All-America Honors Set For Next Week

The city of Columbus will learn next week if will be named one of ten 2014 All-America Cities. The Bartholomew County community is one of 23 finalists for the National Civic League award.

Denver, Colorado — The National Civic League will announce the ten winners of the 2014 All-America City Award June 15 at an award ceremony and celebration in Denver, Colorado.

Since 1949, the award has been given each year to at least ten communities for outstanding civic accomplishments. It recognizes communities for successfully addressing pressing challenges such as housing, government innovation, job development, educational improvement and neighborhood and commercial revitalization.

This year applicants have been asked to list one or more projects or initiatives aimed at addressing the underlying conditions that affect the health of communities. As part of NCL's celebration of the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Healthy Communities movement, the 2014 awards program will spotlight efforts to address issues such as obesity, walkable cities, biking, fitness, healthy eating and disease prevention.

The 23 finalists for the annual award, listed alphabetically by state, are:

Montgomery, Alabama

San Pablo, California

Whittier, California

Brush, Colorado

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Tarpon Springs, Florida

Columbus, Indiana

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Marshalltown, Iowa

Chelsea, Massachusetts

Dedham, Massachusetts

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Somerville, Massachusetts

Marquette, Michigan

Canton, New York

Kenmore, New York

Independence, Oregon

Brownsville, Texas

Marshall, Texas

Hampton, Virginia

Portsmouth, Virginia

Yakima, Washington

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

To qualify, each finalist submitted a detailed application describing their challenges and listing three examples of positive community change. During the June 14-15 All-America Cities presentations in Denver, each finalist delegation will describe their community building efforts and answer questions from a jury of civic experts. The winners will be announced the evening of June 15 (at approximately 8:00pm MDT).

Sponsors of the 2014 All-America City Awards are Southwest Airlines, The Official Airline of the All-America City Awards; Campaign for Grade-Level Reading; Colorado Health Foundation; The Colorado Trust; Kaiser Permanente Denver/Boulder Offices; Alameda Gateway Community Association; Delta Dental of Colorado; FirstBank; Greenberg Traurig; Mile High United Way; PCL Construction; St. Anthony Hospital; City of Aurora, Colorado; City and County of Denver, Colorado; City of Lakewood, Colorado; City of Dublin, California; City of Gladstone, Missouri; City of Rancho Cordova, California; City of Hickory, North Carolina; and RubinBrown.

NCL is a 120-year old nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colorado. Its mission is accomplished by fostering and sharing promising practices of local government and public engagement and celebrating the progress that can be achieved when people work together.