October 15, 2024 • 23 mins
Today we chatted with Rachelle Wertenberger & Kent Saylor about how a beloved classmate's legacy inspires and transforms lives even after tragedy strikes. Join us as we honor Tara Ploeger through a heartfelt conversation with Kent and Rachel, who share their deeply personal connections with Tara and the scholarship created in her memory. You'll hear how an unexpected tragedy led to overwhelming community support, ultimately transitioning the Tara Ploeger Scholarship into an endowed fund. Through Kent and Rachel's touching stories, we highlight the emotional challenges of fundraising and celebrate the enduring tribute to Tara's vibrant spirit and dedication to her community.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Philanthropy Today.
We are excited to shareinformation on ways you can
support the charitable causes ofyour choice.
My name is Mitzi Richards and Ilook forward to being with you
today on our GMCF PhilanthropyToday podcast series.
Today our topic is the impactof scholarship in our series
Gateway to Giving GMCFScholarship Stories.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Gateway to Giving.
Gmcf Scholarship Stories.
Well, first off, I just want totake time to welcome Kent and
Rachel to today's podcast.
Connie Joy, we're colleagueshere at GMCF and we're excited
to get together today to explorethe incredible impact of
scholarships, and this lastmonth of September and October
(00:44):
at GMCF we've really beencelebrating.
Scholarships not only make ahuge difference to individuals
in our communities, but also arereally I call them a gateway to
giving.
It helps people learn aboutphilanthropy and oftentimes is
their first step on the journeyof philanthropy.
So that's why we've beenfeaturing scholarships and again
(01:08):
, thank you both for joining ustoday To share with me what's
behind this.
And I want to make sure Icorrectly pronounce Tara's name
it's Plager.
Yes, Okay, the Tara PlagerScholarship.
So first off, I'm going to askeach of you, Rachel, maybe if
you would start and introduceyourself a little bit, Give us a
(01:31):
little bit about your personalbackground scholarship.
Tara and I were classmates,along with one of Ken's
daughters, Catherine.
We were all three classmates,and so this scholarship
definitely impacts us in a verypersonal and real way.
(01:52):
I grew up in a little town herein Northeast Kansas, Morrill,
right next to Sabetha, and Igrew up with Tara.
We were driving my bike out toher house.
Her parents were very impactfulin my life and certainly still
are to this day, so I'm veryhonored to be here today and
talk with you about yourscholarship.
Thank you, Rachel and Kent,give us a little bit about your
(02:15):
personal background.
Well, I think Rachel coveredthe first part.
Just because of you know, classmeets in a small community more
than 300 people and prettyclose to the net and actually
Tara was probably may have beenabout a fourth cousin of mine.
(02:37):
There's a whole family in theretoo.
Anyway, been involved inbanking and insurance.
We've been through board for awhile.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
I've known.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Rachel for all her life and we were neighbors in
the big city of Moore, so a lotof close ties here between our
daughters and Rachel and herfamily.
So this was a big impact in ourcommunity.
(03:14):
Thank you Appreciate that.
So I know a little bit.
Enough to start us off.
But, rachel, help me understandwhat occurred in the situation
that created the scholarship.
Sure Seeing, the origin ofTara's scholarship really was
started to honor the life ofTara, who passed away tragically
(03:35):
in an accident on her seniorcitywide cleanup day, and so
Tara is remembered in ourcommunity as a very vicious
teenager who loved her family,school and community.
She served young and old in herjobs as a daycare worker,
volunteering at the elementaryschool and working at Country
Mart and at the hospital.
After high school she wanted togo to Emporia to major in
(03:57):
elementary education, and sothat's really the origin behind
the scholarship.
It's a way to honor her lifeand the legacy and impact that
she made in our community.
Thank you, I'm assuming and tellme if I'm wrong that at the
time of the tragic death thecommunity came together to
provide memorial funds.
(04:18):
Was that how the origin of thescholarship came about?
Yes, I believe.
I mean the outpouring, as youcan imagine, was just remarkable
.
You know hosted the funeral inthe middle school.
It was completely packed, youknow seats out into the commons
and I think just the generosityof the community and the
(04:41):
outpouring that they showed thefamily, they had all these
friends and so to honor Tara'slife, they went to I'm not sure
who it would have been at thetime, but contacted the school
likely and set up a scholarshipto honor her.
Thank you, often in a time oftragedy and loss, memorial
scholarships are established,but then this one had a bit of a
(05:02):
shift and, jack, you were apart of that, am I correct?
Well, first I want to give allthe credit to Rachel, because
they were very close, and ourdaughter, catherine too, and
Rachel has mentioned how vibranta person the prayer was, and so
Rachel started this and kind ofgot the basic prayer and I said
(05:28):
you know, really make thishappen, we need to work to get
this to be an endowedscholarship.
So one of the things where I wasinvolved, you know Rachel did
all the hard work, but I didcall the family and talk to
Vicki that's Tara's mother andit was really hard for him.
(05:49):
And then when he left, he justhe still can't talk about it.
Rachel, you may have adifferent perspective on that,
but I mean it was suchheartbreaking for him and I
didn't want to start anythingwithout him agreeing.
And Vicki made a comment shesaid well, nobody will remember
you know we'll say 50 years fromnow.
(06:10):
And I said, well, they won't ifwe don't do something like this.
And so that's where I came upwith the idea and saying we do
have now, with the foundation inthis, we have a tool.
We need to work to get this alldone so it can go on.
So the story and the memory ofTara will go on as well.
So that's where I was involved.
(06:32):
Vicki said, okay, we have to doit.
We just helped bring back someof the funding to get it done,
but Rachel was the one that didall the hard work.
So you know, I know it was hardwork for two reasons it's hard
to raise money and the situationwas very hard.
Well, I would agree that it'scertainly difficult from the
(06:53):
standpoint of not wantingsomeone you love forgotten and
also making sure that their lifecontinues to make a positive
impact in the community.
So I'm going to let Connie kindof shift over.
So can you tell me what haspersonally impacted you by
contributing to this scholarship?
(07:14):
Well, it's like many thingsthat we've done in the community
.
I call it.
We try to do the right thing,but it's very personal.
We do things that sometimes area little bit off the wall or
complement the community andwhatever, because there's other
things in the community thatpeople really support and we
want to help them out too.
But it's just, the communityhas been good to us and Donna
(07:36):
and I see how they grow and howthey have benefited the
community and you know somethings.
You can raise pretty much fundspretty easily.
And then there's other thingsthat are caught on the edge that
maybe aren't as popular peopledon't think, and we try to help
those out too.
But this one obviously was verypersonal and we try to help
those out too.
(07:56):
This one obviously was verypersonal and we have some of
those too.
But that's where Don and I wejust enjoy trying to figure out
how to make things help otherpeople and their desires and I
hate to use that cliche.
It's been fun, but it is fun tosee some of the things that
have been developed and, by theway we don't live for you know,
(08:21):
we're felicitous.
Most of the things we don'tlike are being attached to it,
because if it's for thecommunity, well, the community
seems to benefit it.
We want the community to helpwith these written things she
wrote and by not having well,it's this person's firm and that
person's firm, but just sayingno, this is really a community
(08:43):
time.
Yes, so Tara Plankton is acommunity, but it's not Rachel's
fear.
You know that's Rachel'scommitment for getting done is
for getting on this journey,it's for paraplegic.
Yes, and you know.
With that being said, since2019, $12,000 in scholarships
(09:06):
has been awarded to Sibeth HighSchool graduates, graduating
seniors.
So each year, two $1,000scholarships are granted to
students pursuing either atwo-year or four-year degree
program.
So, rachel, how has BriannaEvans, the student at the high
school, participated in thesuccess of this scholarship?
Yeah well, I would say withoutBrianna it's probably not as
(09:28):
successful.
And really, because she wasinstrumental in helping promote
the scholarship and helpingstudents understand its
significance.
She not only providesinvaluable support through the
application process, but she'svery good at fostering the
connection between thatscholarship and all of our
(09:51):
scholarships.
Really, you know Kent alludedto that.
We have an amazing communityand one of the things I know
that Kent he doesn't I've knownhim since I was, you know, very
little.
He and Donna don't do this forpublicity and that's really
reflective of who they are aspeople and who Tara was as a
(10:12):
person, and it's reflective ofour community, the people of
service and acts of kindness,and so I think that emulates who
Brianna is as well.
You know she does all thisstuff for our seniors, our, you
know, I have a son that's beenas a freshman now and she's
already diligently working withthem, preparing them for what's
to come, and so I justappreciate her so much.
(10:35):
I appreciate what she does forthe scholarship and also just
the impact she's making ingeneral at the high school,
rachel, that is so well said.
I think the high schoolcounselors across New East
Kansas are our peers.
So many times without themstepping in, encouraging the
students like yourself veryearly on to explore what their
(10:57):
future education might look likeand where some resources might
be, that without them theypossibly wouldn't be able to
pursue that dream.
So, yeah, great shout out toour high school counselors here.
They're an overworked bunch.
I appreciate your commentbecause I was on the school
(11:20):
board for eight years and theone thing about brian and rachel
can follow up with them is, youknow, she won't back down from
anybody and she challengesstudents because he can see
things in students that studentsdon't see in themselves and she
works hard with that.
(11:41):
In fact, many times even toldeven some of the building
administrators or something youdon't probably really realize.
I mean Rachel and hersister-in-law.
They played sports in one areaand that's important.
But really education is themost important and that's what
(12:04):
Diana focuses on and she'samazing and she won't back down
to anybody.
I mean she just challengespeople.
She's I can't think of namesright now, but I can think of
some people where what they wentinto they probably never
imagined.
You know she challenged them todo that, so she's amazing.
(12:26):
Well, and it certainly doestake a village to your point,
you come from a very humble,hardworking, connected community
and everybody has an importantrole to play.
Ken and Rachel, to both of you,what inspires you to continue
to invest in education and giveme the service, beyond the
(12:49):
scholarship, you areinstrumental in creating?
Ken, do you want to go first?
Rachel's laughing because sheknows I'll talk to you.
He's going to say everything Iwant to say and then I'll be
like what he said.
So, you know, we work throughdifferent things and a lot of
the things we concentrate oncomes at the school, and so it
(13:09):
isn't just scholarships,although we have a number of
those who set up.
But it's again trying to sayyou have an opportunity, they're
set up to benefit you, butyou've got to still be able to
work, and that's what's fun tosee people and some people work
out, and not everybody needs togo to college or wants to, but
(13:32):
if they want to give a try,that's great.
And again people call up andsay, well, now we've got this
person back and I say look, weset it up.
My wife and I are going to bearound forever.
You have to make the decisions.
We don't have any limitationsother than like, if you have one
of eight years, they have tomake satisfactory progress.
(13:53):
That's the only thing.
We've had situations where onetime they called up and said
well, you know, they didn't havea very good track record in
high school and we said itdidn't make any difference.
That was interesting, of course.
That person who went on and wason the honor list for years,
they got in whatever, foundtheir passion, whatever, they
(14:18):
were a good student.
She just went to high schooland probably didn't care as much
.
That's why, again, we do thesethings to give other
opportunities.
That's all we're trying to do.
We've got a chance, if you wantto take that break.
And you know what I call them,these grand experiments, and
(14:39):
some of them bail, and that'sokay because we're talking.
That's what we try to do witheverything we do, whether it's
scholarships or other schoolbenefits.
That's where, back to myinitial comments is that's why
some of these things are out.
They're out there a little waysand it would be hard for a
(15:01):
school to fund this sort ofthing.
So it's a grand experiment tosay, well, the school can't
really afford to do that when itfails.
But we can, let's see how itworks, let's see what the
teachers do, let's see what thestudents do.
So back in the time, that was avery specific purpose and that
was to give students anopportunity and for the
(15:22):
community to have a place.
You know, benefit futuregenerations and that's why,
personally, that's why we dothese things, whether it's
something in the school,something in the community,
college, and that's what we do.
But you know, never go back andsay, well, you really messed up
on that.
You know, give us a shot.
(15:43):
We'll see If we don't dream anddon't give it a shot.
Once in a while we get out ofstock.
I appreciate that you're willingto take a risk.
I like your statement that youknow have an.
I appreciate that you'rewilling to take a risk.
I like your statement that youknow have an experiment.
I think there's so many things,whether it's in our personal or
(16:04):
community life, we only learnwhen we take a risk and see what
happens.
Sometimes we fail and gosh.
I remember learning a whole lotfrom things I did.
People didn't.
You have a few setbacks, gosh.
I don't remember learning awhole lot.
(16:24):
Some things I did, so how doyou?
What are your thoughts oncontinuing to invest in
education community service?
Yeah, well, it's kind of aloaded question for me because
I'm a teacher.
I don't teach at our schools,but I'm an online teacher and so
I see a different clientele, ifyou will.
But I do love that statement ofan experiment.
In fact, I read somethingrecently where a dad asked his
kids every day when they get intheir car or get home.
What did you fail at today?
(16:45):
And it was a way to encouragethem to keep trying, that it's
okay to fail and that that's howyou really do become a better
person and learn.
And so I see that in education.
I see that empowering studentsto reach their full potential.
You know it's what I do day inand day out is try and convince
(17:05):
my students of their potential.
You know, like Kit was sayingabout Brianna, she sees
potential in students that theydon't see in themselves, and we
do as we get older and we'readults.
Now we can see that potentialand we want to pull it out of
them.
So for me, it's personal in thatway.
I think you know being blessedto grow up in the communities of
Laurel and Sabetha, with secondparents like Kent and Donna and
(17:29):
Warren and Vicki and all ofthese people that invested in me
.
I'm just trying to do my best,as Kent said, to do the right
thing and to give back as well,and so for me, education and
being involved in the communityand serving others is very
important.
So you've obviously both sharedhow some of these have
influenced your personal livesand I just come away with a
(17:53):
sense of pride you take in yourcommunity being a part of it.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share about that?
Well, I think, in closing, youknow it is a very personal
scholarship.
I think, like I just kind ofalluded to Kent and Donna Maren
and Vicki and some other parents, they deeply impacted me when I
(18:16):
was growing up.
I tried to make it a veryinternal part of my life to help
and support others and it'sreally been an honor to do that
for Tara's scholarship, for herparents.
You know, like Kent said, thatVicki had made the comment no
one will remember and that hasbeen one of Vicki's fears is
that no one will remember andthat has been one of Vicki's
fears is that no one willremember Tara.
And so this has really been anhonor in this particular
(18:37):
scholarship to work with Kent.
You know Kent is very humble.
Because of him we were able todo what we could do for the
scholarship Without him.
Again, in a community it takes alot of people.
So I'm thankful to be a part ofit, thankful to be a part of it
.
I'm thankful to be a part ofthis community and I'm grateful
for what the scholarship can doto other students.
Thank you, rachel.
(18:58):
Karen, you can be the last word.
I mean, like I said, everythingwe've done.
The communities, the betweenbanking and insurance, my youth
in the practice a little whilehave been very supportive.
You learn a lot about people.
Some people don't like it andsome people do, and it's part of
(19:19):
life, but it's been.
If the community is invested inus and get us to do different
things, that's why we like toturn around and invest back to
the community and we've said itprobably five times.
It's just we do some thingsthat hey, give people a chance.
(19:40):
Here's another opportunity.
You've gotta make it happen.
But this'll have future storyand, like Rachel did say about,
particularly about the parentsin that role.
And you know, the only thing weneed to do is make sure that
(20:00):
story continues with thatscholarship, because then it
will be memory for somebody 50years from now and I think
that's really important.
That's where I was at, when wewere volunteering and all of a
sudden everybody's life changedand sometimes we don't want to
forget those things.
(20:20):
Such an excellent point.
Yeah, I remember reading thisinformation about scholarships a
long time ago that talked aboutthe impact of scholarships,
especially on first-genrecipients how it impacts all.
There was this sociologist whodid the study that showed that
(20:41):
generations, two to threegenerations forward, it was
still having both an educationalimpact on the success of their
children and grandchildren, butalso on their economic
well-being.
So it really does say a lot fornot only for you both in
establishing Rachel, your workto start the scholarship and
(21:04):
Kent, your work to endow it.
This really says a lot.
But I also have to put a plugin for the Greater Sabaaca
Community Foundation.
I think, having been in yourcommunity many times and
certainly working with Leslieand Connie, I see that those
values lived out.
I see the way your communityreally comes together to help
(21:28):
their neighbors in times oftragedy, in times of joy.
Really an incredible place tolive.
Would you agree, connie?
I do agree, I do agree.
Yeah, would you agree, connie?
I do agree, I do agree.
Yeah.
Well, thank you both forjoining Connie and I to, like
you said, and to paint the storyof Tom Huggers alive and well
(21:50):
and help the young people whohave and will receive her
scholarship continue tounderstand who she was as a
person and how they benefitedfrom that legacy.
I want to encourage ourlisteners and I want to
encourage them to support thisscholarship.
Who gets to grow?
Next day it will be coming upNovember 28th through 22nd
(22:14):
that's always a huge day.
So, beth, connie, will this beyour first or second?
This is my second one, okay,that's always a huge day.
In South Africa, connie, wouldthis be your first or second?
This is my second one, okay.
So, yeah, it's always fun tosee your community come together
again to support all sorts ofcauses across the community, but
we encourage them to give somethought to whether it's a
(22:37):
scholarship or another topromote and further education.
So, once again, thanks formaking a difference in the lives
of students pursuing educationand we thank all listeners for
tuning in.
Great you too.
Great Thanks, kim.
All right.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Thank you for joining us today where we look inside
the Greater Manhattan CommunityFoundation.
You can always learn more aboutGMCF at our website, mcfksorg.
We invite you to subscribe toPhilanthropy Today.
Wherever you get your podcasts,I'm Mitzi Richards and have
enjoyed hosting our Gateway toGiving GMCF Scholarship Stories
(23:15):
series in the Ad Astra CastStudios here in downtown
Manhattan, Kansas.
Welcome to Philanthropy Today.
We are excited to shareinformation on ways you can
support the charitable causes ofyour choice.
My name is Mitzi Richards and Ilook forward to being with you
today on our GMCF PhilanthropyToday podcast series.
Today our topic is the impactof scholarship in our series
Gateway to Giving GMCFScholarship Stories.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Gateway to Giving.
Gmcf Scholarship Stories.
Well, first off, I just want totake time to welcome Kent and
Rachel to today's podcast.
Connie Joy, we're colleagueshere at GMCF and we're excited
to get together today to explorethe incredible impact of
scholarships, and this lastmonth of September and October
(00:44):
at GMCF we've really beencelebrating.
Scholarships not only make ahuge difference to individuals
in our communities, but also arereally I call them a gateway to
giving.
It helps people learn aboutphilanthropy and oftentimes is
their first step on the journeyof philanthropy.
So that's why we've beenfeaturing scholarships and again
(01:08):
, thank you both for joining ustoday To share with me what's
behind this.
And I want to make sure Icorrectly pronounce Tara's name
it's Plager.
Yes, Okay, the Tara PlagerScholarship.
So first off, I'm going to askeach of you, Rachel, maybe if
you would start and introduceyourself a little bit, Give us a
(01:31):
little bit about your personalbackground scholarship.
Tara and I were classmates,along with one of Ken's
daughters, Catherine.
We were all three classmates,and so this scholarship
definitely impacts us in a verypersonal and real way.
(01:52):
I grew up in a little town herein Northeast Kansas, Morrill,
right next to Sabetha, and Igrew up with Tara.
We were driving my bike out toher house.
Her parents were very impactfulin my life and certainly still
are to this day, so I'm veryhonored to be here today and
talk with you about yourscholarship.
Thank you, Rachel and Kent,give us a little bit about your
(02:15):
personal background.
Well, I think Rachel coveredthe first part.
Just because of you know, classmeets in a small community more
than 300 people and prettyclose to the net and actually
Tara was probably may have beenabout a fourth cousin of mine.
(02:37):
There's a whole family in theretoo.
Anyway, been involved inbanking and insurance.
We've been through board for awhile.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
I've known.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Rachel for all her life and we were neighbors in
the big city of Moore, so a lotof close ties here between our
daughters and Rachel and herfamily.
So this was a big impact in ourcommunity.
(03:14):
Thank you Appreciate that.
So I know a little bit.
Enough to start us off.
But, rachel, help me understandwhat occurred in the situation
that created the scholarship.
Sure Seeing, the origin ofTara's scholarship really was
started to honor the life ofTara, who passed away tragically
(03:35):
in an accident on her seniorcitywide cleanup day, and so
Tara is remembered in ourcommunity as a very vicious
teenager who loved her family,school and community.
She served young and old in herjobs as a daycare worker,
volunteering at the elementaryschool and working at Country
Mart and at the hospital.
After high school she wanted togo to Emporia to major in
(03:57):
elementary education, and sothat's really the origin behind
the scholarship.
It's a way to honor her lifeand the legacy and impact that
she made in our community.
Thank you, I'm assuming and tellme if I'm wrong that at the
time of the tragic death thecommunity came together to
provide memorial funds.
(04:18):
Was that how the origin of thescholarship came about?
Yes, I believe.
I mean the outpouring, as youcan imagine, was just remarkable
.
You know hosted the funeral inthe middle school.
It was completely packed, youknow seats out into the commons
and I think just the generosityof the community and the
(04:41):
outpouring that they showed thefamily, they had all these
friends and so to honor Tara'slife, they went to I'm not sure
who it would have been at thetime, but contacted the school
likely and set up a scholarshipto honor her.
Thank you, often in a time oftragedy and loss, memorial
scholarships are established,but then this one had a bit of a
(05:02):
shift and, jack, you were apart of that, am I correct?
Well, first I want to give allthe credit to Rachel, because
they were very close, and ourdaughter, catherine too, and
Rachel has mentioned how vibranta person the prayer was, and so
Rachel started this and kind ofgot the basic prayer and I said
(05:28):
you know, really make thishappen, we need to work to get
this to be an endowedscholarship.
So one of the things where I wasinvolved, you know Rachel did
all the hard work, but I didcall the family and talk to
Vicki that's Tara's mother andit was really hard for him.
(05:49):
And then when he left, he justhe still can't talk about it.
Rachel, you may have adifferent perspective on that,
but I mean it was suchheartbreaking for him and I
didn't want to start anythingwithout him agreeing.
And Vicki made a comment shesaid well, nobody will remember
you know we'll say 50 years fromnow.
(06:10):
And I said, well, they won't ifwe don't do something like this.
And so that's where I came upwith the idea and saying we do
have now, with the foundation inthis, we have a tool.
We need to work to get this alldone so it can go on.
So the story and the memory ofTara will go on as well.
So that's where I was involved.
(06:32):
Vicki said, okay, we have to doit.
We just helped bring back someof the funding to get it done,
but Rachel was the one that didall the hard work.
So you know, I know it was hardwork for two reasons it's hard
to raise money and the situationwas very hard.
Well, I would agree that it'scertainly difficult from the
(06:53):
standpoint of not wantingsomeone you love forgotten and
also making sure that their lifecontinues to make a positive
impact in the community.
So I'm going to let Connie kindof shift over.
So can you tell me what haspersonally impacted you by
contributing to this scholarship?
(07:14):
Well, it's like many thingsthat we've done in the community
.
I call it.
We try to do the right thing,but it's very personal.
We do things that sometimes area little bit off the wall or
complement the community andwhatever, because there's other
things in the community thatpeople really support and we
want to help them out too.
But it's just, the communityhas been good to us and Donna
(07:36):
and I see how they grow and howthey have benefited the
community and you know somethings.
You can raise pretty much fundspretty easily.
And then there's other thingsthat are caught on the edge that
maybe aren't as popular peopledon't think, and we try to help
those out too.
But this one obviously was verypersonal and we try to help
those out too.
(07:56):
This one obviously was verypersonal and we have some of
those too.
But that's where Don and I wejust enjoy trying to figure out
how to make things help otherpeople and their desires and I
hate to use that cliche.
It's been fun, but it is fun tosee some of the things that
have been developed and, by theway we don't live for you know,
(08:21):
we're felicitous.
Most of the things we don'tlike are being attached to it,
because if it's for thecommunity, well, the community
seems to benefit it.
We want the community to helpwith these written things she
wrote and by not having well,it's this person's firm and that
person's firm, but just sayingno, this is really a community
(08:43):
time.
Yes, so Tara Plankton is acommunity, but it's not Rachel's
fear.
You know that's Rachel'scommitment for getting done is
for getting on this journey,it's for paraplegic.
Yes, and you know.
With that being said, since2019, $12,000 in scholarships
(09:06):
has been awarded to Sibeth HighSchool graduates, graduating
seniors.
So each year, two $1,000scholarships are granted to
students pursuing either atwo-year or four-year degree
program.
So, rachel, how has BriannaEvans, the student at the high
school, participated in thesuccess of this scholarship?
Yeah well, I would say withoutBrianna it's probably not as
(09:28):
successful.
And really, because she wasinstrumental in helping promote
the scholarship and helpingstudents understand its
significance.
She not only providesinvaluable support through the
application process, but she'svery good at fostering the
connection between thatscholarship and all of our
(09:51):
scholarships.
Really, you know Kent alludedto that.
We have an amazing communityand one of the things I know
that Kent he doesn't I've knownhim since I was, you know, very
little.
He and Donna don't do this forpublicity and that's really
reflective of who they are aspeople and who Tara was as a
(10:12):
person, and it's reflective ofour community, the people of
service and acts of kindness,and so I think that emulates who
Brianna is as well.
You know she does all thisstuff for our seniors, our, you
know, I have a son that's beenas a freshman now and she's
already diligently working withthem, preparing them for what's
to come, and so I justappreciate her so much.
(10:35):
I appreciate what she does forthe scholarship and also just
the impact she's making ingeneral at the high school,
rachel, that is so well said.
I think the high schoolcounselors across New East
Kansas are our peers.
So many times without themstepping in, encouraging the
students like yourself veryearly on to explore what their
(10:57):
future education might look likeand where some resources might
be, that without them theypossibly wouldn't be able to
pursue that dream.
So, yeah, great shout out toour high school counselors here.
They're an overworked bunch.
I appreciate your commentbecause I was on the school
(11:20):
board for eight years and theone thing about brian and rachel
can follow up with them is, youknow, she won't back down from
anybody and she challengesstudents because he can see
things in students that studentsdon't see in themselves and she
works hard with that.
(11:41):
In fact, many times even toldeven some of the building
administrators or something youdon't probably really realize.
I mean Rachel and hersister-in-law.
They played sports in one areaand that's important.
But really education is themost important and that's what
(12:04):
Diana focuses on and she'samazing and she won't back down
to anybody.
I mean she just challengespeople.
She's I can't think of namesright now, but I can think of
some people where what they wentinto they probably never
imagined.
You know she challenged them todo that, so she's amazing.
(12:26):
Well, and it certainly doestake a village to your point,
you come from a very humble,hardworking, connected community
and everybody has an importantrole to play.
Ken and Rachel, to both of you,what inspires you to continue
to invest in education and giveme the service, beyond the
(12:49):
scholarship, you areinstrumental in creating?
Ken, do you want to go first?
Rachel's laughing because sheknows I'll talk to you.
He's going to say everything Iwant to say and then I'll be
like what he said.
So, you know, we work throughdifferent things and a lot of
the things we concentrate oncomes at the school, and so it
(13:09):
isn't just scholarships,although we have a number of
those who set up.
But it's again trying to sayyou have an opportunity, they're
set up to benefit you, butyou've got to still be able to
work, and that's what's fun tosee people and some people work
out, and not everybody needs togo to college or wants to, but
(13:32):
if they want to give a try,that's great.
And again people call up andsay, well, now we've got this
person back and I say look, weset it up.
My wife and I are going to bearound forever.
You have to make the decisions.
We don't have any limitationsother than like, if you have one
of eight years, they have tomake satisfactory progress.
(13:53):
That's the only thing.
We've had situations where onetime they called up and said
well, you know, they didn't havea very good track record in
high school and we said itdidn't make any difference.
That was interesting, of course.
That person who went on and wason the honor list for years,
they got in whatever, foundtheir passion, whatever, they
(14:18):
were a good student.
She just went to high schooland probably didn't care as much
.
That's why, again, we do thesethings to give other
opportunities.
That's all we're trying to do.
We've got a chance, if you wantto take that break.
And you know what I call them,these grand experiments, and
(14:39):
some of them bail, and that'sokay because we're talking.
That's what we try to do witheverything we do, whether it's
scholarships or other schoolbenefits.
That's where, back to myinitial comments is that's why
some of these things are out.
They're out there a little waysand it would be hard for a
(15:01):
school to fund this sort ofthing.
So it's a grand experiment tosay, well, the school can't
really afford to do that when itfails.
But we can, let's see how itworks, let's see what the
teachers do, let's see what thestudents do.
So back in the time, that was avery specific purpose and that
was to give students anopportunity and for the
(15:22):
community to have a place.
You know, benefit futuregenerations and that's why,
personally, that's why we dothese things, whether it's
something in the school,something in the community,
college, and that's what we do.
But you know, never go back andsay, well, you really messed up
on that.
You know, give us a shot.
(15:43):
We'll see If we don't dream anddon't give it a shot.
Once in a while we get out ofstock.
I appreciate that you're willingto take a risk.
I like your statement that youknow have an.
I appreciate that you'rewilling to take a risk.
I like your statement that youknow have an experiment.
I think there's so many things,whether it's in our personal or
(16:04):
community life, we only learnwhen we take a risk and see what
happens.
Sometimes we fail and gosh.
I remember learning a whole lotfrom things I did.
People didn't.
You have a few setbacks, gosh.
I don't remember learning awhole lot.
(16:24):
Some things I did, so how doyou?
What are your thoughts oncontinuing to invest in
education community service?
Yeah, well, it's kind of aloaded question for me because
I'm a teacher.
I don't teach at our schools,but I'm an online teacher and so
I see a different clientele, ifyou will.
But I do love that statement ofan experiment.
In fact, I read somethingrecently where a dad asked his
kids every day when they get intheir car or get home.
What did you fail at today?
(16:45):
And it was a way to encouragethem to keep trying, that it's
okay to fail and that that's howyou really do become a better
person and learn.
And so I see that in education.
I see that empowering studentsto reach their full potential.
You know it's what I do day inand day out is try and convince
(17:05):
my students of their potential.
You know, like Kit was sayingabout Brianna, she sees
potential in students that theydon't see in themselves, and we
do as we get older and we'readults.
Now we can see that potentialand we want to pull it out of
them.
So for me, it's personal in thatway.
I think you know being blessedto grow up in the communities of
Laurel and Sabetha, with secondparents like Kent and Donna and
(17:29):
Warren and Vicki and all ofthese people that invested in me
.
I'm just trying to do my best,as Kent said, to do the right
thing and to give back as well,and so for me, education and
being involved in the communityand serving others is very
important.
So you've obviously both sharedhow some of these have
influenced your personal livesand I just come away with a
(17:53):
sense of pride you take in yourcommunity being a part of it.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share about that?
Well, I think, in closing, youknow it is a very personal
scholarship.
I think, like I just kind ofalluded to Kent and Donna Maren
and Vicki and some other parents, they deeply impacted me when I
(18:16):
was growing up.
I tried to make it a veryinternal part of my life to help
and support others and it'sreally been an honor to do that
for Tara's scholarship, for herparents.
You know, like Kent said, thatVicki had made the comment no
one will remember and that hasbeen one of Vicki's fears is
that no one will remember andthat has been one of Vicki's
fears is that no one willremember Tara.
And so this has really been anhonor in this particular
(18:37):
scholarship to work with Kent.
You know Kent is very humble.
Because of him we were able todo what we could do for the
scholarship Without him.
Again, in a community it takes alot of people.
So I'm thankful to be a part ofit, thankful to be a part of it
.
I'm thankful to be a part ofthis community and I'm grateful
for what the scholarship can doto other students.
Thank you, rachel.
(18:58):
Karen, you can be the last word.
I mean, like I said, everythingwe've done.
The communities, the betweenbanking and insurance, my youth
in the practice a little whilehave been very supportive.
You learn a lot about people.
Some people don't like it andsome people do, and it's part of
(19:19):
life, but it's been.
If the community is invested inus and get us to do different
things, that's why we like toturn around and invest back to
the community and we've said itprobably five times.
It's just we do some thingsthat hey, give people a chance.
(19:40):
Here's another opportunity.
You've gotta make it happen.
But this'll have future storyand, like Rachel did say about,
particularly about the parentsin that role.
And you know, the only thing weneed to do is make sure that
(20:00):
story continues with thatscholarship, because then it
will be memory for somebody 50years from now and I think
that's really important.
That's where I was at, when wewere volunteering and all of a
sudden everybody's life changedand sometimes we don't want to
forget those things.
(20:20):
Such an excellent point.
Yeah, I remember reading thisinformation about scholarships a
long time ago that talked aboutthe impact of scholarships,
especially on first-genrecipients how it impacts all.
There was this sociologist whodid the study that showed that
(20:41):
generations, two to threegenerations forward, it was
still having both an educationalimpact on the success of their
children and grandchildren, butalso on their economic
well-being.
So it really does say a lot fornot only for you both in
establishing Rachel, your workto start the scholarship and
(21:04):
Kent, your work to endow it.
This really says a lot.
But I also have to put a plugin for the Greater Sabaaca
Community Foundation.
I think, having been in yourcommunity many times and
certainly working with Leslieand Connie, I see that those
values lived out.
I see the way your communityreally comes together to help
(21:28):
their neighbors in times oftragedy, in times of joy.
Really an incredible place tolive.
Would you agree, connie?
I do agree, I do agree.
Yeah, would you agree, connie?
I do agree, I do agree.
Yeah.
Well, thank you both forjoining Connie and I to, like
you said, and to paint the storyof Tom Huggers alive and well
(21:50):
and help the young people whohave and will receive her
scholarship continue tounderstand who she was as a
person and how they benefitedfrom that legacy.
I want to encourage ourlisteners and I want to
encourage them to support thisscholarship.
Who gets to grow?
Next day it will be coming upNovember 28th through 22nd
(22:14):
that's always a huge day.
So, beth, connie, will this beyour first or second?
This is my second one, okay,that's always a huge day.
In South Africa, connie, wouldthis be your first or second?
This is my second one, okay.
So, yeah, it's always fun tosee your community come together
again to support all sorts ofcauses across the community, but
we encourage them to give somethought to whether it's a
(22:37):
scholarship or another topromote and further education.
So, once again, thanks formaking a difference in the lives
of students pursuing educationand we thank all listeners for
tuning in.
Great you too.
Great Thanks, kim.
All right.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Thank you for joining us today where we look inside
the Greater Manhattan CommunityFoundation.
You can always learn more aboutGMCF at our website, mcfksorg.
We invite you to subscribe toPhilanthropy Today.
Wherever you get your podcasts,I'm Mitzi Richards and have
enjoyed hosting our Gateway toGiving GMCF Scholarship Stories
(23:15):
series in the Ad Astra CastStudios here in downtown
Manhattan, Kansas.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.