Chamber of Commerce

All-America City I t seems fitting that the "All-American City" should get the All-America City award, and Fayetteville brought the honor home for the third time in 2011. The City also won the All-America City award in 1985 and 2001. A delegation of approximately 60 peo- ple, including local officials and children, went to represent Fayetteville in Kansas City, Miss. at the final judging for the award. They described to the panel of judges how Fayetteville has shed its for- mer "Fayettenam" image and became a cleaner, thriving community with a strong economy. The judges said they were impressed with the city's revitalization efforts and with a 90-second online video which high- lights the transformation from the nega- tive "Fayettenam" to the positive "Fay- etteNOW". And it couldn't have hurt that our city's team at the award conference in Kansas City, Mo. were accompanied by a spirited, patriotic presentation that fea- tured marching, singing soldiers from the 82nd Airborne All-American Chorus. "We're thrilled to win this award," May- or Tony Chavonne said. "Everyone deliv- ered and the 82nd Airborne All-American Chorus conveyed the heart and soul of our community. I am so proud of our delega- tion and excited that our city is an All- America City for the third time. So much hard work went into winning and it really paid off." Each year the National Civic League recognizes ten communities for outstand- ing civic accomplishments. Winning cities must demonstrate innovation, inclusive- ness, civic engagement, and cross-sector collaboration by describing successful efforts to address pressing local challeng- es. The All-America City designation has helped communities win grants and new resources and attract new employers. Fayetteville's presentation focused on its strong economy, great housing market, how the community has promoted litera- cy with the Cumberland County Schools' Reading Rocks! program and the com- 56 | Accents • 2011 - 2012 A delegation of 60 people were with Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne in Kansas City, Mo. when it was announced that the city had won the honor. munity's solid ties with the military. Also discussed was how Fayetteville responded to massive changes brought about by the Base Realignment and Closure Commis- sion's decision to expand Fort Bragg. Fayetteville also won the award for the most popular video highlighting a com- munity during the National Civic League's award conference by garnering the most "likes" in a Facebook contest. The city had more than 1,850 fans when the deadline was reached. Representatives from the 22 other towns competing in the contest went home with reminders of Fayetteville. Each attendee received a blue beach bucket filled with goodies, including a compact disc recording of the the 82nd Airborne Division All Ameri- can Chorus, a personal note from Mayor Chavonne and an American flag that had been flown in the Field of Honor outside the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. Fayetteville representatives also volun- teered to box up and send 250 care pack- ages collected during the conference to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each city helped fill 10 care packages. When the delegation returned to Fay- etteville about 4,500 local residents turned out to celebrate the win with a con- cert and party in Festival Park that fea- tured free apple pie and ice cream. "For 10 minutes in Kansas City," Mayor Chavonne told the crowd, "the rest of the country heard your story, and everyone in the room stood and applauded your story." H

• Cover