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

By Mike Smith

Published September 20, 2021 at 9:16 AM CDT

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) — 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.

Miles Hamilton, Owner of Queen City Cycles

Sarah Kerner, Director of Economic Opportunity, City of Springfield Mo.