Do you have a good neighbor?

City launches Good Neighbor award to recognize residents

Quarterly award kicks off with ceremony Jan. 26

The City of Kansas City, Mo., 3-1-1 Action Center, a division of the City Manager’s Office, and the City’s Neighborhood Community Services Department are co-sponsoring the Good Neighbor award to recognize city residents for works that benefit the community.

The award will be given quarterly and will kick-off with a ceremony and recognition of five residents at 10 a.m. on Jan. 26 at the Robert J. Mohart Multi-Purpose FOCUS Center, 3200 Wayne Ave.

“We hope this award will encourage a greater sense of community and pride in the neighborhoods in our city,” said Earnest Rouse, 3-1-1 Action Center manager. “We want to let residents know that we appreciate the work they are doing.”

The inaugural award recipients are:

- Essye Bethel – Bethel has paid to keep an alley in her neighborhood mowed and cleaned for the past 20 years.

- Joseph McGee – Joseph is a 12-year-old resident who anonymously cuts his neighbor’s lawn. The neighbor said she just thought her grass wasn’t growing.

- Dr. Henry Johnson – Johnson initiated and organized the Benton Boulevard Revitalization project.

- Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Danzy – The couple maintained a vacant lot in their neighborhood for an entire summer.

The award is a nomination-based program that relies on input from residents. Nominations can be sent to ncs@kcmo.org or to actioncenter@kcmo.org, with a subject line of “Good Neighbor Award.”

The idea for the award came from former 3-1-1 Action Center Customer Service Specialist Venessa Wates, who is now with the Neighborhood and Community Services Department.

Media inquiries and information requests should be directed to Eric Hudson, customer service supervisor in the 3-1-1 Action Center at (816) 513-2008.