All America City Winner - SuffolkJournal.com

Huntington 1st on LI
to be Named All-America City
by Jane Lee Bock

June 15, 2002

On June 15 there was another first for the town of Huntington. A town already known for "firsts" of all kinds, this one comes with a national spotlight. Thanks to the National Civic League, Huntington residents can now boast that they live in an officially designated "All-America City."

The 53-year-old program that bestowed the unique title on the town is an annual competition which recognizes civic excellence, grassroots citizen involvement and cross-sector collaborative problem solving. Huntington is the first Long Island town or region to ever win the award and one of 10 communities to achieve All America status this year. Since the program began in 1949, more than 4,000 communities have competed and nearly 500 of them have been named All-America Cities.

County Executive Robert Gaffney addresses HTCC members

As part of the competition, delegations comprised of government officials, neighborhood activists, business leaders and volunteers traveled to Kansas City, Missouri to face a jury of judges and put Huntington's best foot forward as they presented three projects representative of the spirit of the award program. They had to show how their citizens, government, businesses and nonprofit organizations came together to effectively address local issues and produce tangible results. Entry into the competition has been championed for the past three years by the town's chamber of commerce.

(The Town presented the Chamber with a proclamation in honor of their success
click for larger view of photo)

Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone said, "The excitement is for us as a team of people. We know what it takes to focus, meet challenges and solve problems."

Chamber of Commerce CEO Dennis Sneden said, "It shows very clearly that we are doing the right thing in Huntington."

The three community projects included: The Family Service League's Manor Field Family Center which provides bi-lingual services for the growing Hispanic community with an emphasis on empowering the family unit; Highview at Huntington, a housing project that along with other town-wide initiatives served as an example of Huntington's efforts to provide affordable housing for families, young professionals and senior citizens; and the town's cumulative Response to Youth project, which included the Weed & Seed initiative aimed at combating crime, hosting a Gang Summit, and holding Huntington's Youth United Against Hate Day.

Suffolk County Executive Robert Gaffney praised both the town and the chamber for their achievements in his Keynote Address at the chamber's breakfast celebration. "Huntington was clearly an All-America City before it was recognized by this group. The entire county benefits when one part of the community achieves something like this," he said.

The Chamber is planning additional celebrations during the summer and there is no doubt that this will now be a significant component of the town's upcoming anniversary celebrations.