60th Annual “All-America City” Awards to be Announced June 19th

Hundreds of civic activists, local officials, business and nonprofit leaders will gather in Tampa, Florida, this week to kick off the 60th annual All-America City awards, a three day competition/celebration of civic innovation and local problem-solving.

To win, delegations from all over the country will present their stories of community change to an 11-member jury of civic experts. After deliberating, the jury will pick ten winners from the group of 29 finalists.

The 2009 All-America Cities will be announced Friday, June 19 during a celebration at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina that begins at 7 pm. (Estimated time of the announcements and press release: 8 pm EST).

The AAC designation is given to ten communities (neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, counties or metro regions) each year for outstanding civic accomplishments. This year’s finalists have created jobs, revitalized their downtowns, and reduced crime, among other accomplishments.

Launched in 1949 by a crusading newspaper publisher and a national “good government” group, the annual competition provides excellent opportunities for journalists and broadcasters who cover local government, economic development, education, or neighborhood/community issues to catch up on the latest strategies for grassroots, community problem solving.

“The All-America City Award is like a civic ‘Oscar’ for communities of all sizes,” notes NCL President Gloria-Rubio Cortes. “It’s unique because it recognizes the efforts of entire communities. AACs demonstrate inclusiveness, collaboration, civic engagement, and innovation.”

The 2009 awards program will feature Innovations Forums to promote peer-to-peer dialogues among the finalist communities and regional and national leaders. Topical dialogues and panel discussions (“green” solutions, immigrant integration, race relations, citizens with disabilities and economic recovery strategies) will be featured, along with a planning session for future AAC alumni activities.

The All-America City Award is an honor achieved by more than 500 neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, counties, and regions across the country. Some have won the award multiple times.

This year’s AAC Awards are sponsored in part by Prudential, MWH, Jones Day, Southwest Airlines (The Official Airline of the AAC 2009 Awards), Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina (The Sole Official Headquarters Hotel of the 2009 AAC Awards), Southern California Edison, Mile High United Way and Marriott International.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the National Civic League strengthens democracy by increasing the capacity of our nation’s people to fully participate in and build healthy and prosperous communities across America. Founded in 1894 by Theodore Roosevelt and other government reformers, NCL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that accomplishes its mission through training, technical assistance, publishing, facilitating community-wide strategic planning and awards programs. It publishes research on government structures and reform and community building innovation (The National Civic Review, Civic Index, and 8th Edition of the Model City Charter). In addition to the All-America City Awards, NCL conducts the MetLife Foundation Ambassadors In Education Awards.

For more information on NCL and its programs, visit http://www.ncl.org/ or

Contact:

Mike McGrath at mikem@ncl.org or 303 574 3609

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Posted by Geoffrey Sakala on Jun 15 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.