MU Extension Neighboring Efforts Recognized with National Awards
University of Missouri Extension, came away from the 47th annual Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) national conference held in Little Rock, Arkansas (May 3 to May 7) with five coveted national awards in 10 possible categories. NUSA is a non-profit organization created in 1975 to share information and experiences to build stronger communities.
THIRD PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE YEAR
Third place in the Neighborhood of the Year category for social revitalization and neighborliness was awarded to Stoney Creek Estates, Republic, Mo. The entry, "Pandemic to Socially Connected," highlighted efforts made from 2020 to the end of 2021. Neighborhood residents took the initiative with neighboring projects, book clubs, front yard art shows, driveway chats, chalk art, and a kids July 4th parade that is going to be repeated this year in a nearby park. This is especially something that is easy to organize.
Second place went to the Floral Park Neighborhood Association in Santa Anna, California. First-place went to the Whitley Neighborhood of Muncie Indiana.
SECOND PLACE MULTI-NEIGHBORHOODS
The multi-neighborhood partnership category honors projects that are jointly produced by at least two neighborhoods or organizations to address either physical or social concerns. Second place in this category went to MU Extension's engaged neighbor pilot program involving eight Greene County neighborhoods. We have worked to engage the residents of these diverse neighborhoods through training, events, neighborhood directories, and a newsletter.
Third place went to Clark Neighbors Food Project, Vancouver, Washington. First place went to Floral Park Neighborhood Association of Santa Ana, California..
BEST NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
The Best Neighborhood Program Award, in the social revitalization category, honors projects that focus on the social or cultural aspects of a neighborhood. Finalist honors went to for his National Good Neighbor Day program. In 2022, this will be known as Missouri Good Neighbor Week and it was just recently written into Missouri law. Early details are available at http://missourigoodneighborweek.com.
FIRST PLACE NEWSLETTERS
MU Extension also won first place for a printed neighborhood newsletter with the "Your Neighborhood News" publication for residents of the multi-neighborhood areas AND first place for a digital newsletter, the Engaged Neighborhood Newsletter. Anyone can subscribe to the this newsletter online at https://extension.missouri.edu/counti....
To learn more about our "Engaged Neighbor" program or the impact of neighboring, go online to https://extension.missouri.edu or contact David Burton by email [email protected] or telephone at (417) 881-8909.