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Contact: Percy Ashcraft
Fax (804) 633-4970 |
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Press Release
Caroline Delegation
Competes for
While
Caroline was not one of the ten (10) winners announced at the awards ceremony
on Friday night, County officials were pleased with the effort and thrilled to
be asked to compete for the prestigious award. "Simply being selected as an
While
All-America City Award officials would not release the number of applicants in
this year's competition, approximately 200 municipalities contacted the
National Civic League during the application process.
The
application and presentation focused on the themes of conservation, innovation,
and investment.
Conservation (Communication) - Two
specific programs captured the attention of the judges for the conservation and
communication component of the application. First was the Homeowner's
Guide to Waterfront Living brochure created by the Department of Planning
and Community Development with cooperation from the Chesapeake Bay Local
Assistance Division of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The guide provides concise, easily understood
advice to citizens with waterfront property on how to comply with relevant
sections of the Chesapeake Bay Protection Act.
The
second program featured was the Caroline Alert System, a cooperative effort of
county agencies and government designed to provide emergency and non-emergency information
to residents in real time. Both
initiatives highlighted the County's information outreach efforts to its
citizens, above and beyond the existing County newsletter and website. During his presentation to the selection
committee, Planning Director Mike Finchum emphasized that "new technologies
provide new opportunities to get information to people in a timely manner. However, it is also important not to forget
traditional forms of communication that many people still rely on for their
information".
The
Innovation piece focused on the
Ladysmith Growth Management Plan, a "bottom-up", citizen driven process to
manage growth in the Ladysmith area and mandate specific controls and
requirements designed to create a village atmosphere. According to LACPAC Chairman Frank Hammon,
"it has been nearly a three year process by the Ladysmith citizens to meet the
residents' needs, and we are beginning to see those efforts become reality with
Ladysmith Village, Union Bank and Trust building and the Ladysmith Commons project. It was that 'concept to
reality' we presented to the judges in
The
final component of the application was Investment
in Caroline's future as evidenced by the Caroline's' Promise youth program. Caroline's Promise offers diverse programs
that enhance the lives of
Wayne
Acors, Madison District Supervisor, remarked on the experience of being an All-
American finalist. "It was truly a
wonderful experience and we all learned a lot. We hope to compete again next year and bring the award home to
Caroline".
As
part of the ceremonies, each finalist created a quilt square. The completed quilt will be assembled and
delivered to all finalists for a two week visit. Plans are to display the quilt in the new
2008