Alabama Communities of Excellence

The Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) program uses a comprehensive, three-phase approach to assist participating communities in planning and preparing for a more vibrant future.

ACE Presents Educational Workshop with Community Seeds Partners

On Thursday, June 17, Alabama Communities of Excellence participated in the first Community Seeds workshop in ACE Town Montevallo with about 70 attendees from across Alabama. Community Seeds is an ongoing collaboration between ACE, DesignAlabama, Main Street Alabama, and Your Town Alabama to provide enriching opportunities that foster rural community development.

Dee Woodham takes attendees on a tour of
Shoal Creek Park.

The “Greening Your Community” workshop offered attendees the opportunity to learn about the benefits of cultivating green spaces in a city and the creative ways they can enhance a community. Workshop attendees connected with experts on establishing green spaces and met officials from other communities eager to learn about creating them.

The workshop started with Dee Woodham leading attendees on a morning walking tour of Shoal Creek Park in Montevallo. After the tour, attendees convened in the heart of downtown Montevallo for a full day of sessions to learn how to green their communities. Panel sessions included:

  • Big Plans: The importance of planning in big projects and big ideas
  • Community Conversation: Discussion of one city’s focus on connectivity, preservation, and low-impact development
  • Greening Projects: Examples of green projects in cities across the state
  • Partnerships & Project Funding: Assistance, Collaboration, & Cooperation

Ed McMahon, a senior fellow with the Urban Land Institute, wrapped up the day with an informative presentation about budgeting and funding titled “The Dollars & Sense of Parks and Green Spaces.”

ACE would like to thank Alabama State Council on the Arts for awarding the grant that made the workshop possible, as well as additional Community Seeds sponsors Copperwing, Montevallo Main Street, National Endowment for the Arts, SiteLines, and the Support the Arts License Tag Fund.

  • Downtown Montevallo
  • Opening remarks by Matt Leavell with The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development and board chair of Your Town Alabama.
  • Workshop attendees
  • Brandon Bias with Goodwyn Mills Cawood moderates the “Big Plans” session.
  • Mayor Rusty Nix welcomes attendees to Montevallo.
  • Montevallo Main Street Director Courtney Bennett encourages attendees to explore downtown.
  • Workshop attendees
  • ACE Executive Director Mary Shell moderates a panel on greening projects.
  • Jim Byard (Byard Associates, LLC) moderates the”Partnerships & Project Funding” panel.
  • Ed McMahon, senior fellow with the Urban Land Institute, presents “The Dollars & Sense of Parks and Green Spaces.”
  • Downtown Montevallo