Apr. 27—Joplin police Chief Sloan Rowland knew he was offering the invocation Thursday night at the 106th annual Joplin Chamber of Commerce banquet at Missouri Southern's Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
He didn't know he was there for an even more important reason until Mark Johnson, with Southwest Missouri Bank, started reading the biography of the person to be cited as the chamber's Outstanding Citizen of the Year.
"I was not expecting that," Rowland said. "It was kind of shocking. This is nice to see from your peers."
Rowland, who plans to retire effective July 1, gave all the credit for this award to the police department and city staff.
"This represents everybody," he said of all city departments. "Behind the police department, there's a huge support staff at the city. It's been a phenomenal organization citywide from the city manager down, the City Council. We've had great support, so truthfully it's everyone's award tonight."
Rowland was just one of a number of people honored at the Joplin chamber's signature annual event, a gathering that's happened every year in the organization's 107-year history except 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This is just a moment for us to celebrate the community, celebrate some outstanding individuals that have given a lot of themselves to the community," said new chamber President Travis Stephens. "This is a great way to get everyone together. You have over 500 business leaders and influencers in one room, and the beauty of it is right now, before the event even starts, all these people serendipitously bumping into each other, creating those connections, cultivating existing relationships, making them stronger. And when it comes to community progress like creating a Cornell art complex or attracting a KCU medical school, that takes a tremendous amount of social capital, and that doesn't work without all these people consistently coming together, engaging one another, celebrating the positives of the community and saying, 'What else can we do? Let's build from here.'"
Stephens said the event was also a passing of the torch in leadership for the Chamber Board of Directors.
Betsy Kissell, chamber board chairwoman for 2022-23, passed the gavel to Matt Stewart, director of the Children's Center of Southwest Missouri, as board chairman for the 2023-24 term.
The chamber also honored the four winners of the Golden Apple Award, a program designed to recognize excellence and passion in the teaching profession. This year, 65 educators from Joplin's public and private schools were nominated by their students, by parents and by their co-workers.