Welcome to Show-Me MO Success Season 2! To kick off this season, we dive into the lessons learned from 2023 by our team and their tips for 2024!

This week we talk to St Louis Resident Aaron Dohogne about his recognition as as a 2023 Engaged Neighbor recipient for his “Trash for Trees” neighborhood program and Community Specialist David Burton on his promotion of the Good Neighbor Week program and its origins in his backyard. 

Tune in to hear about The MERS Goodwill Excel Center, an adult education center, and hear how and why it became the first educational center in Missouri to receive the Recovery Friendly Workplace designation. To shed light on this topic, we have Abby Courtney and Micheal Reynolds from the Excel Center, and Ann McCauley, the director of the Rural Opioid Technical Assistance program.

For this episode, Representative Kevin Windham joined us to talk about his experience in the Neighborhood Leadership Fellows. Tune in to learn how it helped him in his political career and get insight on the program from Dr. Dwayne James, field specialist in community development at MU Extension.

Join us to go through the journey of the annual Current River Food Truck Festival which was established in 2021 despite the challenges of mounting an event during a pandemic. We have with us, Jennifer Williams, county engagement specialist (CES) in community economic development who planned and organized this festival in Carter County. 

This episode is about the transformation of Ace Pipe Cleaning into a recovery-friendly workplace. Eric Cohen, a company data technician, joined us to talk about his journey and destigmatizing being in recovery alongside Douglas Swanson, MU Extension field specialist in Labor and Workforce Development. 

Your Fall Food Fashion Pro Tip: Elderberry is the New Black

We talk with St. Louis area resident Emilia Rizzuto - founder of All Things Elderberry - about her journey from discovering elderberries when seeking out a natural remedy for better health to creating a tasty elixir and selling it from the trunk of her car to creating a company and owning and working an elderberry farm. And what a journey it has been! We also talk to Becky Nace, Assistant Director for the Mid-America Trade Adjustment Assistance Center a Business Development Program under MU Extension’s Business and Communities, about how she assisted Emilia and her company with preparing to compete in the global elderberry marketplace.

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This episode takes you to the Civil War-era house, known as the Dorothy Day Cabin. After Platte County spent $1 million to preserve that cabin, tune in to see how MU Extension is transforming it into a creative space for artists and the community.

This episode looks back at the Connecting Entrepreneurial Conference that took place in Hermann, MO in 2022. This conference is designed for stakeholders, economic developers, businesses, local government, educators, and nonprofits seeking to learn how to create a network that increases a community’s potential for entrepreneurship. Tune in to know more!