Last week, winners of the Secretary of State’s 2023 Florida Main Street Awards were announced during the Preservation on Main Street Conference in Ocala. Secretary of State Cord Byrd was at the ceremony to present awards to this year’s winners.
“This year’s winners have shown a remarkable commitment to preserving the distinct heritage, traditions, and culture that make their historic downtowns attractive places for commerce,” said Secretary Byrd.
Fernandina Beach Main Street received two of the awards:
Business Owner of the Year: Nathalie Wu, Wicked Bao
Volunteer of the Year: Ramona Vikan, Board Vice-Chair, Fernandina Beach Main Street
Nathalie Wu opened Wicked Bao Restaurant five+ years ago which brought, for the first time, delicious Asian street food to downtown Fernandina Beach. Wicked Bao occupies a lovingly restored and maintained historic building at the tip of the City’s National Historic District. Ms. Wu created a beautiful restaurant and lively destination that encourages residents and visitors to explore what was once an overlooked area. Further development is now taking place in the area.
Ramona Vikan joined Fernandina Beach Main Street in 2020. Due to her prior fundraising experience, she was asked to create a signature event to support the organization. She formed a steering committee that developed the concept for Island Hop, which generated four times the revenue goal in its first year and doubled that number in its second year. Ms. Vikan has taken on Main Street leadership roles as the organization council chair and vice president of the board of directors.
Congrats to Natalie….she and her family are awesome and great