A local project wins a national competition

A project developed and developed in Houston – Good Neighbor Day – won a national competition.

Last October, the Houston Community Betterment and Arts Council of Houston Inc. was recognized in the state competition with the Good Neighbor Award, allowing the local project to be entered into the national Good Neighbor competition hosted by Neighborhoods, USA, in Lubbock, Texas. .

Delbert and Elaine Campbell of the Community Improvement Group and Shari McCallister presented and played a video for a 15-minute period in front of a panel of judges. Constituting one of the seven points of good neighborliness mentioned by Mr. Rogers, the presentation was entitled “Gratitude”. The group won national honor.

Last year, the community improvement organization helped organizer Shari McCallister of Houston with a project that involved distributing 5,000 roses on “Good Neighbor Day” and sponsoring a film at the Melba Performing Arts Center in downtown Houston.

Neighborhoods, USA (NUSA) is a national nonprofit organization committed to building and strengthening neighborhood organizations. Established in 1975 to share information and experiences used to build stronger communities, NUSA continues to encourage networking and information sharing to facilitate the development of partnerships between neighborhood organizations, government and the private sector in the ultimate goal of strengthening each neighborhood.

ABOUT THE LOCAL PROJECT

More than 15 sponsors came together to help finance the distribution of the 5,000 roses. The program has grown over the years and began about 20 years ago.

Participants collect a dozen roses, keep one and pass out the rest to show their appreciation for being a good neighbor.

The Houston Council for Community Improvement and the Arts and the Texas County Library joined McCallister and other volunteers for the distribution last year. The preparation is a huge job: the roses are divided into dozens, a sponsor card and an invitation to a movie night are added as well as a ribbon.