FOLEY, Ala. — Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich has been named the 2026 Outstanding ACE Mayor by Alabama Communities of Excellence, a statewide honor that recognizes his leadership in community development at a time when Foley is growing faster than almost any city its size in the country.
Hellmich accepted the STAR Award on Oct. 20 at the 2026 ACE Graduation and Awards Ceremony, which was hosted by the Alabama League of Municipalities at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center in downtown Mobile.
The mayor was quick to share the credit. He said the award belongs to the many people who have helped shape the city, from the City Council and city employees to local schools, businesses and residents.
“I’m honored to receive this award, but it truly belongs to everyone who has worked to make Foley the community it is today,” Hellmich said. “Our City Council, our employees, our schools, our businesses and our residents have all played a part.”
What the STAR Awards recognize
Alabama Communities of Excellence presents its STAR Awards each year to people who have gone above and beyond in supporting the ACE program and their own communities. The Outstanding ACE Mayor Award is reserved for mayors who show exceptional leadership and a strong commitment to the principles the program teaches.
ACE is a statewide program that works with smaller Alabama cities and towns to help them plan for the future. Participating communities work through a structured process that typically includes assessing local strengths and weaknesses, developing local leaders, and building long-range plans for economic development, downtown improvement and quality of life. Communities that complete the process earn designation as an Alabama Community of Excellence.
The annual graduation and awards ceremony is a chance for the program to recognize newly designated communities and to honor the individuals who have helped carry ACE principles forward in their hometowns. This year’s event was held in conjunction with the Alabama League of Municipalities, the statewide association that represents Alabama’s cities and towns.
More than a decade with the ACE program
Hellmich’s involvement with ACE goes back more than 10 years. Before he became mayor, he served on the Foley City Council, and in that role he worked with other community leaders to help Foley earn its ACE designation in 2012.
Today, he continues to build on that foundation through strategic planning, economic development, community engagement and efforts to improve quality of life, according to the program.
“The ACE program helped us build a strong foundation years ago, and those same principles continue to guide us as we plan for Foley’s future and work to make sure our growth improves the quality of life for everyone who calls Foley home,” Hellmich said.
A city in a period of rapid growth
The award arrives during one of the most significant periods of growth in Foley’s history.
According to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Foley ranked as the nation’s 14th fastest-growing municipality among cities with populations of at least 20,000. The city grew by nearly 8 percent from July 2024 to July 2025 and has added more than 10,000 residents since the 2020 Census.
That kind of growth brings opportunities, including new businesses, new homes and a larger tax base, but it also puts pressure on roads, drainage systems, schools and city services. Much of Foley’s recent work has focused on getting ahead of those pressures rather than reacting to them.
Planning ahead: Foley’s first strategic plan
Under Hellmich’s leadership and in partnership with the City Council, Foley in 2024 adopted its first five-year strategic plan. The plan was developed with extensive public input.
A strategic plan of that kind serves as a road map for city leaders, setting priorities for spending, services and projects over a period of years. Building it with public input is meant to make sure those priorities reflect what residents want for their community, not just what officials expect.
The emphasis on planning is closely tied to the ACE approach. The program encourages communities to identify their goals, gather input from citizens and then follow through with concrete projects, which is the same pattern Foley has followed in recent years.
Investing in sidewalks, roads and drainage
Foley has made significant investments in infrastructure, including roads, drainage and sidewalks, as it works to keep up with new residents and visitors.
The city commits about $1 million each year to sidewalk construction. It has completed a sidewalk network of nearly four miles along Alabama 59, the main north-south corridor through the city and a primary route for traffic heading to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
Sidewalks have been a recurring theme in Foley’s recent planning. Continuous walkways along busy corridors give residents a safer way to reach shopping, jobs and schools on foot, and they help connect neighborhoods that were once separated by highways and gaps in pedestrian routes.
A commitment to local schools
Education has been another priority for the city.
Through the Foley Education Advisory Committee, which was established in 2022, the city contributes $300,000 a year to schools in the Foley feeder pattern. Baldwin County Public Schools provides matching funds.
Foley’s public schools are operated by Baldwin County Public Schools rather than a separate city school system. Cities in that situation can still partner with their local schools by contributing money for programs, equipment and facilities. Foley’s annual contribution, combined with the school system’s match, gives the schools that serve Foley families additional resources beyond their regular budgets.
Foley High School has also earned statewide recognition as a School of Excellence.
Credit to the whole community
In his remarks about the award, Hellmich pointed to the many groups that have helped Foley grow and change, and he tied the city’s current direction back to the lessons it learned through ACE more than a decade ago.
For a city that has added thousands of residents in just a few years, the challenge ahead will be making sure that growth continues to translate into better roads, safer streets, stronger schools and a better quality of life. That goal, Hellmich said, is what continues to guide the city’s planning.
At a glance
- Honor: 2026 Outstanding ACE Mayor STAR Award
- Recipient: Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich
- Presented by: Alabama Communities of Excellence
- When and where: Oct. 20 at the 2026 ACE Graduation and Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Alabama League of Municipalities at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center
- Foley’s ACE designation: 2012
- Growth: Nearly 8 percent from July 2024 to July 2025; more than 10,000 residents added since the 2020 Census
- Sidewalks: About $1 million a year; nearly four miles completed along Alabama 59
- Schools: $300,000 a year to Foley feeder-pattern schools, matched by Baldwin County Public Schools
Related coverage from South AL News
- 'Y'all Are Nailing It': Sen. Chris Elliott Calls Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich One of Alabama's Best
- Senior Center, Aquatic Center and a WWII Museum Site: Foley Mayor Maps Out 'Good Growth' for 2027
- Foley Road Resurfacing Grows to 6.3 Miles as Council Adds West Park Avenue
- New 9th Avenue Pedestrian Path Will Link Foley High, Highway 59 Sidewalks and South Foley Neighborhoods
