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Grants, Loans and 'Creative Ways During Covid' Keep Businesses Open, Provide Hope

Clockwise From Left: Pam Babcock (Garbo's Pizzaria) Miles Hamilton (Queen City Cycles) Sarah Kerner (City of Springfield) Jonathan Groves (CFR Facilitator) Mike Smith (KSMU)
Margaret Osler, KSMU
Clockwise from left: Pam Babcock (Garbo's Pizzeria), Miles Hamilton (Queen City Cycles), Sarah Kerner (City of Springfield), Jonathan Groves (CFR Facilitator), and Mike Smith (KSMU).

For this season's Making A Difference, we're switching gears: through a series of panel discussions that air on KSMU, we'll examine 11 topics of The Community Focus Report for Springfield & Greene County. Listen above to the first episode.

As we kick off a new season of Making A Difference, we turn to the 2021 Community Focus Report for Springfield & Greene County. That's a biennial report that evaluates the community’s assets, gaps, opportunities and challenges in key areas.

The CFR for 2021 is set for full release in October.

There are 11 topics examined within the Community Focus Report, including Business and Economic Development, which is what our panel discusses on this month's episode.

Pam Babcock of Garbo’s Pizzeria, Miles Hamilton of Queen City Cycles, and Sarah Kerner of Springfield's Department of Economic Vitality highlight the challenges and support for local businesses during the past 18 months of the pandemic.

Support for Making A Difference on KSMU comes from The Community Foundation of the Ozarks.

Pam Babcock, Owner of Garbo's Pizzeria
Courtesy of Pam Babcock
Pam Babcock, Owner of Garbo's Pizzeria
Miles Hamilton, Owner of Queen City Cycles
Courtesy of Miles Hamilton
Miles Hamilton, Owner of Queen City Cycles
Sarah Kerner, Director of Economic Opportunity, City of Springfield Mo.
Courtesy, Sarah Kerner
Sarah Kerner, Director of Economic Opportunity, City of Springfield Mo.

Mike Smith's career at KSMU began in 1980 as a student announcer when the former Navy Submariner attended (then) SMSU with help from the GI Bill. In 1982 Smith became a full time member of the KSMU family as "Chief Announcer", responsible for the acquisition, training and scheduling of the student announcing staff. It was also in 1982 when Smith first produced "Seldom Heard Music" a broadcast of Bluegrass which is still heard on KSMU and ksmu.org every Saturday night at 7CT.