Buffalo on the GRO

Citizens in the Dallas County seat find rural economic development and civic pride go hand in hand.

For the past 10 years, the empty Petit Jean plant has loomed over the north end of Buffalo. The closure of the poultry-processing business, which employed 465 at the time, was an economic and emotional gut punch.

“A lot of communities our size see industry be here then leave, and we forget why we should be proud,” says Hollie Elliott, executive director of the Dallas County Economic Development Group.

Growth in the Rural Ozarks facilitator Hrishue Mahalaha, left, talks with Hollie Elliott, Executive Director of Dallas County Economic Development Group, and Tanya Watson, Executive Director of Buffalo Area Chamber of Commerce. The three discussed items on an expansive vision board that has overtaken the chamber’s lobby.

But that civic pride is being rekindled, in large part, by the town’s involvement in the CFO’s Growth in the Rural Ozarks economic development program. After not being selected for the initial phase, Buffalo, along with Aurora, landed a spot in “GRO 2.0,” a two-year version using the already-developed model, but funded by the communities. The Dallas County Community Foundation partnered with the Dallas County Economic Development Group to invest $20,000 in the program.

“GRO provided a platform for the larger community to be involved,” Elliott says.

Inspired by GRO, the community adopted “Believe in Buffalo” as its rallying cry. Citizens young and old can be seen around town sporting t-shirts with the slogan. Posters for the campaign hang in the windows of businesses around the square. The faith community is using “I Believe” as the theme for the annual Christmas parade.

Jacob Custer, a volunteer for Buffalo’s Helping Hands beautification program, clears brush from a residence.

Not even a year into the program, the town is already realizing a return on investment. Volunteers are leading Helping Hands, a beautification effort to assist residents with cleaning up property in order to improve curb appeal for potential employers. A monthly speaker series for business leaders launched in July, and the start of a new leadership program is right around the corner. The shuttered Petit Jean facility, that specter of the town’s past, is now listed with other commercial properties on gro.business911.org.

To top off its first year of positive economic strides, Buffalo was named the statewide Community of the Year by Missouri Community Betterment in October.

“Perception often becomes reality,” Elliott says of Buffalo’s turnaround. “When we talk positively about our community, that becomes contagious.”

Despite a dreary fall day, a group with Helping Hands spruced up a fellow citizen’s property across from D.A. Mallory Elementary School in Buffalo. The beautification effort is an outgrowth of the Dallas County seat’s participation in the Growth in the Rural Ozarks economic development program.

This story was originally published in the CFO’s Annual Report FY2018. You can read the full publication here.