ShawneeDispatch.com

The city of Shawnee was among the 21 finalists announced Monday for the National Civic League's 2007 All-America City Awards competition, the nation's most prestigious and oldest civic recognition program.

Shawnee was one of two Kansas cities listed; the other was Lawrence. Other Midwest cities included as finalists were Dubuque, Iowa; Lombard, Ill.; La Porte, Ind.; and Fort Wayne, Ind. Other cities were in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Virginia.

The All-America City Awards recognizes exemplary community vision, collaborative problem solving and inclusiveness to meet local challenges. The finalists will participate in the All-America City competition in Anaheim, Calif., June 6-8.

During the three-day competition, a delegation from each community will present their innovative programs and local solutions to a jury of their peers from across the United States. Their presentations will address a wide range of social and economic issues, including youth engagement, education, poverty, housing, sustainability, immigration integration and race relations.

A jury of national business, government, philanthropic and nonprofit leaders will select the top 10 communities based on their presentations and applications. The 2007 All-America City Award winners will be announced June 8 in an evening ceremony in Anaheim.

This year the awards program will feature Innovation Forums that will enable the Finalist communities to interact with regional and national leaders on important issues of collaboration between schools and communities, disaster preparedness, sustainability, economic development, healthy aging, and lessons learned from past All-America City winners.

Now in its 58th year, the All-America City Award is an honor achieved by more than 500 neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, counties, and regions across the country. Some have won the award multiple times.