Mayor Tom Rowland stands in front of the shops of downtown Cleveland, Tenn.CLEVELAND, Tenn. — There is still no nickname for Cleveland.
When Mayor Tom Rowland spoke Monday to MainStreet Cleveland, he said “the name will be revealed this afternoon.”
After the mayor called for a nickname contest with a $1,000 prize, more than 1,800 responses came in. A Chamber of Commerce intern organized them. A committee of volunteers sifted through them, coming up with two. The City Council was going to pick.
“I lost friends when I appointed those committee members,” Rowland said.
The winnowing was hard. Committee Chairwoman Melissa Woody said one nomination was “City of Champions.”
“OK, so when our football team loses?” she asked.
Other options are “The City With Spirit” and “Hometown Feel, Global Appeal.”
“I have not had the first positive call,” reported Councilman David May when the council convened later in the day. The mayor had another commitment and was not there.
Councilman Dale Hughes said he had “only a couple of calls.”
“I don’t know how you go about starting again,” Hughes said.
“So we are going to hold this for the mayor?” asked Councilman Avery Johnson.
Follow @DaltonGeorgiaThe Council took no action.
Rowland’s real purpose at MainStreet Cleveland was to give a preview of his annual state of the city speech. That address is made each year before the Kiwanis Club, which meets Thursday.
Efforts continue to keep open the U.S. post office’s downtown branch, located in the courthouse annex, the mayor said.
“We are trying to talk to the post office — like we are with Sears. Don’t look at the market today but as it is going to be,” Rowland said.
Investments by Wacker Chemical, Olin Corp., Whirlpool and Amazon were cited as examples of how the area is changing.
Contact staff writer Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com or 423-314-1029.