SCOTT CITY WOMAN GETS STATE LEADERSHIP AWARD

SCOTT CITY -- Edith Davidson of Scott City is one of 10 Missouri residents to receive a Governor's Leadership Award.

Davidson was given the award Oct. 21 at a statewide Community Betterment Conference in Columbia.

Davidson, 76, is the founder and president of Scott City's Community Betterment Association, a member of the Scott City Garden Club, Chamber of Commerce, DAR, and Historical Association of Scott City, and she does volunteer work with senior citizens. She also volunteers two days a week at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

She was nominated for the award by Scott City Mayor Shirley Young.

Davidson started the Community Betterment Association, she said, because is would be a good way to get people involved in improving the community.

"It's a great thing for our community because it gets everybody working together," she said.

One of the group's achievements that she said she is proudest of is development of the Hawthorne Senior Square and the renovation of the Mount Zion Cemetery.

Davidson moved back to Scott City in 1986 after teaching high school for 30 years in St. Louis.

"All my children were here, and I wanted to be in a small town," she said. "Scott City is great because everything you need is either here or within driving distance. And you have the pluses of a small town."

She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University.