BATH

Charlie Hudson’s meticulous work is one of the reasons Main Street Bath became the only such organization in the state — ever — to win the National Great American Main Street Award earlier this year.

There are dozens and dozens of other reasons. They include the Main Street Bath officers, board of directors and volunteers who have made Bath a magnet in Midcoast Maine.

Hudson put a face and a sound for all to see when he created a video of the historic downtown. That grabbed the attention of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which in April designated

Main Street Bath for the national award.

At its 11th annual meeting, Hudson received Main Street Bath’s 2012 Presidents Award in front of a sellout crowd Monday at the Maine Maritime Museum.

Brian Hatch, who will serve as Main Street Bath president for another year, played Hudson’s video and then presented him with the award.

Hudson, of Arrowsic, said Tuesday that Bath does a great job selling itself.

“The (national) award is definitely well-deserved,” said Hudson, who does freelance video work. “I’ve seen Bath blossom over the past 10 or 15 years.”

Elizabeth Knowlton, who worked with Briggs Advertising to help rebrand Bath, also played a big part in landing the Great American Main Street Award.

More than 150 people socialized, heard speeches and dined on locally produced food presented under what Hatch called “the watchful eye of our in-house Solo Bistro chef, John Merry.” Leslie Trundy and her student volunteers from Morse High School — Marissa Eltzroth, Autumn Thompson, Katelyn Gonzalez, Meaghan Harper, Lynn Swanson and home schooler Lexi Fowlie — worked the room as servers.

Hatch, born and brought up in the city, said he is pleased to be involved with such dedicated people.

“In the last 11 years, Main Street Bath has worked hard to make Bath not only a destination for tourists to come spend their out-of-town dollars but also a place where our citizens can feel a sense of ownership and a sense of pride in being part of a community that cares for each other,” Hatch said.

Carolann Ouellette, director of the Maine Office of Tourism, said communities that embrace tourism “become vibrant.”

“We have to make our emotional connection to our potential visitors,” Ouellette said. “Bath certainly has found a way to make that critically, critically important.”

Main Street Bath, Ouellette said, shines a light not only on Bath, but on the entire state.

“Communities like Bath lengthen our tourism season,” she said. “Visitors bring in new money.”

During the social hour, Jayne Palmer and Bill King mixed with the crowd, offering a certain perspective regarding Main Street Bath that few can.

Twenty years ago, they said, they helped organize the precursor to Main Street Bath, the Bath Business Association. In 2001, Main Street Bath became the first Main Street organization in the state.

Today, they travel the state as part of the Maine Downtown Center, a program of the Maine Development Foundation. They emphasize the volunteer driven model.

“What people usually say is, ‘We want to be like Bath,’” Palmer said. “We count on people in the community to do the work, and it’s grass roots, bottom up.”

The “Spirit of Bath” Awards went to Zachary McDorr, Betsy Fear and Roger Heard.

McDorr has produced hundreds of documents, artifacts and facts. Heard won recognition from the Economic Restructuring Committee Award, and Fear was recognized by the Design Committee.

lgrard@timesrecord.com