Houston won second place in its population category Monday in the Missouri Community Betterment Contest announced in Mexico, Mo.
The town’s youth organization also won second place.
Houston was runner-up to Buffalo, which also won the community of the year award.
Other winners in Houston’s category: Albany, third; Steelville, fourth; and Versailles, fifth.
In Houston’s youth category, Steelville won first place.
A delegation from the Missouri Community Betterment and Arts Council of Houston, along with youth members, attended the event.
Salem was the only other town in the region to win awards. It won third in its population category.
Nearly 130 volunteers, community leaders and youth from across the state were in attendance to celebrate community and economic development efforts, network with each other and connect with resource providers.
Within the 2019 theme “MCB – Your MAP to Progress,” attendees discussed how to think differently about their communities as they work to make them places where youth and adults alike want to build their lives. The event covered topics from downtown revitalization, successful shop local campaigns, managing the media mania, Missouri 2021 and more. The event kicked off on Sunday evening with a “Town Square Fair.” This event allowed individuals from around the state to showcase their communities and network with resource partners in an effort to connect, learn and uplift each other.
“The Missouri Community Betterment Board congratulates all the volunteers from our communities throughout the state,” MCB President Kat Morgan said. “These dedicated individuals and their collaborative community and economic development efforts continue to make Missouri’s rural communities a place people want to call home.”