Mayor recognizes residents for their outstanding volunteer work

Five residents were inducted into the Lenexa Volunteer Hall of Fame on Nov. 17 for their outstanding volunteer efforts in the community: Ken Breidenbach, Kevin Kennedy, Kathy Mayer, Jack Miller and Dick Stilley.

Ken Breidenbach
Ken has been an active volunteer for the Police Department for several years. During this time, he has put in more than 800 hours of volunteer service to the citizens of Lenexa. Ken’s volunteer service for the Police Department includes: Traffic monitoring, sign abatement, tour guide, street light survey, Great Lenexa BBQ Battle, Police Department fleet inventories, parking enforcement, Lenexa open house, clerical work, Learning About Lenexa and other special projects.

Ken also worked tirelessly on the Lenexa 100 marketing committee in 2007 to promote the community’s anniversary celebration.

For a number of years, Ken worked as the school crossing guard at 87^th Street Parkway and Candlelight for students attending Rising Star Elementary. He was known to arrive ahead of schedule and leave late to make sure the kids were able to cross this busy intersection safely. He was also known to give out stocking caps and mittens to children who didn’t have them.

When the Police Department puts out requests for volunteer projects, Ken is generally the first to respond. His ready smile, willingness to help, and friendly demeanor make him a valuable member of the Police Department family and our community.

Kevin Kennedy
Kevin has served the community as a Boy Scout leader for more than 10 years. He became involved with Cub Scout Pack 3136 at Sunflower Elementary in 1998 and also served as Cub Master. In 2000, Kevin worked with other parents to create Boy Scout Troop 136, which started with 10 boys, and today has about 60 Scouts. He has given a great deal of time through the years coaching other leaders and parents, mentoring Scouts and developing them into leaders. He spends extra time working with boys on anything from school projects to social skills.

He has participated in the Boy Scout summer camp for at least 10 years (camp lasts 10 days, and leaders who participate for the entire 10 days generally have to take off 7 days of work to participate). This means Kevin has taken at least 70 days off to help the Boy Scouts. In addition, Kevin has participated in at least three High Adventures with the Boy Scouts, which involves more of his time and money spent to help others.

Kevin also is a major supporter of the Lenexa food pantry, which is run by the Johnson County Multi-Service Center. Kevin and the Scouts have led food drives; and, as a coach for the Great American Basketball League, Kevin led the effort to form a union between GABL and the Lenexa food pantry so that donations would go to the local community.

Kevin has been a role model for more than 200 boys and their families, and he has seen 23 boys accomplish the rank of Eagle Scout. In addition to his service in Boy Scouts, Kevin also has coached girls’ softball, and he has played the drums for the youth mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Kathy Mayer
Every Tuesday for the past 15 years, Kathy has delivered meals to homebound older adults and disabled citizens in Lenexa as a volunteer for the Johnson County Meals on Wheels program.

Kathy’s duties as a Meals on Wheels volunteer includes picking up meals at the Lenexa Senior Center and hand delivering them to the people on her route. Sometimes, Kathy is the only person the recipient sees all day. Kathy’s smile and a kind word go a long way in making each of these recipients have a better day.

Kathy is a soft-spoken, caring individual. Oftentimes, when delivering meals, she was accompanied by one or both of her daughters while they were growing up. She was not only helping feed and brighten the day for members of our community, she was also instilling in her own daughters the importance of giving back.

Kathy exemplifies all of the qualities that are so important in a Meals on Wheels volunteer: punctuality, dependability, honesty, open communication and the ability to adapt to change.

Jack Miller
Jack was nominated for the Volunteer Hall of Fame by Rising Star Elementary School Principal Chris Lash.

Jack has been a senior volunteer at Rising Star for 5-1/2 years and is an important part of the school’s team. Before moving to Lenexa and volunteering at Rising Star, Jack volunteered at Somerset Elementary School for 15 years. Jack is someone who fills up the room with positive energy and a love for learning.

Jack volunteers three mornings per week. Kids of all ages look forward to having the opportunity to work with him. Jack works with students in grades 1-6. He helps prepare students in grades 5-6 for their mathletics competitions. He also works with students who need extra help with math concepts and gives them extra support and practice.

Dick Stilley
Dick has been an active volunteer in the Lenexa Police Department since 2003, and during this time, he has provided nearly 900 hours of volunteer service to our community. Projects for which Dick has provided assistance include: Traffic monitoring, sign abatement, tour guide, clerical work, special projects, crime analyst, DUI checkpoints and database maintenance.

Dick has worked on various projects that included the scanning and entry of thousands of hard-copy reports and documents that have been filed into the Police Department’s electronic Records Management System. This has helped the department greatly in obtaining a broader base of information for records checks, crime analysis, and criminal history checks.

Dick has had a quiet but consistent presence at the Lenexa Police Department. His kindness and willingness to take on even the most mundane task, and his friendly demeanor make him a valuable member of the Police Department family. He is unassuming, hard working and expects no recompense for his efforts.