[00:00 – 02:24] Introduction & Delmar Main Street Overview Cynthia welcomes Felice McClendon, the first executive director of Delmar Main Street. Felice explains her role in bringing people together and creating economic opportunities, describing Delmar as having “big D energy”—where the D stands for destination. She introduces the concept of “come unity” and explains how Main Street’s mission is to create places for people where passion meets purpose.

[02:24 – 04:48] Understanding the Delmar Corridor Felice provides context about Main Street America (2,000+ main streets nationally, 70 in Missouri, 3 in St. Louis) and explains the Delmar corridor stretches from the city limits through the East Loop to Taylor—roughly 3.5 linear miles. The area serves 8 neighborhoods, 250 businesses, and nearly 37,000 people (over 10% of St. Louis’s population). She emphasizes small business as the “front door to community.”

[04:48 – 07:24] The Delmar Maker District & Community Spaces Discussion of Third Degree Glass Factory (Doug’s 20+ year vision with Third Friday events), Exodus Art Gallery (Carlton Mitchell), and the remarkable growth including 12 new restaurants opening in 2024. Felice shares her “four quarters” metaphor—the corridor consists of four uniquely distinct quarters that together make one whole community.

[07:24 – 09:21] The Four Quarters of Delmar Detailed breakdown of the corridor’s four sections: (1) East Loop CID starting at the Pageant, (2) Delmar Divine area with Maxine Clark’s $100 million historic preservation project housing 40+ businesses and 200 residents, (3) The Makers District from Union to Kings Highway featuring Craft Alliance and other makers, and (4) The Elevation Project area from Kings Highway to Taylor led by Kevin Bryant.

[09:21 – 11:16] Felice’s Journey & The D Train Model Felice reveals she started in May 2024 (just over a year ago) and describes this as the job where “passion meets purpose”—work she would do eight days a week. She introduces the “D Train” economic development model, comparing her role to a concierge or navigator helping small businesses reach their unique destinations with customized support.

[11:16 – 14:30] Pre-Tornado Challenges & Community Silos Before the tornado, major challenges included St. Louis’s well-known silos and distrust—the “show me state” mentality creating division. Felice mentions the historical Delmar Divide and the need to break down barriers. She celebrates the 12 new restaurants but notes the devastating timing of having grand openings followed by grand closings after the tornado.

[14:30 – 20:38] Surviving the Tornado: A Personal Account Felice shares her harrowing first-hand experience of being in her car at Delmar and Union when the tornado hit. She describes the surreal sky, a woman driving backwards to avoid flying trees, every window in her car exploding and showering her with glass, trees and debris sliding across her vehicle, and ducking down while praying. She refused EMS despite being covered in glass, seeing the widespread devastation around her and prioritizing others’ needs.

[20:38 – 24:26] The HALT Principle & Self-Care Introduction of the HALT principle: Never get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired—it’s time to halt. Felice emphasizes “you can’t serve out of an empty cup” and the airplane oxygen mask analogy. Discussion of how Felice had to stop and care for herself before she could effectively serve the community’s recovery needs. She stresses that self-care is not selfish but integral to being able to help others.

[24:26 – 27:57] Hidden Trauma & PTSD Powerful story of Felice discovering glass embedded in her eyelashes days after the tornado—she couldn’t see clearly and thought she had a concussion, but the “crusty eye” was actually glass particles. The metaphor of not being able to see her own damage while trying to function normally. Discussion of PTSD triggers (plate dropping at a restaurant making her cry), secondary trauma, and the importance of genuinely checking on people beyond surface-level “are you okay?”

[27:57 – 31:46] Community Response & Repurposing Pain Felice discusses the “repurposed pain” of people coming together after disaster in ways nothing else would have prompted. The power of community unity saying “not in this community—we are coming together.” She emphasizes the difference between relief (immediate needs) and recovery (long-term haul), and how supporting small businesses scales impact since each business supports multiple households.

[31:46 – 34:56] Future Vision & System Reset Discussion of exciting developments including public-private partnerships, the $50,000 raised at the concert event for Danny and Steve’s Hot Dog (matched by Maxine Clark and others to reach $100,000+ for $5,000 mini-grants to tornado-affected businesses). Felice frames the disaster as an opportunity for “system reset”—rewriting outdated policies from the early 1900s and creating the space they want. She emphasizes not waiting on government—neighbors helping neighbors.

[34:56 – 40:10] Resilient Business Stories Highlighting Dallas from Beyond Suite who had 5 businesses on Delmar and had to relocate 4 of them, now mentoring others. Too Much Sauce still open with great Friday specials despite surrounding devastation. Discussion of creative solutions: co-working spaces, business pop-ups, allowing businesses to operate inside other businesses, point-of-purchase sharing, and the East Loop offering tours and inventory space for displaced businesses.

[40:10 – 43:17] How to Get Involved & Closing Felice shares contact information (delmarmainstreet.com, 314-399-6133) and emphasizes many ways to volunteer beyond physical cleanup—time and talent, corporate lunch programs, committee involvement, event support. She describes Delmar as “the gateway to the city of St. Louis” at the intersection of city and county, serving a 37,000-person family. Final reflection on God sparing her life that day and gratitude for the opportunity to share the story.

Total Episode Length: Approximately 43 minutes