Two years of hard work has finally paid off for the city of Marked Tree. The city has completed the requirements for certification as an Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE).

Marked Tree's certification came as part of the "Our Plan" program, a pilot program developed through Arkansas State University which an outline of the process and a guide for the city to follow through the steps in becoming ACE certified..

Each step of pilot program was monitored and evaluated, and changes were made as needed for use with future ACE certifications.

Marked Tree was chosen as one of four cities to participate in the ACE certification process using Our Plan and subsequently became the only one of the four original cities to complete the process of ACE certification using Our Plan.

The final step for the initial certification is for the Governor to visit Marked Tree and award the certification. The city expects this to happen soon depending on the governor's busy schedule.

Through the program, the city produced a step by step improvement process with goals for the future and produced a plan which will be updated on an annual basis. There is a complete copy of the ACE certification process on file at the mayor's office and can be viewed by the public. The plan contains goals and objectives including time lines for the projects of improvement identified by the citizens.

Many citizens of Marked Tree were involved in the process through community meetings and surveys. The certification plans were identified by the citizens of Marked Tree through completion of surveys and attending and participating at community meetings.

The process was led by several dedicated leaders in Marked Tree that chaired the different goal committees. The goals and objective chairpersons were Buddy Lovell, business attraction; Patricia Lee, funding; Patrick Tucker, housing and safety; Gary Masters, housing; Pam Wright and Dixon Chandler, business retention and expansion; Candi Daniels, area recreation and facilities; Jerry Rushing, marketing; Desha Smith, community involvement; and Soozi Williams, area promotion.

These are the Chairpersons but there were many others who served on the committees which made this certification possible. Many hours were devoted to this process and each participant should be very proud for what they have done for the city of Marked Tree.

"You should thank these people when you see them and volunteer to be part of this process going forward," said Buddy Lovell. " It is the citizens of Marked Tree who can make a difference in and for the future."

Lovell said those with questions about the plan should feel free to contact one of the committee chairs.

Each one of the Chairpersons will provide to the Tri-city Tribune an article about the plans, goals and objectives of his or her committee. These articles will appear, one each week, in the Tri-city Tribune during the next few weeks. There will be future community meetings to update and assess the progress toward the overall plan.