Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

A.C.E. Certification To Be Presented Next Wednesday

Governor Mike Huckabee will certify the city of Prescott with a distinct honor, Arkansas Community of Excellence (A.C.E.), according to Mayor Howard Taylor.

The award ceremony will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11, in the Prescott Elementary School auditorium.

The A.C.E. program was developed by the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC) to recognize cities meeting a rigid criteria. Prescott has been working toward A.C.E. status for over two years and is now being honored.

The rigid criteria met by Prescott is as follows: 1)+organize an economic development agency; 2)+create an existing industry program; 3)+prepare a marketable industrial site; 4)+prepare community information for economic development; 5)+develop a strategic plan; 6)+prepare a marketing strategy; and 7)+mock prospect visit.

"The city of Prescott, the Interlocal Cooperative Board and Nevada County Economic Development Office should be proud of A.C.E. certification," Taylor said. "It is one of the goals of this city's administration to become more competitive in the economic development arena. My wish is that from this intense preparation it eventually will secure the economic future of our city. This is a definite building block and one that will hopefully hlep us reap rewards."

"Governor Huckabee is very busy doing Arkansas's business and we are honored that Governor Huckabee and his liaison to economic development Eric Munson could certify this high designation," said Chandler Russ, executive director of Nevada County Economic Development Office.

"This designation is not the complete answer to problems in economic development and will not automatically create development. Being placed through the ACE scrutiny has made our community more marketable and a better place to live," Russ said.

"We as a community, must continue to work hard for industrial recruitment, even harder for existing business and industry and continuously improve by identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats," Taylor said.

Some accomplishments reached during the A.C.E. process include: the location of Rip Griffin's Truck Center, a successful annexation of approximately 1,000 acres of industrial land, a new water and sewer system for industrial development around the newly annexed area, the expansion of Potlatch, Firestone, Hines Trucking, Ward Wood Products, Hines Wood Fiber, Flywheel Pies, 12 new single family dwellings for low to very low income, new spec houses, a pro-business attitude, local city and county governmental collaboration, improved transportation, improved outdoor recreational opportunities, grants for business expansion, recreation, and medical equipment.

"We are proud of these accomplishments and of the ACE certification, but also understand that there is much work yet to be done, and we plan to do it," the Mayor said.