SGF Kickball Program Earns Best Neighborhood Program Award at National Neighboring Conference

 

Photo description: SGF Kickball representatives receive their national award from four members of the Neighborhoods USA Board of Directors. Pictured left to right are Reba Taylor-Hill of Indianapolis, Indiana, Precious McKesson of Omaha, Nebraska; Michael Brittan, Ed Goeke, Keno Wong of Nassau, Bahamas, and Dwight Pridgeon of Little Rock, Arkansas.


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Michael Brittian and Ed Goeke returned to Springfield from the 50th annual conference of Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) in Jacksonville, Florida, May 20-23, 2025, with the coveted Best Neighborhood Program award in the Social Revitalization category.

This year's conference had registered 525 attendees from 36 states and featured educational workshops, speakers, tours, networking, 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 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 four different categories.

BEST NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM

Brittian and Goeke represented the SGF Kickball committee which organizes the annual neighborhood kickball tournament. SGF Kickball is a grassroots effort with a proven track record and social impact.

The idea for SGF Kickball began with two friends—Bobbi Ream and Kevin Evans—talking about how to help their neighborhoods connect better. The answer in 2019 was to start a neighborhood kickball tournament. It has grown into an annual tournament supported by the Springfield-Greene County Parks and dozens of volunteers. A board of neighborhood leaders meet year-round to plan the tournament and ways to improve the effort.

As Goeke, the current chair of SGF Kickball, puts it this way: “It started with a kick and became a community movement.

While the tournament is fun and exciting, its true purpose is getting neighbors to interact in positive ways. SGF Kickball helps bring people outside. It creates teams that include people of all ages. It gives neighbors a reason to cheer each other on and have real conversations. And it makes everyone feel like they’re part of something bigger.

Goeke added: “We’re not just playing. We’re building neighborhoods. Every time a team is formed, a community grows stronger.”

Lindsey Pinkston, chair of the NUSA awards committee and a neighborhood leader in Oregon, had this to say about the SGF Kickball entry: “This was a fully grassroots effort with a proven track record and documented social impact in Springfield. We were very impressed with the program, their application and their fun presentation.”

Other cities with finalist programs in this same category were from Pasadena, California, Waco, Texas, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, St. Louis, Missouri, Monrovia, California, Anna, Texas, El Paso, Texas, Chandler, Arizona, Muncie, Indiana and St. Petersburg, Florida.

The SGF Kickball committee wants to acknowledge several groups and individuals for support:

  • Trey Metzelthin with the Greene Country Park Board.
  • Community Partnership of the Ozarks for staff and printing support, and storage space.
  • Volunteer umpires: Roger King, Scott Packard, Michael Brittain, and Stuart Venable. 
  • Mert Seaton (The Voice of SGF Kickball from Brentwood) Larry Nelson (Bradford Park), Kevin Evans and the venerable Ms. Bobbi Ream (Founder and namesake of "the Bobbi", from Meador Park).
  • Scorekeepers: Fred Ackley (Doling); Ray Coleman (West Central); Janetta Tracy (Woodland Heights); and Jan Hutcherson (Woodland Heights)
  • Registration volunteers: Peggy Wise (West Central), Katie Bolt-Goeke (Woodland Heights), and Nancy Williams (Delaware)
  • Thanks to our financial and in-kind donors, and to Eric Pauly from Phelps Grove who acquired major contributions.
  • And to David Burton of MU Extension for the encouragement to attend NUSA and for coaching us on our application and presentation.

FIRST PLACE NEWSLETTER

Also representing Springfield, David Burton with University of Missouri Extension in Greene County, won first place for a digital neighborhood newsletter at the NUSA conference for his Engaged Neighborhood Newsletter. He is a four-time winner with his newsletter. You can subscribe to the Engaged Neighbor Newsletter online at http://engagedneighbor.com.

ELECTED TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

At this year’s conference, Burton was also elected to serve on the NUSA Board of Directors. NUSA is governed by a 21-member Board of Directors who serve three-year terms voluntarily and at their own expense. The board directs the ongoing business and policy of the organization, provides oversight for the implementation of each year’s conference, and plays a leadership role by promoting the organization and the work of neighborhood-based activism and self-help initiatives.

MORE INFORMATION

Neighbors USA (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 held its 50th annual conference in Jacksonville, Florida in May of 2025. The organization is online at nusa.org.

Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.com or visit his website at http://engagedneighbor.com.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Acts of Neighboring During Missouri Good Neighbor Week Announced and Recognized

Image
  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Second Annual Missouri Good Neighbor Week (Sept. 28 to Oct. 4) was a documented success. Organizers had a goal to document 15,000 acts of neighboring. But instead, Missourians reported 19,752 acts of neighboring during the week. The sponsors of Missouri Good Neighbor Week -- University of Missouri Extension and The Hopeful Neighborhood Project – recognize the most engaged neighbors and the best acts of neighboring during the week to encourage acts of neighboring all year. According to David Burton, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension and creator of Missouri Good Neighbor Week, 10 different reported acts of neighboring were selected as the best examples in Missouri this year. “Whether you are an award winner or not, we want to encourage Missourians to keep learning the names of their immediate neighbors, finding ways to use their names, and planning fun neighborhood events to develop positive relationships and incre...
Read more

Five Cities Named Most Neighborly in Missouri for 2024

Image
  Photo above: From a block party in Ferguson, Missouri. New to Missouri Good Neighbor Week this year was recognition for the most neighborly cities in the state.  This honor was based on points earned by participating in the week, city campaigns and proclamations, residents making nominations for most engaged neighbor and reporting acts of neighboring, and statewide or local prizes won.  "The goal was to further engage cities with Missouri Good Neighbor Week and we had over 12 pass proclamations and at least 12 that had organized city-wide efforts for Missouri Good Neighbor Week," said David Burton, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension and creator of Missouri Good Neighbor Week. "We ended the week with over 31,000 documented acts of neighboring and five cities worthy of the title 'most neighborly city' in Missouri." In 2024, five cities were named the most neighborly cities in Missouri: Houston, Excelsior Springs, Sikeston,...
Read more

Results of 2024 Missouri Good Neighbor Week Exceed 30,000 Acts of Neighboring!

Image
  Several hands have been busy tabulating the final results from the 4th Annual Missouri Good Neighbor Week. While those volunteers and partners are invaluable, people like you are also worthy of thanks.  Individual Missourians who reported their acts of neighboring nominated someone for an award, or organized a block party! Or you were on one of 60 committees with University of Missouri Extension to organize county-level efforts that account for over 14,000 acts of neighboring this year!  No matter your role or level of involvement, thank you. On another positive note, the efforts in Missouri have not gone unnoticed. In the last month, I have received inquiries about the creation of other statewide neighbor weeks from Massachusetts, Michigan, Connecticut, California, Florida, Oklahoma, Washington, and Colorado. How exciting! Based on this year's results, the future seems bright. ENGAGED NEIGHBORS. We have already announced the 22 individuals being recognized as Missouri...
Read more