September 2008 Archives

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is soliciting applications for Transportations Enhancement (TE) projects for FY2009.  Applications were mailed to Mayors of Cities and Towns, County Commission Chairmen, Presidents of Universities and Colleges.  Enhancements (TE) activities are federally funded, community-based projects that expand travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by improving the cultural, historic, aesthetic and environmental aspects of our transportation infrastructure. TE projects must be one of 12 eligible activities and must relate to surface transportation: 1. Pedestrian and bicycle facilities; 2. Pedestrian and bicycle safety and educational activities; 3. Acquisition of scenic or historic easements and sites; 4. Scenic or historic  highway programs including tourist and welcome centers; 5. Landscaping and scenic beautification; 6. Historic preservation; 7. Rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures or facilities; 8. Conversion of abandoned railway corridors to trails; 9. Inventory, control, and removal of outdoor advertising; 10. Archaeological planning & research; 11. Environmental mitigation of runoff pollution and provision of wildlife connectivity; 12. Establishment of transportation museums.  For more details on these 12 areas of eligibility visit www.enhancements.org/12_activities.asp. The federal government provides funding for TE projects through our nation’s surface transportation legislation.  The closure date for submittal of applications and support documents is Friday, October 3, 2008, 5:00 p.m.

Deadline for Proposals is November 14, 2008.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program empowers communities, Tribes, States, and other stakeholders to work together in a timely manner to assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. The Brownfields Program provides grant support for revitalization efforts by funding environmental assessments, individual site cleanups, and community-based revolving loan funds for brownfields cleanup. Applicants submit a proposal for each grant type that they are applying for. Each proposal must address the selection criteria outlined in the guidelines. Electronic copies of the new 2009 Proposal Guidelines are available from the EPA Brownfields Web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.   Frequently asked questions can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/publications/fy2009faqs.pdf

October 14, 2008, 10am—12noon, Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, 1st Floor Conference Room, Please RSVP by email to cahabacwp@hotmail.com by October 5th, 2008


Toolbox for the Future: Water Availability and Basin Assessment Modeling Black Warrior and Cahaba River Basins
Speakers: Brian Atkins, Director- ADECA-Office of Water Resources and Kenneth Odom, Studies Section Chief-US Geological Survey

In an effort to study past, present, and future water availability needs, the Office of Water Resources within the ADECA and USGS are partnering to develop a water availability toolbox for Alabama. The framework of the project will be built on the 12digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) level which means that each 12digit HUC will have its own water availability model. Initial focus of the study will be Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Watersheds, followed by the Black Warrior and Cahaba River Watersheds. Other regional initiatives will be presented. If you have an initiative that you would like others to be aware of please contact Patti Pennington at cahabacwp@hotmail.com (205) 264-8453.

Each October, hundreds of children, parents, teachers and community leaders across Alabama walk to school to celebrate International Walk to School Day.  It is an energizing event, reminding parents and children alike of the simple joy of walking and biking to school.  It also serves as an opportunity to focus on the importance of physical activity, safety, air quality and a more walkable community.  This is why Walk to School events can be a great way to jumpstart a Safe Routes to School Program in your community.  For more information about this event visit http://www.walktoschool.org/.

The Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA) was recently presented the “Shining Example” Award for Regional Organization of the Year by the Southeast Tourism Society (STS). The Shining Example Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the advancement of tourism in the Southeastern states. The 2008 Shining Example Awards program was part of the 25th annual fall meeting of STS held at the Peabody Little Rock Hotel in Little Rock, Ark.
 
Tourism expenditures in 2007 for the 16 northernmost counties of Alabama increased 13% over 2006 with nine of the 16 counties of the North Alabama region producing double digit growth. AMLA developed and launched Alabama’s only wine trail, “A Taste of Elegance” earlier this year, and has been instrumental in attracting sporting events and sports-related tournaments to North Alabama.
 
“It is a humbling experience to be honored by the Southeast Tourism Society as the regional tourism organization of the year,” said Dana Lee Jennings, president and CEO of AMLA.  For twenty-five years, STS has been the south’s leading tourism organization. For AMLA to win the Shining Example Award, credit must be given to the hard work put forth by the members of AMLA including a special thank you to Chairman of the Board Tami Reist, the Executive Committee, and Board of Directors for their leadership, support and guidance.” www.alabamamountainlakes.org

Across the globe, Sept. 27 heralds World Tourism Day, an annual event sanctioned by the U.N. World Tourism Organization. In Washington this year, the salute will be highlighted at the Travel Leadership Summit, where 27 state tourism leaders and dozens of cities will convene. The global theme of World Tourism Day, "Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change," is among the key business and public policy issues fronting the U.S. travel industry.  World Tourism Day signals the benefits that travel and tourism creates among places around the globe," said Roger Dow, President and CEO of the Travel Industry Association.
 
Travel and tourism is one of the largest employers in the United States, directly generating earnings of $171 billion that supports 7.5 million jobs across every local economy. Domestic and international travel expenditures total $740 billion, making it one of America’s largest industries. To learn more about World Tourism Day, contact the World Tourism Organization at http://www.unwto.org/wtd/index.php

The workshop will be held at Camp McDowell from Wednesday, June 3 – Friday, June 5, 2009. Registration will begin shortly after the first of the year. 

The purpose of the MetLife Foundation Museum and Community Connections program is to encourage art museums to reach out to large numbers of people of all ages and backgrounds through imaginative programs and/or exhibits that help people understand and appreciate each other and the world. Museums that have been in existence at least five years and are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, or Wisconsin are eligible to apply. Funding may be requested for one or a combination of the following categories: Collaborations, Artist Residencies, Exhibits, and Offsite Programming.
The application deadline is October 17, 2008.
Visit the website listed below to download the Request for Proposal (RFP).
http://www.metlife.com/Applications/Corporate/WPS/CDA/PageGenerator/0,4773,P291,00.html#museum_i

The Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau has created a video blog or “vlog” for Auburn University football fans. The vlog contains game day information on hotel availability, dinning locations, local tourism spots, and commentary from Auburn’s head coach Tommy Tuberville.  Robyn Bridges, the bureau’s communications director and host of the videos, said the vlogs are geared toward Auburn fans visiting from out of town. Previous video blog’s have featured demonstrations from the Raptor Center at Auburn University and a look at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Sign-up for the vlog is available on the Auburn-Opelika Tourism website at www.aotourism.com

Producers of the award-winning film “Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy” have set its premiere showing in Alabama for Sept. 20-21 at the historic Ashland Theatre in Clay County. Honored as the best documentary at the 31st Annual American Indian Film Institute Festival in San Francisco, the two-hour film portrays the forced removal of the Cherokees from their homes in Alabama and other southern states to the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.
 
Narrator of the film is famed actor James Earl Jones. Other voices heard in the film are those of actors James Garner and John Buttram and singer Crystal Gayle. Wes Studi, Cherokee actor who portrayed Geronimo in the movie by the same name as well as performing in “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last of the Mohicans,” presents the film’s message on camera in Cherokee with English subtitles.  Two showings have been set for the Alabama opening: Saturday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 21, at 2 p.m. Advance purchases are suggested. For more information about the Alabama premiere, visit www.theashlandtheatre.com or phone 256-396-2058.

TPL and the National Association of Counties (NACo) are now accepting applications for the fifth annual County Leadership in Conservation Awards. The awards recognize leadership, innovation, and excellence by forward-thinking county leaders in local land conservation.

Successful programs will be judged on the basis of:

• Innovation
• Financing Mechanisms
• Visioning and Planning
• Diversity and Strength of Partnerships
• Acquisition and/or Implementation Excellence
• Generating Public Awareness and Support
• Program Management

The Awards help NACo and TPL recognize innovative counties making great strides in local land conservation and help generate publicity for these groundbreaking efforts. Bringing recognition to the county's program, and providing "best practice" examples for county and other local officials to design landmark conservation programs across the country are the main goals of the Awards.

Access the Application Form for more information and to apply electronically. The deadline for submissions is November 21, 2008 by 5 PM EST.

Award winners will be recognized at NACo's Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. in March 2009.

More information about awards categories and criteria.
Read more about the 2008 County Leadership in Conservation Award winners

A report by David Barron on National Public Radio examines an issue Scenic America has been working on for years: the battle between communities who want to plant and maintain trees and the billboard companies who want motorists to have unadulterated views of their signs.

While the practice of billboard companies destroying the public's trees is an issue all across the country, in this story Barron focuses on a swath of trees on a highway near Orlando, Florida. The piece includes commentary from Bill Jonson, a Scenic America board member and President of Citizens for a Scenic Florida.
Listen to the story here.

Online coupons are a great way to use the Internet to advertise downtown businesses. The Sun Prairie, WI (pop. 20,370), Chamber of Commerce posts coupons at its website at www.sunprairiechamber.com. Chamber members can submit a coupon for $10/quarter ($40/quarter for nonmembers). Coupons can be changed every quarter, and are advertised through the chamber newsletter and local newspaper. Such advertising can pay off. The chamber boasts over 1 million hits in the last three years.
Downtown Promotion Reporter
http://www.DowntownDevelopment.com/dpr.php

The American Bus Association has named the “Festival of Flowers” in Mobile and the “Galaxy of Lights” at the Huntsville Botanical Garden to its 2009 list of the “Top 100 Events in North America.” The Top 100 list was chosen from among 524 events nominated by state and local tourism officials in the U.S. and Canada. A 14-member selection committee of tour operators based its picks on the events’ broad appeal, their accessibility to groups arriving by motorcoach, and other criteria. The full list of 2009 winners can be found on www.buses.org.

Fans of Hank Williams joined Mayor Bobby Bright at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 to unveil a historic marker across Perry Street from Montgomery City Hall where the singer's funeral was held in 1953. One side of the marker describes how 2,750 mourners filled the Municipal Auditorium while another 20,000 fans stood vigil outside. The other side describes the history of the City Hall that was designed by noted architect Frank Lockwood in 1936. Fans were in town to commemorate the 85th birth anniversary of the songwriter in rural Butler County. Next time you are in Montgomery, visit the Hank Williams Museum on Commerce Street and Oakwood Cemetery Annex where he is buried. For more information visit www.alabama.travel, or contact the Alabama Tourism Department at 334-242-4169.

Year of Alabama History coordinator Marilyn Jones Stamps promoted the upcoming Year of Alabama History campaign at two recent meetings this month. The first meeting, organized by Lisa Socha of the Guntersville Chamber of Commerce, took place at the historic Guntersville Museum and Cultural Center. More than 40 people were in attendance. The second meeting, held in Wetumpka, consisted of more than 50 retired school teachers. The Alabama Tourism Department will officially kick off the Year of History celebration on Dec. 12, 2008 at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery during the annual celebration of Alabama Day. Alabama became the 22nd state admitted to the Union on Dec. 14, 1819.

The Johnson Center for the Arts in Troy will have its Grand Opening ceremonies Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. The Johnson Center’s inaugural main exhibit is a collection of 35 original Andy Warhol prints. It is the first-ever Andy Warhol exhibit to visit Alabama and one of the few to visit the South in the last five years. The exhibition is expected to draw a minimum of 900 to 1,200 visitors per month to the Johnson Center. Featured in the $2 million exhibition are a selection of Warhol’s noted works from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s including his images of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne, details of Renaissance paintings, and his Campbell soup can prints. The exhibition will run through Nov. 15 and is free and open to the public. www.tpcac.org

Please take note of the buttons on the left hand side of each page. Your Town Alabama is now part of facebook and Linkedin. These social networking groups are there for Your Town Alums and friends to network, continue to learn from each other and just enjoy visiting with people throughout Alabama who have an interest in making our state the best it can be.

Also notice the donation button on the left hand side. Please consider making a donation (anything helps!) to help keep Your Town Alabama going strong. Your Town Alabama is a 501(c)3 organization, so any contribution is tax-deductible. For your convenience, here's the link to donate again!

As a Your Town-er, we are sure that you have taken the Your Town Alabama assets-based concept back to your community and are working to change the world.  We realize that many of the Your Town alumni return to their communities with new ideas and face the: “That’s nice but it can’t be done here,” mentality of the neighbors who haven’t been exposed to the Your Town asset-based principles and “can-do” message. 

To assist you in your quest, Your Town Alabama, through funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission, has produced a web-based video.  The video provides an introduction to:

• Alabama the Beautiful - Alabama is a beautiful State, full of natural resources and economic opportunities, and is worthy of preservation.  These concepts represent an economic engine for communities.
• They Can Do It – Why Can’t We? – Showcases Alabama examples of good community development practices.
• Economics of Great Community Planning – Provides case examples of the economic benefit of creative community planning.

It is hoped that this project will provide support to alumni, provide education on sustainable asset-based economic development to the local community and encourage participation in Your Town Alabama events. 

The 10 minute introduction video – Planning to Succeed: Asset-Based Planning in Small Town and Rural Alabama is available for viewing below and on the Your Town Alabama website (www.yourtownalabama.org).   A longer, more detailed DVD version is available through the Your Town Alabama website which includes:
ß 10 minute introduction web-based video
ß 20 minute complete version

You may download the 10 minute web-based version free by completing the request form at www.yourtownalabama.org/videorequest.html.   Copies of the DVD are free to Your Town Alumni by indicating your graduating class.  If you are not a Your Town Alumni, a $10 contribution is requested to offset duplication, processing and postage.

We encourage you to take advantage of this resource to educate civic leaders, elected officials and others about asset-based planning.  Please share your success, progress and needs through the Your Town Alabama blog on our website.

As always, with warmest regards,
Paul Kennedy, President



You can also view the video in a larger format by visiting it on Google Video.

The Tennessee River is a popular place in the Shoals. Tourism officials hope a new riverboat will attract even more people and visitors. The Pickwick Belle Riverboat will soon be cruising the waters of the Tennessee River. "I think the Pickwick Belle is going to be bringing this area a new form of entertainment while enjoying the historical part of the area at the same time," says Pickwick Belle Marketing Director Tanya Irwin. The authentic paddle boat is 90 feet long and can carry 149 passengers. The Pickwick Belle will offer lunch and dinner cruises. Tourism officials say the riverboat is the first of its kind to really meet the needs of people in the Shoals.
 
"This is the first, real true paddle riverboat we've had where the public could actually go on and take the cruise," says Alison Stanfield with Florence-Lauderdale Tourism. The riverboat will also feature local entertainment and provide sight-seeing cruises. "We're real excited that they're going to be offering some lock through cruises, where people actually get to lock through Wilson Dam," says Stanfield. The owners of Pickwick Belle partnered with Florence-Lauderdale Tourism, the city of Florence, the Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa, and Florence Harbor to bring the riverboat to the Shoals. They all want the riverboat to be a success. "It is definitely a unique experience and I think it will be very popular here in the Shoals," says Stanfield.  The Pickwick Belle riverboat will be in the Shoals for a trial period during the months of September, October, and November.  If the riverboat is very popular during that time, it's possible there could be a year-round schedule.  http://www.visitflorenceal.com/  

From reports broadcast on WHNT-TV Channel 19 in Huntsville:

Brochure:
2008PreservationConference.pdf
Registration:
ATHP Membership.pdf
Conference Hotel: The Grand Hotel, Point Clear
1-800-544-9933
Ask for the Alabama Preservation Conference rate.
$179 single/double
Rate good until September 9 at noon
Rate good for entire Columbus Day weekend!
Conference Information
205-652-3497
www.alabamatrust.info

www.preserveala.org