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PodCamp: New Life for Downtown Springfield

Madelyn Moore interviews Lisa Clemmons Stott at UIS.
Katie Buck
/
NPR Illinois 91.9 UIS
Madelyn Moore interviews Lisa Clemmons Stott at UIS.

Hello, I’m Madelyn Moore for the 2018 NPR Illinois PodCamp.

Lisa Clemmons Stott of Downtown Springfield Incorporated enjoys bringing the historical aspects of the city to life.

"I’ve really enjoyed kind of seeing an old structure and refreshing it and making it new and different, the leadership we have in the process is really excited and engaged."

Lisa is the Executive Director of DSI, a small business owner, and co-writer of the documentary ‘Whatever Happened to Saturday Night about the demise of downtowns when malls became more popular.  Her focus is to give new life to old buildings and restore them.

"We have a beautiful Downtown and it isn’t as vibrant as it could be. If I could fix one problem it would literally be the Downtown."

Lisa says that her favorite part about being Executive Director of DSI is that she gets to bring people together and make Downtown Springfield more enjoyable for everyone.

"I think that the best advice when you are trying to find joy is to not think about yourself, but to think about other people. Like, once you start helping whether you go to, we have a homeless shelter downtown that is only open in the winter months and you can go and serve a meal. You know when you start doing things like that you really start to think about other people’s problems, not yours."

Lisa wants to improve and clean up Downtown Springfield, adding more murals every year. She is working on making Springfield happier as a whole. She loves what she does and continues to improve Downtown every day. This has been Madelyn Moore for the 2018 NPR Illinois PodCamp.

PodCamp logo

NPR Illinois PodCamp is an annual program teaching media literacy, civic education, journalism, and technical skills to aspiring students.

Madelyn Moore is a sixth grader at Glenwood Intermediate School. She lives in Springfield Illinois. She loves to read and write. She loves reporting on music and current events.
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