A note from the Founder of MWNA

I had a home-based business as a Medical Equipment Exporter. Being at our new home for six months, I had this idea to start a "Neighborhood Association". I thought it would be a great way to meet my neighbors, the kids and give back to the community. I contacted Harmony Vineyard Church to see if I could have my first meeting there, and it was set it up for September 1997. I was excited.

My children were ten and twelve. I dragged them door to door (felt like a politician) as I introduced myself and my idea of starting a Neighborhood Association and invited everyone to our first meeting.

 I found out we had lots of homes and hills to cover!
 

There were pros and cons from everyone. I tried to explain this was going to be a Neighborhood Association and not a Home Owners Association. And, that I wasn't planning to lay down rules, just trying to figure out how we could make this subdivision more of a community for our families.

I was told that way back when (like 20 years before), Misty Woods Subdivision was developed when TWA came to town and additional housing/and or a subdivision was needed. I was also told that when it was first developed, there was a home association attached to the builder clause, however it turned into a "social drinking club" and really nothing got done, since it was a newly formed subdivision with no issues or problems to address, so the home association never got up and running.

Going forward, the subdivision was well established, and as the North of River area grew, Misty Woods stayed behind as an "unincorporated" area and since it really didn't belong to any city, our subdivision was overlooked for road, infrastructure repairs, improvements, even police coverage and then you started seeing the decline of the subdivision in home values and an increase in small crime.

Our September meeting was held with a record-breaking attendance of over 100 homeowners and Rev. Brown set up a bigger room so everyone could hear what I was talking about. MWNA was formed that evening.

I contacted the Northland Neighborhood Inc (NNI.com) who really give me some great resources to help me get this Neighborhood Association going. I needed a board and in October, I came up with an agenda after agenda of my ideas and that I needed to form a Board and to file our Neighborhood Association with the state (that gave us credibility) for state and local grants. And, I did it, a board was formed that month.

Two month later, we developed a newsletter (and printed it at KCMO Neighborhood Development Department at no charge (one of the many grants I submitted), however we needed homeowners to help deliver these for us every month. That's how the Block Captains came about. We needed 13 of them and that worked.

And we ended up with a founder (me), four officers, board of directors, and lots of sub-committees. It was a total of 45 homeowners who helped out each and every month.
 

A month later, everyone was falling in to place, we had the police behind us, the county commissioner (Michael Short) and the Mayor all in our favor for this neighborhood association to begin. Then I was told a petition was being circulated for my children and I to pack up our mini-van and move out of dodge (Misty Woods)? Really?

I then walked door to door again and shared this was going to be a neighborhood association, like a volunteer group, you don't have to join and I was not going to make any rules. I received a call from a homeowner who called me and said please come up, I have this petition and I want to give this to you, it must end now. What you are doing will be good for the neighborhood. Keep at it, you have a lot more of us that want what you have talking about and we are behind you 100%. What could we do to help?

Our first neighborhood event was held: Neighborhood/Creek Clean Up Day October 5, 1997. 

The rest is history, as they say!

Then the fun and the work started: New Entrances Signs and Bridge (true Labor of Love), Rebuilt Again after Storm damage, Clean up Creek Day, Community Sale Day, Recycle Can Day, Dumpster Days, Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Tool Library, MWNA Welcome Wagon, Home of the Month, Pet and Dog Register, National Night Out Events, Monthly Newsletter, Telephone Directory, Monthly Meetings (with a guest speakers), Block Parties, Progressive Dinners, Halloween, and Santa visits to the kids, Dog Parades and the Scarecrow Festival.

The Scarecrow Festival was my idea, after I was trying to figure out, how to get people to see our new subdivision, property values were increasing, outsiders were talking positive about Misty Woods. We built scarecrows as a fundraiser and invited our community and communities outside of our area to drive in our neighborhood and joined us for a glass of apple cider,  or a slice of pumpkin bread at our Scarecrow Cafe down at our entrance. We held a Scarecrow Contest, where you could drive thru our neighborhood and see all the different types of Scarecrows being built by some rather fun and creative homeowners, families and kids.

We made the news a lot. I sold my Medical Export Business to a company in Leawood Kansas, my mother had passed away, it was time to head to Sunny Florida. And, I am still here and very happy.

Before I left, our Neighborhood  was voted as the Best OF.. "best neighborhood" north of the River to purchase a home because of our community appeal.

We did it. We all did it. Thank you. Please continue on and use this website, and photos as a reference that Misty Woods is still a great neighborhood. With Care Patti Hirsch- It was a great time in my life.