Please submit your CEA entry by May 14, 2021.
(Submit your CEA entry and learn more here)
There’s no question that this last year has presented tremendous challenges for communities. The scale of this global crisis is unprecedented – and so is the scope of local government response. Time and time again, the Michigan Municipal League has been amazed at the way our members have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So this year, in addition to accepting traditional projects, the Michigan Municipal League’s Community Excellence Award (CEA) program will also highlight and uplift the efforts of local leaders during the coronavirus pandemic. These extraordinary efforts will have far-reaching implications to public health, municipal services, and local economies – and deserve to be acknowledged and honored.
The League launched the start of our 2021 Community Excellence Award program at our Capital Conference (CapCon) on March 16. We decided to not have the CEA program, also known as the Race for the Cup, in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but we’re bringing it back this year.
The program is largely the same as it was in 2019, but we have tweaked some of the wording about the CEAs to encourage entries related to coronavirus.
Here is the timeline for the 2021 CEA program:
- 03/16/21: Start submitting projects
- 05/14/21: Deadline for submissions
- 06/01/21: Online voting opens
- 06/15/21: Online voting deadline
- 06/17/21: Four finalists announced.
- September/21: Winner to be selected by League members at 2021 League Convention.
Suggested topics for project entries include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Civic Engagement – encouraging and providing unique ways for citizens to participate in the development and improvement of their community
- Innovative Delivery of Services – providing residents with city services in new and different ways
- Intergovernmental Cooperation – partnering with neighboring communities to combine services in order to save money and improve performance
- Placemaking – developing a community’s place-based assets to attract and retain talent, residents, and businesses
- Redevelopment – creating new and better uses for existing properties
- COVID-19 Response & Recovery – innovative response or recovery actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
We know all of our member communities have done amazing things the past couple years, so we hope you submit a CEA entry this year.