FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Community leaders will be “all ears” at a series of nine meetings in Springfield neighborhoods starting Monday. “We have studied multi-year trends in our community, and in your neighborhood, and while there have been tremendous strides in improving the quality of life in Springfield, it has become clear that we still have many challenges,” said City Manager Greg Burris, in a letter to residents of the Bissett, Doling, Westside, Tom Watkins, West Central, Woodland Heights, Midtown, Grant Beach and Heart of the Westside neighborhoods in Springfield. “We need your help. We need your ideas. Please join us for Community Listen, a tour through Springfield’s neighborhoods where we hope citizens will come and share their thoughts. We have an entire team dedicated to listening and learning about what we can do to better support our citizens and businesses. Our intention is to let you tell us what you feel is needed in your community, then allow us to develop a responsive plan,” Burris’ letter continued. Food and child care will be provided at all of the meetings by the City of Springfield and Community Partnership of the Ozarks. Drawings for free gift cards donated by Wal-mart for the neighborhood residents will be held throughout the hour-long meetings. If residents aren’t sure which neighborhood they live in, they can visit springfieldmo.gov/neighborhoods or call 864-1010. Neighbors who can't make it to one of these events can use the Community Voice section of the City's Web site to share thoughts about improving the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Those collaborating with the City to host the series of meetings are: • City Utilities
• Springfield Public Schools
• Neighborhood Advisory Council
• Community Foundation of the Ozarks
• Community Partnership of the Ozarks
• CoxHealth
• Healthy Living Alliance
• Jordan Valley Community Health Center
• Mercy Springfield Communities
• Missouri State University
• North Springfield Betterment Association
• Ozarks Community Technical College
• Springfield Public Schools Partners in Education
• Springfield Impacting Poverty Commission.
### For more information, please call Cora Scott at 417-864-1009 or 417-380-3352.