From Neighboring 101 to Missouri's Most Neighborly Neighborhood: An Extension Impact Story

How University of Missouri Extension education helped inspire a neighborhood newsletter, strengthen community connections, and contribute to statewide recognition.

When David Burton, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension, developed the Engaged Neighbor Program and began offering Neighboring 101 educational sessions, his goal was to help people turn the idea of being a good neighbor into intentional, everyday practices.

In 2026, he received an unexpected example of that educational impact from Laura Kelly, a resident of the Villas at Wicklow in Nixa, Missouri.

Kelly, a 26-year veteran journalist with The Wichita Eagle and retired grants and communications director of the Wichita Children's Home, serves as co-editor of The Villas Voice, a volunteer-produced neighborhood newsletter.

She had also participated in Burton's Neighboring 101 training and subscribed to his educational newsletter.

What Burton did not realize until Kelly contacted him was how extensively the neighborhood publication had incorporated the Engaged Neighbor practices into its approach to building community.

The connection became especially meaningful when the Villas at Wicklow was selected as Missouri's Most Neighborly Neighborhood for 2026, earning the top recognition among 12 nominated neighborhoods statewide.

Turning Education Into Neighborhood Action

The Engaged Neighbor Program emphasizes five practices: See and Be Seen, Listen and Learn, Share and Care, Gather and Grow, and Include and Encourage.

Rather than treating these as abstract concepts, Kelly and fellow newsletter editor Nancy Funderburk incorporated them into the content and purpose of The Villas Voice.

Funderburk wanted the newsletter to do more than distribute neighborhood announcements. She wanted it to help foster genuine community.

Kelly explained the connection in a personal email to Burton: "The Villas Voice has incorporated your Engaged Neighbors practices from the outset."

Kelly added that she took Burton's Neighboring 101 training, subscribed to his newsletter, and continues encouraging others to do the same.

The resulting publication includes recurring features designed to help residents learn about one another, recognize kindness, and develop a stronger sense of belonging.

These include Acts of Kindness, highlighting neighbors helping neighbors; Very Important Pets, introducing residents through their pets; Comings & Goings, helping neighbors remain informed about changes in the community; and Feathered Friends and Flowers, a newer feature encouraging residents to engage with nature even in the limited outdoor spaces available to condominium residents.

These features illustrate how educational concepts can be translated into practical communication strategies that reinforce relationships.

The newsletter itself is produced by volunteers at no cost to the neighborhood.

Kelly also noted that volunteers had recently resisted an effort to reduce the publication to a single-sheet monthly bulletin, reflecting their commitment to preserving its broader community-building purpose.

Statewide Recognition Validates Local Efforts

The Villas at Wicklow's nomination for Missouri's Most Neighborly Neighborhood documented a community where residents intentionally care for one another.

Residents gather for weekly coffee, celebrations, games, and other activities. They also volunteer for maintenance and landscaping, check on neighbors, share resources, and welcome new residents.

The neighborhood's monthly newsletter provided supporting evidence of its culture of volunteerism and engagement.

When the statewide award was announced during the neighborhood's Thursday Coffee gathering, residents responded enthusiastically.

Kelly described the moment: "When the award was announced at Thursday Coffee, the cheers, applause and smiles were genuine. So is our gratitude to you, for helping make it happen."

For Burton, the email provided something especially valuable: firsthand testimony showing that Extension education had influenced ongoing neighborhood practices.

The recognition was not simply the result of attending a class or receiving educational materials. Residents had adapted those lessons to their own setting, incorporated them into a volunteer communication effort, and sustained the work over time.

The statewide award recognized the neighborhood's collective accomplishments, with the newsletter serving as one piece of the evidence supporting its selection.

Demonstrating Extension Impact

This story illustrates several important outcomes of University of Missouri Extension's community development education.

Knowledge transfer: A Neighboring 101 participant applied the Engaged Neighbor practices in an actual neighborhood setting.

Behavior change: Educational concepts influenced how a volunteer newsletter was organized, written, and used to encourage relationships among residents.

Sustained application: The practices were incorporated into recurring newsletter features rather than a single event or short-term activity.

Community capacity building: Volunteer editors used their professional experience, communication skills, and Extension education to support resident engagement and a stronger neighborhood identity.

External recognition: The Villas at Wicklow received the top 2026 Missouri's Most Neighborly Neighborhood award, with its newsletter contributing documented evidence of the community's neighborly culture.

The outcome demonstrates how Extension education can be amplified when a participant shares and applies what they learn through an existing community institution.

In this case, one trained resident helped bring neighboring principles into a publication reaching a broader neighborhood audience.

The precise number of residents reached through the newsletter has not been established, but the application demonstrates a pathway for educational impact beyond direct class participation.

Why This Story Matters

For Burton, the Villas at Wicklow example reinforces a central principle of his community development work: Stronger communities develop when residents intentionally create opportunities to know, include, and care for one another.

It also illustrates that neighborhood newsletters can do more than distribute information.

When designed intentionally, they can become tools for relationship building, recognizing residents, sharing stories, celebrating kindness, and strengthening belonging.

The story is particularly significant because Kelly independently identified Burton's educational influence and described how the practices were applied.

Her testimony provides direct evidence of educational adoption, while the neighborhood's statewide recognition offers an additional indicator of community achievement.

The most meaningful outcome is not simply that a neighborhood won an award. It is that Extension education helped equip residents to strengthen their own community, using resources and relationships they already had.

As Kelly wrote in closing her message, her gratitude was genuine.

For Burton, that message demonstrated the value of investing in educational programs whose effects may continue long after a training session ends.

Impact Summary

University of Missouri Extension's Engaged Neighbor Program and Neighboring 101 education influenced the development of The Villas Voice, a volunteer-produced neighborhood newsletter at the Villas at Wicklow in Nixa, Missouri. Co-editor Laura Kelly confirmed that the newsletter incorporated the program's five neighboring practices from its beginning, resulting in recurring features that recognize kindness, introduce residents, and encourage community engagement. In 2026, the Villas at Wicklow earned the top recognition among 12 nominees for Missouri's Most Neighborly Neighborhood. The newsletter provided supporting evidence in the nomination. This example demonstrates sustained adoption of Extension educational practices, volunteer leadership development, and the use of neighborhood communication to strengthen relationships and belonging.

Program: University of Missouri Extension — Community Development
Educational initiative: Engaged Neighbor Program / Neighboring 101
Extension specialist: David L. Burton
Community: Villas at Wicklow, Nixa, Christian County, Missouri
Community partner: Laura Kelly, co-editor of The Villas Voice
Documented outcome: Adoption of Engaged Neighbor practices in a recurring neighborhood publication
Community recognition: 2026 Missouri's Most Neighborly Neighborhood — First Place

WRITTEN BY

David L. Burton

For more information, visit the Engaged Neighbor website. Take our pledge and become part of a movement! Or subscribe to our newsletter. Access some of the research documents written by David Burton, the author of this blog. Or better yet, purchase one of his books off Amazon. Contact David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.