MONTGOMERY – The Alabama League of Municipalities announced the Alabama Communities of Excellence STAR Award recipients at its annual Municipal Leadership Institute and graduation/awards ceremonies on November 8, 2023, in Orange Beach. The League presents the ACE STAR Awards to acknowledge ACE advisory board members, ambassadors, community participants and volunteers who have gone above and beyond in assisting the organization and the communities they serve.
2023 Outstanding ACE Ambassador – Melissa Perault of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Ozark Area Office
Melissa is an avid supporter of ACE. ACE Ambassadors are the boots-on-the-ground experts dispatched to communities during Phase 1 of the program. She has written support letters and participated in all Ozark community meetings involved with their strategic planning process. Additionally, she was integral in helping the ACE program apply, and receive, a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Grant in 2020. This grant helped 10 ACE communities update their strategic plans over the course of 18 months.