To Our Neighborhood:

The past few years have been ones for the books, not only for us as a community but also for our world. As with most things, the emergence of COVID-19 upended our planned activities in Midtown since 2020. The virus and the subsequent uncertainty that followed, forced us to go without our signature annual events Midfest and Holiday Studio Tours respectively as well as our various educational and participatory community events like Beer and Business or National Night Out in Midtown.

But with the struggle, there have been incredible stories of resilience. Many of our businesses have weathered the storm of uncertainty and even thrived. We as a board, along with our community partners like the Midtown Neighborhood Association, Millsaps College and Midtown Partners, have all continued to operate under these trying circumstances for the past two years. BAM is proud to have been able to to support businesses in Midtown with a small monetary stipend at the beginning of the pandemic and is looking forward to supporting our Midtown businesses in much more substantive ways in the coming months.
 

BAM’s mission has always been to promote business formation, collaboration, expansion, and enhance goodwill between businesses and residents, and to provide unified advocacy. BAM, formally founded in August 2012 by a group of artists and business owners in the Midtown neighborhood of Jackson, had always had its roots in collaboration. Whether it was through street festivals, collaborative art projects, or community engagement, these creative entrepreneurs were actively promoting their art or business and community in the neighborhood through relationships. And I believe that relationships are at the core of what makes Midtown, Midtown. Whether you are a painter, designer, photographer, chef or entrepreneur, building relationships and collaborating are at the heart and soul of Midtown. And those relationships will be the catalyst to help us propel towards the future.

This year, we look forward to bringing back life into our community with our signature street festivals as well as supporting our upcoming and legacy Midtown business in new ways. So in the meantime, join us as we finally gather back together again for the Member Appreciation Party on March 3, 2022 from 5:30 to 7:30p.m at Midtown Depot for food, fun and fellowship. And on behalf of the entire Board of Directors for the Business Association of Midtown, we look forward to seeing you in Midtown in 2022!

See you soon,
Roderick R.
BAM President