Missouri Good Neighbor Week Ambassadors Emma Alexander, Sabra Kovar and Carla Hudson Turn Neighboring Into Action

Missouri Good Neighbor Week Ambassadors were asked to do more than promote an annual celebration in 2026. They were encouraged to model good neighboring, invite others to participate and help document what happens when Missourians intentionally invest in the people and places around them.

A total of 94 Missourians registered to be an Ambassador in 2026.

Three Ambassadors illustrate the range of ways people put neighboring into practice: Emma Alexander, Sabra Kovar and Carla L. Hudson.

Emma Alexander: Making neighboring a youth lesson

Emma Alexander led the Ambassador network with eight substantive reports, many involving young people through 4-H and FFA.

One of the largest projects brought youth and adults together to pack 11,172 meals for local food pantries and food-security projects. Alexander reported participation involving groups and communities including Seymour FFA, Niangua FFA, Fordland FFA and the Greene County 4-H Teen Council.

Her reports also included projects involving the Mighty Eagles 4-H Club. Members cleaned and maintained a flower bed at Rogersville City Park, planted fall mums and added a Missouri Good Neighbor Week sign and QR code. In Fordland, members planted fresh fall flowers in planters along Main Street.

The club intentionally selected projects in multiple communities so children ranging in age from 5 to 18 could participate in meaningful ways.

But Alexander's reports also showed that neighboring doesn't need to be organized or large. After having extra peaches, she made two pies, one for a next-door neighbor and another for a local service provider, and used the deliveries as an opportunity to share the message of Missouri Good Neighbor Week.

Another report described a new Clover Kid 4-H member making and delivering cards to neighbors.

Alexander's activities demonstrate one of the goals of the Ambassador program: make neighboring visible, repeatable and something the next generation learns by doing.

Sabra Kovar: Neighboring one need at a time

Sabra Kovar of Harrisonville submitted five reports that demonstrate another side of neighboring: personal acts prompted by noticing what someone else needs.

When someone she knew was grieving, Kovar delivered dinner and dessert. When a neighbor needed surgery but didn't have transportation home from the hospital, Kovar provided a ride. Another report involved simply showing up to support a friend at a senior-night softball game.

Kovar also reported youth activities involving the Wal-Center 4-H Club, including donating three bags of books to a community book drive in Adrian and a fishing activity designed to get young people outdoors, relaxing and building relationships.

None of those actions required a large budget or formal program. They required someone to notice an opportunity and act.

That is precisely the kind of neighboring the Ambassador program was designed to encourage.

Carla Hudson: Turning opportunities into connection

Carla L. Hudson of Bellefontaine Neighbors demonstrated how an Ambassador can combine one-on-one care with community-wide promotion of neighboring.

Hudson responded to family in serious crisis, connected them to help and also provided some needed resources.

Hudson also worked with the Mayor of Bellefontaine Neighbors to secure a city proclamation recognizing Missouri Good Neighbor Week. She used the opportunity to talk with residents, promote National Night Out and encourage connection among neighbors.

She was an active promoter of Missouri Good Neighbor Week on social media, helping spread the neighboring message throughout her community. She also took the message to the streets, participating in a community walk to pick up trash while telling others about Missouri Good Neighbor Week.

Hudson's efforts demonstrate the range of what it means to be a Good Neighbor Week Ambassador: responding when an individual neighbor needs help, improving the community, engaging local leaders and inviting others to be part of the movement.

From Ambassadors to action

The Missouri Good Neighbor Week Ambassador Network was created to give individuals across the state a way to champion neighboring where they live.

Reporting in 2026 shows at least 39 registered Ambassadors submitted 85 substantive reports of neighboring activity, with those reports recording a combined impact of more than 7,700 people.

Those figures don't capture everything Ambassadors did. Many acts of neighboring are never reported, and impact figures are self-reported. Some large collaborative projects can also involve overlapping participants, so the total should be understood as reported impact rather than a count of unique individuals.

But the individual stories may say more than the total.

A meal delivered to someone grieving. A ride home after surgery. Young people planting flowers along Main Street. Children and teenagers packing food for families they may never meet. A pie delivered next door. Showing up at a softball game because someone could use encouragement.

Strong communities aren't built only through major projects. They are built when ordinary people repeatedly notice one another, respond to needs and create opportunities for connection.

Missouri Good Neighbor Week Ambassadors are helping make those behaviors visible across the state. They are neighbors willing to go first.

Learn more at https://missourigoodneighborweek.org.

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.