The City of Santa Clarita was the recipient of the League of California Cities prestigious Helen Putnam award of excellence for its Extreme Neighborhood Makeover program. The winners of the 2010 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence were presented at the League of California Cities’ Annual Conference, September 15-17 in San Diego.

The Extreme Neighborhood Makeover program was selected in the category of housing programs and innovations.  The Helen Putnam awards program holds a long tradition with all California cities and the League as being a coveted and premier award.

“The City of Santa Clarita is very honored to have been chosen as one of the Helen Putnam award recipients this year.  Our Extreme Neighborhood Makeover program has been successful and we are thrilled to share it with other California cities,” said Mayor Laurene Weste.

Santa Clarita’s Extreme Neighborhood Makeover program is a grass-roots effort to clean up individual neighborhoods using a community partnership approach.  The program includes a kick-off block party with city and community leaders, inclusion of nonprofit and church groups to assist individual homeowners with clean up and beautification efforts, as well as assistance from the City’s many departments including arborists, streets, graffiti abatement and the Sheriff’s department. 

Helen Putnam was a mother, school teacher, principal, mayor and county supervisor. But most of all, Helen Putnam was a person who viewed meeting one’s potential as the measure of success. Excellence, to Helen Putnam, was shown by someone who did his or her very best. She was as supportive and loving of people who did their best as she was of people who did the best. To the League and to California Cities, Helen Putnam defined excellence.

For more information about the City of Santa Clarita’s Extreme Neighborhood Makeover program, go to: http://www.santa-clarita.com/extreme-makeover/index.asp