KIRKSVILLE, MO -- The Missouri Community Betterment Program judges arrived in Kirksville.
The Missouri Community Betterment Program is in its 42nd year designed to help Missouri communities enhance their life through community development.
The judges are visiting seven communities with similar populations in Missouri during the next four days. These communities include Perryville, Sedalia, Clinton, Pleasant Hill, Chillocothe, Moberly and Kirksville.
Kirksville has applied many times over the past years. The application process includes putting together a project report book. This book will include the communities history and all past projects that were completed.
The judges will be spending a couple of hours in each community. They will be judging what each community has done over the past year, what their projects were, what they have accomplished and how they organized their projects.
The projects highlighted in Kirksville's agenda included: ATSU's Dental School Community Campaign, the AED effort, Truman's BIG Event, the 'I Think I Can Foundation' and the Forest Lake Area Trail System.
Terry Hackney, judge for the Missouri Community Betterment Program and Executive Associate with the University of Missouri said, "The real important part of Community Betterment is its peer teaching. Communities teach other communities. I know Kirksville has learned from other communities, and other communities have learned from Kirksville."
The judges will pick five winners. They are awarded a small amount of money and a plaque at the Community Betterment Conference in October.