A Colorado-connected effort to stimulate rural economic development is taking on a decided country twang.
Award-winning entertainer and Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill is lending his voice to America’s Best Communities, a competition with $10 million to be awarded to winning proposals for rural revitalization.
The competition is sponsored by Frontier Communications, Dish Network and CoBank. Dish and CoBank are based in metro Denver. Bad luck, however, for Colorado’s smaller communities which aren’t eligible to compete for the prizes. The competition is open only to towns in the 28 states served by Frontier.
Grammy-winner Gill is scheduled to take the stage at a media event Jan. 15 in Nashville at the Ford Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, along with the CEOs of Frontier, Dish and CoBank — respectively, Maggie Wilderotter, Joe Clayton and Bob Engel.
“There’s a lot of small-town community in me. I have a small-town mentality.” Gill said. “Hey, this is where I live and I want to make it better.”
America’s Best Communities already has drawn more than 100 proposals from smaller communities. Fifty will be selected and provided funding to further develop and refine their plans. By 2017, the top three will share $6 million – $3 million to the winner, $2 million for second place and $1 million for third – to put their plans into effect.
The deadline for entry is March 25. The competition is open to municipalities with populations between 9,500 and 80,000. Sponsors are encouraging smaller towns to join forces with neighboring communities to become eligible.
