[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 13, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1529]]
     CONGRATULATING ROCKY MOUNT ON ITS ALL-AMERICA CITY DESIGNATION

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                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 13, 1999

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the City of 
Rocky Mount, North Carolina for earning the designation of an All-
America City. I have the honor of representing Rocky Mount in the U.S. 
House.
  Founded in the early part of the Nineteenth Century, Rocky Mount is 
now a city of more than 57,000 people located in the heart of eastern 
North Carolina. Its name derives from the rocky mound situated at the 
falls of the Tar River, which was the site of a new post office and one 
of the first cotton mills in North Carolina. In 1907, Rocky Mount, then 
with a population of about 7,500 people, was incorporated as a city. 
Following decades of growth and achievement, Rocky Mount was first 
named an All-America City in 1970.
  Almost 30 years later, Mr. Speaker, Rocky Mount continues to stand 
out for its civic excellence. The National Civic League, which has 
given out the All-America City Awards for the past 50 years, commended 
Rocky Mount as a community that teaches the rest of us how to face 
difficult situations and meet those challenges in innovative and 
collaborative ways. According to the organization, Rocky Mount is a 
city in which citizens, government, businesses and voluntary 
organizations work together to address critical local issues.
  Specifically, the National Civic League cited three examples of this 
type of cooperation in Rocky Mount. The city developed the Down East 
Partnership for Children, which is dedicated to achieving the 
fundamentals of quality child growth and development. It annually 
reaches more than 12,000 children, parents, and agencies. Rocky Mount 
also formed the Carolinas Gateway Partnership, a nationally recognized 
non-profit corporation partnership with 190 investors, which has 
secured commitments worth $170 million that will eventually create 
2,300 jobs as it seeks to promote economic development in the area.
  In addition, Rocky Mount became part of the Rocky Mount-Edgecombe-
Nash Educational Cooperative, which was designed to coordinate the 
resources of business and education for the betterment of both schools 
and students. Thus far, the Cooperative has funded more than 935 
creative teaching grants worth about $500,000 that have affected 
thousands of students. I would like to take a point of personal 
privilege in adding that I am profoundly grateful and proud of the 
Nash-Rocky Mount Public School system for its leadership in teaching 
character education in the classroom, yet another reason why Rocky 
Mount is an All-America City.
  Finally, I want to thank the Leadership Rocky Mount Alumni group and 
the Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce for all their hard work over the 
past few years to bring this outstanding recognition to Rocky Mount.
  Mr. Speaker, it is both an honor and a privilege to represent Rocky 
Mount and her 57,158 All-American citizens in the U.S. Congress. I 
encourage all my colleagues to read the following article from the 
Rocky Mount Telegram celebrating this well-deserved honor.

             [From the Rocky Mount Telegram, June 27, 1999]

                     Rocky Mount is All-American!!


     `All-America City' designation captured at Philadelphia event

                            (By Tom Murphy)

       PHILADELPHIA, Pa.--There's something about ``Rocky'' and 
     Philadelphia.
       In the city famed as the home of Sylvester Stallone's 
     fictional movie boxer, another Rocky--Rocky Mount--captured 
     All-America City status Saturday in the 50th annual awards 
     sponsored by the National Civic League and Allstate Insurance 
     Co.
       The other nine winners were Stockton, Calif.; Union City, 
     Calif; Tallahassee; Fla.; Wichita, Kan.; Shreveport, La; 
     Lowell, Mass.; Tupelo, Miss.; Green Bay, Wisc.; and Tri-
     Cities (Bristol, Va.; Johnson City and Kingsport, Tenn.). Two 
     other North Carolina finalists, Hickory and Morganton, failed 
     to make the cut.
       The awards honor communities that show exemplary grassroots 
     community involvement and problem-solving. The original field 
     of 93 applicants was cut to 30 finalists. As a winner, Rocky 
     Mount is eligible for a $10,000 award from Allstate.
       Mayor Fred Turnage, in accepting the All-America City 
     Award, reflected on another delegation from Rocky Mount that 
     stood on the All-America City stage in Philadelphia 30 years 
     ago.
       They also proclaimed that Rocky Mount was a community that 
     was walking to the beat of a different drum, and how it had 
     focused on racial harmony, quality education and job 
     opportunity, Turnage said.
       Turnage added in subsequent years and certainly in the most 
     recent decade, many citizens have worked diligently to 
     accomplish those goals.
       ``In recent years, the formation of partnerships has 
     enabled us to make significant strides in all of those 
     areas,'' he said. ``The Down East Partnership for Children is 
     a tremendous example of what cooperation can accomplish with 
     its total focus on giving our young people Smart Start and a 
     quality education.
       ``The Gateway Partnership has demonstrated what cooperation 
     and teamwork between the private and public sectors can truly 
     accomplish, and is helping provide quality job opportunities 
     and economic stability for our community.''
       Turnage said the third partnership, which was a part of 
     Rocky Mount's presentation, is a great example of what the 
     business and education community can and must do to achieve 
     quality education.
       ``It would be my hope that as pleased and humbled as we are 
     to have received this award that we, as well as other award-
     winning cities, would simply use it as an opportunity for 
     even greater cooperation and basis for addressing many of the 
     challenges that still confront us,'' he said. ``It is 
     important to recognize that the All-America City Award does 
     not mean a community is perfect, but that it is attempting to 
     meet challenges and solve problems in innovative and 
     cooperative ways at the ground level of democracy.''
       Turnage commended the Leadership Rocky Mount Alumni group 
     for initiating this process some two years ago, and for the 
     Chamber of Commerce for carrying the process to its 
     conclusion.
       ``There is a tremendous amount of work and effort that goes 
     into this process, and it takes a great deal of planning and 
     commitment to see it to a successful conclusion,'' he said.
       ``We are particularly proud of our young people, who were a 
     part of that delegation and who brought so much enthusiasm. 
     The Jazzy Jaguars from D.S. Johnson School particularly kept 
     us pumped up with their performances and energy.''
       Chamber President Charlie Glazener agreed.
       ``It's just unbelievable,'' said Glazener. ``We wish every 
     city here tonight could feel the pride our city feels.
       ``Mayor Turnage was so right when he accepted our award and 
     said it's time to start more projects for the next 
     generation.''
       City manager Steve Raper said the city is extremely proud 
     of its citizens across the entire Nash Edgecombe community.
       ``The people in Nash and Edgecombe are truly reflective of 
     the work we can do and all the work we've completed together 
     to improve our community,'' Raper said.

     

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