Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott Earns Newest ACE Certification

Prescott achieved a milestone last week as the city was the first in Arkansas to be certified under the new criteria as an Arkansas Community of Excellence.

Gov. Mike Huckabee and Barbara Pardue, executive director of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, were on hand Thursday, Sept. 23, to present Prescott with a plaque to commemorate the occasion.

Actually, the city was being recertified as an ACE community, but the criteria had changed, becoming more rigid in the interim. So, when Prescott completed the criteria successfully, it was the first city to be certified under the new guidelines.

Huckabee congratulated Prescott on achieving this honor, saying state representative Sandra Rodgers and state senator Mike Ross helped craft the legislation making the criteria changes for ACE status.

These changes, Huckabee said, have paid off in the form of restructuring economic packages. "This didn't happen because of the agency or the governor's office, but through the legislative and executive branches and the local communities."

Huckabee said the local citizens are the most important aspect of economic development, as businesses and industries looking to locate somewhere will base their decision on the kind of people living in the communities they investigate.

This was Huckabee's second time to present Prescott with the ACE certification. The first came early in his tenure as governor, after he took over from former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who left office because of his involvement with the Whitewater investigation.

Prescott has much to be proud of, the governor continued, as there are only 43 ACE communities in the entire state, though there are more than 300 communities in Arkansas. This, he said, is an elite group, with Prescott now being the first to be certified under the new guidelines.

"This doesn't go without notice," he said. "It required a real effort to take on the new requirements and the criteria is demanding. Prescott didn't get this through political pull. It met the rigid criteria. The only way to get ACE certification is to earn it."

He called the effort a reaffirmation, saying those in Prescott who worked on the project did what it took to earn the ACE designation.

"Prescott is part of an elite group of communities," he said, "and this bodes well for the future."

Huckabee said there are communities believing the ACE program has no real meaning, but they are wrong, he told the audience.

He likened the ACE certification to Halloween, saying when he was a boy in Hope children knew to go to the houses where the porch light was on and there was a pumpkin on the porch with a lighted candle in it. These houses, he said, were the ones advertising they were open to trick or treaters.

Children also knew not to go to homes with no porch light on, as these residents wither weren't there, or weren't participating in the Halloween festivities.

ACE is like this, he said, as it lets businesses and industries know you are open and ready for business. "Businesses looking for a place to go look for places with the lights on," Huckabee said. "This award is like saying the light is on and burning brightly. If you come to Prescott we'll treat you right."

The city, he said, deserves to celebrate its new status. "I congratulate you for being hard working, industrious people who have put out the welcome mat, saying come on, the light is on."

Pardue said she has a lot of affinity and affection for Prescott and was excited about the prospects and hard work done here.

Without a plan, she said, the community wouldn't know which way it was going. "I'm glad to be here to celebrate with your community."

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor spoke, saying this accomplishment was not the result of work done by any one individual, but required a lot of teamwork. "A lot of work has gone into this. We burned the midnight oil and the economic development board worked hard. I am honored as the result and feel we will soon reap the rewards."

Walt Denton, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said the new ACE requirements were spearheaded by Pardue, and is proud Prescott is the first city in Arkansas to be certified under them.

"It feels good," he said, "one of our goals was to be the first community to receive recertification under the new ACE guidelines, and nothing feels better than to achieve a goal.