HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-14-2011 South Bend sends 60 to All-America City competition sau ro� a&�V
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Office of the Mayor
NEWS RELEASE
June 14,2011
7:30 a.m.
South Bend sends 60 to All-America City competition
Contact: Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications&Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564
A delegation of 60 community members—more than half of them youth—will leave
Tuesday morning,June 14 to represent South Bend in the All-America City competition
June 15-17 in Kansas City, Mo.
Supported entirely by private contributions, the delegation will make a presentation about
three projects that highlight how South Bend has responded to challenges facing the city
with community-based problem solving, grassroots civic engagement and partnerships
involving public, private and nonprofit sectors.
South Bend was named in April as one of 26th finalists in the National Civic League's
62nd annual competition for outstanding civic accomplishment, which is considered"a
civic `Oscar' for communities of all sizes." To become a finalist, each participant
completed an application describing three community projects to address local
challenges. At least one community project must focus on the needs of young people.
"Being named as an All-America City finalist highlights not only the projects in our
application but also the bright future for South Bend because of the people and
partnerships that create the collaboration, civic engagement and innovation recognized by
this award," said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. "We have a lot to be proud of as a city—not
only for this national recognition, but for the way the entire community has responded in
support of this effort."
This year's entry by the City of South Bend was the first since being a finalist in 2009
when South Bend finished just outside the winner's circle. Two years ago, an 18-member
delegation traveled by plane to the 60th-annual competition in Tampa, Fla. With this
year's event within driving distance, a delegation three times larger than in 2009 is
traveling by bus.
South Bend's effort has received strong support from more than 50 organizations,
including the University of Notre Dame,the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce
and the South Bend/Mishawaka Convention & Visitors Bureau, each of which are
represented in South Bend's delegation. Several businesses and institutions have
provided significant financial support and 20 individual households also have made
contributions, the latter sending in gifts of as little as $5.
South Bend's application highlighted three projects, and its delegation includes
representatives of each of these groups:
• Revitalization of the Northeast Neighborhood, in which neighborhood residents,the
City of South Bend,the University of Notre Dame and other key partners
redeveloped the area near campus. (This effort recently received the National League
of Cities' 2010 Gold Award of Municipal Excellence.)
• Transformation of the former Engman Natatorium, a public facility that was a
landmark of segregation, into the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights
Heritage Center, a symbol of hope and opportunity as part of the city's museum
campus.
• Development of 212° STARS, a grassroots effort among a coalition of parachurch
agencies, student volunteers and others to create a peer-to-peer intervention effort to
reduce high-school dropout rates.
In addition, 19 representatives of the Pathfinders Drum Corps from the Berean Seventh-
day Adventist Church in South Bend will lead the delegation into the auditorium. The
Pathfinders Drum Choir also is scheduled as the closing performer in the All-America
City Awards' Cultural Entertainment Showcase on Thursday evening, June 16.
In all, 23 of the finalists were able to send delegations to the event. The 10 winning
communities for the nation's most prestigious civic award will be announced one-by-one
between 7 and 9 p.m. CDT(8-10 p.m. EDT)June 17. Those with an Internet connection
can watch each community's presentations and the awards ceremony live. The stream
will be available on U-Stream TV and the All-America City blog:
www.allamericacityaward.co m
The conference schedule includes:
Tuesday,June 14
--8 a.m.EDT Leave for Kansas City,MO
--6 p.m. CDT Arrive in Kansas City,MO
Wednesday,June 15(all times CDT)
9 a.m. -noon--Presentation rehearsals
--3-4 p.m. --Presentation Rehearsals
--4-5 p.m. --Opening Session
--5-6 p.m. --Welcome Reception
Thursday,June 16(all times CDT)
--8 a.m. -5 p.m. --Presentations
11:30 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. SOUTH BEND'S PRESENTATION
--6-8 p.m. Civic Action Fair/Cultural Entertainment Showcase
Friday,June 17(all times CDT)
--8:30 a.m.- 11:10 a.m. --Presentations
--7-9 p.m. Awards Ceremony--Winning communities are announced one by one
Mikki Dobski,Dir.
_.• �• ., Communications and Special Projects
1400 County-City Bldg
w I So.Bend,IN 46601
574-235-5855 w
574-876-1564 c
�... 574-235-9892 fax
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