Fifty years ago, Mooresville came tantalizingly close to winning a prestigious All-America City award from the National Civic League. The town had trumpeted its many physical and cultural improvements of the past decade in that 1960 application, and it resulted in Mooresville finishing a close second in the competition.
This time, our town has an even better chance. Unlike many other Carolinas textile towns, Mooresville easily survived the late-1990’s closing of its giant textile mill. That’s because we already had a significant motorsports presence and an industrial diversity largely triggered by the arrival of several Japanese automotive parts manufacturers.
Our historic downtown hasn’t died; to the contrary, it is thriving. We are home to the world headquarters of Lowe’s. We boast top-rated schools in two different districts. The Mooresville Christian Mission and Mooresville Soup Kitchen are testaments to how to run charities correctly.
As we detailed in Wednesday’s Tribune, Mayor Chris Montgomery has begun a push for the town to seek the All-America City award. He is seeking town government’s blessing, and this morning is presenting his case to commissioners.
If we do this right, it shouldn’t cost taxpayers any more than about a hundred bucks. That’s the initial application fee. If we make it to the finals next spring, the cost could soar to $15,000 or so. We cannot afford to use any taxpayer money for that, of course, but Mooresville has enough generous, deep-pocked folks and business people that we should have little trouble meeting the challenge.
Receiving the recognition of an All-America City would be icing on the cake for what Mooresville has achieved over the past 20 years. On the practical side, it would enhance our economic development abilities which, in turn, will help us continue to thrive.
We hope our town's government and its residents embrace the All-America City effort. Only good things can come from it.
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