City a finalist for national award

By Jim Mcnally
Published: April 01, 2009

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City and civic leaders learned Tuesday that Statesville has been chosen as a finalist in the All America City competition.

Statesville is one of 32 cities throughout the nation that will be vying for one of 10 All America City awards during the final competition in June in Tampa, Fla.

Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh said the news was refreshing.

"It's a great positive step for the city," he said. "And while we're excited about the prospect of going to Tampa and standing on a stage and telling the Statesville story, I'm just as proud of the work already done by the community to get this far."

David Bradley, president and CEO of the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce, agreed that it was encouraging to hear that the city was moving on to the next round in the competition.

"We got the word late this morning and we still haven't fully digested it," he said Tuesday. "Now we have to look what is in front of us."

Bradley said that over the course of the next two months, he and other community leaders will be putting together a "well-choreographed presentation."

The focus of the 10-minute presentation will be to highlight the work the city is doing "to "overcome the obstacles it is facing," Bradley said.

Bradley said the organizing group will also work on logistical matters, such as finding ways to get a good number of Statesville residents to the event in Florida.

"We have some hard work in front of us," Bradley said. "But it will be a labor of joy."

Statesville City Manager Rob Hites said the size of the crowd that attends the finals event weighs heavily on the judges' decision.

Hites, who has been a manager for other cities who had been chosen, said that one of the first things asked during the presentation process is how many people from the city have come.

But Bradley is still taking a small amount of time to bask in the glory of Statesville's being in the running as an All America City.

"It is a great honor" just have been named as a finalist, he said. "In a year when good news has been hard to come by, this was really good to hear."

Statesville was named an All America City in 1997. The award has been presented by the National Civic League since 1949.

According the group's Web site, the award is "America's oldest and most prestigious community recognition award."

The site tells that the award honors "communities of all sizes (cities, towns, counties, neighborhoods and regions) in which citizens, government, businesses and voluntary organizations work together to address critical local issues."