Huntington, West Virginia advanced into the finals of the America’s Best Communities (ABC) competition, a $10 million campaign that has inspired small towns and cities to pursue innovative solutions for revitalization. As one of only eight finalists nationwide, Huntington was awarded a $100,000 prize grant from competition sponsors Frontier Communications, DISH Network, CoBank and The Weather Channel. This funding award will empower the finalists to bring their new economic revitalization strategies to life.
Charleston, West Virginia and Portsmouth, Ohio, also were awarded $25,000 each at theABC Summit to pursue several initiatives included in its Community Revitalization Plan. While the two communities will not advance into the finals, the teams will return home with new funding to continue implementing their respective plans.
The eight finalists stretch across the country: Chisago Lakes Area, Minnesota; Darrington/Arlington, Washington; Huntington, West Virginia; Lake Havasu City, Arizona; Madison, Indiana; Statesboro, Georgia; Tualatin, Oregon; and Valley County/Meadows Valley, Idaho were selected as finalists and will now continue their journey toward earning the competition’s $6 million in top prizes.
“America’s Best Communities prize campaign challenged small towns and cities across the country to dream big and pave their own way to a brighter future,” said Maggie Wilderotter, former CEO of Frontier Communications. “More than 350 communities answered the call, and now eight remain in the running. In these determined, hardworking communities, people from all walks of life came together to successfully reimagine their future and reinvigorate their community. And in the end, we all win, because the wealth of creative ideas coming from this contest will be implemented and shared with communities across the country.”
In the competition’s quarterfinal round, 50 communities — from the pool of over 350 participants — were awarded $50,000 in seed money to develop a Community Revitalization Plan and each was paired with a major corporation that served as a strategic adviser as part of the competition’s Adopt-a-Community Program. From this class of 50 quarterfinalists, the 15 with the best plans — those with the most innovative ideas being effectively executed — were named semifinalists this past January.
This week, the 15 semifinalist communities gathered in Durham for the ABC Summit, each pitching their proposal to a panel of expert judges and outlining why their plan has the greatest potential to jumpstart redevelopment and generate sustained revitalization.
In a surprise announcement, Frontier also awarded $25,000 to each of the seven communities that did not advance into the finals. This means all of the communities will return home with funding to continue implementing their plans.
“By providing a hand up to communities in need, this competition has helped small towns and cities lift themselves up by their bootstraps and live their own American dream,” said Vince Gill, spokesperson for the competition and country music legend. “Music has always provided people with an escape from the difficulties they face. That’s why I’m proud to be working with America’s Best Communities to help our neighbors in rural America not just escape their challenges, but tackle them head on.”
Frontier, DISH, CoBank and The Weather Channel teamed up to sponsor America’s Best Communities to inspire communities to transform their local economies and improve the lives and livelihoods of their citizens. By crowdsourcing new ideas to revitalize rural America, this campaign has helped identify innovative solutions that can serve as roadmaps to economic revival for other small and medium-sized communities across the U.S.
In April 2017, the top three communities making the largest impact and fostering long-term growth will be selected as the grand prize winners. The first-place community will receive $3 million and the second-place community $2 million, and $1 million for third.
“Hope can be a powerful force for positive change. When a community believes in itself, it can do great things,” said DISH EVP Brian Neylon. “We’ve seen it throughout the America’s Best Communities competition, and it seems pretty clear that the best is yet to come from this groundbreaking campaign.”
“America’s Best Communities proves that when you provide new opportunities and invest in rural America, the possibilities for revitalization and growth are endless,” CoBank CEO Bob Engel said. “When people are given the chance to pursue economic development, even the smallest of communities will rise to the occasion and take action to deliver on their dreams.”
“These communities have been through a lot, from overcoming economic decline to recovering after natural disasters to combatting unemployment. It has been inspiring to see local leaders and residents of these communities put those challenges behind them and instead focus entirely on how they can best restore and grow their hometown,” said Dave Shull, CEO of The Weather Channel.
To explore the communities’ revitalization strategies and for additional information on the competition, please visit www.americasbestcommunities.com.
