U.S. Conference Of Mayors Presents Public-Private Partnership Awards
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Conference of Mayors today recognized outstanding partnerships between cities and companies at the Conference's 75th Winter Meeting. In addition to Las Vegas (NV) Mayor Oscar B. Goodman who serves as Chair of the Mayors and Business Community Task Force, Trenton Mayor and Conference President Douglas H. Palmer participated in the awards ceremony.
In announcing the awards, Mayor Goodman remarked, "Today's awards recognize five successful and outstanding relationships between cities and businesses. They support the Conference's message of creating a strong and engaged business community inside our organization, sharing and working with us on visions of success to make our cities-and ultimately our nation - economically stronger."
The Mayors' Business Council established the awards to encourage businesses and cities to work together to improve local communities. An independent panel of judges was appointed by the Conference of Mayors to review the submissions. Criteria upon which their selections were made included: improvement in delivery of services, replicability, sustainability, cost savings, creativity of approach, benefits to both public and private partners, economic and business benefits, and measurable results.
There are two award categories: One Award of Excellence and Four Outstanding Achievement Awards.
The award winners and program descriptions are as follows:
AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE:
| City | Business Council Member | Partnership |
|---|---|---|
| Miami, FL | InCharge Education Foundation, Inc. | "BPOP Miami FL" |
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:
| City | Business Council Member | Partnership |
|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX | Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP | "Project Houston Hope - LARA" |
| Las Cruces, NM | Comcast Cable | "City of Las Cruces Television" |
| Seattle, WA | Starbucks Coffee Company | "Powell Barnett Legacy Park Project" |
| Trenton, NJ | The Sherwin Williams Company | "HOMEWORK" |
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE:
Miami, FL / InCharge Education Foundation, Inc.
The "BPOP Miami FL" project, (Bilingual Parents Outreach Program), which in partnership between both the city and InCharge Education Foundation, created a Financial Literacy Program for Underserved Families.
Since its inception, this program has provided approximately $17,700 in funds and in-kind services, has recruited 24 teachers and has served 5,760 parents. This partnership has had immediate effects on participants, contributing to a steady rate of declining poverty, as well as longer term effects. The sustainability of this partnership improves not only the lives of low-moderate income families and individuals, but the future of Miami's economic development and community health as a whole.
For more information on BPOP Miami FL, please contact: Alberto (Al) Duarte, InCharge Education Foundation, Inc. at: (407) 532-5896 or aduarte@incharge.org or William Porro, City of Miami at: (305) 416-2181 or wporro@miamigov.com.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:
Houston, TX / Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP
The "Houston Hope - LARA" Initiative, Working together to revitalize older inner-city neighborhoods, Houston Hope began by developing a legal process to acquire vacant and distressed properties. This enabled the City to develop each acquired property, through the participation of non-profit community development corporations, and sell them to low income families. Currently, the total number of acquired chronic tax delinquent and abandoned properties is 592 in the City of Houston.
For more information please contact: Lisa Stolar, Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP at: (713) 844-3437 or Stephen Tinnermon, City of Houston at: (713) 247-1307 or Stephen.Tinnermon@cityofhouston.net.
Las Cruces, NM / Comcast Cable
The City of Las Cruces Television project helped to develop a 24 hour news channel for the City of Las Cruces with both news and information regarding city activities. Since its inception, public safety communications have improved, attendance at city-sponsored events has risen and active involvement in city government has become prevalent.
For more information please contact: John Christopher, Vice President & General Manager, Comcast Cable at (505) 523-2536 ext. 1306 or john_r_christopher@cable.comcast.com or Yolanda Valenzuela, City of Las Cruces at: (505) 541-2067 or yolandav@las-cruces.org.
Seattle, WA / Starbucks Coffee Company
The Powell Barnett Legacy Park Project began with a park in much need of improvements. The park was dedicated in 1969 to the legacy of civil rights advocate Mr. Powell S. Barnett. The partnership not only provided funds through the Starbucks Parks Fund, but also inspired in-kind donations of labor, material and other support from community vendors, which in turn leveraged the Starbucks gift into a $1 million project of revitalization.
For more information please contact: Lois Maag, Community Relations Manager, Starbucks Coffee Company at (206) 903-8224 ext. 2523 or lmaag@starbucks.com or Marianne Bichsel, City of Seattle at (206) 684-8878.
Trenton, NJ / The Sherwin Williams Company
The HOMEWORK Project was created as a workforce development and senior center improvement effort in order to provide professional painter training and lead-safe property maintenance assistance to job seekers via the Mayor's Office of Employment and Training (MOET). Trenton, within its first year, has completed the first two of its scheduled classes with 32 residents graduating. The on-the-job training exercises have spruced up two senior centers in the city.
For more information please contact: Antonio Dias, Jones Day/The Sherwin Williams Company at (412) 394-7240 or afdias@jonesday.com or Kent Ashworth, City of Trenton at: (609) 989-3030 or kashworth@trentonnj.org.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor.