AIB Winners Announced

Winners in nine population categories were announced at the Fourth Annual America in Bloom (AIB) Symposium and Awards Program on Saturday, September 10, at the Marriott Key Center, Cleveland, Ohio. The event was hosted by the 18 northeast Ohio communities that have participated in AIB since its inception in 2002.

AIB is a national campaign and contest that promotes enhancing communities through beautification. In the friendly competition, communities are matched by population and evaluated on their efforts related to floral displays, urban forestry, landscaped areas, turf and groundcover, tidiness, environmental awareness, heritage conservation and community involvement.

Nearly 50 communities from all regions of the country participated in the fourth edition of AIB. AIB’s 2005 population category winners are:

• 5,000 or less – Lewes, Del.
• 5,001-10,000 – Meredith, N.H.
• 10,001-15,000 – Loveland, Ohio
• 15,001-20,000 – Newburyport, Mass.
• 20,001-50,000 – Hudson, Ohio
• 50,001-100,000 – Kettering, Ohio
• 100,001-300,000 – Rockford, Ill.
• 300,001 and greater – Grand Central Partnership – New York city
• University Campus – Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

Eight special awards were presented to communities that received high marks out of contestants in all population categories. These include :

• Ball Horticultural Co. Floral Displays Award – University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
• Yoder Brothers Heritage Preservation Award – Eureka Springs, Ark.
• Project Evergreen Landscaped Areas Award – Westlake, Ohio
• American Horticultural Society Community Involvement Award – Logan, Ohio
• The Scotts Co. Turf & Groundcover Areas Award – Ocala, Fla.
• Gardens Alive! Environmental Awareness Award – St. Paul, Minn.
• Planting Pride Magazine Tidiness Award – Bartlett, Tenn.
• Urban Forestry Award – Riverside, Calif.

Plans are underway for the 2006 edition of AIB. Communities can register to enter at www.americainbloom.org