About

We love where you live! Every day, we see the amazing creativity of our members as you search for new and better ways to make vibrant communities for your residents. From small villages to big cities, you have exhibited great resourcefulness in many arenas. Vacant buildings have sprung to life with imaginative new uses. Waterfront and water treatment challenges have been met with inventive solutions. And residents’ social and cultural needs have received an artistic touch.

That’s why we developed the Community Excellence Award (CEA) in 2007 – so we could honor and celebrate the innovative placemaking programs and projects in communities all across the state. We want everyone to know about the wonderful work going on in Michigan cities and towns and feel inspired to do great things in their own places.

Benefits

Participating in the CEA program comes with a variety of benefits, perhaps the most important of which is community pride. The online nature of the program allows you to boast about your project to a statewide audience! But we offer other perks as well:

Convention - Finalists present their projects to their peers at the League's annual Convention; winner becomes the proud owner of the engraved cup for the year.
Press coverage - State and local media are notified of winners and finalists, as well as details of their projects.
Website presence:
- League Home Page - Winner is profiled, finalists are mentioned
- CEA Website - Winner and finalists receive top billing; all projects are available on the site to inspire other communities.
Magazine coverage in The Review:
- Winner is highlighted in a cover story in the January/February issue
- Finalists are highlighted in feature stories throughout the year
Further promotion - All projects are potential subjects for case studies, magazine articles, and more.