The Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and Strive2Thrive took home big honors at the 2012 American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) National Convention held Aug. 1 through Aug. 4 in Louisville¸ Ky.

The Chamber‚s unique workforce development program, which seeks to partner working professionals with Albany-area families living in poverty, won the Gold Communications in Excellence Award by the ACCE, before being named “Best of Show” in its category. Albany beat out the Prince William Chamber of Commerce in Virginia for the top honor.

S2T was also named a finalist in the Alliance for Regional Stewardship (ARS) Organizational Champion Award. Only three chambers nationwide were named ARS finalists - a nod to the Albany’s success in demonstrating the principles of regional stewardship including innovation, creating livable communities, social inclusion and collaborative governance.

The Chamber’s Deborah Bowie, Senior Director of Public Policy & Communications, authored the winning submissions and served as the opening and closing session emcee for more than 2,500 chamber executives representing hundreds of communities across the country.

S2T Director Ausha Jackson was also featured prominently at the convention when she shared details of the local initiative as a participant on the prestigious ARS Blue Ribbon Panel that featured winning communities and their programs.

Chamber President & CEO Chris Hardy and S2T co-founders Dr. John Culbreath and Cynthia George also attended the convention.

S2T was created more than two years ago by the Chamber as an answer to stemming the region’s disproportionate poverty rate. Last year Albany made national headlines for its ranking by Daily Finance, a division of AOL, as the nation’s fourth-poorest community in the nation. S2T leaders quickly assembled to launch an aggressive media campaign in 2011 to help spread the word about the program, which includes, among other things, an 18-month intentional relationship between working professionals (called "allies") and people living at or below the poverty level (called "circle leaders").

S2T is modeled after the national “Move the Mountain” Circles Campaign, led by Scott Miller.

For more information about Strive2Thrive, call the Chamber at 229-434-8700.