• New Mural Honors Public Servants in Nesoho

Public servants and artists came together to create a new mural for Neosho. The mural honors the various public servants in the community and was made possible thanks to the ServeMO 2026 MLK Day of Service Mini-Grant grant received by the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council (HSTCC). The mural, titled “From Service Comes Growth: Neosho the Beloved Community,” was painted on panels in January and was just installed at George Washington Carver Elementary School. The grant funded volunteer projects that honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in January 2026.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that everyone can serve. As a veteran and public servant, this mural reflects my belief in service, leaving a legacy, and making a lasting difference in our community,” said Carrie Campbell, executive director of the HSTCC.

The HSTCC reached out to the Neosho Arts Council to help turn their vision for a new mural into reality.

“We were thrilled to be asked to take part in honoring the work of public servants and to help bring more art to our community,” said Sarah Serio, president of the Neosho Arts Council.

Artist Teri Diggs was tapped to create a design that highlighted the work of various public servants in Neosho.

“The process of bringing this mural to life began with conversations between our organizations and the artist about how to honor Dr. King, how to honor our local public servants, and what location would be best for this specific piece,” Serio said.

Serio said that discussions lead to the idea that a Neosho school would be an ideal location for the work. “Putting the mural at a school would allow it to inspire the next generation and show students the power and pride of public service,” she said. Soon the organizers learned that Dr. King used George Washington Carver’s life and work to illustrate the creative power of people even under difficult circumstances.

“At this point we felt that Carver Elementary School was the most logical place for this mural,” Serio said. With approval from the Neosho School District for the mural to be installed at the school, the decision was made to create a design that would be vibrant and engaging to elementary school students.

The Neosho Arts Council reached out across the community, gathering the personal stories and motivations behind various public servants’ calling to serve.

“Serving the City of Neosho through the Parks Department is meaningful to me because it allows me to give back to the community that has given so much to me,” said Kenny Ball, Parks Director for the City of Neosho. “Our parks are more than green spaces – they are places where families gather, memories are made, and traditions are passed down. Preserving Neosho’s history while improving our parks ensures that we honor where we’ve come from while building something better for the next generation, and the generation after that. What we do today leaves a lasting impact, and I take pride in helping create spaces that strengthen our community now and into the future. I believe there comes a time in a person’s life when the desire to serve goes beyond money or personal benefit and becomes about contributing to something greater than oneself.”

The mural features several different areas of public service, showcasing just how vast and varied service to the community truly is. From careers to volunteer roles, the design strived to show how each one plays a vital part in making Neosho thrive.

“Public servants dedicate their lives to service, often without recognition. This mural honors that commitment and reflects Dr. King’s message that service is a powerful form of leadership,” Campbell said.

“This mural was important to me as an artist because it was an opportunity to create something that would be seen on a daily basis by many people, most importantly young people, so they can remember to honor our public servants - like law enforcement, school teachers, healthcare workers, military, and many others - and to not take the work they do for granted,” Diggs said.


A few of the featured areas of public service in the mural include the Neosho National Fish Hatchery whose work is represented with a pair of rainbow trout, the Newton County Courthouse, and a flowering dogwood tree to represent the deep roots of service by many civic and charity organizations in the community.

At the murals center, is the Neosho Police Department’s community outreach vehicle, a vintage Volkswagen Beetle, with an oversized service cap resting on top. This represents the dedication that each first responder has to serve Neosho and their hope for a peaceful and safe community.
In the center foreground is George Washington Carver who dedicated his life to helping others through his work in agricultural education. Carver started his formal education at the age of twelve in Neosho when he attended the Neosho Color School in the late 1870’s.

An inspirational quote by Mariah Watkins spans the width of the mural: “You must learn all you can, then go back out into the world and give your learning back to the people.”
Watkins, a former slave, served the community of Neosho as a midwife during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. She gave Carver a place to live while he attended school in Neosho. During this time Watkins encouraged Carver’s pursuit of education and instilled a solid work ethic. 


In the lower right corner is Neosho’s Senior Hill which represents the service of the school district and how teachers work daily to ensure students achieve educational goals, year after year. The names on this mural’s Senior Hill double as the signatures of the public servants who helped paint the mural.

Diggs’ design was transferred by hand to six panels which allowed the mural to be mobile. Volunteers with Neosho Arts Council took panels to various locations across the community to give public servants an opportunity to add their own brushstrokes to the piece.

“Having the Chamber of Commerce be a part of this painting and being able to put my brushstrokes along with all the other public servants in the Nesoho area is just an absolute honor,” said Heather Clear, Director of Operations at the Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce.

“My own artist expression is a part of something so much bigger and just being able to be part of that as an individual and as part of the Fish and Wildlife Service is a really good thing,” Jennifer Cutillo, Outreach Coordinator at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery, said after getting to help paint the spring water around the rainbow trout.
Panels were also taken to Neosho’s City Hall, Fire Department, Police Station, and Parks Department along with stops at the Newton County Courthouse and Neosho School District Central Office.

“Dr. King believed in collective action, and having public servants paint the mural together made it a true symbol of unity and shared purpose,” Campbell said.
Recently, the final step in the process of bringing this mural to the community was completed when installation of the panels took place at George Washington Carver Elementary by the Neosho School District.

“When students see the mural, I hope they enjoy the positive message, the bright colors and graphics, the elements that honor Neosho, as well as George Washington Carver, and they feel delighted and proud to have this mural as part of their school,” Diggs said.
The Neosho Arts Council has also completed a descriptive audio guide for the piece that explains the subject of the mural and gives background on the various public service areas represented.

“This mural, while designed to be engaging to elementary aged students, is filled with deep meaning and our community’s history of public service,” Serio said. “The audio guide will walk viewers through the work while also giving them an explanation of why certain elements were included and the history behind them.”

“From Service Comes Growth: Neosho the Beloved Community” can be viewed by the public outside the main entrance to George Washington Carver Elementary School. The descriptive audio guide plus progress photos of the mural’s creation are available now at neoshoarts.net.