How DeRidder Main Street Promoted their Downtown with SeeMyLegacy

What started as a tool to better promote downtown businesses and local history quickly expanded into a platform the Community uses across multiple programs — from interactive shop local maps and history tours to farmers market applications and volunteer forms.

Organization Type

Municipality + Main Street Organization

Location

DeRidder, Louisiana

Key Use Cases

Interactive Tours, Farmers Market Applications, Volunteer Management, Facility Reservations, Community Engagement

Why the City of DeRidder Partnered with SeeMyLegacy

DeRidder Main Street originally discovered SeeMyLegacy through Louisiana Main Street while looking for new ways to promote their downtown district.

What initially stood out was the platform’s ability to showcase local history, businesses, and destinations through interactive digital experiences.

As the team began exploring the platform further, they quickly realized it could support far more than tourism and storytelling.

“We’re trying to make our downtown a destination for shopping, and I loved how we could showcase our history, businesses, and map everything out.”
— Elona WestonMuseum Administrator/DeRidder Main Street Director

From One Department to a City-Wide Tool

What started within Main Street quickly expanded across the city.

As different departments saw how the platform could simplify registrations, applications, and participation, SeeMyLegacy became a tool the broader city team could rely on for a growing number of programs.

Instead of relying on outdated paper processes or tools residents didn’t enjoy using, the city began modernizing how programs were managed and accessed online.

“People don’t like JotForm. We started showing departments what they could do with SeeMyLegacy, and now we rely on it for a lot of different things.”
— Elona WestonMuseum Administrator/DeRidder Main Street Director

Modernizing Old Processes and Increasing Participation

One of the biggest impacts came from moving older, manual processes online.

For the city’s farmers market, vendor applications previously required participants to visit City Hall and complete paperwork in person. After moving the process into SeeMyLegacy, participation immediately increased.

The shift created a more convenient experience for both residents and vendors — especially for newer community members unfamiliar with local processes.

“Before, vendors had to come to City Hall and fill out paperwork in person. Once we moved it online, we started getting a lot more applications.”
— Elona WestonMuseum Administrator/DeRidder Main Street Director

Making Participation More Accessible for the Community

As more programs moved into the platform, the city began seeing broader improvements in accessibility and engagement.

From pool reservations to volunteer signups and community initiatives, residents were able to participate more easily without needing to navigate outdated systems or in-person paperwork.

Even longtime participants adapted quickly to the online experience.

This helped the city create a more modern, organized, and user-friendly way for residents to engage with local programs.

“It’s really just going the route that everything else is going — and that is online.”
— Elona WestonMuseum Administrator/DeRidder Main Street Director

Supporting a Small Team with Many Responsibilities

Like many small municipalities, the City of DeRidder operates with a lean team where staff members wear multiple hats.

By centralizing applications, registrations, and submissions into one platform, the city has been able to reduce administrative friction and stay more organized across departments.

Applications and forms can now be easily collected, reviewed, printed, and stored without the back-and-forth of older processes.

“We don’t have a whole lot of time, so it’s been very convenient. It helps with organization on a lot of different levels.”
— Elona WestonMuseum Administrator/DeRidder Main Street Director

Promoting Downtown Businesses Through Interactive Experiences

Beyond operations and registrations, DeRidder Main Street has also used SeeMyLegacy to create interactive experiences that promote local businesses and tourism.

Using the platform’s mapping functionality, the team launched shopping trails, boutique tours, flea market experiences, and historical walking tours that help residents and visitors explore the city in new ways.

These experiences have allowed the city to support businesses both inside and outside the Main Street district while creating digital resources that can continuously promote the community over time.

“We needed something digitally that we could share to promote all of these businesses and experiences.”
— Elona WestonMuseum Administrator/DeRidder Main Street Director

Expanding Community Engagement Across the City

As more departments and organizations discovered the platform, new use cases continued to emerge.

From volunteer registration for Love the Boot Week to interest from the local fire department for summer camp signups, the city has continued expanding how SeeMyLegacy is used across the community.

Rather than serving one single purpose, the platform has become a flexible tool for modernizing participation city-wide.

“It’s worth the money. You can use it how you need to, and it’s pretty much boundless on what you want to do with it.”
— Elona WestonMuseum Administrator/DeRidder Main Street Director

How the City of DeRidder Is Winning with SeeMyLegacy

✅ Modernizing Outdated Municipal Processes: Programs that once relied on paper forms and in-person signups are now accessible online.

✅ Increasing Participation Through Accessibility: Making applications and registrations easier has helped increase engagement across multiple programs.

✅ One Platform Across Departments and Community Initiatives: Main Street, parks, volunteers, and other city programs can all operate within one consistent system.

✅ Promoting Downtown Businesses and Tourism: Interactive tours and digital experiences help showcase local businesses, shopping, and community history.

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