dover Main Street, a completely volunteer-driven organization, has plans for several initiatives in 2025, Daudelin said at the meeting.

"We are a 100% volunteer group," Daudelin said. "We all have full-time jobs, and this is what we do because we love it. I also want to take time to thank all those who came before this group, who set the path that we're on, our volunteers who come out year after year, the community that supports us, and our sponsors who support our events and our mission."

Daudelin mentioned that Dover Main Street is redesigning its website and has 13 restaurants participating in the upcoming Run Before You Crawl event on March 8, which serves as the kickoff to the Dover Race Series.

The organization has been particularly active in community beautification through programs like Adopt-A-Spot and the annual Clean Up Day, which brings up to 250 volunteers together each spring.