NEW HAVEN EARNS 4TH ALL AMERICA CITY TITLE
(6/6/2008) CITY ACHIEVES WIN IN TAMPA
(NEW HAVEN)-- At a competition in Tampa, Fla., New Haven became one of 10 winners of the 2008 All America City Award, a prestigious honor recognizing communities for collaboration, inclusiveness, and successful innovation. All-America Cities demonstrate community-wide civic
accomplishments, cross-sector cooperation, grassroots participation, and creative approaches to important issues.
Each finalist completed an extensive application providing detailed descriptions of the challenges they face and the impacts of three community projects to address those challenges. The final step took place this week in Tampa where a delegation from each of the 16 finalist communities presented its programs and solutions to a jury of national
experts from across the United States. Their presentations addressed the community's social and economic issues, including at least one project that focuses on the needs of young people.
"New Haven is proud to receive the 2008 All America City Award," said Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. "It is an honor to bring this title back home to our residents in recognition of their tremendous work throughout the community. What led to this win was the success of four programs that make a difference in the lives of our residents every day: the Elm City Resident Card Program, the combined efforts of the Street Outreach Workers Program and CTRIBAT, and CitySeed. Throughout this journey it became so clear that New Haven is a place with very different people who get one very important thing right: we are better together."
The New Haven Delegation in Tampa was composed of 28 community leaders and residents representing the Street Outreach Workers Program, Bregamos Community Theater, Junta for Progressive Action, Unidad Latina en Accion, CitySeed, CTRIBAT, City Hall, Empower New Haven, Town Green Special Services, Market New Haven and the Economic Development
Corporation of New Haven.
A jury of national business, government, philanthropic, and nonprofit leaders selected the top 10 communities based on their presentations and applications: New Haven, Conn.; Goodyear, Arizona; Cerritos, Calif,; Aurora, Colo.; Kissimmee- Osceola County, Florida; Gladstone, Missouri;
the St. Louis Region, Missouri-Illinois; Lenoir, N. C.; Reidsville, N.C. and Akron, Ohio.
This year the awards program featured Innovation Forums to promote peer-to-peer dialogues among the finalist communities and regional and national leaders. The topics included best practices of All-America Cities, effectively marketing your community, a youth forum, and a chief
elected and appointed officials forum on civic issues. Hot topic workshops are being developed on green solutions, immigrant integration, the community-side of the subprime lending crisis, and other issues.
Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. served as keynote speaker to an innovation forum on immigrant integration and the success of the Elm City Resident Card Program.
Now in its 59th year, the All-America City Award is an honor achieved by more than 500 neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, counties, and regions across the country.
This year's AAC Awards are sponsored in part by Jones Day, MWH, RBC Capital Markets, Southwest Airlines (The Official Airline of the AAC Awards), Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina (The Sole Official Headquarters Hotel of the AAC Awards), and Marriott International.
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Contact Name: Jessica Mayorga
Contact Email: jmayorga@newhavenct.net
Contact Phone: 203-946-7660
