Much more than a beautiful city

As the mayor of Arroyo Grande since 2002, Tony Ferrara discovered America in Bloom three years into his leadership, and he’s still excited about it almost a decade later. “This organization has been absolutely amazing,” he says. It’s helped them build community partnerships with city government, service organizations and a wide array of volunteers within his community, tapping into an existing network of local talent.

Arroyo Grande, a town of about 17,000, has won numerous awards, including an induction into the Circle of Champions.

Friendships developed and volunteers took pride in their work, increasing the overall commitment to making the city better. “With just a few hours a day on a Saturday morning, we can step into a project that needs a lot of work, and step out three hours later and see an incredible difference,” he says.

The benefit of competition is one of the takeaways for Ferrara and Arroyo Grande. “It’s not just a competition with other cities, but a recognition that you’re essentially competing with yourself to make your city better,” he says. Judges come from various parts of the country for a two day visit, with backgrounds in areas like landscape and historic preservation. “They come into your community with a fresh set of eyes. They see things you don’t see on a daily basis. You see things as they are, not as they could be.”

The judges leave an evaluation, which has become Arroyo Grande’s annual work plan. “You’d pay someone a lot of money to come in and do the same thing. It’s an element of the program that’s so invaluable,” he says. While their organization doesn’t follow up on every recommendation, they do follow up on many. Some require additional resources or city government involvement. “But because that partnership exists, in most cases those resources can become available,” he says.

Ferrara can list some of the changes the city has made:

• Standardizing and redesigning their city’s entrance signs.
• Creating a self-guided historic walking tour to promote the town’s buildings available as a website download.
• Forming a public art committee and commissioning a mural depicting their agricultural heritage.
• Revamping their community garden
   

Aside from the town looking better, Ferrara says the AIB awards have been a good marketing tool to encourage tourism and business development. They showcase their city nationally through the AIB website and signs in town displaying their awards.

One reason they’ve been successful, Ferrara says, is that they found the right leader. The organization also must be able to stand on its own as a nonprofit, so that it can accept tax-deductible donations rather than operating through city government.

“Those chartered under city government are often cut when budgets are analyzed. “That’s why it’s important for the community to own the organization,” he says.

Even after nine years of program participation, Ferrara says the enthusiasm is still there for AIB. “For nine years, we’ve had an increase in volunteers and the same core group continues to exist. It’s much, much more than just planting flowers in the ground. It’s a way to build enthusiasm, commitment and dedication in the community. I don’t know where we’d be without AIB today.”

The author is a freelance writer in Westfield, New Jersey.