Washington’s efforts to attract more retirees to the city and surrounding areas got a major boost Wednesday when community leaders announced the city’s certification as a Retire NC community.

The announcement came Wednesday morning at the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce, the culmination of months of work to earn the certification.

“We all believe in order for this community to continue to grow, we all have to work together and not only recruit and retain local businesses, but also recruit people. As we all sit out here on our beautiful waterfront, its obvious why we all choose o live here: quality of life, health care, nature, the river, unique shops and, of course, the people who choose to live here,” said Catherine Glover, the chamber’s executive director. “This has been a community effort. Ten months ago we began a journey to become a certified Retire NC community. … This process has been tedious, and this committee has worked really hard for the past 10 months.”

Glover said when the committee submitted the application to have Washington certified as a Retire NC community, at least 15 letters of support from community organizations, indicating “the community really wanted this to happen.”

City Manager Bobby Roberson said the certification is an important designation for the city. “It means that other individuals who are looing for a retirement setting would definitely consider Washington. I think when the state recognizes you that it points out those communities that would get the first nod to look at,” he said. “I think it is important for us as a community to recognize that and hope this is just the first step in many steps to move toward becoming a retirement community.”

Retire NC is a certification program designed to attract retirees to the state. Under the program, retirees looking at moving to that state may identify communities that offer certain amenities retirees look for — easy access to health care and quality-of-life issues such recreational and cultural opportunities. Washington will now be one of the cities featured on the Retire NC website.

The city contributed $2,000 to help pay for the certification project, estimated to cost $25,000. Certification lasts for five years.

The Washington Tourism Development Authority, Washington Harbor District Alliance, Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce and Beaufort County each contributed $2,000 to the project, according to Catherine Glover, executive director of the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the local Retire NC committee. Vidant Health and Tideland Electric Membership Corp. also made commitments to the project.

Edenton, Tarboro and New Bern are area towns and cities certified as Retire NC communities.