The city of Raanana has won a special honor, the Beautiful City Colleague Plaque for 2009, as part of the annual “Beautiful City in a Beautiful Israel” contest held by the Council for a Beautiful Israel.  Raanana was earned this award, thanks to the 15 consecutive years in which the city was awarded the 5 beauty stars as part of the contest.  The Council for a Beautiful Israel has highlighted Raanana as the city that has consistently demonstrated its achievements over the years.

The selection of Raanana was made after a member of the Council for a  Beautiful Israel visited the city recently and was impressed with the extensive municipal activity in many fields, such as: volunteer activity, extraordinary activities among employees to promote environmental protection and quality of life, development of the city’s neighborhoods, the condition of playground equipment at public parks, etc.

Last year, Raanana was awarded the beauty flag which is the highest category awarded in the Beautiful City Contest.  Raanana made it to the most prestigious level which was an enormous achievement for the city, thanks to its extensive activity in the field of parks and recreation and sanitation.

The award ceremony was held this past Tuesday at the Wohl Center, where Mayor Nahum Hofree was presented the award.  Also in attendance were Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Eli Yishai; Chairman of the Council for a Beautiful Israel, Avraham Katz-Oz; Chairman of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel, Shlomo Buchbut; Director of the Center for Regional Councils, Yitzchak (Shiya) Yeshua and other dignitaries.

Mayor Nahum Hofree:  “Raanana continues to take the lead, as it does every year, and has been granted the beauty award thanks to its work in promoting green issues and developing the city.  Raanana is blessed with expansive green lungs, beautiful corners and the sprawling Raanana Park which is the leading park in the Sharon.  We also invest in the development of green areas, the renovation of older public parks and the construction of new ones, for the benefit of the public, in order to preserve our city’s green village atmosphere.”

In the photo:  Mayor Nahum Hofree receiving the special plaque from the Interior Minster and the Chairman of the Council for a Beautiful Israel:  Photographer:  Avishai Klein.