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NEW YORK, NY — Family Circle today announced the results of its exclusive survey to identify the magazine’s annual list of 10 Best Towns for Families and includes Zachary, LA. The communities featured in the magazine’s annual roundup of perfect places to call home combine affordable housing, good neighbors, green spaces, strong public school systems and giving spirits. The results of the comprehensive survey appear in Family Circle’s August 2012 issue, on newsstands this week.

This year’s 10 Best Towns for Families are:

• Bay Village, Ohio 

• Lake Oswego, Oregon 

• Vail, Arizona 

• Fishers, Indiana 

• Ballwin, Missouri 

• Louisville, Colorado 

• Longmeadow, Massachusetts 

• Fort Mill, South Carolina 

• Zachary, Louisiana 

• Oak Park, Illinois

“We are thrilled to be included in Family Circle’s “Best Towns and Cities” list and be ranked as one of the top ten cities in the country!” said Zachary Mayor David Amrhein. “Now everyone will know what we have known all along—that Zachary is a wonderful place to live, work and raise your family. The strength of any community is found in the hearts and minds of the people. The Zachary community is marked by a tangible spirit of caring and service. We pride ourselves on maintaining a safe, affordable community, with a top performing school district, providing a high quality of life.”

"The Zachary Community School District is proud to play a role in making this community a great place for families to live and learn. Our teachers and staff work hard to provide a first-rate education for all of our students,” said Zachary Community School District Superintendent Warren Drake.

The publication contacted the City of Zachary, Zachary Community Schools and Zachary Chamber of Commerce as part of the selection process. The article features an interview with local couple Nick and Jennifer Carr who grew up in the area and currently have three children in Zachary Schools. “These communities have it all, making them perfect places to call home,” the magazine boasts. Family Circle has released the list annually in the August issue of the publication since 2007, highlighting places that families want to call home.

The August issue of Family Circle is on newsstands now. The Best List Towns for Families can also be found on Family Circle’s web site: http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/travel/best-towns-for-families-2012/

For more information including images and interview opportunities, please contact: Blair Decembrele, Family Circle magazine at 212.551.6955, Blair.decembrele@meredith.com or Sharon Phillips, Public Relations Coordinator for the City of Zachary, Sharon.phillips@cityofzachary.org.

About Family Circle

Published 12 times a year by Meredith Corporation, with a circulation of 3.8 million and 19 million readers, Family Circle is one of the most widely read monthly magazines in the world. Family Circle provides smart, relevant advice, sensible solutions and inspiration in a voice that encourages and celebrates success in its pages and online at www.familycircle.com. Family Circle has always been committed to women’s issues and in 1973 became the first women’s magazine to fully underwrite a professional women’s sporting event, the Family Circle Cup, an annual women’s tennis tournament held in April in Charleston, South Carolina, at Family Circle Magazine Stadium.

Survey Methodology

With the help of Onboard Informatics, a New York City research firm that provides real estate, demographic and other data, Family Circle initially assembled a list of 3,335 cities and towns with populations between 11,000 and 150,000. From that, some 1,300 localities having a high concentration of households with median incomes between $55,000 and $96,000 were selected. We then assessed which places best met our family-friendly criteria—including affordable homes, quality schools, access to health care, green space, low crime rate and financial stability—and ranked them from top to bottom. Family Circle selected the ten winners from among the highest-rated towns.