Here were a few important takeaways from the February Professional Development Luncheon on Civic Engagement with Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon, featuring a Chamber legislative update from Heather Hargrove:

• Small acts like voting and filling out the census can have big impacts.
• A lot of people before us have fought for our right to vote, so we should take advantage of our voting privileges.
• The Boone County Government Center is a voting location that anyone can visit on election days and vote, no matter where their polling place is located.
• Election results, especially in local elections, can come down to one or two votes, so it’s important that we make voting a priority in our busy lives.
• The data collected in the census is used for 10 years and if children aren’t counted, they’ll miss out on being counted for their entire childhood.
• Hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are distributed based on census data, so it’s important that we have a complete and accurate count in our community.
• Businesses look at census data when looking to build new stores/restaurants/facilities and when considering where to bring new jobs.
• Like voting, filling out the census is our civic duty.

For information about registering to vote and finding your polling place, visit the Boone County Clerk’s website: https://www.showmeboone.com/clerk/

For information about the 2020 Census, visit the Boone County Counts website: https://boonecountycounts.com/

One of our Chamber members, the Missouri Community College Association, did a webinar on the 2020 Census, that ties in well with what was talked about at our luncheon. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can access the webinar here!