TUPELO - City leaders celebrated Tupelo's designation as a Preserve America Community on Friday with a brief but well-attended event at City Hall.

Current mayor and City Council members, as well as past mayor and council members attended the ceremony, which featured the Preserve America street sign and a framed letter from First Lady Michelle Obama.

Also attending the event were members of the Historic Preservation Commission, U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., and a representative from the office of U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

"The city of Tupelo has done a great job of building public support for this project and, even more so, building public understanding of it," said Childers, who had pushed for the designation in Washington, D.C.

The designation was granted to the city Oct. 27 after efforts by the Tupelo Historic Preservation Commission, whose members worked throughout 2008 and 2009 to apply for it.

Historic Preservation Commission Chairwoman Karen Keeney called the application process "arduous" because of all the criteria Tupelo had to meet and document.

The city joins 20 other communities in Mississippi and hundreds more nationwide designated as Preserve America communities. Only communities that protect and promote their historic assets and use them for revitalization efforts are accepted into the six-year-old program.

"Cities all over America hope to receive this kind of recognition," said Mayor Jack Reed Jr., who called it an exciting day for Tupelo.

Reed was then joined by former Mayor Ed Neelly, in whose term the project began, to unveil the Preserve America Community street sign. The sign will be erected near the U.S. Highway 45 exit on East Main Street downtown.

In addition to White House recognition and road sign, Tupelo also is now eligible for numerous grants available through the program. More than $17 million in matching grants have been awarded to various projects nationwide since 2006."

"I hope the city will use this and get the benefits of being a Preserve America Community," said Phyllis Sims of the Historic Preservation Commission. "It is an honor."

Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.