Missouri Good Neighbor Week documents more than 31K acts of neighboring

Houston, Excelsior Springs, Sikeston, Springfield, Ferguson named state’s most neighborly cities.

The tally is in, and 31,129 acts of neighboring were documented this year as part of the fourth annual Missouri Good Neighbor Week, Sept. 28 – Oct. 4. The goal had been to reach 20,000 acts.

“We had 60-plus county extension councils participate this year, which really jumped the numbers, and we also had 13 or more cities organize campaigns and events,” said David Burton, a community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension and the creator of Missouri Good Neighbor Week. “But before I start thinking about 2025, I want to be sure and celebrate the great work in 2024.”

During Missouri Good Neighbor Week this year, selections for Missouri’s Most Engaged Neighbors were announced. There were 122 nominations from across the state, and 22 were selected for statewide recognition.

New this year, organizers randomly drew names to recognize individuals who reported acts of neighboring. That random drawing still produced an impressive list of acts done during the week.

Most neighborly cities

Also new to Missouri Good Neighbor Week this year was recognition for the most neighborly cities.

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 Burton.

In 2024, five cities were named the most neighborly cities in Missouri: Houston, Excelsior Springs, Sikeston, Springfield and Ferguson!

This is what our judges had to say about each selection determined by points earned.

Small city (population under 5,000): Houston

Runners-up: Lexington and Butler

“Houston continues to impress with its 3000 roses campaign for National Good Neighbor Day and efforts by the community betterment committee. It is a true town effort.”

Medium city (population 5,000-15,000): Excelsior Springs

Runner-up: Rogersville

“Excelsior Springs is fairly new to the neighboring movement but the effort is gaining momentum with special campaigns, a community event, an emphasis on neighbors gathering and a city employee focused on neighbor engagement.”

Large city (15,000 -30,000): Sikeston

Runner-up: Republic and Raymore

“Leaders in Sikeston organized a committee, got ideas from adults, listened to residents for ideas and made adjustments and then tapped into five community interest areas that they used as daily themes to draw attention to assets in the community.”

Metro city (population over 30,000): Springfield

Runners-up: Lee’s Summit, St. Peters and St. Louis

“We loved the PSA done by KY3 in support of neighbor week and block parties in Springfield! But beyond that the city had block parties going on, organizations and neighborhood associations did events for neighbors during the week, individuals reported their activity and over 15 individuals were nominated as most engaged neighbors, several of whom took top honors.”

At-large selection: Ferguson

“It’s hard to trust who you don’t know. Staff with the city of Ferguson learned about Missouri Good Neighbor Week and decided to fill the week with events, open houses and block parties to build connections and trust. It was a strong first-time effort plus we really love what it says about the community. There was an organized effort here to increase engagement among neighbors citywide.”

Preashion Peoples, community development administrative assistant for the City of Ferguson, was excited to hear the news.

“Thank you so much for sharing the exciting news that Ferguson has been named one of the most neighborly cities in Missouri during Missouri Good Neighbor Week 2024! This recognition means a lot to our community,” said Peoples. “We are truly honored to be acknowledged alongside the other cities, and I know this will inspire even more acts of neighboring in Ferguson.”

Burton says city involvement is key to the continued growth of the week as well as the continued impact of neighboring efforts.

“I know we had some other cities that did projects,” Burton said. “Like in Webster Groves, the city took nominations and honored their own good neighbors during the week, separate from our official celebration. It is just exciting to see the work expand. When anyone is talking about being an engaged neighbor, we all benefit.”

Learn more

Missouri Good Neighbor Week was passed by the legislature and enacted by Gov. Mike Parson in 2022. The idea came from Burton, who had done some weeklong celebrations in both Republic and Springfield before working with his state representative, Bishop Davidson, on a bill.

The efforts in Missouri have not gone unnoticed. In the last month, there have been inquiries about the creation of other statewide neighbor weeks from Massachusetts, Michigan, Connecticut, California, Florida, Oklahoma, Washington and Colorado.

The Hopeful Neighborhood Project, headquartered in St. Louis, is a co-partner with other county extension councils in Missouri in supporting the project statewide.