Prestigious award presented to Boone County’s Allen Sisson

On April 18, 2019 Allen Sisson was awarded the Alvira B. Long Memorial Award by the North Central Regional Council of the

SUBMITTED PHOTO Belvidere Republican
Allen and the rest of the BCHA board, (l-r, Robert Johns, Jerrica Cole, Allen Sisson, Ray Morse, Elsie Brown and Ron Wait. Not pictured is Julaine Drake).

National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NCRC NAHRO).

Alvira B. Long Memorial Award

The Alvira B. Long Memorial Award honors a current commissioner who had demonstrated excellence in advocating for and developing the financial, political, and community support necessary to ensure the continuation and expansion of housing or community development programs. The award was established in the name of Alvira B. Long to provide living acknowledgement of the outstanding contributions she made to the housing field.

Allen Sisson

Allen has served both served on the BCHA board and been the BCHA Chairman for 14 years, since 2005. Allen was appointed to the board to help BCHA meet a difficult funding and organizational transformation. Under his leadership the BCHA quickly became a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designated High Performer Agency.

Allen oversaw a program in partnership with the neighboring Winnebago County Housing Authority (WCHA) that created cost-efficiency through shared programs for the community. Allen has also guided the growth of BCHA from assisting 238 families though the Housing Voucher program to now also including 11 state funded vouchers, 10 vouchers specifically for homeless Veterans and their families, and a Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program that is in the top five percentile in Illinois for voluntarily enrolled families seeking to improve their lives through education and employment to move from housing assistance.

The WCHA partnership Allen created has been shared and replicated by HUD throughout…

For complete article, pick up the May 9 Belvidere Republican.