"All About the Place" (2016 LGAA)

Village of Rockville Centre (Winner)
County: Nassau County
Population: 10,000 to 50,000
Village Hall: (516) 678-9300

The Village of Rockville Centre introduced a village-wide video contest themed, “I Love Rockville Centre,” which encouraged residents to showcase what they love about the Village. The project served as a great public relations vehicle and created an atmosphere of friendly competition and camaraderie, while producing positive, no-cost public relations content for the Village's television channel, as well as several thousand ‘hits’ on You-Tube.

The Rockville Center Department of Senior Services and the Sandel Senior Center participated in, and won the contest. The three-minute final product was just a snip-it of the laughter, creative brainstorming and interactions with the Village’s schools and businesses. The video featured residents visiting local establishments, dancing and choreography from the Sandel Seniors, and a cameo appearance by the Mayor himself using the harmony from “All About the Base” by Meghan Trainor, rewritten about the “Place” Rockville Centre. The members of the Sandel Center attended an evening Board meeting where they were photographed on the red carpet, lauded and presented with a golden "Oscar" statue for their win.

The making of "All About The Place," is only a small piece of the overall senior center program. But the fact that it was so widely supported by the Village Board is indicative of Rockville Centre's overall commitment to its older adult population. What seems like a simple idea -- a video contest -- turned into an opportunity for older residents to feel pride in their accomplishments and pride in their village. In turn, the Village received a great deal of positive publicity and generated untold good will for little to no cost.

With the help of the local music school, filming by the Sandel Center staff and volunteers on an I-Pad, it merely required a bit of public outreach and the promise of some exposure. The enthusiasm and encouragement of elected officials and its citizens ensured the project’s success.