Our weekly program, Making Democracy Work, is a collaboration between KSMU Radio and the League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri. It's hosted and produced by volunteers from the LWV, and it airs each Monday morning at 9:45 on KSMU.
In this episode of our local program Making Democracy Work, Lisa Langley speaks with Crystal Quade, executive director for the Downtown Springfield Association (DSA).
After serving 8 years in the Missouri Senate, Quade talks about her new role with the DSA.
In February, the Downtown Springfield Association named Crystal Quade as their new executive director. She joins me this morning to discuss her new role and the future of the Downtown Springfield Association. Welcome.
Good morning.
Quade: Thanks for having me.
It's so good to have you here. So for those who may not know, can you explain the mission of Downtown Springfield Association?
Quade: Yes. The DSA is here to function to make sure downtown is vibrant, welcoming and a place that is thriving. We are a membership organization representing the residents, business owners, developers of downtown, and I'm really excited to be in this role.
So do the membership fees — is that what funds the DSA?
Quade: That's a portion of it. We also do a lot of special events. So, folks are probably familiar with Cider Days, which is our big fundraiser of the year. And of course, we're in charge of the Saint Patrick's Day parade, the Christmas parade, and we have Women's Day downtown coming up here this month. So, we do a lot of sponsorships as well. So, there's a lot of different ways that we fund ourselves.
Typical nonprofit.
Quade: Yes.
So, you spent eight years in Missouri Legislature as minority leader for six of those years. Are there any similarities in these two positions?
Quade: Oh my gosh, there's so many crossovers. And it's funny because when folks think about political and government work, you know, it feels very siloed. But so many of the things that I did in the State House, you know, I can just transfer right over to this role. I do a lot of advocacy for our business owners with the city — things like permitting or if they're having a hard time, you know, jumping through the bureaucratic red tape, I help navigate that for them. I do a lot of economic development planning with our partners between the city and the Chamber of Commerce and lots of other institutions that are really invested in downtown. So, when we've got new businesses wanting to come to Springfield, I'm in the room championing downtown and trying to get folks there and, you know, there's a lot of politics and personalities and navigating the different stakeholders that exist in downtown.
Yeah. So what are you most excited about in this new role?
Quade: Mm. I love downtown. I have, as you mentioned, represented downtown in the legislature for the last eight years. I've also lived and worked downtown or near there my entire adult life. So I personally have a passion for downtown. And so I am really excited about investing my time and talent here at home, really making downtown a place that can thrive. You know, we've all seen Springfield's downtown ebb and flow over the years. Sometimes it is so busy that you can't find a parking spots and others, it's harder for retail to stay open, you know? And right now we're kind of in a stagnant place. And so I'm really excited in getting the different stakeholders in the room and investment back into downtown so that our small business owners are really thriving. And that's the place that folks want to be.
And that's kind of my next question. What are some of the current challenges for DSA and how are you approaching those challenges?
Quade: Yeah, you know, right now the economy is rough for everyone. When things get tight, people often stop going entertainment, dining, retail, you kind of cut the things that are not the basic needs first. And so with that comes the challenges for our small business owners. When coffee costs $8 to go get a fancy latte instead of 4 or 5, you know that people do change their habits. So, that's a big challenge right now. Of course, trying to make it economically sound for our business owners to exist. A lot of that is getting more foot traffic downtown, and that's where DSA comes in. How can we partner with our fantastic groups like Springfield Regional Arts Council, who has First Friday Art walk, partner with Live From Downtown, which is coming up here over the summer, which is a concert series and really draw folks downtown so that they're not there just for that one anniversary dinner but are coming down every weekend or during the week to go to lunch. And, you know, that's the biggest challenge I think all of our downtowns are facing across the country right now is times are tough. And so how can we convince folks that this is where they need to be spending their time in dollars?
Yeah. So how does a vibrant downtown help make democracy work?
Quade: Vibrant downtowns do so much. You know, first obviously is helping our small business owners when they are thriving, they turn around and spend that money right back into their local economy, which helps everyone, raises tax dollars and then helps our potholes, right? You know, so it's all connected through the economy. But also I think a vibrant downtown really transforms the way that we feel about our home. When you walk downtown and you've got the string lights down on South Street and, you know, with the Christmas lighting tree, there's all these very sentimental and really warm feelings about a vibrant downtown. And when we can switch that culture to where folks are really appreciating that more, then folks want to support it through democracy, they are invested in prideful of their hometown, and that really matters in the scheme of how our democracies function. When folks are engaging and proud of where they live, then they're going to, you know, go out and vote more. They're going to want more things to come to Springfield. They're going to tell people about Springfield, you know, so all of it's connected.
I love that answer. Crystal, thanks so much for joining me this morning.
Quade: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
My guest has been Crystal Quade, executive director for the Downtown Springfield Association.