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Guard members volunteer as mentorsBy MARSHALL WHITE marshall@npgco.com http://www.stjoenews-press.com/ There are many advantages, especially economic, to having 1,000 Missouri Air National Guard personnel stationed at Rosecrans Memorial Airport. But some local school children believe they get the best benefit. A dozen members of the 139th Airlift Wing have volunteered to be mentors to schoolchildren. “Sometimes, another caring adult in a child’s life can make a difference,” said Dr. Margie Miller, the St. Joseph School District’s director of volunteers, health and physical education. The district started the program in 1989 and has about 60 adults who volunteer as mentors. Children selected for the program can have doubts in the beginning. “At first I was nervous ’cause I thought I was in trouble,” said Levi Rizer, a 13-year-old seventh-grader at DeKalb Middle School in DeKalb, Mo. But in three years, the bond with his mentor has grown with weekly meetings and other activities. “My mentor, Tech. Sgt. Mert Hughes, is a father figure,” Levi said. Praise is a direct result of the developed relationship, said Jennifer Welsh, the counselor at Hall Elementary School. “You get as much as you give,” said Master Sgt. Jody McKinley, a mentor for three years to Mikki Heumader, a seventh-grader at Truman Middle School. Mikki has often been able to join in McKinley family activities. Mrs. McKinley and her husband have one daughter. “Sometimes she (the McKinley’s daughter) gets a little jealous about Mikki,” Mrs. McKinley said. While taking on the role of mentor, Mrs. McKinley said she didn’t analyze why she was doing it. She just saw an opportunity to help. “Now, the bond with Mikki will probably be a lifetime thing,” Mrs. McKinley said. The Missouri Air National Guard encourages and supports the program, but people participate on their own time, said Capt. Barb Denny, a spokeswoman for the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans. The St. Joseph School District sponsors the men and women from the Air Guard. Each volunteer goes through a training process, Ms. Welsh said. At Hall, the principal and counselor match the volunteers with a student. “It’s a big privilege and a lot of kids in my class are jealous,” said Tyler Muse, a sixth-grader at Hall. His mentor is Tech. Sgt. Lawrence Tatro. The Air Guard personnel working at Hall come every Thursday to have lunch, listen and learn from their student friends, Ms. Welsh said. The Guard’s efforts have been consistent and committed, making it a successful program, Dr. Miller said. “When all is said and done, there is a warm fuzzy feeling you get,” said Senior Master Sgt. Tom Morris. Mr. Morris has been a mentor to Hall fifth-grader Mikal Finch for two years. In the two and a half years that Dustin Miller, 12, and his mentor, Staff Sgt. Heath Miller, have been together, they’ve taken the relationship to a level where they can razz each other and have fun. “Classmates always ask what I did with him,” Mr. Miller said. Having a friend who listens is important to Sydney Lewis, 9. The Hall fourth-grader is paired with Maj. Grace Link. “She tells funny jokes about her husband (Hall sixth-grade teacher Scott Link) a lot,” Sydney said. That kind of two-way exchange is important, Ms. Welsh said. And even the teachers get excited because they see the “before” and “after” as the kids change with these kinds of experiences, she said. |
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