The highlight of this year’s conference was former President Bill Clinton keynoting the Neighborhood of the Year Awards luncheon.
President Clinton commented that each community possesses the “seeds of its own regeneration, and it depends on the actions taken by community leaders. As the nation seethes with renewed political partisanship, there’s not enough talk about what’s happening at the neighborhood level, and that we have to get back to American and build up from the grassroots.” In closing, President Clinton told the group, “Every time a neighborhood activist takes on a project to improve his or her community, they are giving other residents a solid place to stand.”
Each year, Neighborhoods, USA recognizes the commitment of neighborhoods, municipalities and neighborhood friendly organizations in awarding the Neighborhood of the Year and Best Neighborhood Program Awards during the annual conference. This year three neighborhood associations and two cities were recognized for demonstrating exemplary efforts to improve the quality of life for their neighborhoods, residents, and municipalities.
Taking home the Neighborhood of the Year Grand Prize Award was the Old Southwest Inc from Roanoke, VA for their project, Old Southwest Holiday Parlor Tour. A rebirth took place in 1979 for the premier historic neighborhood of Old Southwest, located in Roanoke, VA when the first annual holiday parlor tour of homes was created. Known as a “past with a future” Old Southwest volunteers continue to give back to their community by working together. In addition, Old Southwest took first place in the Social Revitalization/Single Neighborhood category.
First place in the Physical Revitalization category was awarded to Willmore City Heritage Association of Long Beach, California. As a way to remove blighted vacant lots while preserving the historic character of the neighborhood, Willmore City Heritage Assoc. formed various partnerships to save a two-story Victorian from demolition and then move, refurbish and sell the turn-of-the-century home to local residents
The 2010 Multi-Neighborhood Partnerships category top prize was presented to the Idaho Crime Prevention Association, for their Treasure Valley Neighborhood Watch Summit which was a collaborated effort by Idaho Crime Prevention Association and 5 law enforcement agencies. With shrinking economies, foreclosures and unemployment it was time to infuse the communities especially Neighborhood Watch and leaders with hope, inspiration and tools to keep their neighborhoods healthy and livable
These are the only national awards given on an on-going basis to neighborhood organizations for their self-help initiatives. 2010 marks the 27th consecutive year that the Neighborhood of the Year Awards have been presented.
2010 marked the fourth year that Neighborhoods, USA has recognized municipalities and businesses with the Best Neighborhood Program Award. This award is presented in two categories Social Revitalization and Physical Revitalization.
The City of Topeka (KS) took the top prize in the Social Revitalization category with the City’s Stages of Resource Targeting (SORT) program. The “Stages of Resource Targeting” (SORT) is a strategy for public/private investment into LMI neighborhoods that increases property values – even in this economy. It sets the stage for self-help so neighborhoods can determine their own destiny while minimizing their reliance on government grants and handouts.
The City of Chesapeake (VA) was awarded first place in the Physical Revitalization category for their Serve the City Chesapeake program. Serve the City Chesapeake is a collective effort of the City of Chesapeake, its police department, the faith-based Community, civic leagues, schools and local businesses, working together in public-private partnerships in order to build healthy communities and trusting relationships for the purpose of instilling hope
Neighborhoods, USA, the sponsoring organization for these award programs, is a national non-profit organization committed to building and strengthening neighborhood organizations. NUSA was created in 1975 to share information and experiences to build strong communities and currently is the largest grassroots organization of its kind in the nation. NUSA also encourages networking and information sharing as a way to facilitate the development of partnerships between neighborhood organizations, government, and the private sector.
For more information about the NUSA Awards Program, contact:
Robert Gibbons, Awards Program Chair
1950 E Washington Ave #1
Madison, WI 53704
608/244-0582
Email: robert.gibbons1@charter.net
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