MPC's Mahan Honored as Good Neighbor of the Year

Betty Jo Mahan, an administrative assistant at MPC, won the Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year Award at the city's Neighborhood Awards and Networking Luncheon on March 8.

Mahan was lauded for starting the Inskip Community Association and for embracing diversity in its mission.

In addition to working with local agencies on projects such as Healthy Kids-Healthy Communities, Safe Routes to Schools, and Paint the Pavement, Mahan and the Inskip group publish a dual-language newsletter.

Paint the Pavement?a traffic calming effort near Inskip Elementary School?is one project that Mahan particularly enjoyed. Community members and teachers worked together in painting a mural on the street in front of the school to remind drivers to slow down. Other markings were painted between the school and nearby Inskip park and pool.

"Neighbors and Inskip teachers working together on a project to benefit the kids really strengthened community ties," Mahan said.

Mahan has been with MPC for nearly 17 years where she's instrumental in seeing that MPC commissioners, City Council members, County Commissioners, and others receive the information they need to make decisions on local planning actions. She credits her experience with those groups as one reason she decided to get involved in her own neighborhood.

 

"My experience at MPC taught me that each neighborhood needs an advocate to communicate their positions on potential changes or needed services in the community. Seeing others volunteering their time to help their communities inspired me to step up and take on projects within my own neighborhood," she said.

Mahan was quick to share credit for Inskip's accomplishments. "Members of the Inskip Community are the ones who made our organization successful. A neighborhood is only as strong as its members, and everyone who participated in our projects deserves an award."

The Neighborhood Awards and Networking Luncheon is an annual event held by the City of Knoxville's Office of Neighborhoods. It offers residents the opportunity to converse with neighborhood advocates, city staff, and members of City Council, along with round table discussions and the awards luncheon.

Congratulations, Betty Jo, and keep up the good work!