LA GRANDE — La Grande Main Street Downtown is relaunching its monthly networking series, Business-Resource Connection, for local business owners after a break for the summer. Attendees can learn from different organizations about a wide variety of topics to help their businesses better understand and utilize their local resources.

“We are looking to do whatever we can to make a thriving downtown, because that does have that trickle back to a thriving overall community,” project chair Suzannah Moore-Hemann said.

The series will take place on the third Tuesday of each month from 8:15-9:15 a.m. at the Ignite Center, 104 Depot St. It is an expansion of previous series La Grande Main Street Downtown has hosted in the past. The first meeting will take place Tuesday, Sept. 20.

La Grande Main Street Downtown is part of the national Main Street Program, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The nonprofit generates investment, jobs and rehabilitation in downtown areas. It works alongside businesses and local organizations to plan events and provide support.

“One of the goals of re-launching this series with adjustments to the time and format is to highlight the wide range of resources we have locally which businesses can leverage to really elevate their performance,” said Timothy Bishop, the city’s Economic Development Director and committee chair of the Economic Vitality Committee, in a press release.

The committee began hosting the series in the spring of this year. Now they are bringing back the series with the goals of offering resources and fostering connections. Moore-Hemann also noted that the new time slot is meant to make the series as accessible as possible.

The spring sessions took place at noon but upon querying some of the attendees, they learned that many business owners couldn’t attend because they had to cover the lunch hour for their employees. Moore-Hemann said the earlier time slot will hopefully capture more business owners before they are “in go-mode” for the day.

“It’s not meant to be super long and drawn out,” Moore-Hemann noted. “We want to be really respectful of everyone’s time.”

City of La Grande’s Economic Development department, Eastern Oregon University’s Rural Engagement and Vitality Center, Eastern Oregon Visitors Association and the Eastern Oregon Workforce board are among the list of organizations that will come to speak during the monthly series.

According to Moore-Hemann, some of Business-Resource Connection series’ sessions will also consist of human resources services, panel discussions, tax preparation and more.

“A lot of businesses might not have access to always having an accountant on hand or might not have an HR department like the larger organizations do,” she said.

The series has no set end, and the committee will look to expand the series or make it more frequent, depending on participant feedback. Main Street Downtown also has other series it is planning to boost the city’s economic vitality.

“We really have the opportunity to make a positive impact for the businesses by offering those,” Moore-Hemann said. “If we can raise the water level, all of the boats will rise together.”

The promotion and resources for the series are partially funded by the city of La Grande’s Rural Development Initiative grant. Light refreshments and coffee will be provided.

For more information about La Grande Main Street Downtown, visit www.lagrandemainstreet.org.