Vol 3, No 4

2008 Missouri State University Community Caravan: What the Public Affairs Mission Means to You

I want to use this issue of Friday Focus to inform you about a University initiative for this spring and to invite you to be involved in it.

To say “thank you” for past support and to highlight our interdependence with local communities, we have scheduled the first Missouri State University Community Caravan. We intend for this to be an annual event, and we expect to add locations in the future. The Caravan is intended to supplement, not replace, the regular alumni and Bears Caravan events that occur already.

The 2008 Caravan will focus on eight locations in the first three weeks of April with the theme: “What the Public Affairs Mission Means to You.” During each day-long event, we intend to show how our statewide mission is benefiting each community. I believe we have a powerful story to tell and we will personalize it to each community.

We are organizing local planning committees in each community that we will work with on planning the day-long event. We plan for each day to include these elements: one or more civic/economic events; school visits; media contacts; visits with individual donors and alumni; and an evening event for prospective students and their parents.

The local planning committees will include a combination of alumni, parents, friends, donors, and community leaders. The planning committees will help establish the schedule and program for each day, and we will announce the details as they are completed. Our intent is that the locations will rotate and vary from year-to-year.

Missouri State has enjoyed a strong tradition of support from southwest Missouri. We appreciate this tradition, but we are not sure we have expressed our thanks as much as we should. And, we probably haven’t highlighted the many meaningful connections the University has with each of these communities.

Here is my invitation to you: If you are from one of these areas and would like to be involved in the event at the location, please let us know. You may contact Paul Kincaid, my Chief of Staff, via e-mail at PaulKincaid@missouristate.edu. We would welcome your involvement.

The 2008 dates and locations are listed below.

Week One

Monday, March 31 – Christian County (Ozark, Nixa, Others)

Tuesday, April 1 – Greene County (Republic, Strafford, Willard, Others)

Wednesday, April 2 – Cedar, Polk and Dade Counties (Stockton, Bolivar, Greenfield, Others)

Thursday, April 3 – Laclede County (Lebanon and Others)

Week Two

Monday, April 7 – Stone and Taney Counties (Branson, Reeds Spring, Kimberling City, Others)

Tuesday, April 8 – Webster County (Marshfield, Rogersville, Others)

Week Three

Monday, April 14 – Lawrence and Barry Counties (Aurora, Mt. Vernon, Monett, Others)

Tuesday, April 15 – Newton and McDonald Counties (Neosho and Others)