NEIGHBORS BANK NAMES TOP 10 FINALISTS FOR INAUGURAL NEIGHBOR OF THE YEAR CONTEST

Public Voting Opens Today. $20,000 Grand Prize Winner Announced on National Good Neighbors Day, September 28

Columbia, MISSOURI, Sept. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Neighbors Bank announced the top 10 finalists for its inaugural Neighbor of the Year contest, a nationwide search to celebrate the everyday people who make their communities better. Nominations poured in from 34 states across the country.

Public voting is open now through Monday, September 21st at neighborsbank.com/neighboroftheyear/. Read each finalist's full story and vote for the neighbor you think deserves to win. The winner is anticipated to be announced on September 28, National Good Neighbors Day, and will receive $20,000.

The contest accompanies new research from Neighbors Bank that found that more than 1 in 3 Americans say their neighborhood and neighbors matter more to long-term happiness than the price they paid for their home. The full study is available at neighborsbank.com/learn/the-good-neighbor-effect/.

"None of them set out to change the world. They just decided to take care of the people around them. We can't wait for the public to meet them," says Ashley Harris, Director of Homebuyer Education at Neighbors Bank. The finalists span seven states and ten completely different stories about what it looks like to be a genuinely good neighbor. Meet all 10 at neighborsbank.com/neighbor-of-the-year/.

How to Vote

Anyone 18 or older can vote. It's free and takes less than a minute. Read the finalist stories at neighborsbank.com/neighbor-of-the-year/ and pick the neighbor you think deserves to win. You can vote once a day through September 21, and all you need is a name and email or phone number to verify your vote. No purchase necessary. Full rules available at neighborsbank.com/neighbor-of-the-year/rules.

Meet the Judges

Finalists were selected by a panel of four judges: David Burton, author and creator of Missouri Good Neighbor Week; Leslie Cook, Lead Real Estate Editor at Money.com; Talia Jackson, President and CEO of the Heart of Missouri United Way; and Angela Santomero, creator of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and Blue's Clues.

About Neighbors Bank

Neighbors Bank has spent more than 80 years helping people get into homes in the communities they love. The Neighbor of the Year contest is an extension of that same belief: the people who make those communities worth coming home to deserve to be celebrated.

Neighbors Bank's Neighbor of the Year Public Voting Details

Neighbors Bank is a direct-to-consumer mortgage lender and the #3 USDA Top Originating Lender in the United States according to the USDA’s 2026 National Lender of The Year Awards.. Founded in 1945 in Clarence, Missouri and headquartered in Columbia, Missouri, the bank specializes in USDA, FHA, VA, and conventional home loans. Neighbors Bank operates as an online-first lender, serving borrowers in 49 states and Washington, D.C. Member FDIC. NMLS #491986. Equal Housing Lender. Learn more at NeighborsBank.com.

Press Inquiries

Alyssa Patzius
communications [at] neighborsbank.com
https://www.neighborsbank.com/
3621 Discovery Parkway, Suite 115Columbia, MO 65201