Project
LORE
Hatch has a vision of Springfield reaching its full potential. The basis for a strong community is strong neighborhoods, and a region isn’t different: the basis for a strong region is strong cities. In order for Springfield to reach its full potential, we need to collaborate with our neighboring cities to develop a sense of community for our region.
Project Details
After learning about the benefits of regional collaboration in communities across the country, Hatch, along with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, began asking an important question: “What could regionalism look like for us?”
We’ve seen communities thrive when they join for a larger impact, such as Northwest Arkansas, Tulsa, Greensboro NC, and many others. These regional efforts in Northwest Arkansas, for example, have paved the way to solve problems such as highway expansions, building airports, education, the housing market, childcare and even getting clean water to rural areas.
To explore what this approach could mean locally, Hatch and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks engaged economic development consultant Ted Abernathy of Economic Leadership. Abernathy facilitated a working group of public and private sector leaders who met over several months to discuss how a regional organization could support long-term prosperity across the Ozarks. Through this process, the group agreed to establish a new nonprofit organization, LORE (Leaders for Ozarks Region Evolvement), to advance a shared regional vision spanning Southwest Missouri.
Today, LORE brings together private sector leadership and partners across the region to strengthen quality of life, attract and retain talent, and support long-term economic vitality. The organization is focusing its early work on building a strong regional identity, coordinating workforce attraction efforts, and elevating the Ozarks’ story on a broader stage.
A major milestone in LORE’s development is the appointment of Allison Cash as the organization’s first full-time Executive Director. A lifelong resident of the region, Cash stepped into the role in early 2026 and now leads efforts to align communities, organizations, and leaders around a clear and compelling narrative for the Ozarks, helping position the region for sustained growth and opportunity in the decades ahead.
Read the Economic Leadership report.
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