Pam Ames takes on Arcadia’s toughest job: Saving Main Street

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Pam Ames set out the donuts, stacked red clipboards in a neat pile and draped T-shirts across the tables, hoping at least half of the 100 volunteers she needed would appear that sunny Saturday in mid-September.

As executive director of the Arcadia Main Street Program, Ames had landed one of AARP’s coveted Community Challenge grants — $25,000 to help revive a downtown that has been fading for decades. But the grant was about more than money. To keep it, Ames had to prove she could rally her neighbors, show that Arcadia still had enough faith in itself.

That remains her hardest work.

Ultimately, about 30 volunteers showed up at the Main Street office downtown. Armed with the clipboards and Ames’ instructions, they fanned out for the “community walk audit” — marking