The Political Whore

The National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference concludes tonight in Tampa. Here is the last of the projects we have highlighted, all nominees in the judging that leads up to the announcement of 10 All-America Cities starting at 7 p.m. Watch here for the results:

Caroline County, Virginia
Caroline’s Promise Dental Program

Caroline’s Promise is a nonprofit organization that strives to meet the physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being of the county’s youth. One of the organization’s five pledged promises is to provide a healthy start and future for all Caroline County children, and this promise is the focus of the dental program started in 2003. Like many rural counties, Caroline County has struggled with issues brought about by the shortage of medical professionals in the county and the resulting lack of access to care. In response, the County developed an innovative rural Dental program that has received numerous national awards.  A number of things have made this program successful. One is having the dentist located in a modern and permanent surrounding and not a mobile unit, which gives assurance to the children and parents of the quality of care they are receiving.  Another is the involvement of the county school system through the school nurses and its transportation system. The success of the program in Caroline County is now looked upon as the model for future programs in the region.

Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City tonight at the conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.