Sedalia • Missouri

The Blue Ribbon Vision -
To make Sedalia a Blue Ribbon place to live, to work, to learn, and to visit!

A Message From the Past Chairman, Jim Mathewson

Nothing great happens by accident.  Rather, it is achieved through meticulous assessment, careful planning, and then working to make it happen.

For that reason, a dedicated group of  individuals has spent the past six months studying every facet of our community.  These talented members of the Blue Ribbon Plan Steering Committee have logged countless hours assessing specific areas of community services and quality of life issues to form a clear vision of what this community can – and should – become.  Their hard work has provided the basis for the information and recommendations you find in this report.

Taking a comprehensive look at our community is not new to Sedalians.  We first undertook such an effort in 1985 with a plan that became the Sedalia 2000 Community Strategic Plan. Comprehensive reviews were completed in 1991 and 2005.  Annual updates were completed in 2006 and 2007.  In each plan, we endeavor to provide the foundation for achieving greatness in the areas of education, health care and other community services, while also keeping our heritage and cultural assets in the forefront.

I wish to thank the committee members for their hard work and many contributions toward helping this community grow and become a better place for each of us to live and work.  They have sacrificed their personal time to help achieve a greater good, and we all owe them a great debt of gratitude.

While members of the Blue Ribbon Plan Steering Committee have compiled the information and charted the course for Sedalia’s future, the success of these efforts will be determined by all of us – by the degree to which we individually commit ourselves to achieving the greatness that results from working together.

Jim Mathewson, Past Chair - Blue Ribbon Plan Steering Committee

Strategic Themes, Strategic Objectives, Measures, and Goals

The purpose of the Blue Ribbon Plan is to provide prospective businesses, community planners and all stakeholders an understanding of the future direction, vision and anticipated progress of the community. The planning process has facilitated the cooperation of key community leaders and groups and has led to and encouraged the coordination of the long range goals of the various health care, education, arts and recreation, social service, economic development and government entities.  The ultimate goal of the plan is to strengthen the community in such a way that it encourages businesses and industry to consider Sedalia and Pettis County as a location for the placement or expansion of operations.

The Blue Ribbon Plan development process:

• follows a model used by world class organizations;
• requires alignment and integration of community organizations;
• establishes the Chamber of Commerce as the facilitating organization;
• creates a steering committee comprised of representatives of key community organizations;
• assures alignment of key themes and objectives throughout the community; and
• ensures regular reviews of progress and an annual update to the plan.
Under the leadership of the Sedalia Area Chamber of Commerce, officials representing healthcare, education, arts and recreation, social service, economic development and government entities within the Sedalia and Pettis County area cooperated to create and adopt a methodology to develop, regularly review and update the Blue Ribbon Plan.  Of key importance in development of the plan was a focus on the inherent strengths possessed by the community. The plan attempts to capitalize on these strengths as we progress. They include:

• our “small town feeling”;
• our sense of community involvement;
• our central location;
• the presence of the Missouri State Fair;
• the presence of State Fair Community College;
• the presence of Bothwell Regional Health Center;
• proximity to Whiteman Air Force Base; and
• our cultural assets, diversity and rich heritage

Mission, Vision and Values

The Sedalia/Pettis County community mission, vision and value statements represent the guiding principles for the community and provide the foundation for development of the strategy. The objective is to deploy a strategy that will lead to achievement of the community vision over the long term. These guiding principles are as follows:

Mission – The mission statement represents who we are, what we do, and who we serve:

The Sedalia/Pettis County area is a diverse community of caring, involved people working together to ensure the benefits of a high quality of life for all who live, work or visit here.  We are dedicated to recognizing unmet needs in all areas of life by opening lines of communication, providing opportunities and support through our variety of organizations for the benefit of the communities we serve.

Vision - The vision statement represents where we want to be in the future:

To become the blue ribbon place to live, to work, to learn, and to visit.

Values – The values represent what we believe in and how we want those who represent us to behave:

• Compassion – we are our brother’s keeper

• Stewardship – sharing our time, treasure and talent; striving for communication, cooperation and collaboration

• Community and the Quality of Our Lives – education, health and wellness, arts and recreation, economic and workforce development

• Continuous Quality Improvement and Sustainable Progress

• Integrity – work ethic, respect, trust

• Diversity – meeting the needs and embracing our diverse community