FRENCH LICK – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) announced Lawrence has earned an Aim Community Placemaking Award for Operation Fort Ben. The city was honored with this award on Thursday, November 3 during the Annual Awards Luncheon – presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, LLC during the 2022 Aim Ideas Summit in French Lick. Lawrence won in the greater than 50,000 population category.
Fort Benjamin Harrison military base was decommissioned in 1995, and the City of Lawrence had an opportunity to reimagine the base. With the guidance of the Fort Harrison Reuse Authority, the City has created a vibrant new downtown and as The Fort has grown, so has the demand for increased access to quality-of-life amenities. The City of Lawrence invested heavily in developing features, such as an events plaza, cultural campus, bikeshare program, pollinator habitat, pickleball facility, and more. The former military base is now a fun place to live and play.
Aim CEO Matt Greller said, “It has been exciting to see the Lawrence not only pick themselves up by their bootstraps since the base’s decommissioning, but thrive into a vibrant community full of amenities and opportunities. Operation Fort Ben includes the community assets and programs that people mean when they talk about quality of place.”
In its 46th year, the Aim Annual Awards program, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC, recognizes communities and individuals in municipal government for excellence and outstanding achievement. A seven-member panel of qualified judges selected this year’s winners from a competitive field of nominees from around the state.
Conference Facts:
2022 Aim Ideas Summit
November 2-4, 2022
French Lick Resort
Attendance: 1000 (pending final registration count)
Further information: www.aimindiana.org