San Luis, Healthy Yuma semifinalists in state projects contest

The City of San Luis and the Yuma Regional Medical Center Foundation are semifinalists in a statewide competition for the best community project proposals.

The Five Communities Project, sponsored by the Center for the Future of Arizona, selected 33 proposals from seven Arizona counties as semifinalists, two of which are from Yuma.

“The statewide competition seeks to elicit the best ideas for strengthening Arizona at the local level, and help communities move forward in areas such as job creation, education, civic engagement and the environment,” the center said in a news release.

Karin Meza, spokeswoman for the City of San Luis, said it is very honored to be chosen as a semifinalist.

With the recent idea to form a trans-national council, the City of San Luis was selected for its leadership in economic development on a regional basis, benefiting both Yuma County and San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.

Through its Barrier to Bridge project, San Luis has been building an identity by focusing on the dynamism of border culture, said Michael Trend, community development director.

“We are promoting economic development, international cooperation in economic activity, and we are promoting human capital investment, through training of labor forces on both sides of the border,” he said. Trend noted that according to a study of shopping habits of border crossers by the University of Arizona, roughly $1 in every $8 spent in San Luis, Ariz., comes from Mexico.

The other Yuma proposal choosen as a semifinalist is the countywide movement Healthy Yuma 2011.

Dr. Carl Myers, a key spokesman for the movement, said that he is very excited to have the initiative chosen.

The Healthy Yuma 2011 effort, founded by the Yuma Regional Medical Center Foundation and the Yuma Sun, is a unique project that does not have another community to look to for an example, he said.

“Our goals - to lose 140 tons, walk 3 million miles, and double our fruits and vegetable consumption - will result in a significantly healthier community,” Myers explained. “The business community is excited about this because of the potential for increased productivity and decreased health care costs. Not only that, people just feel better when they are making better exercise and nutrition choices.”

He added that the support from the Chamber of Commerce, City of Yuma, Yuma County and the members of Healthy Yuma 2011 steering committee have been key to getting this huge effort to improve the health of Yuma County citizens.

“Whether Healthy Yuma 2011 gets further on in the competition or not, we know that we are addressing some of the most important issues facing communities today,” Myers said, noting that more information about the initiative can be found on www.healthyyuma.org or on Facebook at Healthy Yuma 2011.

“As Washington seems to be engulfed in politics, local efforts become even more important,” he said.

The 33 semifinalists selected represent one-third of the proposed community projects submitted from diverse groups across the state.

“Those eligible to apply included entities with clear geographic boundaries such as municipalities, school districts, tribal communities, economic development regions, religious communities and large neighborhood organizations,” the news release said. “All proposed projects are required to support one or more of the eight goals that Arizona citizens responding to the Gallup Arizona Poll identified as top priorities.”

Communities will find out in late August if they have been selected as one of the top 10 finalists, at which time they will receive $5,000 to help with the costs of developing a final proposal. By the end of 2011, five winners will be chosen to create action plans and to jointly apply with the center for the national funding to implement the plans over a three-year period.

“The surprisingly strong response to the Five Communities Project is an encouraging first step in helping us build, community by community, the Arizona we want for the future,” said Lattie Coor, former Arizona State University president and CFA chairman and CEO.

Visit www.TheArizonaWeWant.org for more information and the list of semifinalists.

Sarah Womer can be reached at swomer@yumasun.com or 539-6858.