Bessemer City Manager Mike Uskiewicz and Councilmember Douglas Olsen accept the 2012 Region 7 CEA nomination in March. View and download additional photos of the 2012 CEA finalists.

Seven projects from around the state will be vying for top honors in the Michigan Municipal League's Community Excellence Award competition October 3-5 at the League's 2012 Annual Convention on Mackinac Island.

Region 7 (all communities in the Upper Peninsula) will be represented by the City of Bessemer’s water distribution cooperation effort. Bessemer has worked successfully to establish an efficient and effective working relationship between the city and the Gogebic Range Water Authority to improve the area’s water distribution infrastructure.

Bessemer will now compete against the other six regional winners (Alpena, Baroda, Durand, Grandville, Port Huron and Utica)  for the statewide CEA at the League’s Annual Convention Oct. 3-5 on Mackinac Island. The CEA program, affectionately called “The Race for the Cup,” was started by the League in 2007 to recognize innovative solutions taking place in Michigan’s cities, villages and urban townships.

Only Convention-goers may vote on the CEA winners so make sure to support your region by attending. Register now!

Port Huron Parks and Recreation Director Nancy Winzer and Mayor Pauline Repp accept the Region 5 CEA nomination in March. View and download additional photos of the 2012 CEA finalists.

Seven projects from around the state will seek top honors in the Michigan Municipal League's Community Excellence Award competition October 3-5 at the League's 2012 Annual Convention on Mackinac Island.

Region 5 (all communities in the Thumb area of Michigan) will be represented by a unique parks and recreation partnership in the Port Huron area. The partnership earned top honors as the Michigan Municipal League’s Region 5 Community Excellence Award winner at the Michigan Municipal League 2012 Capital Conference Lansing in March.

The Port Huron Recreation Department piloted a new and unique program partnering with Fort Gratiot, Port Huron Township and Clyde Township to provide a cooperative system that would allow their residents to participate in city recreation programs at resident rates with the townships providing the cost difference in exchange. The program helps the city increase revenue for the recreation department while helping outlying areas to offer full recreational opportunities and services for their residents. The new cooperative effort spreads recreation programs over 73 square miles and opens the door for other partnerships in the region.

Port Huron will now compete against the other six regional winners (Alpena, Baroda, Bessemer, Durand, Grandville, and Utica) for the statewide CEA at the League’s Annual Convention Oct. 3-5 on Mackinac Island. The CEA program, affectionately called “The Race for the Cup,” was started by the League in 2007 to recognize innovative solutions taking place in Michigan’s cities, villages and urban townships.

Only Convention-goers may vote on the CEA winners so make sure to support your region by attending. Register now!

Grandville Councilmember Joshua Meringa, Mayor James Buck and councilmember Steven Kauffman accept the Region 3 CEA nomination in March. View and download additional photos of the 2012 CEA finalists.

Seven projects from around the state will be vying for top honors in the Michigan Municipal League's Community Excellence Award competition October 3-5 at the League's 2012 Annual Convention on Mackinac Island.

Region 3 (all communities in the west-central area of the state’s Lower Peninsula) will be represented by the city of Grandville’s clean water plant expansion and renovation project. The project earned top honors as the Michigan Municipal League’s Region 3 Community Excellence Award winner at the Michigan Municipal League 2012 Capital Conference Lansing in March. Grandville’s expansion and renovation project created a clean water plant that incorporates innovative wastewater treatment technology. Grandville will now compete against the other six regional winners (Alpena, Baroda, Bessemer, Durand, Port Huron and Utica) for the statewide CEA at the League’s Annual Convention Oct. 3-5 on Mackinac Island. The CEA program, affectionately called “The Race for the Cup,” was started by the League in 2007 to recognize innovative solutions taking place in Michigan’s cities, villages and urban townships.

Only Convention-goers may vote on the CEA winners so make sure to support your region by attending. Register now!

Utica Mayor Jacqueline Noonan accepts the Region 1 CEA Award at the League's 2012 Capital Conference in March.View and download additional photos of the 2012 CEA finalists.

Seven projects from around the state will be vying for top honors in the Michigan Municipal League's Community Excellence Award competition October 3-5 at the League's 2012 Annual Convention on Mackinac Island.

Region 1 (all communities in the southeast portion of the state's Lower Peninsula) will be represented by Utica's Riverwalk project, which was funded by the Downtown Development Authority, envisioned by Mayor Jacqueline Noonan, and brought to reality by the city's Department of Public Works. The Riverwalk is both an economic driver and a prime example of placemaking: an asset that connects the city's Memorial Park and historic Main Street with Auburn Road and its unique riverfront.

Utica will now compete against the other six regional winners (Alpena, Baroda, Bessemer, Durand, Grandville, and Port Huron) for the statewide CEA at the League’s Annual Convention Oct. 3-5 on Mackinac Island. The CEA program, affectionately called “The Race for the Cup,” was started by the League in 2007 to recognize innovative solutions taking place in Michigan’s cities, villages and urban townships.

Only Convention-goers may vote on the CEA winners so make sure to support your region by attending. Register now!

View photos from the 2011 MML Convention here

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan - Clare's Cops & Doughnuts business won the 2011 Community Excellence Awards Friday (Oct. 7, 2011) during the Michigan Municipal League's 2011 Convention in Grand Rapids during ArtPrize. This is the highest statewide honor bestowed on a Michigan community by the League.

The peer-nominated CEAs (affectionately called "The Race for the Cup" because the winner gets a gold cup as a trophy) starts at the regional level where a finalist from each of the League's seven region is selected by community peers at regional meetings. The seven finalist then presented their entires at Convention on Wednesday (Oct. 5, 2011) and the Convention attendees voted for the winners in a competition monitored and sponsored by Plante & Moran.

All seven nominees were excellent. The other finalists were West Branch for its Fabulous Friday's program; Paw Paw for its Uncork Paw Paw initiative; Ludington for its New Years Eve Ball Drop event; Marquette for its water safety initiative; Southfield for its youth 'field Zone program; and Vassar for its Chill on the Hill event. 

League members said picking a winner this year was especially difficult because all the presentations were outstanding, but Clare's program really showed how a small group of people can make a difference in a community. The historic bakery in downtown Clare was going to close and the nine Clare police officers decided iin the 11th hour to purchase it. Not only did they save the bakery, but they turned it into a tourist destination that has benefitted the entire community.

On the Michigan Municipal League's Facebook page, Eastpointe Mayor and MML Board member Suzanne Pixley said this about Cops & Doughnuts and the other finalists:"To all...Clare's Cops and Doughnuts is such a great story for the small city of Clare...Long time donut store gave up with the economy and decided to close...The "Cops" in Clare decided that the donut shop was a tradition and couldn't close...The police (9 of them) went together and bought the store, did some fancy marketing and are now a destination spot for many heading up north...They went from 1.8 employees to 28...Great story for a small community of just over 2,000...They won the award, but the other cities up for the award were just great."

The announcement of the CEA winner concluded the League's 2011 Convention in Grand Rapids. Next year's Convention will take place in October on Mackinaw Island. Other highlights - and there were many - at this year's Convention included a talk by Gov. Rick Snyder, the honoring of numerous award winners, including Speaker of House Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, as the League's 2011 Legislator of the Year, and State Rep. Vicki Barnett, D-Farmington Hills, getting the 2011 Honorary Life Membership Award, and the unveiling of the League's new book, "The Economics of Place: The Value of Building Communities Around People" (now available at economicsofplace.com and on Amazon.com). View press releases sent out and coming soon here.

For details about Convention go here. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/mmleague and on Twitter at @mmleague and the hashtag #mmltour.

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Muncipial League. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 or mbach@mml.org.

Clare officials Bill Horwood, Greg Rynearson, Al White, and Mayor Patrick Humphrey Celebrate Clare Winning the 2011 Community Excellence Award from the Michigan Municipal League. View more photos from the CEA competition here.