Giving Back by Returning to My Hometown

As my final high school days come to an end, I look back on the past four years and realize how much I have changed, especially in the area of leadership. As a freshman, I tended to lead only by actions, which I still feel is important. But now that I am a senior, I have also found my vocal side of leadership.

Personally, my best place for leadership is in the sports arena. I was a leader at first because I won. My teammates saw that my time and effort was turning into success.

My leadership has become so much more now that I understand winning is not everything. Yes, I put a lot of my identity in my ability to compete and do well in sports. But sports have failed me and will continue to fail me.

I no longer put my identity in just being a McCook athlete but rather a disciple maker for Jesus. I have found that I am able to lead more people by being intentional and meeting them where they are at…just like how Jesus meets me where I am at. I give a lot of credit to my church youth group leaders and parents for helping me develop this perspective and leadership skills.

I have discovered that a lot of girls look up to me because of how I treat them individually and it brings me great joy that I can be someone they look up to.

Great leaders are also consistent: consistent dealing with the misbehavior of someone you are leading; consistent with how you handle victories; and perhaps even more importantly, consistent with how you handle defeat.

This is how I have been led and coached by Coach Tom Sughroue at McCook High School. Sughroue has been one of my biggest supporters throughout high school because he has been consistent. His ability to get his ideas across to 40-50 athletes, who then go along with him, are due to his consistency.

Young people need to see the adults in their community support them, much like what I have felt over the years.

I was blessed to go to the National Junior Olympics in track in both 7th and 8th grade. And both years, McCook showed how much they believed in me. Each year I went to opposite ends of the country to run and the community supported me both financially and emotionally. People voiced their support, gave cash donations, and even bought cookies from my older sister, Shayli, who generously gave up a lot of her time to make them.

I can go on and on about all the love and support I have felt from the community throughout my high school career. But the best way I can give back to McCook is to come home and show my community how much it has meant to me.

As I transition to college, I will meet a lot of new people and have more opportunities to be a positive leader in my peers’ lives. I will continue to expand my leaderships skills as I work to become an elementary school teacher and track coach. And ultimately, my hope is to bring those skills back to McCook because the community has given me so much.

My involvement in the community has shown me how much I love this town. My connections have shown me why I want to come back and influence my community in a positive way. And my growth in leadership has shown me why I want to become a teacher. I want to be intentional and meet my future students where they are at.

Why? Because McCook has given so much to me and now it is my turn to give back.

***

As a senior at McCook High School, Shawna Wilkinson has been a member of McCook Community Foundation Fund’s Youth Change Reaction for four years and will leave an impact on sports, the school, her church, and the community…and hopefully returning to make an even bigger impact.

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To kick off the new year, Jo Beebe has been selected as the January 2026 McCook Volunteer of the month. While many people might know Jo for her years at the Sports Shoppe, she can be found giving hours of her time to the community, especially at St. Patrick Church. Whether during the weekly Mass or for a funeral or wedding, Jo shares her beautiful voice from the choir loft, as well as leading the choir members. Jo, along with her husband Harold, also has served as the St. Pat’s GALA host couple in the past and continues to help with set-up and cleanup of the annual event. Jo is also active with the Fall Festival, the Rosary Rally and the Wild Game Feed in Curtis every year. She attends every the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults class and helps students prepare for confirmation. And since retiring from the Sports Shoppe, she is active in the Altar Society, and volunteers at the Bargain Bazaar thrift store. According to her nomination, “The way Jo gives of her time and talents to our parish and community is a reflection of her faith,” and the community and the church are better because of her generosity. The McCook Philanthropy Council selects the monthly recipient for the McCook Volunteer of the Month award as part of the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s McCook Volunteer program. If there is a volunteer in the community who should be recognized, please contact the McCook Chamber of Commerce at 308.340.3200 or visit McCook Volunteers on the MCFF website, mccookfoundation.org to complete a nomination form. The only requirement is that the nominee must be a resident of McCook or Red Willow County. Please have information about the nominee along with where and how they volunteer in the community.