Recipient Celebrated for Civic Excellence and Resident Well-Being, Outshining Nearly 100 Competitors
(PRUnderground) January 23rd, 2025
Community Playmaker, a media platform designed to celebrate the work of civic leaders throughout the United States and arm them with the tools to enhance the quality of life for residents,” names the city of Greeley, Colorado as their Community of the Year for 2024. The community of nearly 113,000 people beat out nearly 100 small, midsize, and large communities that entered the contest to earn this honor.
The Community of the Year Award is a celebration of cities and the visionary leaders that spark progress. It’s about innovative programs and initiatives that drive economic development, promote community engagement, provide places for residents to work and play, support public safety, amplify the arts and culture, and build open, inclusive, high-quality environments for all citizens.
Cities from around the country submitted entries for the Community of the Year Award. The size of communities ranged from towns with a little more than 1,000 residents to some of America’s largest and most well-known cities and everything in between.
A panel of experts reviewed each entry with several criteria in mind, including the scope of the “quality-of-life” projects that were launched and the impact of each project, among other items. While we received many tremendous and inspiring entries, one stood above the rest.
“Greeley is a great example of a city that works collaboratively across departments and with its residents to determine the vision they have for their community and then, with determination, courage, and focus, is bringing it to life,” said Ashley Whittaker, editor-in-chief of Community Playmaker. “Through initiatives as diverse as their business incubator program gBeta to great cultural events like the annual Arts Picnic and the Blues Festival to their work to provide ‘Housing for All,’ we are inspired by the efforts they’ve made and continue to make.”
Greeley’s leaders have taken a comprehensive approach to enhancing the quality of life for current residents and attracting new residents. Their outstanding initiatives include:
- The Housing for All initiative- A strategic initiative to attract a wide range of residential development and help residents of all income levels get into homes
- gBETA- An incubator program that’s run by Gener8tor and underwritten by the city’s general fund. It provides mentorship and support to emerging technology businesses in Greeley
- A new mixed-use development in West Greeley that’s expected to bring 6,000 new homes, 3.5 million square feet of retail space, a youth hockey arena, an indoor waterpark, and a 350-room hotel
Check out our January edition of Community Playmaker (launching today) to learn more about Greeley’s incredible story. And subscribe to our weekly newsletter at communityplaymaker.com, for announcements about our 2025 Community of the Year, stories about cities throughout the United States, and information about our upcoming Summits.
About Community Playmaker Magazine
Community Playmaker is a platform dedicated to providing ideas and solutions for visionary community leaders, AKA “Playmakers”. These are the mayors, city council members, city/county administrators, and their teams who use their time, talent, and resources to do great things in their community. Public service is hard. Being a Playmaker is even harder. Each week, Community Playmaker provides stories from around the country highlighting how communities addressed a variety of issues from affordable housing to climate change to economic development. To learn more about Community Playmaker, subscribe to their weekly newsletter, or attend an upcoming Summit, visit communityplaymaker.com.
The post Community Playmaker Honors the City of Greeley, Colorado as 2024 Community of the Year first appeared on
Original Press Release.
