Representatives from the City of Fayetteville have returned home from Denver, Colorado victorious after being awarded the All-America City Award for 2023 by the National Civic League (NCL) at the All-America City (AAC) Award Event in Denver on Sunday, June 11.

This is the fourth year the City has been recognized, earning the honor in 1985, 2001, 2011 in addition to 2023.

“Being designated an All-America City is evidence Fayetteville continues to be a great collaborative, solution orientated and forward moving community,” said Mayor Mitch Colvin in a press release. “We are being recognized as one of the premier local communities across the country who engage our youth as we continue to make Fayetteville a desirable place to live, work, and recreate, not only today but well into the future.”

The AAC Award is given to 10 communities across the country annually. This year’s award recognizes Fayetteville as a community working to improve the health and well-being of young people, particularly focusing on civic engagement.

“We were elated! And I will tell you, we had some big cities that we went up against. We were in the  realms of Houston, Texas, San Antonio, and New York City was there,” shared City Council Member Kathy Jensen. “What was interesting was, there were 10 winners, and three of them were from North Carolina. It was Davie County, Charlotte and us, but it really showed that we are ahead of the game with our youth engagement.” 

Specifically highlighted in the City’s application was the commitment to engaging youth through the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council (FCYC). The FCYC community outreach efforts included in the application detailed the council’s passion for and desire to serve their community in a meaningful way, which is a part of the council’s mission.

The City continued to build on youth focused initiatives as key criteria for this year’s award included building the civic capacity of young people, promoting youth participation in voting and policymaking and providing leadership opportunities for youth through the efforts of the Fayetteville Next Commission. Additionally, the application included Market House Repurposing efforts and Education, Mentorship and Empowerment Programs.

“They [NCL Judges] were very interested and the youth council, they were very interested in Fayetteville NEXT and they were very interested in the repurposing of the market house,” said Jensen. “I think that they were very taken back by the market house conversations and how it still continues to this day.” 

Fayetteville was one out of 20 finalists to compete for the award by presenting projects related to this year’s theme, “Creating Thriving Community through Youth Engagement.”

Details of the application projects can be found on the National Civic League website here. 

A full list of winning cities can be found online here.