Welcome to the CNC!

The Covington Neighborhood Collaborative brings neighborhood leaders together each month to discuss community priorities, make recommendations, support citywide and local initiatives, and celebrate progress across all Covington neighborhoods.

We meet at 6pm on the first Thursday of every month at the Hellmann Creative Center on 321 MLK Blvd//W. 12th Street. Contact us with your questions or ideas, and follow us on Facebook for the latest neighborhood events and updates.

Not sure which neighborhood you’re in? Check the Online Neighborhoods Map. Already know? Visit Neighborhoods to find your local neighborhood association, group or club. Meet your neighbors and learn what’s happening in our vibrant river city.

On May 16th, Covington residents are coming together.

The CNC 2026 Community Summit is Covington’s big day—
neighbors from every corner of the city will be coming together around affordability, safety, and neighborhood quality of life.
Live panels. Community Q&A. Practical next steps.
Registration is FREE and open to the public.

What happens at the Summit?

• Live panels from 8:30AM — 2:00PM, featuring community leaders and subject-matter voices

• Audience Q&A and opportunities to share resident perspectives

• A focus on real priorities and clear next plays we can carry forward after the event

The Covington Neighborhood Collaborative (CNC), in partnership with the Center for Great Neighborhoods (CGN), will host the CNC 2026 Community Summit: “Encouraging the Livable City” on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Life Learning Center (20 W. 18th St., Covington, KY 41011). The free public event features a keynote, four resident-centered panels with audience Q&A, and clear next steps for ongoing Community Conversations.

Registration is required and includes a free lunch for registered attendees.

Doors open at 8:30 a.m. for registration, coffee, and networking. Programming begins at 9:00 a.m. and concludes at 2:00 p.m.

“Covington is at its best when neighbors can show up, learn together, and help shape what comes next,” said John T. (JT) Spence, Chair of the CNC 2026 Community Summit. “This Summit is designed to be welcoming, practical, and resident-shaped—so ideas are captured clearly and the path to ongoing civic participation is visible.”

Keynote and Program

The morning will open with a keynote address from Mike Squire, Division Manager of Community Engagement for the City of Dayton and a Kettering Foundation Fellow, focused on civic engagement and what success looks like when residents help shape their city. Following the keynote, attendees will join two rounds of concurrent panel sessions:

Featured Panelists

🌿 Urban Gardening in the Livable City — (9:45–11:00 a.m.)

• Kymisha Montgomery, Urban Agriculture Program Coordinator, Civic Garden Center

• Gertrude Lorenz, Owner, Wild Gardens

• MODERATOR: Cate Douglas — Community Building Director, Center for Great Neighborhoods
  

🚶🏻‍♂️ Mobility & Safety in the Livable City Traffic — (9:45–11:00 a.m.)

• Melissa “Mel” McVay, Pedestrian Safety and Bike Program Manager, City of Cincinnati

• Barbara Didrichsen, Community Safety Volunteer, Pleasant Ridge Traffic Committee

• MODERATOR: Aaron Wolpert — Founder, COVstreets
  

🏘️ Affording to Live in the Livable City — (11:10 a.m.–12:25 p.m.)

• Te’Airea Powell, Coordinator, Faith and Government Relations, Habitat for Humanity

• Tara Johnson-Noem, Executive Director, Northern Kentucky Area Development District

• Katherine Keough-Jurs, Director, City Planning & Engagement, City of Cincinnati

• Jeremy Wallace, Manager, Community Development, City of Covington

• MODERATOR: JT Spence, PhD, AICP — Chair, CNC Community Summit
  

🎨 Art & Aesthetics in the Livable City — (11:10 a.m.–12:25 p.m.)

• Rachael Parker, ArtsWave Director, Northern Kentucky Creative Placemaking

• Sydney Fine, Senior Director of Advancement, ArtWorks

• Jay Becker, Co-Founder, BLDG

• MODERATOR: Cate Douglas — Community Building Director, Center for Great Neighborhoods

Lunch and Synthesis

Lunch will be distributed at 12:30 p.m., followed by a “Lunch + Synthesis” session in the Main Room. Organizers will summarize what was heard across the panels, share how themes will be carried forward, and invite attendees to plug into ongoing, neighbor-led Community Conversations. Closing remarks begin at 1:15 p.m., followed by sign-ups and networking through 2:00 p.m.

Why This Summit, Why Now

The CNC 2026 Community Summit is built to do more than host a single event. CNC’s mission is to convene a welcoming, well-run Summit—and then carry ideas forward through ongoing, citizen-led Community Conversations.

On the day of the Summit, CNC will:

• Create a warm, easy-to-navigate experience where residents feel represented

• Help neighbors connect across neighborhoods and perspectives

• Capture what is heard into clear themes and priorities

• Make next steps simple and visible on-site, so residents can join what comes next right away

In the months that follow, CNC will:

• Launch Community Conversations with a clear schedule, hosts, and participation steps

• Maintain a consistent “front door” so residents always know where to show up and plug in

• Grow participation in CNC and neighborhood associations by making involvement approachable

• Share progress updates so residents can see what’s happening, what’s working, and what’s next

Registration

Registration is free and open to the public, but seating is limited to 200 registrants. Registered attendees will receive speaker spotlights, agenda highlights, and a free lunch.

FREE EVENT REGISTRATION: https://cnc-summit.short.gy/May16

Kick off your Maifest morning at the Covington Community Summit and join your neighbors in encouraging a livable city!

Hosted by the Covington Neighborhood Collaborative (CNC)
in partnership with the Center for Great Neighborhoods (CGN)

Questions? Send your email to cnc.hub.space@gmail.com

Congratulations to the
2025 Holiday Home Decorating Contest Winners!

The Covington Neighborhood Collaborative (CNC), in partnership with Center for Great Neighborhoods (CGN), is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Holiday Home Decorating Contest, a citywide celebration highlighting the creativity, care, and holiday spirit of Covington residents.

This year’s contest invited residents from across Covington’s neighborhoods to submit a photo of their decorated home as part of CNC’s “Glow Big or Glow Home” holiday initiative. Entries were reviewed by community judges, with placements determined through a point-based scoring process. Judges shared that selecting winners was a challenge due to the quality, creativity, and festive spirit reflected in all of the submissions. The awards went to:

• Carolyn Chapman, Austinburg

• Steve Hedger, South Covington

• Andrew Hargis, MainStrasse

Winners received a congratulatory Holiday Home Decorating Contest yard sign. The CNC extends sincere thanks to all residents who submitted entries, noting that while only a few homes received formal awards, every submission contributed to the joy and warmth experienced throughout Covington during the holiday season.

Congratulations to the 2025 Beautification Award Winners!

Click the < carousel arrows > to view photos from the September 18, 2025 ceremony.

The 2025 Covington Beautification Award Winners by Neighborhood

Ready to be part of the story? Join your neighborhood association! You’ll meet great neighbors, shape local projects, advocate for safety and beautification, and help make Covington an even better place to live and do business.

We are already looking ahead to next year. The 2026 Covington Beautification Awards Nominations will open next Spring. You are encouraged to nominate yourself or a neighbor! Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Keeping with annual tradition, we will host a special awards ceremony in the Fall to honor and recognize the outstanding achievements of the winners. Following are eligibility considerations.

1. Any property in the city is eligible for the 2026 Covington Beautification Awards nomination. To see what neighborhood you live in, visit the Online Neighborhoods Map to learn more.
   

2. ​Nominations can include homes, businesses, gardens, community projects, parks, apartments, condominiums and neighborhood blocks. You are allowed to nominate your own property or one owned by someone else.
   

3. Only exteriors of nominated properties are evaluated. Care, maintenance and design are all taken into consideration.
   

4. Market value and or size are not considered in property evaluations. We love to include sizes and shapes of all kinds!
   

5. Winners will be selected from the nominations received, however, the judging panel reserves the right to nominate properties in addition to those submitted. 
   

6. Properties cannot qualify if they are currently for sale or have received awards in the past 5 years, unless significant renovations have been completed.
   

7. The CBA Judges' decisions are final. Nominations will be announced in the Spring and will be open until June 30, 2026.

The 2024 Covington Beautification Award Winners by Neighborhood

We are a non-profit, umbrella organization composed of representatives from Covington’s neighborhoods. 

WHAT WE DO

We actively engage in projects that contribute to developing stronger relationships between neighborhoods and that help to enliven our city. These projects are stimulated by ideas from individuals interested in adding to the diverse cultural milieu that is Covington.

Thank you for helping us build a more connected, collaborative, and people-centered Covington!

HOW WE OPERATE

We have monthly meetings where we openly discuss issues in a forum setting, expand and accomplish our annual goals, hear from visiting speakers who illuminate relevant current issues or who propose projects. All motions and projects are approved by majority vote.

Who joins cnc

Members are representatives of our neighborhoods, and are experienced in working within their neighborhoods, and believe a commitment to volunteerism improves relations between neighborhoods and creates successful sharing of and completion of projects.