Contact:
Jessica Weirauch
Michigan Municipal League
[email protected], 734-669-6311
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2024
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The City of Houghton was announced as the 2024 winner of the Michigan Municipal League’s Community Excellence Award (CEA) on Friday, September 13, during the closing general session at this year’s Convention on Mackinac Island.
Houghton is a community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and located on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The Connecting Houghton project marks the second community from the U.P. that has won the CEA, the first community being the City of Ironwood in 2013.
“Being chosen to compete put Houghton in really great company,” said Eric Waara, City Manager of Houghton. “To be recognized statewide is an incredible honor for our city, our volunteers, our Department of Public Works, and all the people who work to make us a great place to live. Winning the CEA was an incredible honor.”
The Connecting Houghton project linked the community’s downtown to their waterfront. They replaced aging infrastructure and a deteriorated parking deck with a community gathering place. Houghton’s downtown now features a designated place for celebrations and amenities, including new sidewalks, public art, rain gardens and more. Additional details are available on the League’s CEA website here.
“We wanted to celebrate and show what we as a community did to bring people together and create spaces for them on a limited budget, and how even the simplest things can make a difference — and show other communities that they can do it too.” said Waara. “Our story is about what small groups of people can accomplish after those large infrastructure investments are made and what that can do for your community.”
The CEA is the League’s highest community honor, and winners are determined by a vote by their peers of local government officials at Convention. Houghton and the other three finalists (Brighton, Grandville and Oak Park) presented their projects to Convention attendees on the main stage on Wednesday, September 11. Voting was available following the presentations Wednesday through the end of Convention activities Thursday evening. Plante Moran sponsors the CEA and assists with the voting process.
“On behalf of the League and local leaders across our state, congratulations to the Connecting Houghton project on winning the 2024 Community Excellence Award,” said League Board of Trustees President Don Gerrie, who also serves as mayor of Sault Ste. Marie. “I am proud that an example of exemplary work in the U.P. has received this important recognition. I would also like to thank every community who submitted their projects this year. We should all be proud of what we are accomplishing in our communities.”
The CEA was first awarded in 2007 and has since been the League’s most prestigious community award. The competition for the honor is affectionately referred to as “The Race for the Cup” because of the large trophy that is presented to the winner each year. The 2023 CEA winner was The Bridgman Courtyard; learn more about the project here.
The submission period for this year’s award was March 12–May 17. There were 14 communities who submitted projects this year, and preliminary voting to determine this year’s four finalists was done by a small voting board. The League thanks every community who participated.
To view video footage of Houghton accepting this year’s award, visit the Legue’s Facebook and Instagram profiles (@mmleague).
For questions about the Community Excellence Award, visit cea.mml.org or contact the League’s Heather Elliott, Member Experience Coordinator, Member Experience and Learning, at 734-669-6362 or [email protected].
For additional information, contact the League’s Jessica Weirauch, Director, Marketing and Communications, at 734-669-6311 or [email protected].
Michigan Municipal League is dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities. The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C. and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services. Learn more at mml.org.
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