‘America’s Best Communities’ loss triggers ‘StartUp Norwich’ initiative
NORWICH – A nine-month endeavor to be named “America’s Best Community” came to an end this week upon news that Norwich will not move on in a privately funded, multi-million dollar competition.
The America’s Best Community contest is an initiative spearheaded by Frontier Communication that’s aimed at spurring the economy of small communities. Frontier, in partnerships with Dish Network, CoBank, and the Weather Channel, put up $10 million for the competition which the company says will provide a wealth of creative ideas about how to revitalize small towns and rural communities across the U.S.
The top prize in this competition: a hefty $3 million to implement a plan to jump-start the local economy.
Under the direction of Commerce Chenango, Norwich had been a formidable competitor in the America’s Best Communities contest. Commerce Chenango and other leaders in the Greater Norwich community submitted an application back in April and as a result, Norwich became one of 50 quarterfinalists to receive $35,000 to start work on a comprehensive economic revitalization plan.
Commerce Chenango was able to obtain an additional $15,000 in community matching funds thanks to support from its corporate mentor, Chobani.
But this week, the America’s Best Communities pannel announced that Norwich falls short in its implementation plan, making it ineligible for the $100,000 prize that’s awarded in the semi-finalist and finalist rounds of the competition.
Nevertheless, Commerce Chenango said it plans to chug ahead with its revitalization blueprint, with help from its community partners.
“While we weren’t selected as a semi-finalist in the America’s Best Communities competition, we are committed to implementing the Community Revitalization Plan for the Greater Norwich area,” Commerce Chenango wrote in a statement. “We had already identified additional partners that will be a good fit for the projects in the plan and will be moving forward beginning this spring.”
The Greater Norwich area is comprised of the city and township of Norwich, along with the towns and villages of Oxford, North Norwich, and Sherburne.
So what’s the plan? The initial project in the Greater Norwich Community Revitalization Plan is an innovation space with the resources needed to bring product and startup ideas into fruition. This “makerspace” of sorts will allow visionaries to use technologies such as 3-D printers and computer numerical control (CNC) machines, and give them access to woodworking, software development, electronics, and food processing capabilities.
The concept has already gained support from Morrisville State College and more than a dozen local industries, including Chobani, Golden Artist Colors, and NBT Bank – all of which believe the space will encourage collaboration and develop mentor relationships; and host programming on the ideation process, maker techniques, product development, and business management.
Commerce Chenango has set up a website (www.StartUpNorwich.com) where residents can learn more about their plan and submit new ideas. The organization swears a vision that by 2020, Greater Norwich will “be recognized for its support of innovation, business development and growth.”
“We are committed to all of the great communities in Chenango County, and we can’t wait to move forward with this #StartUpNorwich initiative,” the organization said.
The America’s Best Community contest is an initiative spearheaded by Frontier Communication that’s aimed at spurring the economy of small communities. Frontier, in partnerships with Dish Network, CoBank, and the Weather Channel, put up $10 million for the competition which the company says will provide a wealth of creative ideas about how to revitalize small towns and rural communities across the U.S.
The top prize in this competition: a hefty $3 million to implement a plan to jump-start the local economy.
Under the direction of Commerce Chenango, Norwich had been a formidable competitor in the America’s Best Communities contest. Commerce Chenango and other leaders in the Greater Norwich community submitted an application back in April and as a result, Norwich became one of 50 quarterfinalists to receive $35,000 to start work on a comprehensive economic revitalization plan.
Commerce Chenango was able to obtain an additional $15,000 in community matching funds thanks to support from its corporate mentor, Chobani.
But this week, the America’s Best Communities pannel announced that Norwich falls short in its implementation plan, making it ineligible for the $100,000 prize that’s awarded in the semi-finalist and finalist rounds of the competition.
Nevertheless, Commerce Chenango said it plans to chug ahead with its revitalization blueprint, with help from its community partners.
“While we weren’t selected as a semi-finalist in the America’s Best Communities competition, we are committed to implementing the Community Revitalization Plan for the Greater Norwich area,” Commerce Chenango wrote in a statement. “We had already identified additional partners that will be a good fit for the projects in the plan and will be moving forward beginning this spring.”
The Greater Norwich area is comprised of the city and township of Norwich, along with the towns and villages of Oxford, North Norwich, and Sherburne.
So what’s the plan? The initial project in the Greater Norwich Community Revitalization Plan is an innovation space with the resources needed to bring product and startup ideas into fruition. This “makerspace” of sorts will allow visionaries to use technologies such as 3-D printers and computer numerical control (CNC) machines, and give them access to woodworking, software development, electronics, and food processing capabilities.
The concept has already gained support from Morrisville State College and more than a dozen local industries, including Chobani, Golden Artist Colors, and NBT Bank – all of which believe the space will encourage collaboration and develop mentor relationships; and host programming on the ideation process, maker techniques, product development, and business management.
Commerce Chenango has set up a website (www.StartUpNorwich.com) where residents can learn more about their plan and submit new ideas. The organization swears a vision that by 2020, Greater Norwich will “be recognized for its support of innovation, business development and growth.”
“We are committed to all of the great communities in Chenango County, and we can’t wait to move forward with this #StartUpNorwich initiative,” the organization said.
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