Neighborhood Awards Program

City Recognizes Outstanding Neighborhood-Led Efforts

Throughout Tallahassee, there are hundreds of vibrant, diverse neighborhoods that, together, make up who we are as a community. For decades, the City of Tallahassee has hosted the Neighborhood Awards Program to recognize neighborhoods and individuals who have gone above and beyond to make their communities a more livable place. The City recently called for nominations for the 2019/2020 program year. Completed applications shined a light on the people, programs and accomplishments that enrich our community's unique charm and recognized the outstanding efforts that have helped to strengthen individual neighborhoods and our entire community. 

City of Tallahassee Neighbor of the Year
The Neighbor of the Year award recognizes an individual who has exemplified the characteristics of leadership and service in making contributions to the community.

• 2020 Winner: Dr. Kathleen Figley, Woodland Drives Neighborhood Association
  Dr. Figley helped neighbors prepare for disasters and provide guidance after impact. She envisioned a safety team that worked from a common playbook and utilized the City’s Neighborhood PREP program as the standard. Having a vision to work with nearby neighborhoods, Dr. Figley applied for the City’s Vibrant Neighborhoods Grant to spearhead a hurricane safety festival for six nearby neighborhoods, with PREP goals as the centerpiece of their efforts. Dr. Figley recruited a volunteer planning committee and invited City, County and university representatives to bring awareness to various programs and services. Under Dr. Figley’s leadership, new relationships were formed, and the PREP implementation was expanded.

City of Tallahassee Neighborhood of the Year - Large
The Large Neighborhood of the Year award is presented to a neighborhood that has more than 200 homes and has facilitated improvements in their area that have positively impacted the community.

• 2020 Winner: Summerbrooke Property Owners Association
  Summerbrooke POA created a mission five years ago - to make their community the best in Tallahassee. Residents identified issues and developed a plan of action for how to fix them. The association started a Neighborhood Safety Initiative in 2018/2019 and continued the effort through the pandemic. Residents worked with the City to install additional speed bumps, extra lighting and cameras at entrances and helped police identify and arrest those involved with two robbery events. In addition, the POA met with key leaders throughout year regarding the Bannerman Road Development, provided updates to community members via the association’s newsletter and social media sites and created a new website to educate Summerbrooke and neighboring communities on the development. Despite COVID-19, the association remained in touch with residents by hosting virtual HOA meetings, which, to their surprise, increased attendance. The association also introduced three new COVID-safe social events to keep neighbors connected, which included a Virtual Happy Hour, Halloween House Decorating Contest and Christmas House Decorating Contest. Each event resulted in tremendous neighborhood involvement. Despite adversities, residents have worked together for the good of all and have become a true community, continuing to achieve their set goals and working with nearby neighborhoods to develop lasting friendships.

City of Tallahassee Neighborhood of the Year - Small
The Small Neighborhood of the Year, a neighborhood with 200 homes or fewer, recognizes one that has facilitated improvements in their area that have positively impacted the community.

• 2020 Winner: Brookwood Drive Neighborhood Association
  Residents of Brookwood Drive know what it means to work together toward a common goal. They recently completed a beautification project that included cleaning up excessive vegetation growth at the entrance of their neighborhood and installing their 2019 Neighborhood of the Year sign with decorative landscaping. Residents also cleaned up a business property that a nearby strip mall owner had neglected, which improved the overall visual appearance of the neighborhood entrance. The project was funded by donations from residents and increased the sense of ownership in the neighborhood.

City of Tallahassee Best Neighborhood Program Award, Social Improvement
The Best Social Neighborhood Improvement Program award goes to a project focusing on enhancing the social or cultural aspects of a neighborhood be it related to safety, youth and/or senior programs, programs that foster teamwork, or something else.

• 2020 Winner: Woodgate Neighborhood Association
  During spring 2019, residents of the Woodgate neighborhood developed the "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" program to assist neighbors, particularly elderly neighbors, with various needs. The program includes a non-emergency helpline that allows residents to request services from other Woodgate residents, ranging from grocery shopping to assistance with computers and online technology. To develop the program, resident volunteers created a survey to gauge the needs of neighbors, as well as neighbors’ interests to perform services. The surveys were used to develop a database to match service requests to resident volunteers who can provide assistance.
• 2020 2nd Place - Woodland Drives Neighborhood Association
• 2020 3rd Place - Summerbrooke Property Owners Association

City of Tallahassee Best Neighborhood Program Award, Physical Improvement
The Best Physical Neighborhood Improvement award recognizes a project focusing on enhancing the physical aspects of a neighborhood (parks, lighting, litter control, housing improvements, etc.)

• 2020 Winner: Old Town Neighborhood Association
  Residents of the Old Town neighborhood utilized funding from the City’s Vibrant Neighborhood Grant program to enhance the neighborhood entrance on Terrace Street, near Leon High School. The project involved a number of native landscaping and building activities. Residents partnered with Leon High School, City of Tallahassee, Florida Department of Transportation, Native Nurseries and Betton Hills Neighborhood Association to complete the project. In addition, residents have also built a brick neighborhood marker on Claude Pichard Drive, another major entrance into the neighborhood. Through the efforts of this project, residents and passersby now have a sense of place and believe that the improvements are essential to the beauty, identity and quality of life for residents.
• 2020 2nd Place - Crawfordville Trace Neighborhood Association
• 2020 3rd Place - Brookwood Drive Neighborhood Association