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Pass it on: The City of Spokane is a 2004 All-America City!
The City received this honor from the National Civic League on Saturday, June 12, in Atlanta, Ga., and now is ready to tell the world about its winning ways.
"This award is a point of pride for the entire community," says Mayor James West. "Spokane is a world-class City doing extraordinary things. We are thrilled that an organization like the National Civic League recognizes our achievements."
The last time the City of Spokane received this designation was in 1974—the year of Expo. "Thirty years ago, this City worked together to put on a world's fair, reinventing our downtown in the process," the Mayor says. "Today, we've once again reinvented our downtown, wired it for the future, and helped to lift up our youth to be our leaders of tomorrow. These are the achievements that impressed the judges."
The prestigious All-America City award encourages and recognizes civic excellence, honoring the communities in which citizens, government, businesses and nonprofit organizations demonstrate successful resolution of critical community issues.
Spokane was one of only 10 cities across the nation to receive the All-America honor. The award comes on the heels of another major award. On June 11, the City accepted its recognition as one of the Seven Most Intelligent Communities in the World by the World Teleport Association.
More than 600 communities started the application process for the All-America award. That list was winnowed down to 30 finalists who made presentations to a panel of judges in Atlanta the second week of June. A team of Spokane ambassadors made a pitch for why Spokane should be a recipient of the award.
Besides the Mayor, Spokane’s team includes:
- John Brewer, President of the Spokane Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Mary Ann Ulik, of the Downtown Spokane Partnership
- Maggie Bergin, of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council
- Ed Clark, owner of The Clark Company
- Ben Cabildo, executive director of AHANA
- Cody George, Senior Advisor to Mayor West
- Garv Brakel, the City’s MIS Director
- Miss Spokane Rochelle Rock
- Adam Thielen, President of North Central High School and a member of the Chase Youth Commission's Teen Advisory Council
- Danielle Hutchens, a student at Rogers High School
- Matthew Wright, a student at Rogers High School
- Lisa Mattson, a teacher from Rogers High School
The All-America City Award competition is the nation's longest-running and most prestigious civic recognition program. Since 1949, more than 4,000 communities have competed and nearly 500 have been designated "All-America Cities."
To get to the final round, the City—with the help of community partners including the Downtown Spokane Partnership, the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, and others—earlier this year submitted a substantial application packet that described three projects designed to showcase the City's ability to overcome challenges, as well as examples of civic involvement, celebration of diversity, quality of life resources, and more. The three highlighted projects included:
- The creation of the Downtown Plan and the subsequent downtown renaissance featuring $1.6 billion in new investment downtown.
- The Terabyte Triangle initiative, which was designed to stimulate occupancy in downtown buildings and create high-tech businesses and jobs. In 1999, the first business survey showed that the number of connected buildings in the downtown core was 12. The last survey, completed in January 2004, found more than 133 technology-based businesses existing in 93 fiber-connected buildings.
- The Youth Empowerment Project, which provides opportunities for identified at-risk youth to place their energies toward goal setting and community contribution. It refocuses adolescents’ energies on something they initiate, empowering them to make positive choices and connect with caring adult mentors and local Resources. (The students from Rogers worked on this initiative.)
To showcase Spokane and its efforts, the City team developed a skit to sell their product—essentially Spokane and its citizens. With a dose of Ron Popeil, a few props, and lots of energy, the team created a presentation compelling enough to win.
Cody George, Senior Advisor to the Mayor, says that the substance of Spokane's message, supported by the enthusiasm and breadth of the team, made Spokane tough to beat. "We definitely had fun; we were excited to talk about what's going on in Spokane," George says. "We have a unique ability to bring people together to tackle our challenges head on. That was true in 1974, and it's true today."
The National Civic League (NCL) is one of the leading proponents of citizen democracy in the United States. Founded in 1894 by Theodore Roosevelt and other government reformers, it is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to building community and promoting political reform at the local level. NCL accomplishes its mission through facilitating community processes and conducting and publishing research on political reform and community building. Through its All-America City Award program, NCL also celebrates community engagement efforts across the nation. For more information, visit www.ncl.org. |
