The telecast also featured the �Communities Responding to Growth� presentation as taped from the OSD/Military Service/Community Conference � Responding to BRAC 05, held in Atlanta on May 2-5, 2006.

Brigadier General Macdonald spoke first about how his work at the U.S. Army Community and Family Development Center addresses the social welfare issues related to BRAC 05, such as readying schools for the influx of new students. The U.S. Army Community and Family Development Center has 167 missions that address the welfare of the soldier and his family.

Macdonald gave the example of El Paso, Texas, as a community that has been successful in accommodating the influx of school-age children as a result of BRAC. El Paso was able to achieve this success in a number of ways: Having a strong supporter in Congressmen Silvestre Reyes; passing bond issues to finance schools; and securing the construction of a teachers college at the University of Texas-El Paso to help meet the need for more than 1,000 teachers and school administrators in the area.

Philip Grone highlighted three examples where communities have handled growth successfully: the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Fla.; the reuse of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., as a medical campus for the University of Colorado; and Fort Sheridan, located outside of Chicago, which was turned into a housing development.

Patrick O�Brien spoke about the economic impact that communities experience from an influx of thousands of people, which include the need for affordable housing; the strain on schools, roads, water and sewer services, and police and fire protection; the need for adequate medical service providers; and spouses looking for jobs. �People don�t have to reinvent the wheel on growth,� O�Brien stated; rather, they can use as models the communities that have already shown success in base realignment. For further information on OEA�s work with BRAC 05 and to access a list of grant opportunities, please visit www.oea.gov.

The telecast is available for viewing on the EDA website. If you have watched the telecast, please complete an evaluation form, available on the NARC website. Be sure to watch EDA Update for information on the next telecast.

Preserve America Presidential Award Winners Announced

The Preserve America Presidential Awards were created in 2003 to recognize outstanding contributions to America�s cultural and natural heritage. By their efforts, the award winners have drawn tourists to historic sites and towns, revitalized communities and natural spaces, and opened up new opportunities for learning. This year�s winners include:

Mission San Luis: This project has reconstructed the former Western capital of Spanish Florida in Tallahassee. The state of Florida, in partnership with local and private groups, successfully recreated nearly every detail of the mission. By their painstaking effort, they have helped Mission San Luis rise from the ashes to an educational, cultural and historical resource reflecting Florida�s beginnings.

The state of Maryland: Through a new program called Maryland Heritage Areas, the state is protecting areas of historical significance and increasing heritage tourism and educational opportunities. State and community leaders are investing in projects to highlight special parts of American history, including the location where Harriet Tubman�s Underground Railroad helped slaves escape to the North, and Fort McHenry, the site that inspired Francis Scott Key to write America�s National Anthem.

Tauck World Discovery: Since 2003, this company has been running an innovative volunteer program in Yellowstone National Park, in which tourists who come to appreciate the scenic landscape can also help keep those vistas beautiful by contributing a good day�s work. Since the program began, guests have donated almost 10,000 hours of labor on projects throughout the park.

Hampton Hotels: Under their �Save a Landmark� program, Hampton Hotels is helping communities rehabilitate roadside attractions along America�s great highways. Their efforts have helped preserve landmarks along Route 66, to restore the Jesse Owens Park in Alabama, and to refurbish one of the country�s classic theme parks in New Jersey.

Cast Your Nominations for The Phoenix Awards

The Phoenix Awards are the premier honors for achievement of excellence in brownfield redevelopment. Created in 1997, this prestigious award honors individuals and groups who are working to solve the critical environmental challenge of transforming abandoned industrial areas into productive new uses. The awards are open to any individual, group, company, organization, government body or agency. Criteria for The Phoenix Awards focus on the magnitude of the project, innovative techniques, solutions to regulatory issues, and impact upon the community. A panel of environmental professionals and business, academic and government leaders select the winners.

The 2006 Phoenix Awards deadline is Friday, June 30, 2006. For more information, visit the Phoenix Awards website today. Click here for a PDF of the Phoenix Award application, or here for a Microsoft Word version.

EDA Update is brought to you as a benefit of a partnership among the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), to provide information about economic development practices and programs to economic development practitioners who serve distressed communities throughout the United States. This partnership also provides six telecasts and a quarterly magazine. For more information, visit the EDA Web site.