Route 66, USA – The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership is celebrating the new year with the announcement of 10 ten awards from its Extraordinary Women Micro-Grants Program. The Program is one in a series of “birthday gifts” to be given to Route 66 in the years leading up to the historic road’s one-hundredth birthday in 2026.
The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program provides critical and flexible funding to businesses and attractions located along Route 66 that are majority women-owned or operated. The 2023 round of the Micro-Grant program was completed last month, with awards made to:
- Lisa Ellis – Rigby House Café, Waynesville, Missouri for exterior enhancements including flower boxes, new café tables, and installation of custom period booths in the interior dining room.
- Dawn Federico – Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari, New Mexico to repair original neon signage damaged by a hailstorm at this iconic Route 66 motel property.
- Almead Stutts – Stutts House of Barbeque, Tulsa, Oklahoma to bring the restaurant up to code, by replacing an obsolete exhaust hood above the range at this BBQ restaurant located in Tulsa’s historic Greenwood District.
- Lelia Aquino – California Route 66 Museum, Victorville, California to complete construction of a 1950’s Diner exhibit to be built at the Museum.
- Deborah Kleinheider – Rosati Winery/Museum, St. James, Missouri to repair restrooms at this recently purchased winery along Route 66, as well as fund improvements needed to make the facility ADA compliant.
- Linda Teeter – Urban Art Gallery & Gift Shop, Joplin, Missouri to support “Rebranding & Rebooting” of this boutique shop along Route 66, including new signage, business cards, gift bags, and repairs to wooden flooring.
- Amalyah Munyoz – Flamenco Works, Albuquerque, New Mexico to assist this not-for-profit in creating a marketing plan and purchasing promotional materials designed to engage more youth and families in Flamenco Works’ mission.
- Katherine Reynolds – Neon Queen, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to replace neon glass bending equipment to allow the Neon Queen business to train new neon artists.
- Shawna Baca – “Rosie the Riveter on Route 66” Documentary Film, Encino, California to help underwrite production costs for this new documentary film telling the story of the women who worked as “Rosie the Riveters” along Route 66.
- Haley Young – Roxy Theatre, Holbrook, Arizona to complete needed repairs to cracked cement flooring and a leaking roof at the last operating theater located on Route 66 in Arizona.
The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program is funded in part by a grant from the Preserve Route 66 Grant Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Road Ahead Partnership also seeks direct donations to the Program, which can be made at: https://100extraordinarywomen.com/route-66-extraordinary-women-initiative/.
The next round of The Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant Program will begin February 2, 2024. Find applications online: https://roadahead.route66centennial.org/.
Established in 2016, with the support of the National Park Service and the World Monuments’ Fund, The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership’s mission is to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national and international icon through partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research and education, and economic development.
Contact:
Bill Thomas, Chairman
Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership
rt66theroadahead@gmail.com
217-648-5077
