ACE Star Award Winners 2022
The ACE Star Awards recognizes individuals considered as the “shining stars” of the ACE program who have performed beyond the call of duty.…
Alabama Communities of Excellence Announces Class of 2021
Aliceville, Ashville, Luverne, and Ozark Join ACE Program MONTGOMERY, Ala. (August 30, 2021) — Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) announced on Friday, August…
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Gardendale Celebrates Becoming A Designated ACE Community
During the Alabama League of Municipalities conference in May, ACE Board President and Chair Carrie Banks announced the official designation of Gardendale as…
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Summer 2021 Executive Director’s Report from Mary Shell
ACE is back to work recruiting a class for 2021! The application is available on our website, along with a video of our recent workshop with tips for successfully…
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ACE Presents Educational Workshop with Community Seeds Partners
On Thursday, June 17, Alabama Communities of Excellence participated in the first Community Seeds workshop in ACE Town Montevallo with about 70 attendees…
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Gardendale Designated as Alabama Community of Excellence, Fairhope Recertified as ACE City
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (May 20, 2021) — On Saturday, May 15, 2021, Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) designated Gardendale as an “Alabama Community of…
Update on USDA-RD Grant Progress
from Executive Director Mary ShellIn 2020, ACE received a grant from USDA-Rural Development to assist 10 of our existing communities with updates to…
Alabama Communities of Excellence and ACE Community Organizations Awarded Grants from Alabama State Council on the Arts
On December 4, 2020, the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) announced that Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) and organizations in ACE…
ACE Announces 2020 STAR Award Recipients
The Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) announced the recipients of the 2020 STAR Awards at the November 11, 2020, Associates Council Meeting. The ACE…
ACE Designates Two Cities as “Alabama Communities of Excellence” and Re-certifies One City for 2020
The Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) announced Boaz and Center Point have earned the designation of an “Alabama Community of Excellence” Thursday, July…
Executive Director’s Report: July 2020
Greetings to everyone and hope you are staying safe, wearing your mask and helping your community through these difficult times. On a high note,…
ACE Star Awards
The ACE Star Award recognizes individuals considered to be the “shining stars” of the ACE Program and have performed above and beyond the call of…
Executive Director’s Report May 2020
May is usually a vibrant month when we would honor ACE communities being designated and recertified and when many of us would be attending the Your Town Alabama workshop.
New CDBG Grant Program to Address COVID-19 Impacts Announced
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is in the process of developing a special Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant…
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ACE Presents 2019 Star Awards at Annual Community Reunion
CLANTON, ALABAMA. The Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) presented the 2019 ACE Star Awards at the Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) Annual Community…
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ACE Designates Three Cities as Alabama Communities of Excellence and Announces the 2019 Incoming Class
The Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) announced that Florala and Gardendale will join ACE as the 2019 incoming class and revealed that Bay…
USDA Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program Applications
USDA Announces Opening Date for Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program Applications WASHINGTON, March 29, 2019 – Acting Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development…
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Delta Regional Authority (DRA) Grants
Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has opened the 2019 application cycle to provide investments through its available funding opportunities. Organizations and communities can apply…
2019 AARP Community Challenge Grant
The AARP Community Challenge grant program is part of the nationwide AARP Livable Communities initiative that helps communities become great places to live…
NPS Historic Preservation Grants
The National Park Service is accepting applications for $5 million in grants to support the preservation of historic buildings in rural communities across…
ARC POWER Initiative Grant Application
POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) is a congressionally funded initiative that targets federal resources to help communities and regions…
2019 NPS Challenge Cost Share Application
Announcing the 2019 Challenge Cost Share Program: Got a great idea that will help people enjoy and protect a national park, national trail,…
Design Alabama: Accepting Applications for DesignCall- Due March 1st
DesignPlace Call for Applications: March 1st Deadline If you are a community that has participated in the DesignAlabama Mayors Design Summit, this is…
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ACE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ITS 2019 CLASS
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)…
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Application Training Workshop
2019 Application Training Workshop 1-11-19 App Training Workshop Agenda Presentation 1-11-19 application training DEFINITION OF AN ACE COMMUNITY Sample town council resolutions …
New Officers Elected for 2019 ACE Program
NEWS RELEASE New Officers Elected for the 2019 ACE Program Contact: Ms. Sidney Hoover, (205) 567-3248 As the Alabama Communities…
Rural Resilience by Dr. Joe Sumners
Dr. Joe Sumners addresses his experience living in Creswell, Alabama and focuses on the issues surrounding rural Alabama communities. While easily, identified problems…
ACE develops a path to improve walkability in towns
Until the 20th century, most city residents had to walk to take care of regular activities, such as shopping, attending church or…
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City of Brewton: America in Bloom Award
(Columbus, OH): Top honors for the prestigious 2018 America in Bloom National Awards Program were announced at the annual symposium and awards celebration…
UACED Partners in Walkability Workshop
UACED was a partner bringing together teams from nine small communities (with populations between 2,000 and 18,000) across Alabama for the “ACE Communities…
Thomasville, AL A Regional Model for Rural Success
Located 100 miles from the nearest urban center in one of Alabama’s poorest regions, Thomasville is shifting the narrative for a multi-county area within the Black Belt through collaboration, forward-thinking and steadfastly refusing to accept the status quo.
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Heflin Announces Transformation of Former High School into a State of the Art Assisted Living and Memory Care Community
Heflin, AL – Heflin Main Street in conjunction with the City of Heflin Industrial and Economic Development Board is excited to announce the…
Developing Workers by Working Together
Recent ACE Reunion focused on the need for collaboration to produce more skilled labor By Cary Estes The American Village in Montevallo was…
Walkable Communities Workshop 2018
ACE Communities Workshop: Walkable and Vibrant Small Towns in Montevallo, Alabama! A-Workshop-Program B-Background-on-Communities C-Benefits-and-Strategies Presentation (AW): Walking and Walkability: America Walks – http://americawalks.org…
ACE Presents the 2018 Star Awards at the Annual Community Reunion
The Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) presented the 2018 ACE Star Awards at the Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) Annual Community Reunion July 20th in Montevallo, Alabama at the Liberty Hall Ballroom at the American Village. This was the fourth annual ACE Community Reunion, with highlights on WORKFORCE.
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ACE Reunion 2018
Event Presentations Agenda – 2018 ACE Reunion 2018 – Building Workforce – The Big Picture by Dr. Joe Sumners Region 4 AlabamaWorks -…
Gulf Shores is an Alabama Community of Excellence adjusting to shifting sands for growth
By Cary Estes, July 18, 2018 Given enough time – decades if not centuries – the steady combination of waves and wind will…
ACE Designates Geneva as an Alabama Community of Excellence
Geneva, Alabama earned the designation of an “Alabama Community of Excellence” Saturday, May 19, 2018 at the Opening Session of the Alabama League…
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Foley uses its location to become an Alabama Communities of Excellence destination
Located in southern Baldwin County just 10 miles from the popular soft, sand beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast, Foley has been transformed…
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Spirit of cooperation enables Fayette to flourish as an Alabama Community of Excellence
For nearly 75 years, one of Alabama’s most iconic food concoctions has been produced in the small town of Fayette. The delightfully gooey…
What does it take to be an Alabama Community of Excellence?
By Sidney Hoover Sidney Hoover is executive director of the Alabama Communities of Excellence. A growing number of towns are earning the Alabama…
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ACE Elects New Officers as Program Celebrates 16th Anniversary
As the Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) begins its16th year of assisting selected smaller Alabama communities reach their economic potential, we cordially welcome…
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Leeds steers course to being an Alabama Community of Excellence
By Cary Estes for @Alabama Newscenter Leeds is a mere 15 miles east of the ever-sprawling Birmingham, and signs of big-city encroachment are…
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Guntersville is an Alabama Community of Excellence basking in a lake-effect glow
It is easy to see the appeal of the Guntersville area. All one has to do is look around. Nestled on the edge of a picturesque 69,000-acre lake with lush tree-lined mountains in nearly every direction, Guntersville is a place that puts the “great” in the great outdoors, which is why it is one of the top tourist draws in Alabama.
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Heflin is happening, thanks to Alabama Communities of Excellence
Ever since graduating from the Alabama Communities of Excellence program in 2007, Heflin officials have embraced the ACE approach of establishing connections with a variety of entities, and then collaborating toward a common goal to strengthen the town’s long-term economic success.
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Montevallo puts the pieces together as an Alabama Community of Excellence
“ACE provided us with a platform to consolidate our vision as a community,” second-term Montevallo Mayor Hollie Cost said. “They brought us together to develop a strategic plan, and then we had direction.”
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There’s no doubting Thomasville as an Alabama Community of Excellence
The town of Thomasville sits about 100 miles away from Mobile to the south, Montgomery to the east and Tuscaloosa to the north. Some might say this places the rural community in the middle of nowhere. Longtime Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day prefers to say that the city actually is “in the center of everything.”
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Haleyville answers the call as an Alabama Community of Excellence
“ACE gives you the structure of how to work on these things, then it goes through the steps of how to accomplish them,” said Haleyville Mayor Ken Sunseri, who was elected in 2008 and is serving his third term.
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ACE 2017 Reunion
ACE Reunion 2017 Documents AGENDA 7-14-17 Reunion Digital Engagement During Uncertain Times Part I ‐ Cybersecurity and Privacy Issues for Municipalities Brandon N.…
2017 ACE Star Awards
The 2017 ACE Star Award recipients include:
Ms. Tana Collins, Outstanding ACE Local Coordinator (Jasper)
The Honorable Robert Joslin, Outstanding ACE Mayor (Arab)
Reverend Willie Blue, Outstanding ACE Volunteer (Brewton)
Mr. Brandon Bias, Outstanding ACE Ambassador (Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc.)
Dr. Arturo Menefee, Exceptional ACE Leadership (Auburn University – Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
ACE Designates Three Communities as an “Alabama Community of Excellence” and Announces the 2017 Incoming Class
For more information, contact: Sidney Hoover, ACE Executive Director Sidney.Hoover@outlook.com; 205-567-3248 JASPER, ONEONTA, SPANISH FORT, BAY MINETTE, BOAZ, CENTER POINT, CHELSEA, HANCEVILLE AND TALLASSEE…
Alabama Communities of Excellence marks 15 years of boosting towns across the state
Small towns throughout Alabama may not have all of the tools for growth and development that the big cities have, but they do…
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Three Cities To Be Designated an Alabama Community of Excellence
Three Alabama communities, Jasper, Oneonta and Spanish Fort will be designated as an “Alabama Community of Excellence” at the Opening Session of the…
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