CBL & Associates Properties, Inc Recognized for Tornado Relief Efforts

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. has been named the winner of The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation’s 2012 U.S. Community Support Award winner. Four regional awards and one overall award were presented. This year, CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. was named the 2012 Southern Region and Overall Community Support Award winner for their “CBL & Northpark Mall Bring Relief to Tornado-Ravaged Joplin, Missouri” campaign. This campaign also received a Gold Maxi Award.

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. was honored at the 2012 MAXI Awards Ceremony held during the ICSC NOI+ Conference, September 5th in Orlando, Florida. ICSC will donate $5,000 as the winner of the Southern Region and $5,000 as the winner of the Foundation’s Overall Support Award, for a total of $10,000 to the building fund for the new Joplin High School.

Immediately following the F-5 tornado, CBL mall teams located in St. Louis and Kansas City mobilized to collect much needed supplies for children including clothing and personal care items at Chesterfield Mall, Mid Rivers Mall, Oak Park Mall, South County Center, St. Clair Square and West County Center. The local team at Northpark Mall set up a distribution center, staffed by volunteers to distribute the items to those in need. Other needs soon became apparent. Ultimately, Northpark Mall delivered a unique and extraordinary form of support that no other entity could:  The mall itself created plans to build a temporary high school on site for Joplin, where President Barack Obama would eventually give the high school commencement address one year after this horrific natural disaster. The work was completed in just 80 days, allowing school to start on time for Joplin High School students.  

“We are proud to be the recipient of the 2012 U.S. Community Support Award,” said Barb Faucette, Vice President Marketing, CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. “The sole objective of this altruistic effort was to provide as much support and assistance as possible – as quickly as possible – to tornado-ravaged Joplin. This recognition from peers in the shopping center industry is a true honor.”

 “We are truly grateful for the partnership with CBL,” said Kerry Sachetta, Ed.D., Principal, Joplin High School. ““(They) helped make possible, and played a significant role in the transformation of a mall property into a dynamic educational facility that has served our students exceptionally well.   And the donation to our building fund reinforces their ongoing commitment to the community they serve.”  

The Foundation’s Community Support Award program established in 2006 is a worldwide awards program that honors corporate social responsibility and community outreach efforts of shopping centers for charitable initiatives that enhance the communities the retail real estate industry and its projects serve.