Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia will have the opportunity to continue their journeys toward winning the top prize in the $10 million America’s Best Communities competition. Frontier Communications officials today presented Charleston and Huntington with ceremonial tickets to the competition’s semifinals, which includes a trip to the America’s Best Communities Summit in April.
Sponsored by Frontier, DISH Network, CoBank and The Weather Channel, America’s Best Communities has instilled new hope and helped to inspire economic revitalization in small towns and cities across the country.
Huntington and Charleston are among the only 15 communities nationwide to advance into the semifinals and are now eligible to win major investments to implement their innovative Community Revitalization Plans.
“Great communities don’t just happen. They are the result of people working together for the common good. After achieving this milestone, it is clear Charleston and Huntington aren’t just great communities — they are among America’s best,” said Tammy Shingleton, area general manager for Frontier Communications in Charleston and Huntington. “The next stop for Huntington and Charleston will be the America’s Best Communities Summit in Durham, North Carolina on April 26 and 27. That’s where the teams will present their revitalization strategies for a chance to win a $100,000 prize grant and one of just eight spots in the competition finals.”
Joining Charleston and Huntington in the America’s Best Communities semifinals will be Portsmouth, Ohio; Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Statesboro, Georgia; Valley County/Meadows Valley, Idaho; Chisago Lakes Area, Minnesota; DeKalb, Illinois; Fort Dodge, Iowa; Darrington/Arlington, Washington; Valparaiso, Indiana; Tualatin, Oregon; Wenatchee/East Wenatchee, Washington; Madison, Indiana; and Angola/Fremont, Indiana.
About 350 communities across the country entered the competition, and 50 were selected as quarterfinalists in April 2015. Each of the 50 was awarded $50,000 in seed money to develop a Community Revitalization Plan and partnered with a major national or regional company that served as a strategic advisor as part of the competition’s Adopt-a-Community Program. Among the participating corporations were several members of the Fortune 500. Charleston was partnered with Avaya and Huntington with GE Fleet Leasing.
From this class of 50 quarterfinalist communities, the 15 with the best plans — those with the most innovative ideas being effectively executed — were named semifinalists.
In its Community Revitalization Plan, Charleston outlined projects and ideas that will help jumpstart the local economy and enhance quality of life. Their vision is to establish Charleston as the recreational, cultural and business capital of the Appalachian Mountains. Among other things, the plan focuses on revamping urban parks, creating a higher density housing mix and connecting downtown to area trails and bike paths.
Huntington’s revitalization plan, named the Huntington Innovation Project or HIP, focuses on transforming struggling neighborhoods and blighted spaces into hubs for making and manufacturing. The plan begins with three key initiatives in the Highlawn, Fairfield, and West End neighborhoods to spread community-wide prosperity and opportunity. HIP will renew the community and be a gateway for revitalization in the broader Tri-State and Appalachian region.
Charleston, Huntington and the other 13 semifinalist communities will attend the America’s Best Communities Summit April 26-27 in Durham, North Carolina, where they will present their proposals to a panel of expert judges and executives from the sponsoring companies.
At the end of the summit, eight communities will be named finalists and awarded $100,000 to bring their plans to life. They will have one year to implement their strategies, and the top three communities that make the largest impact and show the greatest potential for achieving sustainable revitalization will be selected as the grand prize winners. The top community will receive $3 million, with second place earning $2 million and $1 million for third.
The Community Revitalization Plans that Charleston and Huntington developed for the America’s Best Communities competition, as well as those from the other quarterfinalist communities, will be made public and accessible on americasbestcommunities.com. Competition sponsors are encouraging local leaders in small towns and cities nationwide to review these rural development strategies, which contain solutions that could strengthen communities across the U.S.
“America’s Best Communities has inspired towns and cities to come together in ways we never thought possible. People from all walks of life were united by this challenge to reimagine their future and reinvigorate their community. Already it has stimulated positive change and economic progress,” said Frontier Communications Executive Chairman Maggie Wilderotter.
“One in six of us calls rural America home. These communities are the backbone of our country,” said Vince Gill, the country music great who has served as a spokesperson for the competition. “America’s Best Communities has inspired new hope in rural America by providing a hand up, not a hand out. It’s helping our neighbors in small communities lift themselves up by their bootstraps and live their own American dream.”
To explore the communities’ revitalization strategies and for additional information on the competition, please visit www.americasbestcommunities.com.
