Durant Main Street Director, Stephanie Gardner, leaves behind a legacy

By Derek Dopheid

DURANT – Durant Main Street Director, Stephanie Gardner, will be retiring from her position after manning the helm as the town’s chief marketer for five years.

Gardner, a graduate of Silo High School, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southeastern Oklahoma State University where she focused her studies on marketing. Upon graduation, Gardner traveled to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion marketing, working for companies such as Nordstrom and BCBG.

Following her work in fashion marketing, Gardner returned home to pursue a different kind of marketing, the marketing of young and bright future leaders. Gardner began working for the Choctaw Nation and was a key player in creating the Choctaw Nation College Scholarship Program whose goal is to aide young Choctaw tribal members get into the college that is right for them, including Ivy League universities.

From Harvard to Yale, Gardner traveled the nation on behalf of college hopefuls and assisted dozens, if not hundreds, of students achieve a higher education. “Many of these kids didn’t have the means of attending prestigious universities without assistance,” Gardner said. “I wanted to be their voice and prove to everyone that these young adults were destined to achieve greatness.”

Gardner’s first involvement with Durant Main Street was as a business owner in 2014 when she owned and operated a party planning business, Pretty, Lovely Events. As a business owner, Gardner decide to become a board member of Durant Main Street where she served as the design committee chair.

Main Street’s previous board director, DeAnn Marcum, left shortly after Gardner moved into her new position, and that was the catalyst that would lead Gardner to where she is today. Gardner was asked to temporarily fill Marcum’s shoes as acting director while the city searched for her replacement. This opportunity opened Gardner’s eyes to the potential that Durant has to become a thriving city that its residents would be proud to call home.

After a few short months as acting director, Gardner was able to secure the position full-time and immediately got to work in seeing her vision of Durant come into fruition.

Durant has prospered from a dramatic increase in both small and corporate businesses during Gardner’s tenure with the city, which has seen 35 new businesses open shop over the last five years. Gardner has breathed new life into the community as downtown Durant has become a thriving destination where residents gather to shop, dine and socialize.

One of Gardner’s pet projects, first Friday of the month, began in the Fall of 2018. The project has become a staple of Durant in which the community comes together downtown to socialize, listen to live music, participate in various games and contests, and enjoy extended hours of local businesses. Each event features a different theme that ranges from jazz festivals to car shows.

In addition to her position as Main Street Director, Gardner is also a member of Destination Durant, a collaborative effort between Durant Main Street, Imagine Durant, Blue Zones Project, City of Durant and Durant Chamber of Commerce that aims to improve the quality of life for Durant residents and create a sense of unity within the community. Together the team has started Durant’s farmer’s market, obtained licensing for murals and walking trials, helped local businesses thrive and has brought the community together over dozens of festivals and events.

Gardner has had her hand in nearly every project that has led to the revitalization, beautification and betterment of Durant.

What Gardner is most known for is her involvement in securing Durant’s position on Hulu’s exclusive show, Small Business Revolution. Gardner says that it was a lack of pride that she sensed amongst the residents of the town that motivated her to apply for the contest, hoping that Durant’s involvement would bring the town together under a common goal – and she was right.  Durant made top five in the contest and the city’s inclusion sparked the “My Durant” movement that has continued to grow stronger each year. Gardner achieved her goal in making Durat a ton that its residents are proud to call home.

“Stephanie Gardner is an icon of Durant,” said executive director of Imagine Durant, Kara Byrd, “She (Gardner) is one of the most hardworking and passionate people that I’ve ever met. Her enthusiasm is unmatched.”

Gardner is still uncertain of her plans for the future but assures everyone that she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Durant is my home and Durant Main Street has become my baby. I am proud to see how far Durant has come in such a short period time and I feel honored to have had the opportunity to help Durant become a city that people love to call home.”

Gardner is hopeful that the city will continue to expand on the groundwork that she helped put into place. Local businesses meet a few times each month to discuss ways that they can help each other, more projects are currently in the works and even more local businesses are scheduled to open this year. Gardner’s legacy will not be soon forgotten, and her work will carry on for years to come.