One Town, One Goal has earned the 2009 Outstanding Grassroots Initiative Award from the Georgia Chapter of the American Planning Association for its work in the Thomaston Mill Neighborhood.

City of Griffin Special Projects Coordinator Vicki Hyatt explained.

“We picked up the award on Oct. 2,” she said. “Me, Commissioner (Cynthia) Ward and (Griffin Director of Planning and Development Services) Frederick Gardiner accepted it on behalf of One Town, One Goal.”

She said Ward represents the district that includes the Thomaston Mill neighborhood and its pocket park. One Town, One Goal won the award for its work in the area, which included installing new playground equipment at the park, renovating owner-occupied homes, installing a butterfly garden at the park and doing a general cleanup in the neighborhood.

Hyatt said the award shows people from outside Griffin-Spalding County think One Town, One Goal is a good program. It will make it easier for the group to raise money.

“I think that it adds legitimacy to our efforts,” she said. “I think it will make fund-raising efforts easier in the future.”

She said One Town, One Goal intends to implement the second phase of its efforts to clean up the Thomaston Mill neighborhood in an area just to the east of the park, where the city will be rebuilding the water and sewer infrastructure with money from the Community Development Block Grant.

This is not the only award One Town, One Goal earned as a result of the Thomaston Mill project.

“We won another award for this,” she said. “I found out Tuesday. We got second place in the Keep Georgia Beautiful Community Improvement Category.”

Gardiner is also glad One Town, One Goal won the award.

“It’s been a great collaborative relationship with many of our nonprofits and other civic organizations and churches,” he said.

He said the goal is to continue what they are doing. He hopes to see changes in distressed neighborhoods.

“I was very happy that we got it,” Ward said. “I think that Vicki and Fred and the rest of the staff really worked hard on getting it.”

She said the participation of the residents of the Thomaston Mill neighborhood was essential to the completion of the project.

“We appreciate everything that the Kiwanis Club did, and the other organizations too,” she said.