Maximize NWMO honored area leaders as part of its annual Celebration Summit. Two recipients are from area counties.
The Maximize NWMO Vision Award was presented to Bob Hughes and the Hamilton Community Alliance for their longstanding commitment and work toward a thriving rural community. Former Caldwell County Commissioner Bud Motsinger and Hamilton Mayor Cole Crawford were present to support the recognition. One example is the Highway 13 Butterfly Trail, a 292-mile conservation and ecotourism corridor through western Missouri that began with a big vision and a 10-acre community project in Hamilton.
Richard Switzer of Linn County received the Maximize NWMO Community Navigator Award for bringing together organizations in Marceline to learn, explore ways to align their work, and improve quality of life. The group calls its shared effort Maximize Marceline. Switzer serves as executive director of the Marceline Industrial Development Association and volunteers with his wife, Mary Beth, at many community events and endeavors connected to the area’s Walt Disney heritage.