Community Foundation of the Ozarks

About 30 residents of southern Missouri’s Ripley County kicked off their “Strengthening Our Communities” project this week with a frank discussion about how to balance growing the local economic base with maintaining the character that draws people to the heart of the Current River.

The civic leaders and interested citizens hold dear the heritage of the river, protected as a national treasure for its wide, clean waters that draw paddlers and create a tourism base. They know some residents in Doniphan and the surrounding area would just as soon leave things as is. But they also want to stem the population losses in recent Census reports, and the loss of talented young people, by creating more jobs and opportunities.

That’s why a group of Ripley County leaders applied for the CFO’s new “Strengthening Our Communities” initiative in which two communities were selected for a 12- to 18-month strategic planning process that will yield a blueprint to move the community forward. The CFO is partnering with University Extension and the USDA Rural Development, which will guide Ripley County and a Joplin-area coalition through this planning process.

As they talked about their reasons for wanting to participate, the residents said they want to create a better environment for their kids and grandkids so they’ll consider staying around after high school, as well as improve the standard of living for those living in poverty and the high seasonal unemployment related to River tourism.

“We’ve got room for improvement,” said Russ French, an insurance agent who is helping coordinate the meetings. “We need to figure out how to maximize ourselves without stepping on toes.”

Mary Ann Curry, who is being honored as Doniphan’s Citizen of the Year this week, moved to the area from Los Angeles in 1974. She and her husband raised Charolais cattle, later moved to Arizona,  and then returned to Doniphan in 1997 where they opened up an eight-lane bowling alley.

She said she personally went around to recruit participants for this week’s initial meeting for the project. She wants to see more join the effort because she thinks Doniphan has a lot going for it if it will make this effort.

The next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m, Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Chamber of Commerce office.

Joplin residents celebrated another milestone on their journey toward recovery with a grand re-opening of the Home Depot store, one of the sites hardest hit on May 22 when the tornado claimed the lives of an employee and several customers and destroyed the store.

Just as the Atlanta-based retailer had resolved to rebuild its own store, it also reinforced its commitment to rebuilding Joplin with The Home Depot Foundation awarding a $500,000 grant to the Joplin Recovery Fund. That funding will be included in a new housing grant cycle to be announced Jan. 12  by the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri, Inc., the CFO’s largest affiliate.

“On May 22, we had a disaster that struck this community and we are part of this community,” said Ann Marie Campbell, president of Home Depot’s Southern Division. “As leaders and managers, there is no script to deal with that size of disaster. It continues to be one of the toughest things we’ve had to deal with as a company.

“That’s why we’re here today because of the spirit of this community that says there is hope; there is resiliency,” she said.

CFSWMO board members and CFO staff associate Michelle Ducre accepted the ceremonial check for $500,000 before store manager Steve Cope led the “ribboncutting” – actually powersawing a long board functioning as a ribbon.

“Wow, a half million to our community along with the commitment to come back,” Ducre said, in thanking Home Depot.

With flourishes including cheerleaders, a drum corps, a Color Guard, Home Depot leaders treated customers a a drop of hundreds of balloons filled with slips of paper to redeem for gifts, cupcakes, and grand re-opening sales throughout the store.

But the tragedy won’t stay far from the minds of employees and customers; at the store’s front entrance is a fountain and a stone marker “in remembrance of the lives lost, and to a future of rebuilding in their memory.”

CFO is excited to host its second quarterly Agency Partner education session on  Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the CFO Community Room, 425 E. Trafficway.  Please join us for this helpful, free session for our nonprofit agency partners.

We have a very special program this quarter, which will focus on disaster preparedness and response. In the wake of the Joplin tornado, nonprofits in our region have become more aware of their plans (or lack of plans) in case of a disaster. We are bringing a panel of experts to this quarterly session to discuss with you the ways you can become more prepared for the unknown as an organization.

Our panel will consist of the following individuals:

Erin Coryell – Program Officer, Midwest Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery for the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation based in Eden Prairie, Minn.;

Don Greenlee - Program Director of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Jasper and Newton Counties (Joplin); 

Tim Connell – Commercial Insurance Consultant at Connell Insurance, Inc.; and

Ryan Nicholls - Director of the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management.

This panel will be moderated by Tiffany Applegate of X-Factor Consulting. Each panelist will discuss his or her area of expertise, and there will be time for questions at the end. If you have a specific question you would like Applegate to ask the panel and would like to submit that question in advance, please send it to bdierks@cfozarks.org.

Parking for this session is available in the garage across the street from our office or in the CFO lot behind our building.

Please RSVP to Bridget Dierks at bdierks@cfozarks.org or directly to voicemail at (417) 447-5360.  Space is limited, so RSVP soon to ensure your seat in this informative and helpful session.