February 2008 Archives

Congratulations to Coffee County for making the Progressive Farmer’s “Best Places to Live in Rural America.
 
Each year Progressive Farmer compiles a list of rural counties based on certain criteria:  home and land prices, crime rates, environment, education, economic factors, access to health care and others.  Counties are first ranked using a proprietary formula based on these statistics, then arranged again based on editorial opinion after the magazine staff travels to the selected counties.  Coffee County is the first county in Alabama that has been selected for this list.  For more information, visit their website at www.progressivefarmer.com/bestplaces/coffee.

On March 6, 7, and 8, enter a late 1700s/early 1800s camp on the bank of the Alabama River at the Claiborne Lock and Dam.  Witness first-hand the lifestyles of the first inhabitants of Monroe County, when the area was filled with Creek Indians, European traders, travelers, American settlers, and militiamen.  Walk around the typical river campsite and talk to the demonstrators.  Join Creek Indians in a traditional game of “stick ball” and dance the traditional “stomp dance.”  This living history event is open for school groups and the public on Thursday and Friday from 9:00-4:00.  The festivities will continue through to Saturday, open to the general public, from 9:00-4:00.  

Noccalulla Falls, Gadsden, Alabama. Photo by Joe Watts

We're looking for images of Beautiful Alabama. In the coming months, we'll be collecting photos and displaying them on the Your Town Alabama blog. Please send in your favorites. Include location and who took the photo. These can be natural or man made scenes. We hope for lots of both! Send them to info@yourtownalabama.org.

Registration is now open for the next Your Town Alabama workshop, June 18-21, 2008. Learn more and register online by visiting www.yourtownalabama.org/form.htm

Dismals Canyon. Photo by Paul Kennedy

We're looking for images of Beautiful Alabama. In the coming months, we'll be collecting photos and displaying them on the Your Town Alabama blog. Please send in your favorites. Include location and who took the photo. These can be natural or man made scenes. We hope for lots of both! Send them to info@yourtownalabama.org.

The Economic & Community Development Institute at Auburn University is pleased to offer its second retail development course for economic developers, Chamber of Commerce officials, state and local elected officials and community leaders, utility company representatives, and community and regional planners.  

On March 12-13, 2008 ECDI will present "Strategies for Retail Development".  During this two-day course, we will assemble leading retail, economic and community development experts at The Marriott Legends at Capitol Hill in Prattville to present ideas and success strategies for retail development.  In addition, community and economic developers from across Alabama will share best practices based upon proven success in community-based retail development.  Course participants will be encouraged to ask questions and engage in constructive dialogue about the challenges, possibilities and potential of retail development as an essential economic development strategy.  

For more information about the course, or to register online, please visit the Course website at www.auburn.edu/ecdi/retail08.htm or contact hallame@auburn.edu.

Have you ever strongly felt that something in your community should be recorded or photographed or filmed before it was gone forever? If so, you are the kind of person who would benefit from the Alabama Community Scholars Institute.

The Alabama Community Scholars Institute (ACSI) is a training program for people who want to research, document and present various aspects of Alabama's traditional culture--the music, food, crafts, stories, celebrations, work traditions, etc., of their own communities. It is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Alabama State Council on the Arts. The 2008 Alabama Community Scholars Institute will take place in Mobile starting after dinner on Friday June 20 and continuing through Sunday, June 29, after breakfast. This schedule means you will only have to miss one week of work.

On February 6-10, Townly hosted 40 of the nation's top field dogs for a competition: Alabama's first Orvis Certified Wingshooting Lodge.

Bear Branch Lodge hosted the event--one of the premier retriever sporting events in the country. Forty dogs from all across the U.S. competed in hunting scenerios for honor and cash prizes. The Walker County Chamber of Commerce has helped with the event.

Green Communities offers Charrette Grants for up to $5,000 to assist housing developers with integrating green building systems in their developments and engage in a serious discussion of green design possibilities, Enterprise will award planning grants to affordable housing developers to coordinate green charrettes.  A Green Communities Charrette is a working session that will bring together a diverse group of housing development professionals, as well as funders, policymakers, and community stakeholders to integrate sustainable green design principles into affordable housing developments. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. www.greencommunitiesonline.org/Charrettes.asp 

Education Programs for Disadvantaged Youth Supported
The mission of the Staples Foundation for Learning is to teach, train, and inspire people from all walks of life by providing educational and growth opportunities. The Foundation supports programs that provide job skills and/or education for all people, with special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. The goal of the Foundation’s grant program is to help local groups with programs and services that will positively impact their communities every day.
For the first two funding cycles in 2008, proposals must be submitted between February 29 and March 14 and between June 2 and June 16. For more information, please visit http://www.staplesfoundation.org/

On Friday, February 22, 2008, please join Design Alabama, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities for a community forum on “Youth: The Real Future of the South.” This Southern Growth Policies Board forum, one of several to be held around the state this spring, will run from 1 PM to 3 PM on the 22nd in the boardroom of the Alabama State Council on the Arts offices in Montgomery. 

The first byway to be designated by the Scenic Byways Designating Committee, the Coastal Connection recently completed their corridor management plan as part of a pilot project aimed at making scenic byway corridor management plans in Alabama easier and less expensive to complete. To review the final Corridor Management Plan, download the PDF file:CoastalConnectionCMP.pdf

Leeds, Alabama's Scenic Byway: Designated in September 2006, the Stagecoach Route has been actively promoting and enhancing their scenic byway. As an initial promotion, the management team published Stagecoach Stops, an 18-month event calendar that features historic downtown Leeds and includes scenic and historic photos of the byway as well as a list of attractions and events.  Copies of the calendar were given for distribution to Alabama State Tourism Bureau, St. Clair County Historical Society, Shelby County Historical Society, and South Shelby County Chamber of Commerce.  This publication was made possible by grants from Alabama Tourism and Alabama Power as well as private donations.  A 2008-2009 calendar is being compiled.
To establish a Corridor Management Plan for the scenic byway and promote a Comprehensive Street Plan with the City of Leeds as a means of launching a tourism industry.

The Renewal Community program, created by Congress in 2000, provides federal income tax incentives to businesses that are located or will locate in designated areas. Three of the nation’s 40 Renewal Community areas are in Alabama.  The sites include the Greene and Sumter Renewal Community, made up of both counties, the Mobile Renewal Community, which includes Prichard and a section of east Mobile, and the Southern Alabama Renewal Community, which includes Wilcox County and parts of Butler, Conecuh, Dallas, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Monroe, and Perry Counties.

Rural America is going to have to do a better job providing services to younger people if it hopes to thrive.  That's one of the findings from the 2007 Nebraska Rural Poll.  While the survey focuses on only one state, it provides a snapshot of what many other rural areas across the country are likely experiencing.
 
At least 70% feel positive about fire protection, parks and recreation, library services and religious organizations.  However, one-third expressed dissatisfaction with entertainment, shopping, restaurants, streets and roads, arts/cultural activities and local government.

Merging of Cultures at Peter F. Alba Middle School has been selected to represent ALABAMA as the winner of the Southern Growth Policies Board 2008 Innovator Award. Merging of Cultures was chosen from more than 100 nominees in the Southern region as an outstanding initiative in youth development and/or engagement.  The program will be honored at the conference Youth: The Real Future of the South conference on June 1-3, 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
 
As one of 13 Innovators in the Southern region, the program will be publicly honored on Sunday, June 1, 2008 in an awards ceremony at the Peabody Little Rock, followed by a reception hosted by Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe at the Clinton Presidential Center.

Projects underway for the City of Evergreen include the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library Expansion Project; the Middleton Field Airport Runway Extension Project; the Downtown Sidewalks Project and the I-65 Exit # 96 Landscaping Project.
http://wwwevergreenal.org/

Chamber of Commerce announces plans to hold their annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet on Feb. 28th, 2008 at Hillcrest High School Cafétorium with State Treasurer, Kay Ivey as the guest speaker.
The Chamber also announced plans to hold an Easter Egg Hunt at the Evergreen Municipal Park, on Brooklyn Road, 22nd March 2008 at 2 PM. There will be prizes awarded for each age group participating, and the Easter Bunny will possibly be making an appearance during the hunt. This is a county-wide event, with children from 0 to 12 years old invited to participate.

The State Council on the Arts awards Artist Fellowships of $5,000 for artists working in the areas of music, dance and theatre (performing arts), literature, design and visual arts. An applicant must be a legal resident of Alabama who has lived in the state for the two years prior to the application. These awards recognize artistic excellence, professional commitment, and service to the state. Recipients may use funds to set aside time to create art, improve their skills or to do what is most advantageous to enhance their artistic careers.

Arts Administration Fellowships of $5,000 are awarded to administrators to improve their skills and ability to serve their organization and community An administrator or artist working in an administrative capacity, who has been employed by an Alabama arts organization in a full time paid position for at least two years prior to the application deadline may apply for the Arts Administration Fellowship.

For a complete set of Grant Guidelines, visit: http://www.arts.alabama.gov/downloads/Guidelines.pdf  

Fellowship applications can now be submitted electronically via eGRANT. Please visit www.arts.alabama.gov for information.

For questions about your application, contact the Program Manager in your discipline. For more information or to request a printed copy of the Grant Guidelines publication, please contact:
    Barbara Reed
    Alabama State Council on the Arts
    201 Monroe Street, Suite 110
    Montgomery, AL 36130-1800
    334/242-4076, ext. 223
    barbara.reed@arts.alabama.gov

The George Washington University’s Tourism Destination Management and Marketing Certificate Program announces the launch of “Safety and Security for Tourism Destinations: Achieving a Safe and Secure Tourism Environment.” This is a course designed to help tourism professionals understand the importance of safety and security within a destination, as well as provide them with the “tools” needed to create a secure environment for both visitors and residents. The course is available worldwide via Internet-based distance learning. For more information please email dmpdl@gwu.edu.

March 3, 2008

The Alabama State Council on the Arts is now accepting applications for the 2008-2009 Cultural Facilities Program. Requests maybe submitted for feasibility studies, use plans, needs assessment, design work or construction cost. Grants range from $20,000 to $100,000. Funding categories are Planning, Design and Construction.

Please note that March 3, 2008 is the only deadline for the 2008-2009 Cultural Facilities Program with projects beginning October 1, 2008 and ending September 30, 2009. For a copy of the current Guidelines and application form please contact Randy Shoults, Community Arts Program Manager at, randy.shoults@arts.alabama.gov, or 334-242-4076 ext. 224.

Cultural Facilities applications can now be submitted electronically via eGrant. Access to eGrant is from the Alabama State Council on the Arts website at www.arts.alabama.gov.

Save the Date! April 9-10, 2007
 
What does GREEN BUILDING have to do with BU$INESS PROFIT$ and QUALITY OF LIFE?
 
There are clear cut economic benefits with environmentally friendly solutions!
 
GreenCoast 2008 Conference and Expo, the premiere green build conference on the Northern Gulf Coast, will be held at Mobile, Alabama's Arthur Outlaw Convention Center on April 9-10, 2008.

Free technical assistance available! Applications will be accepted until May 8, 2008.

Are you trying to encourage specific smart growth techniques like transit-oriented development?  Or direct your state department of transportation investments to better support smart growth?  Are you looking to use smart growth to reach greenhouse gas reduction goals?  Do you need help analyzing guidelines for school investments that best fit your state or community?  Do you need to retrofit a commercial corridor? Or coordinate your community's smart growth design with an active aging program?

The Alabama Tourism Department needs pictures for use in the Year of Alabama History promotion in 2009. The photos need to concentrate on museums and reenactments. Images need to be high res digital and should include people (wearing solid, bright colors) enjoying the displays and/or activities. The places featured need to be open to the public and have regular hours of operation.

Images should be received by Friday, March 14, 2008.

Please send all images to Peggy Collins, Regional Director/Photo Editor, Alabama TourismDepartment, P.O. Box 4927, Montgomery, AL 36103-4927, or to peggy.collins@tourism.alabama.gov. If you have any questions, please call Peggy at 334-242-4545.

Fairhope is one lucky city. We get to celebrate our Centennial not once, but twice. In 1994, the city celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Fairhope Colony of the Single Tax Association. This year, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the City of Fairhope.

  “The original colony grew and prospered and because of that, more and more people moved here. Eventually there was interest in forming a town government separate from the Single Tax Colony,” said Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant. “On April 25, 1908, the town of Fairhope was incorporated, with Dr. Harry S. Greeno as the first Mayor. This year, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the City of Fairhope, but we also look forward to the future. I’m proud that just as in 1908, our downtown is still an exciting, vital place for business and a place for our residents to enjoy.”

City of Fairhope Announces Centennial Music and Movies in the Park
 
In celebration of Fairhope’s Centennial, the City of Fairhope will be hosting Music and Movies in the Park on the Faulkner State campus in downtown Fairhope. The event dates are Saturday, February 16 and 23 and Saturday, March 1 and 8.  Musical entertainment will begin at 5:45 pm and will be followed by an excerpt of a documentary film by Curtis Willard about Fairhope’s history. The feature film will begin at 7 p.m. 
 
"The city is pleased to be sponsoring Music and Movies this year to celebrate the last hundred years of Fairhope’s history," said Mayor Tim Kant. "The back lawn of Faulkner’s campus is an ideal outdoor space and events like this are a great way to bring the community together."
 
Those who plan to attend can bring lawn chairs and blankets from home. Fairhope Movies and Music in the Park is a family friendly event, no alcoholic beverages will be allowed. The Rotary Club of Fairhope will be selling refreshments. Admission is free.
 
For movie titles or questions, visit www.cofairhope.com or call 929-1466.

On January 31, 2008, the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform (ACCR) Foundation launched its inaugural High School Constitutional Reform Education Contest.  The goal of this education initiative is to give high school seniors an opportunity to express themselves and, in the process, learn more about the 1901 Constitution.  The contest, which ends on March 14, 2008, is open to all public and private high school seniors in the state.
 
Students are encouraged to submit essays and multimedia entries based on the following theme for 2008: “Who needs a new Alabama Constitution?”  Additional information including the contest guidelines and an entry form can be found on the ACCR Foundation website: www.constitutionALreform.org  
 
The ACCR Foundation will offer first place ($500) and second place ($250) scholarship awards for the top two winners in both the essay and multimedia categories.  In addition, the winners will be recognized through the local media and at their respective high school awards ceremonies.  The first-prize winners will present their work during the annual Bailey Thomson Awards Luncheon on August 28, 2008.
 
For more information or to order a free “It’s a Thick Book” DVD, please contact Jasmine Hodges, the ACCR Foundation Coordinator: (205) 441-6805 or Jasmine@constitutionALreform.org
 

The American Grants and Loans Book is now  available. This publication contains valuable information with more than 1500 financial programs, subsidies, scholarships, grants and loans offered by the United States federal government.

It also includes over 700 financing programs put forth by various Foundations and Associations across the United States.

Businesses, students, individuals, municipalities, government departments, institutions, foundations and associations will find a wealth of information that will help them with their new ventures or existing projects.

What you get:

• Description of Grant available
• Url to government website
• Full mailing address
• Phone and fax number

The Canadian Subsidy Directory is also available for Canada.

CD version: $69.95
Printed version: $149.95
To order please call: 819-322-7533