Dubuque Again Named One of the Nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance Competition Showcases Successful Efforts by U.S. Cities and Towns to Help Young People Succeed
Dubuque, IA— America’s Promise Alliance (the Alliance), the nation’s largest alliance dedicated to children and youth, in partnership with Capital One, today announced that Dubuque has once again been named a winner of its 2008 100 Best Communities for Young People (100 Best) competition. The 100 Best competitions recognize the 100 outstanding communities across America—large and small, rural and urban—that are the best places for young people to live and grow up. More than 300 communities in all 50 states applied for the honor this year. The 100 winning communities span 37 states.Dubuque was selected as one of the 100 Best in large part because of its Every Child Every Promise Initiative (www.everychild-everypromise.org), which is represents the collaborative efforts of Dubuque’s numerous youth-serving agencies. Every Child Every Promise is a county-wide community engagement and education process for all citizens. It is fashioned after America’s Promise, a national model for community involvement for children. The mission of Every Child, Every Promise is to improve outcomes for our community's youth by concentrating the community’s focus on the fulfillment of the Five Promises: Caring Adults, Safe Places, Healthy Start, Effective Education, and Opportunities to Help Others. Local drivers behind the Every Child Every Promise process are the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and Mississippi Valley Promise.“Dubuque is elated and honored to receive this national distinction for the second consecutive year,” said Dubuque Mayor Roy D. Buol. “It affirms the great strides being made by so many of our organizations, agencies, and individuals - many of whom volunteer their time in order to make important differences in the lives of our young people.” Mississippi Valley Promise Executive Director Mary Moothart coordinated Dubuque’s application to the America’s Promise Alliance and noted that 39 individuals from 22 Dubuque organizations contributed to the application. “This award is well-deserved recognition of the efforts of many different entities in our community which include agencies and organizations, schools, city government, and faith communities to provide a community of promise and opportunity for young people, “ said Moothart. “My hope is that our community sees this award not only as a recognition of our efforts for young people so far, but as call to action to continue to work together so that we can provide opportunities for all the young people in our community.” “The prosperity of every community and this country depends on how well we care for our children and youth,” said Marguerite W. Kondracke, president and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance, “Although no place is perfect, when we have communities that make young people a priority and are working to make sure they stay in school and have all the resources necessary to lead healthy, productive lives, we must recognize them and by extension inspire other cities and towns to follow their lead.” “At Capital One, we are committed to building stronger communities, one neighborhood at a time,” said Carolyn Berkowitz, Vice President of Community Affairs for Capital One. “That’s why we’re proud to partner with the Alliance on the 100 Best competition to recognize the tremendous work in communities across the country to create environments where children and families have boundless opportunities as well as the support systems necessary to champion their growth and encourage their success.” The 100 Best competition was first held in 2005. This year’s winners were selected by a distinguished panel that included some of the nation’s most well-known civic, business and nonprofit leaders such as: Gayle Manchin, first lady of West Virginia, United Way President Brian Gallagher, former Mayor of Denver and President of Webb Group International, Wellington Webb, Thomas Donohue, president and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Carol Coletta, president and CEO, CEOs for Cities, Christine James-Brown, president and CEO, the Child Welfare League of America, and Dr. Suzanne Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change.All communities that completed entries in the 100 Best competition were required to submit detailed information to the Alliance on existing community programs and initiatives that help deliver the Five Promises—resources identified by America’s Promise as being critical to the development of healthy, successful children: caring adults; safe places; healthy start; effective education; and opportunities to help others; to their young people. Applicants were also asked to describe how different sectors of their community come together to deliver the Five Promises and specific efforts and programs developed to ensure that their young people graduate from high school prepared for college and/or the workforce. Each of these communities, regardless of whether they were selected as a winner, will be eligible to apply for $300,000 in grants from the Alliance next month. For more details about the 100 Best competition and to see a complete list of the 2008 winners, please visit www.americaspromise.org. About the America’s Promise Alliance America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s leader in forging a strong and effective partnership alliance comprised of corporations, nonprofit organizations, foundations, policymakers, advocacy and faith groups committed to ensuring that children receive the fundamental resources - the Five Promises – they need to lead successful, healthy and productive lives and build a stronger society. Building on the legacy of our founder General Colin Powell, the Alliance believes the success of our children is grounded in experiencing the Five Promises - caring adults; safe place; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help others - at home, in school and in the community. For more information on America’s Promise Alliance visit: www.americaspromise.org.
Dubuque Scores Third Largest Gain in U.S. on Forbes List
Dubuque, IA—Dubuque scored the third largest gain in the United States on the Best Places for Business and Careers list, according to the rankings of a prominent, national publication.
Dubuque moved ahead by almost 50 spots from its 2001 position to its new rank of 40 in Forbes Magazine’s recently released “2003 Best Places” edition. According to Forbes Magazine, Dubuque’s cost of doing business is also very favorable with a rank of 13 out of 168 cities in the United States.
Casper, Wyoming recorded the largest jump in the rankings, moving up 53 spots since 2001. Dubuque gained 22 spots last year and moved ahead by another 25 this year despite the addition of 74 new communities into the small city category. This increased competition is the likely reason why almost 75 percent of the cities listed in the 2001 report lost ground.
While pleased with the recognition from an outside entity that Dubuque is a great place for business and industry, Greater Dubuque Development officials are committed to continuing this positive economic momentum through programs like the River Valley Initiative. This ambitious economic development program is expected to create 2,500 news jobs and an additional 2,600 jobs over the next five years.
Military Benefit Extension Program
Members called to serve in the military may request a free, six-month extension of benefits through the Military Benefit Extension Program. Members whose reserve commitments are activated qualify for this extension of benefits. To apply, the application below must be completed, approved by the member's local chapter president, and returned to APICS Chapter Relations.
APICS Membership APICS—The Educational Society for Resource Management is an international educational society recognized worldwide for its training and certification programs. Our nearly 65,000 members are resource management professionals from 20,000 manufacturing and service companies around the world. APICS members are individuals responsible for directing the supply chain, materials management, information services, purchasing, customer service, and quality control within their companies.
APICS education and training tools offer members the opportunity to shape the direction of their future. Join APICS to begin benefiting from
· Enhanced skills and career mobility achieved through APICS Certification programs
· Full use of the premier online resource management placement site—the APICS Career Center
· The latest techniques and strategies discussed in leading-edge publications (available in print and online in the Members-Only section of the APICS Web site)
· Networking opportunities and targeted local training available through more than 270 APICS Chapters
· Discounts averaging 20% on APICS books, videotapes, courseware, and training aids
· Timely information on trends and best practices shared at the APICS International Conference and Exposition.
· Solutions and best practices shared by and with your peers through 10 electronic discussion lists
· Real-time solutions to real-life business challenges in areas from software selection to production activity control, available through Ask APICS (formerly the Industrial Inquiry Service)
· Discounts on business services such as car rental and express shipping services
· Specific industry/interest group knowledge offered by APICS SIGs
· recognition, career enhancement, increased project management, and team-building skills achieved through participation in the APICS Recognition Program.
