Councilman Terry Hollander's Blog

St. Charles County, its municipalities and institutions are blessed to be among the best in the metro area, state and country – and there are awards and recognitions to prove it! To start the new year off on a positive note, I want to share with you a sample of the accolades the County and our community received in 2019:

• U.S News and World Report ranked St. Charles County among the top 100 healthiest counties in the nation in its 2019 Healthiest Communities study.
  
  
• St. Charles County was ranked the second Most Generous County in Missouri by SmartAsset.
  
  
• Money Magazine ranked O’Fallon number 24 among the Top 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. 
  
  
• Safehome.org ranked O’Fallon among its Top 100 Safest Cities in America, and ranked Wentzville the third safest city in Missouri and second safest city in St. Charles County. Backgroundchecks.org ranked Lake Saint Louis, Wentzville, O’Fallon, St. Peters and St. Charles among the Top 50 Safest Cities in Missouri. 
  
  
• St. Charles County was ranked at the top of Missouri’s Healthiest Counties list by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute for the 10th year in a row.
  
  
• The City of Wentzville was recognized with an Award of Achievement for their work in the Green Cities Challenge component of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s St. Louis Green Business Challenge program, as well as an with the Outstanding Local Government Achievement award from the East-West Gateway Council of Governments for its Stormwater Management Program.
  
  
• O’Fallon and Wentzville were designated as POW-MIA cities through the Jefferson Barracks POW-MIA Museum in St. Louis. 
  
  
• Shelly Parks, English teacher for Francis Howell North High School, was named 2019 State Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
  
  
• The City of St. Charles School District was named a 2019 Healthiest Employer by the St. Louis Business Journal.
  
  
• The Society of Historical Archaeology presented an Award of Merit to the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau.
  
  
• The Center for Patient Safety awarded the St. Charles County Ambulance District its annual Emergency Medical Service Patient Safety First Award.
  
  
• The St. Charles County Police Department Criminalistics Laboratory earned re-accreditation from the American National Standards Institute National Accreditation Board. The Lab first earned accreditation in 2007 and is one of only five crime lab systems in Missouri to meet these international standards.
  
  
• St. Charles County Police Department Crisis Negotiators, comprised of officers from the St. Charles County, St. Charles City, St. Peters, O’Fallon, Lake Saint Louis, and Wentzville police departments, took first place in the Missouri Association of Crisis Negotiators Annual Negotiator’s Challenge.
  
  
• Veterans Tribute Park was named “Best of” in contests through two publications: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2019 Best of St. Charles Contest and the Community News 2019 Best of St. Charles County Contest. Play St. Louis also featured the park on its “10-Plus Awesome Playgrounds” list.
  
  
• Readers of Missouri Life Magazine voted The Historic Daniel Boone Home as Best Interpretive Center in the Destinations category of the 2019 Discover the Best of Missouri Life Awards. Additionally, Boone Home re-enactor Barney Combs was Best Re-Enactor runner-up and the St. Charles Legends and Lanterns Halloween Celebration won Best Kept Secret in the Lore and Legends category; and the Katy Trail State Park was winner of Best Bike Route and Best Running Trail, as well as runner-up for Best Hiking Trail in the Outdoors category.
  
  
• Klondike Park was voted “Best Campground” in Terrain Magazine’s 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards. Bike Stop Café and Picasso’s Coffee House in St. Charles, St. Charles Oktoberfest, MO’ Cowbell Marathon, Bass Pro Shops, the Katy Trail State Park, and St. Charles also were recognized.