Sugar Hill among first to receive visionary city award

Sugar Hill Mayor Steve Edwards, Council Members Brandon Hembree and Taylor Anderson and Downtown Coordinator Nadia Merritt accept a Visionary City Award from Georgia Trend magazine and the Georgia Municipal Association. (Courtesy City of Sugar Hill)

Sugar Hill Mayor Steve Edwards, Council Members Brandon Hembree and Taylor Anderson and Downtown Coordinator Nadia Merritt accept a Visionary City Award from Georgia Trend magazine and the Georgia Municipal Association. (Courtesy City of Sugar Hill)

The Georgia Municipal Association recently selected cities to receive a new honor: Visionary City Award. Sugar Hill received the inaugural award presented by Georgia Trend magazine and GMA in the large city category with a population of over 25,000 citizens. Nine cities were chosen for creating positive community change through effective civic engagement and collaboration.

“It’s our privilege to honor the elected officials, city staff and community leaders of these nine cities who’ve led these initiatives and projects,” said GMA Executive Director Larry Hanson. “These cities exemplify what it means to be forward-thinking for their residents and generations to come and also serve as inspiring examples of civility, collaboration and creating communities of positive change across Georgia.”

Sugar Hill was recognized for the sense of place created by and community involvement responsible for the creation of the city’s E Center, a 180,000-square-foot mixed-use development.

Chamblee and Marietta were also recognized in the large city category. Hogansville, Donalsonville and Winterville won in the small city category. In the medium city category, Adel, Thomasville and Decatur took home the honors.

In addition to being recognized during GMA’s Cities United Summit, winning cities will be highlighted in the Feb. issue of Georgia Trend.