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(Georgia) OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY Southeast Regional Office 730 Peachtree Street, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Phone: 526-3194 NEWS for immediate release OEO ANNOUNCES URBAN SERVICE AWARDS Twelve community leaders,four newspapers, a television station and the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce were among the first to receive the recently established Urban Service Award of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Sargent Shriver, Director of OEO, has announced. This honor is for those i ndividuals and organi zations "whose dedicated effort s to allevi at e the pr oblems of t he poor in Americ a 's citie s have helped create a better life for our citizens," according to the award. The individuals included: in Atlanta, Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., Boisfeuillet Jones , Dr. ·Vi vian Henderson, Wi lliam W. Allis on, Dr. William Holmes Bord, Dan Sweat, Mrs Earl Metzger, Jr., Mrs Mattie Ansley and the late Charles O. Emmerich; . in Athens, Judge James Barrow; in Augusta, the Reverend E. 0. Waldron; and in Columbus , Virg\ nia Barfield. In additi on t o the above individual s , citations also wer e made t o t he Atl anta Constitution , the Atlant a J ournal, t el evi si on station WSB and the Atla.Dta Chamber of Commerce; and the Athens Ba.Dner-Herald and Daily News in Athens. Mayor Al len was cited for his dynamic l eadership of a progressive city during try:.ng time s, while Bill Allison and Dan Sweat were both cited for their s ervice to Economic Opportunity Atl anta and to the city government and the citi zens of the Atlanta area. Mr. Jones , who has s erved as Chairman of the Board of Economic Opportunity Atlanta; I nc ., was cited f or his numerous civi c contributions and f or his particular support of the War on Poverty. Mrs . Metzger was named for her service wi th the special task force assisting EOA in its programs around Atl ant a , particul arl y in the Head Start Programs . Dr. Henderson was cited for his service to t he community at large and the involvement of Clark College in poverty programs . (MORE) I �Page 2 (G a .) Dr. Borders was named for his long leadership in Atlanta and especially for the self-help projects which he has headed in poverty communities. Mrs. Ansley has worked diligently in creating interest in resident participation since the beginning of ,the War on Poverty in her neighborhood; her most recent activity has been to spearhead the target area elections for low income area representation to the Neighborhood Advisory Committee. Mr. Emmerich launched, was the first Director of Economic Opportunity Atlanta. He worked tirelessly from the time O,EO programs were first started in Atlanta until I his untimely death; in a very real ~ense , he gave his life in the War on Poverty. Judge Barrow has been active in the operation of the Athens Community High Schoo l and adult education program financed through grants made from OEO. Reverend Waldron has been extreme ly active i n the development of the Community Action Agency in Augusta, Georgia. He worked diligently in uniting the community, as well as interpreting the concept of Community Action to the point that the total community became concerned over the need to activate a program for the impoverished of Richmond County and Augusta , Georgia. Mrs. Barfield should be commended for her outstanding work in accomplishing the coordination of local resources in the establishment of the MIND Center at Columbus, Georgia, which is an adult education vehicle designed to take low-income persons with less than an eighth·grade education and upgrade them educationally two to four grade levels in eight to ten weeks . In presenting these Urban Service Awards, Sargent Shriver said, 11 America's most difficult challenge is in the city, and you met it by working in the ci ty to help improve the quality of urban life. Awards can never repay you for 'this unselfish dedication to the welfare of your fellow man, but they do affirm our· deep appreciation for your work in behalf of the poor. 11 Dr. Ralph A. Phe lps, Jr., Southeast Regional Director of OEO in Atlanta, said ' that all of the honorees were nominated by OEO 1 s Regional Office on the basis of their efforts to help the poor in their own communities. Awards went to War on Poverty Agenc ies, workers, volunteers and supporters in over 300 American cities. �