Contact: Ms. Sidney Hoover, (205) 567-3248 – Sidney.Hoover@outlook.com
Ms. Maranda Weathers, (334) 790-1526 – Maranda.Weathers@outlook.com
The Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) program has launched the competitive application process to select its 2019 class. The ACE Program offers a variety of professional expertise to help Alabama’s smaller cities have a more vibrant future by focusing on their distinctive assets and resources. Alabama cities with populations ranging between 2,000 and 18,000 are eligible to apply for consideration to be admitted into the incoming 2019 ACE class.
To assist interested communities learn more about the ACE program and the competitive selection process, ACE invites Mayors and other key community leaders such as City Clerk, City Administrator, and City Council representatives to register to attend one of two sessions of a FREE application training workshop to be held in Montgomery on Friday, January 11, 2019.
Both sessions of the application training workshop will cover the same material.
Friday, January 11, 2019*
Alabama Municipal Electric Authority Training Room
80 Techna Center Drive Montgomery, AL 36117.
— Session A: 9:30 am – 11:30 am
OR
— Session B: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm.
*NOTE: In event of inclement weather on January 11th, the weather contingency date for rescheduling the workshop would be Friday, January 18, 2019.
Although the workshop is FREE, registration is required as space is limited. Registration will be open until full capacity is reached. For workshop registration, visit the Alabama Communities of Excellence website: https://www.alabamacommunitiesofexcellence.org/ event/2019workshop.
The workshops will include brief welcome and introductions and an overview of the ACE organization. Participants will hear first-hand from a current ACE community how the program has assisted their community. Additionally, the time commitment and specific program requirements to become an ACE community will be reviewed. The application process is highly competitive; therefore, an outline of the selection process and a review of the actual application and information requirements will be covered. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions that are specific to communities.
Those communities selected to participate in the incoming ACE class will enjoy a number of benefits from the program. While completing the program’s three phases, communities receive some of the best technical assistance available. More importantly, the community maps out its unique vision and sets a direction for it to follow to achieve sustainable economic and community development. In addition, cities designated as an Alabama Community of Excellence receive exposure in statewide publications promoting ACE communities and on the ACE website and are recognized as a community “prepared for growth and development.”
The deadline for submitting applications is Monday, March 11, 2019. The selection process is highly competitive, and ACE anticipates accepting only 4 to 6 new communities. The communities selected to participate in the 2019 ACE Class will be announced during the Alabama League of Municipalities’ Annual Convention in May 2019. Full details of the application process and the application form are available on the ACE website: https://www.alabamacommunitiesofexcellence.org/apply/
Please direct any questions regarding the application or training workshop to: Ms. Sidney Hoover by email (Sidney.Hoover@outlook.com) or call (205) 567-3248, or you may contact Ms. Maranda Weathers by email (Maranda.Weathers@outlook.com) or call (334) 790-1526.