Courtesy / MaineHousing
MaineHousing's 50th annivesary initiatives in 2019 included a collaboration with Maine Head Start on an art project for students on "what home means to me."
October 28, 2020
MaineHousing wins national recognition for a marketing campaign
Courtesy / MaineHousing
MaineHousing's 50th anniversary marketing earned an award from the National Council of State Housing Authorities, and included a timeline that was reproduced from the 50th anniversary booklet and now decorates the walls at the Maine agency's new location, 26 Edison Drive in Augusta.
By Maureen Milliken
MaineHousing was one of 16 state housing authorities recognized this week by the National Council of State Housing Agencies for initiatives that effectively address affordable housing challenges.
MaineHousing won the Special Event Marketing award for its 50th anniversary events, held over the course of last year, and culminating with its biennial conference in October, which looked at innovation in housing solutions and was attended by more than 500. The celebration also included a 25-page history of the authority, with a timeline that's been reproduced on the wall of the main hallway in its new quarters at 26 Edison Drive in Augusta.
The state's housing authority was one of 38 from across the country submitting a total 112 entries in the awards program this year. The prize-winning "MaineHousing: Our First 50 Years Serving Maine," can be seen online, along with the other entries.
“This year’s award winners reflect the innovation state (housing finance agencies) around the country have shown in responding to the coronavirus, as well as their progress in solving the longstanding housing affordability needs of their states and the nation,” said NCSHA Executive Director Stockton Williams in a news release.
MaineHousing's entry to the contest included not only a description of what it did in 2019, but also a thorough look at what it had done the previous 49 years in working on affordable housing in the state.
"This lookback provided some of us with the opportunity to reminisce and others learned about our agency’s history for the first time. Much of our work today is shaped by the successes, challenges, wins, and losses our agency and staff experienced — and with a year of delving into our history, we sought to learn which lessons we would carry forward," the contest entry from MaineHousing says.
Making housing possible
The authority's 50th anniversary celebrations included kudos from the Maine State Legislature; a collaboration with the University of Maine Augusta’s architecture program and aspiring architects on a course about designing affordable homes of the future; collaboration with Maine Head Start programs on an art project where families depicted what home means to them; and a variety of other initiatives and events.
Established in 1984, NCSHA’s annual awards identify and elevate industry best practices and encourage continued housing finance authority innovation, the release said. Member authorities submitted initiatives in seven categories: Communications, Homeownership, Legislative Advocacy, Management Innovation, Rental Housing, Special Achievement and Special Needs Housing.
The award recipients were recognized during NCSHA’s Annual Conference and Showcase, which was attended virtually by more than 1,600 member affordable housing leaders and professionals.
State housing finance agencies have played a central role in the nation’s affordable housing system for more than 50 years, "delivering financing to make possible the purchase, development and rehabilitation of affordable homes and rental apartments for low- and middle-income households," the release said.
The National Council of State Housing Agencies is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created to advance, through advocacy and education, the efforts of the nation’s state HFAs and their partners to provide affordable housing to those who need it.
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