Columbus wins All-American City award

Business First of Columbus - 2:27 PM EDT Tuesday

 

The National Civic League named Columbus one of ten all-American cities in a competition that recognizes community engagement efforts.

 

Mayor Michael B. Coleman led a team of community leaders and businessmen in a competition showing off Columbus' community service programs.

 

Full story at:

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/06/12/daily16.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Columbus is a great city, but I lived in a city last year that was voted by these folks an "All American City," too, and that place was horrible. I'd much rather be in Columbus.

Same here.  I lived in Ottumwa, Iowa the year it got the award (1977) and it was all because they closed a downtown street and built a pedestrian mall: good idea, but they never followed through with the rest of their downtown (which was pretty depressed).  The downtown deteriorated and ultimately the pedestrian mall was torn up in the late 1980's and the street reopened.

 

Some cities truly deserve the award and I think Columbus and Maumee both deserve the recognition.  But in many cases, the winners are determined by how good of a PR campaign they can put on.

The Dispatch finally does a story on it:

 

 

City regains its All-America title

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Matt Tullis

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Crews are taking down those faded signs heralding Columbus as an All-America City in 1992 and putting up new ones.

 

Fourteen years later, the city has once again earned the distinction.

 

But other than new signs, does it matter?

 

More at:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/06/17/20060617-D1-02.html