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Missouri's Most Engaged Neighbors: Comprehensive List of All Past Honorees Since 2022

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Strong neighborhoods do not happen by accident. They are shaped by people who learn names, notice needs, welcome newcomers, bring people together and consistently show up for those who live around them. Since 2022, Missouri Good Neighbor Week has recognized some of these people through the Missouri’s Most Engaged Neighbor awards. The recognition began during the first statewide Missouri Good Neighbor Week in 2022 and has grown along with the celebration. What started with 11 statewide Engaged Neighbor honorees has become an annual opportunity to tell the stories of Missourians who demonstrate what intentional neighboring looks like. These are not necessarily people with titles or large organizations behind them. Some organize neighborhood events or lead community projects. Others mow a neighbor’s lawn, provide rides, deliver meals, welcome new residents or regularly check on someone who lives alone. What they have in common is that they turn neighbor from simply a noun into a verb. H...
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Live Updates on Missouri Good Neighbor Week 2026

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  This blog post will be updated regularly with news and links about Missouri Good Neighbor Week 2026 in a number of categories that we track and celebrate. Access our new website that contains a live map and accounting of reported acts of neighboring. Be sure to see the leaderboard to discover which counties and cities have the most activity in Missouri. Media coverage of Missouri Good Neighbor Week has been outstanding this year. We know of the following types of media support: Total television PSAs during in support of the week: 250 Social media partners: 3 Documented radio and television stories: 7 Documented newspaper articles about the week: 30 Missouri Press Association announcement emails distributed: 556 Announced September 28: Missouri's Most Neighborly Businesses 2026 Announced September 30: Missouri's Most Neighborly Neighborhoods 2026 Announced October 3: Missouri's Most Engaged Neighbors for 2026. Announced October 5: Missouri's Most Neighborly Cities for...
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Why Missourians Are Choosing to Become Good Neighbor Ambassadors

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I have been reading the comments submitted by people applying to become a Missouri Good Neighbor Week Ambassador, and I keep coming back to one conclusion: People are hungry for connection. They may describe it differently. Some talk about kindness. Others mention belonging, service, safety, community engagement or simply getting neighbors together. But underneath those words is a shared belief that our communities are stronger when the people who live there actually know, care about and support one another. Perhaps Darla Noble of Greene County described the distinction best: “I believe we are better when we LIVE in our neighborhoods instead of just residing or existing there.” That is a pretty good description of what Missouri Good Neighbor Week is trying to accomplish. Moving from proximity to relationship Being neighbors geographically is automatic. Being engaged neighbors is a choice. Brandee Collins of Clay County wrote that strong communities are built through “intentional rela...
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Guest Editorial: America Doesn’t Need More Good Neighbors

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Ask Americans what makes someone a good neighbor and you might expect answers such as helping when someone is sick, welcoming a new family or checking on an elderly resident. My research in Missouri suggests otherwise. In statewide surveys I conducted through University of Missouri Extension in 2022 and 2024, 2,000 adults each year were asked what qualities make someone a good neighbor. The leading answer both times was essentially the same: Respect my privacy. In the 2024 survey, 71% selected respecting privacy as a characteristic of a good neighbor. Sixty-five percent selected being quiet. Apparently, the ideal neighbor is someone we barely notice. Courtesy and respect for boundaries are virtues. Nobody wants the fellow next door mowing at midnight or appearing uninvited at the dinner table. But our definition of neighborliness has drifted from relationship toward avoidance. We have confused leaving people alone with loving our neighbors. That distinction matters. Harvard psychiatris...
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Fort Morgan Got a Makeover; The Bigger Lesson Is What Happens Afterward

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  What happens when a television show comes to town and offers to help transform your community? For Fort Morgan, Colorado, the answer is complicated and that may be what makes its story so useful for anyone interested in community development. In 2022, Fort Morgan, a community of about 12,000 people roughly 80 miles east of Denver, was selected from about 5,000 applicants for the second season of HGTV’s Home Town Takeover . The show eventually completed 18 projects involving homes, businesses and public spaces. The six-episode season aired in 2023.  Nearly three years later, reporter Tracy Ross returned to Fort Morgan for an excellent Colorado Sun article examining what lasted . The story is not one of either spectacular success or embarrassing failure. Some things worked. Some did not. Some businesses benefited tremendously. Some projects deteriorated. And some of the most important results may have had little to do with paint, buildings or television. I think there are seve...
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Missouri Cities Put Neighboring on the Public Agenda

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  A proclamation may be a piece of paper, but the message behind it is much bigger: Being a good neighbor matters here. That message is being delivered by Missouri communities as we approach Missouri Good Neighbor Week, Sept. 28–Oct. 4, 2026. So far, I have received proclamations from communities across the state, including Republic, Forsyth, Fremont Hills, St. Peters and Kirkwood . I know of about six others that are pending. Each has put its own touch on the proclamation, but together they make an important statement about the kind of communities Missourians want to build. Missouri Good Neighbor Week was established by the Missouri General Assembly and signed into law in 2022. This year's theme, “A Year of Neighboring Activity. A Week to Celebrate It,” reflects our growing emphasis on making neighboring something we practice throughout the year, while using Sept. 28–Oct. 4 as a statewide celebration. ( MU Extension ) Why Proclamations Matter Earlier this summer, I challenged eve...
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Extension Councils Put Good Neighboring Into Action

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Missouri Good Neighbor Week has always been about more than being friendly. It is about doing something. From Sept. 28 through Oct. 4, Missourians will perform acts of neighboring, gather with people who live nearby, serve their communities and find creative ways to strengthen local connections. And this year, University of Missouri Extension councils and partners across the state are helping lead the way. The projects look different from one community to another. That is exactly the point. Good neighboring should reflect the people, opportunities and needs of a particular place. In Greene County , the Extension Council is using food as a reason to gather. Council members will host a special Table Together potluck at the Springfield Botanical Center with Extension Council members, county commissioners, parks leadership and others. But the most important thing on the menu may be conversation. Participants will take part in a “Head, Heart and Hands” activity to discover the talents and s...
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What I Learned From Building a Neighborhood Out of Jenga Blocks

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  I have spent a surprising amount of time lately thinking about Jenga blocks. Not because I have suddenly become competitive at family game night, but because I have been developing an educational activity called Social Capital Jenga: Building, Breaking, and Restoring Neighborhoods . And to be honest, because I had 108 blocks to paint (both ends in assorted colors). The idea is simple. A Jenga tower represents a neighborhood. The individual blocks represent things that contribute to community strength—trust, economic development, neighborhood safety, the environment and personal health. Other blocks represent pressures on a community, including individualism, greed, mobility and scarcity. Then there are cards describing things that happen in real neighborhoods. Depending on what happens, players may remove a block, add a stress block, return a block or leave the tower unchanged. Eventually, of course, the neighborhood falls. That is where the lesson begins. Communities Rarely Coll...
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