Under the shadow of the Fourth of July on Friday, the city of Presque Isle celebrated America’s birthday by rededicating itself as a “All-America City,” a designation it first received from the National Civic League in 1966 that “went under the radar.”
The National Civic League is a nonprofit organization that works to help advance civic engagement and democracy in communities.
Each year, it awards 10 cities with “All-America City” designations for showing “excellence in local innovation, civic engagement, and cross-sector collaboration.”
Friday’s rededication served as part of a heightened effort by Presque Isle officials to build pride in the city’s history and encourage growth in the present.
“Earlier this week, someone had asked me, ‘Why are we celebrating something that happened more than 50 years ago? Isn’t there anything else that we have done worthy of acknowledgement in the past 50 years?’” city communications & media officer Shawn Cunningham said.
“The answer is a resounding yes,” Cunningham said. “This rededication serves as a purposeful introspection to reflect back on how far we’ve come, celebrate where we are today and get excited about where we’re headed as a city.”
With new city manager Sonja Eyler, who officially took over in June, Presque Isle has made strides to improve its outward communication. That includes new forms of content on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn highlighting businesses and community events, as well as bringing local organizations into City Hall to engage with local government.
“Our city is beautiful, but we’re not good at telling our story,” Eyler said. “The National Civic League agreed with us that we have a pretty great city, so we’re going to be telling more about what we do and for whom, and hope that recognition like this comes regularly and growth comes right on the heels of it.”
‘We wanted to honor our veterans’
During Friday’s press conference, Cunningham also announced the new location of the city’s Veterans’ Banner Corridor, a community banner program in partnership with the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee that allows members of the public to purchase a banner in honor of a local veteran.
Previously running through downtown Presque Isle exclusively on Main Street, the new corridor will begin on North Street at the intersection with Carmichael Street. It then heads north on Main Street past Veterans Memorial Park and Presque Isle’s VA Clinic, an intentional choice by the city.
“That area has kind of been unofficially a veteran’s area but now it’s going to be officially our Veterans’ Banner Corridor,” Cunningham said.
Since the program was launched in 2022, community organizations and family members have bought more than 70 banners, Cunningham said. The program is open to veterans from Presque Isle, Mapleton, Chapman, Castle Hill and Westfield.
“We wanted to honor our veterans,” Cunningham said. “We appreciate the service that they have done. Many have given the ultimate sacrifice.”
“This rededication isn’t just a celebration of our past. It’s a challenge to keep growing, to remain the kind of place where kids want to stay, where families want to build a light, and where everyone, no matter who they are, feels welcome.”
