Tallahassee Sun

Continuing its more than 40-year tradition of recognizing residents and neighborhoods that have gone above and beyond to further enhance and enrich their communities, the City of Tallahassee is now accepting applications for its 2022 Neighborhood Awards program. Several new categories have been added this year.

The 2022 Neighborhood Awards program includes recognition in the following categories:

Outstanding Neighbor of the Year – Given to a resident or neighborhood leader who exemplifies the characteristics of leadership and service in making contributions to their community. For 2022, the Neighbor of the Year award has been expanded to include two categories:

• Neighborhood Advocacy Award – Established to recognize a neighborhood leader or resident who has advocated for programs, policies, projects and initiatives that positively affect Tallahassee’s neighborhoods, whether for a single neighborhood or the entire community.
• Neighborliness Award – Established to recognize a neighborhood leader or resident who embodies a spirit of neighborliness, helping with efforts within or beyond their neighborhood that promote community, taking care of others and providing neighborhood/community services.

Outstanding Neighborhood of the Year – This award recognizes a neighborhood or homeowners’ association that has facilitated improvements in its community, kept neighbors actively engaged in community-building activities and/or led projects to build or enhance neighborhood cohesion and communication. The focus of this award is the totality of all the efforts that a neighborhood has undertaken to build community and promote neighborhood stability. There are two categories for this award, and the winner in each will receive $500 to put toward a neighborhood project.

• Small Neighborhood of the Year (fewer than 200 homes)
• Large Neighborhood of the Year (more than 200 homes)

Best Neighborhood Program of the Year – This award recognizes neighborhood and homeowners’ associations that have facilitated projects that improved the social aspects of a neighborhood and/or the physical aspects of a neighborhood.

• Best Physical Neighborhood Improvement – A project focused on enhancing the physical aspects of a neighborhood (parks, lighting, litter control, housing improvements, etc.)
• Best Social Neighborhood Improvement – A project focused on enhancing the social or cultural aspects of a neighborhood (safety, youth and/or senior program, programs that foster teamwork, etc.)
• Best Neighborhood Communication – New for 2022, this category aims to highlight excellence and creativity in neighborhood-oriented publications and/or other neighborhood communication outreach activities. It will recognize neighborhood groups that are diligent about notifying residents and/or promoting their organization and communication with members via printed materials and/or social media.

Local State Farm Agent Gayla Parks is providing sponsorship support for this year's Neighborhood Awards Program.

Neighborhoods located within the City limits are encouraged to apply and highlight their efforts undertaken in 2021 to bring about positive change. The application is available online at Talgov.com/NeighborhoodAwards. If you need a hard copy, please contact the City’s Neighborhood Affairs division at 850-891-8795. All entries must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Monday, May 23.

To assist applicants with completing their applications, a virtual workshop will be held on Thursday, April 7, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Registration for the workshop is encouraged, but not required. To register for the workshop and for more information about the awards program, visit Talgov.com/NeighborhoodAwards.

Original source can be found here.