Contact:
Matt Bach
Michigan Municipal League
O: (734) 669-6317; C: (810) 874-1073
[email protected]
www.mml.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2023
Projects are from Bridgman, Coldwater, Hart, Holland, Port Huron, Wayne, Grandville, Meridian Township and Westland
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Nine projects have been submitted to compete for the statewide Community Excellence Award (CEA)—the most prestigious Michigan Municipal League community honor.
The communities that have submitted the projects are Bridgman, Coldwater, Hart, Holland, Port Huron, Wayne, Grandville, Meridian Township and Westland. The League thanks and recognizes each community for their submission.
A small voting board will determine this year’s four finalists. These top four projects will go on to compete at the League’s Convention, where they will present their projects on the main stage and market their projects at designated CEA finalist booths. This year’s Convention is taking place in Traverse City October 18-20. Convention attendees will vote for their favorite project, with the project winning the most votes awarded the official Community Excellence Award during the closing general session.
“We are excited about the projects that have been submitted,” said Barb Ziarko, the President of the League’s Board of Trustees and Sterling Heights City Councilmember. “We would like to thank each community participating this year. Projects like these are vital to creating thriving communities across the state.”
Since 2007, the CEA has been the League’s most prestigious community award. It’s also affectionately called “The Race for the Cup” because the winning community gets a large trophy and bragging rights for the year. The 2022 winner was the Imagine Cass Project Village of Cassopolis: Small, Rural, and Exceptional, which was submitted by the Village of Cassopolis. View past winners here.
Here is a look at this year’s projects (click on each project title for additional details):
- Bridgman – The Bridgman Courtyard
- Coldwater – Explore. Learn. Grow: How a Children’s Museum Revitalized Downtown
- Hart – The City of Hart presents: The H-Art Project Community culture initiative
- Holland – Community Impact Day 2023: Turning Ripples of Influence into Tidal Waves of Impact
- Port Huron – Port Huron’s McMorran Place Plaza Revitalization
- Wayne – Zeke the Therapy Dog
- Grandville – The Commons
- Meridian Township – Meridian Cares: Healing from Tragedy
- Westland – City of Westland: Mission to Mars Themed Playground
Information about the four finalists will be released on July 18. The League will provide that information in another press release.
For additional information contact the League’s Matt Bach, Assistant Director of Communications and Media, at (810) 874-1073 and [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.
###