Initially formed in 1991, Vision Joplin's committees took information from citizen "town hall meetings", surveys, expert testimony, and research combined with lots of conversation and turned it all into a Vision document outlining goals in specified topic areas. An Implementation Team was formed to oversee the visioning process.

By 1999 the groups had achieved 85% of the goals listed in the document. A second visioning process was started in 2000 and the team again was successful in meeting many of the citizens' goals. Examples of those are as follows:

• Community cooperation in the development of moderate priced housing
• School bond issues
• Development of the Sports Authority
• Area road improvement
• Establishment of historic districts
• Development of a Jasper and Newton County Health Collaboration