Missouri Good Neighbor Week Selected for Program of the Year Honors at 48th Annual Neighborhoods USA Conference

 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- David Burton, a community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension, returned from the 48th annual Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) conference in El Paso, Texas, May 24 – 28, 2023, with the coveted Best Neighborhood Program award.

This year's conference had over 625 people from 34 states, Japan and the Bahamas in attendance and featured educational workshops, speakers, tours, networking opportunities, and an awards program.

The NUSA awards process began with submitting applications in March. Applications were then scored, and those selected as national finalists were alerted to their status and asked to make a 15-minute presentation at the national conference. A panel of judges at the national conference makes final award decisions and presents awards in 10 different categories.

"It was an honor to have my work recognized nationally," said Burton. "Being named Program of the Year certainly places a stamp of approval on Missouri Good Neighbor Week, and I hope it motivates other organizations and individuals to get involved across the state."

BEST NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM

First-place honors went to David Burton for the Best Neighborhood Program in the social revitalization category for Missouri Good Neighbor Week in 2022. Also recognized was program partner Jennifer Prophete with the Hopeful Neighborhood Project in St. Louis.

In 2022, during Missouri Good Neighbor Week, there were 12,854 documented acts of neighboring in 63 different Missouri counties. As part of the week, MU Extension and the Hopeful Neighborhood Project recognized 11 individuals and groups for the best act of neighboring statewide. They also honored ten people who were nominated as the Most Engaged Neighbor in Missouri.

"This program was impactful because of the many volunteers involved and my partnership with the Hopeful Neighborhood Project," said Burton. "The judges liked the volume of participants, the variety of things that took place, our unique website, and they loved that we improved on our county program in 2021 to take it statewide."

Missouri is the only state to celebrate neighboring for an entire week. Burton's State Representative, Bishop Davidson, introduced a bill in 2022 establishing Missouri Good Neighbor Week and Missouri Governor Mike Parsons signed it in July.

Burton hopes more organizations, businesses, churches, and individuals get involved with Missouri Good Neighbor Week in 2023.

Start making plans now for the week. Whether it is something on your driveway, your street or your whole community, plan now to make connecting with neighbors something you do every year during this designated week," said Burton. "And then report it to us!"

More information can be found online at http://missourigoodneighborweek.com.

"This was an extremely competitive category," said Precious McKesson, NUSA president. "All of the finalists were very good. We were very impressed with the results of Missouri Good Neighbor Week and believe it has merit as a national approach to get people talking about neighboring simultaneously."

Other award winners in this same category included:

  • 2nd Place: City of Chandler- Golden Neighbors Program (Chandler, AZ)
  • 3rd place: City of Monrovia- MAP Program (Monrovia, CA)
National finalists in this category included:
  • Sportsman's Royal Manor (Las Vegas, NV)
  • Light Up The Lanes Highlands Council (Issaquah, WA)
  • Mothers Against Violence Healing Ministry Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center (INRC) (Indianapolis, IN)
  • Action For Literacy Day (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
  • I.D.E.A Conference Ball State University Office of Community Engagement (Muncie, IN)
  • City of Port St. Lucie 2022 Outdoor Neighborhood Meetings Ice Cream & BBQ Socials (Port St. Lucie, FL)

FIRST PLACE NEWSLETTERS

Burton won first place for a printed neighborhood newsletter produced by an agency or non-profit for his "Your Neighborhood News" publication distributed to residents of a multi-neighborhood area. He received this same honor in 2022.

He was also awarded first place for the best digital newsletter by an agency or non-profit for his Engaged Neighborhood Newsletter. This was also a repeat winner from 2022. Anyone can subscribe to the Engaged Neighbor Newsletter online at http://engagedneighbor.com.

MORE INFORMATION

NUSA is a non-profit organization created in 1975 to share information and experiences among neighbors and neighborhoods to build stronger communities. NUSA continues to encourage networking and information-sharing to facilitate the development of partnerships among neighborhood organizations, government, and the private sector to strengthen neighborhoods. The organization can be found online at nusa.org.

University of Missouri Extension is at the forefront of a national movement recognizing the importance of neighboring in community development. 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 burtond@missouri.edu or telephone at (417) 881-8909.

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Does this article make you interested in taking the Engaged Neighbor pledge? Five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge online at http://engagedneighbor.com.

Contact the blog author, David L. Burton at dburton541@yahoo.com.


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