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The All-America Stories video contest if off to a rousing start. We now have seven videos posted on our Facebook video page.
(Late breaking update! We now have a submission from Ann Arbor, so that makes eight.
So far it is a close race between Torrance with 227 votes and Fayetteville with 151 votes. I just heard that Torrance took out an ad in the Daily Breeze asking people vote (like) their video. That is going to make Torrance a tough contender.
Also in the running are Cottonwood Heights, Fort Worth, Beloit, Buffalo and Dedham.
To look at the videos and to vote, go to our Facebook video page here. Click on the video to watch and then click on the word “Like” displayed below the video. Make sure you are saying you “like” the video and not someone’s comment on the video. It’s a little confusing, but it’s not that hard.
As we’ve noted before. This is something we do for fun. Everybody seems to like video and we try to get our new media/social networking going with the contest. Tell everybody you know to vote for their favorite video.
Fairbanks Flats
Constructed in 1920 by Fairbanks Morse, Beloit’s largest employer in those days, Fairbanks Flats served as segregated housing for the migrating African American workers during the labor shortages of World War I. Unfortunately, changing ownership and poor maintenance degraded the buildings to the point of inhabitation. Fairbanks Flats was facing demolition when a neighborhood group spoke up for a community-driven effort to restore the buildings. A community/city planning committee was soon formed to find potential developers. In 2006, Gorman & Company approached the city and agreed to restore Fairbanks Flats. Beloit donated Fairbanks Flats to Gorman and provided a $150,000 interest-free reconstruction grant. Additional support came from the state in the form of $2 million in low-income housing tax credits and by providing advanced technology and services to assist tenants with hearing disabilities. Throughout the process, Gorman employed a 33 percent minority workforce from the neighborhood. This allowed for valuable skills development and the development of relationships with contractors for future employment opportunities. Also, the rent-to-own feature implemented by Gorman provided the low- to moderate-income tenants with counseling and support in homeownership, and the eventual ability to purchase their units at a discounted price. Through the collaborative efforts of the city, state, community, and Gorman & Company, a significant piece of local history and culture was preserved, while developing the skills of residents. Fairbanks Flats is no longer a symbol of deterioration, but that of a common history and community.
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April 18, 2011 |
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