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Independence, MO —
Amy Knipp says maintaining the outside of her Independence home is always a work in progress.
But she and her husband, Eric, are doing something right in the 900 block of South Main Street, as they received one of six Beauty of Independence awards Monday night from the Beautification Commission. The awards went to one residence in each of the four City Council districts, as well as one nonprofit organization and one commercial entity.
The Beautification Commission advises the City Council and assists city staff with public information and education for maintaining a healthy, safe and attractive city.
Each of the four council district winners also received a $50 gift card from Michael Finley, store manager at Nuts and Bolts True Value Hardware, in hopes they would visit the Independence store to keep the outside of their homes looking nice.
“There are many times when I feel like it’s getting away from us,” Knipp says of her house, the winner for District 1/northwestern Independence, “so they must have caught us on a good day. It’s nice for the city to give recognition to those who are trying to keep their little corner of the world looking good. It’s really nice that they do that.”
John and Susan Rhodelander, who live in the 800 block of North Piute Avenue in northeastern Independence, received the District 2 award. The District 3 award went to James and Sandi Soendker, who live in the 16600 block of Ellison Way.
“We had quite a few really good nominees in every district. We had to put it to a vote, and it was difficult,” says Gloria Smith, chairwoman of the Beautification Commission. “I hope we have a lot more of really good nominees next year.”
Junior Service League of Independence, 3122 S. Crysler Ave., received the nonprofit organization award.
“If you drive by and take a look, you’ll see why – it’s quite lovely,” Smith says.
For the company’s efforts in continuing a high-quality of standards, the QuikTrip convenience stores received the commercial division award. Currently, 10 QuikTrip stores are in Independence.
District 4/southwestern Independence winner Sharon Wright says she was surprised and humbled that her home was chosen among the potential nominees in her neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods.
“I drive by, and I see lots of beautiful, beautiful places, and golly, they picked me,” Wright says. “I imagine their job was very hard in picking.”
Wright tries to get out in her yard every day or every other day – “except when the weather is so extreme like it is right now,” she says – and do some maintenance work, such as picking up sticks and limbs, mowing the lawn or cleaning up the flower beds.
Amy Knipp says maintaining the outside of her Independence home is always a work in progress.
But she and her husband, Eric, are doing something right in the 900 block of South Main Street, as they received one of six Beauty of Independence awards Monday night from the Beautification Commission. The awards went to one residence in each of the four City Council districts, as well as one nonprofit organization and one commercial entity.
The Beautification Commission advises the City Council and assists city staff with public information and education for maintaining a healthy, safe and attractive city.
Each of the four council district winners also received a $50 gift card from Michael Finley, store manager at Nuts and Bolts True Value Hardware, in hopes they would visit the Independence store to keep the outside of their homes looking nice.
“There are many times when I feel like it’s getting away from us,” Knipp says of her house, the winner for District 1/northwestern Independence, “so they must have caught us on a good day. It’s nice for the city to give recognition to those who are trying to keep their little corner of the world looking good. It’s really nice that they do that.”
John and Susan Rhodelander, who live in the 800 block of North Piute Avenue in northeastern Independence, received the District 2 award. The District 3 award went to James and Sandi Soendker, who live in the 16600 block of Ellison Way.
“We had quite a few really good nominees in every district. We had to put it to a vote, and it was difficult,” says Gloria Smith, chairwoman of the Beautification Commission. “I hope we have a lot more of really good nominees next year.”
Junior Service League of Independence, 3122 S. Crysler Ave., received the nonprofit organization award.
“If you drive by and take a look, you’ll see why – it’s quite lovely,” Smith says.
For the company’s efforts in continuing a high-quality of standards, the QuikTrip convenience stores received the commercial division award. Currently, 10 QuikTrip stores are in Independence.
District 4/southwestern Independence winner Sharon Wright says she was surprised and humbled that her home was chosen among the potential nominees in her neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods.
“I drive by, and I see lots of beautiful, beautiful places, and golly, they picked me,” Wright says. “I imagine their job was very hard in picking.”
Wright tries to get out in her yard every day or every other day – “except when the weather is so extreme like it is right now,” she says – and do some maintenance work, such as picking up sticks and limbs, mowing the lawn or cleaning up the flower beds.
“I do it in spite of the fact that I have very bad knees,” she says. “I love to be outside, but because of my knees, I have to sit in a chair to take care of the flowers.”
For Wright, the beautification of her home is a practice that was instilled upon her years ago.
“My father taught me a long time ago that it doesn’t really matter what the inside of your house looks like,” she says. “You have to keep up the outside of your house because that is what everybody else looks at – that’s the way I was taught, and it’s stayed with me all these years.”
