Amazing Members

Continuing to Serve

After serving thirty years as a teacher and administrator, Beth Knes, a member of MO Beta Xi isn’t through yet. She continues to serve and impact the lives of Missouri’s educators as a governor-appointed member of the Public School and Education Employees Retirement System of Missouri (PSRS/PEERS) Board of Trustees. As a Board member and fiduciary of the Systems, Beth assists with making critical financial and policy decisions on behalf of the entire PSRS/PEERS membership. When she left teaching, Beth wanted to continue to be involved in education in some capacity, but substituting was not her immediate choice. She felt that she needed more technology expertise since most classrooms were meeting virtually. She was invited to apply for a position on the Board of Trustees, was accepted by the governor and approved by the Senate of MO. Beth is one of seven members of this diverse board of teachers, administrators and financial folks.

Beta Xi Sister Shelley Smith shared, “Beth has a passion for education and for positively contributing to the lives of Missouri educators, whether they are young, elderly or somewhere in between.”

Beth is the mother of two sons. One is a nurse and the other is a teacher. She loves spending time with family and enjoys reading in her spare time. Her teaching career covered every elementary school grade. As a classroom teacher, she taught second grade. When she became a reading specialist she worked with students from kindergarten to sixth grade and as a special education teacher her students ranged from first to fifth grade.

Joining A∆K about four years ago, Beth has found a solid place among her sister educators. Beth says, “I’m thankful to be a part of A∆K and glad to be in such a caring chapter. It has made my life richer and I love having opportunities to learn together with fellow educators.”

Article contributed to by Betty Sherrod, VA Gamma Omicron and Shelley Smith, MO Beta Xi

Students Learn Stories of Resistance and Hope in Holocaust

Pam Plahs, VA Beta Upsilon, hopes to honor those who risked everything to resist the injustice of the Holocaust. Exploring the courageous decisions made by the group, Righteous Among the Nations, Plahs plans to lead her seventh graders to a deeper understanding of the Holocaust. Righteous Among the Nations is defined as non-Jews who helped the Jewish people in times of need. They were Christians, Muslims and atheists. Some were high-ranking diplomats who used their positions to secure false papers for Jews, while others were peasant farmers who hid Jews on their property. Plahs recently received an R.E.B. Award (Rudolph and Esther Bunzi) for Teaching Excellence from the Community Foundation. She said, “I find the Holocaust to be one of the most tragic events within the history of the world. In the midst of that tragedy, however, stories of resistance and hope prevail and remind us of those who chose not to stand by and allow their fellow human beings to be persecuted and murdered, but rather had the courage, each in his or her own way, to help.”

For several years Plahs has invited Holocaust survivor Jay Ipson to share his story of the poor Polish Catholic farmer who saved his 10-member family from the Nazis by hiding them in a potato hole on his farm. “Why?” students asked. Mr. Paskauska simply knew it was the right thing to do. Plahs wants her students to grasp the consequences of apathy as well as the positive impact one individual can have. She hopes to empower her students to stand up against injustice. She plans to travel to Europe to visit former sites of ghettos and concentration camps, Holocaust museums, synagogue archives and locations used to hide Holocaust refugees. She is also learning to play the violin to join her school’s orchestra as they play authentic concentration camp sheet music for the cross-curricular documentary project she will implement with her students. Article by Lynne Bland in collaboration with Laurie Surles, Virginia Beta Upsilon, president 2020

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In 1994, Marilyn McGown, KA Beta Upsilon, was employed as a traveling counselor, splitting her time between elementary schools in two towns. She saw the needs in each community and wanted to meet those needs. She saw the altruistic spirit in each community and wanted to harness that spirit. But, that wasn’t as easy as it might seem. “I was often contacted by civic groups wanting to adopt a family for Christmas,” she said. “This put me in a difficult position, because I couldn’t give out the names of families who might need help. Yet, I knew there was a need.” McGown’s A∆K sister Rebecca Hill taught a citizenship unit in her first grade class. “It got little kids talking and thinking outside themselves,” Hill said. One of her especially enthusiastic students took the lesson to heart, and before long, a school-wide pop can drive began. The goal was to make some money and do some good. The sisters joined forces to do just that. “We had trash bags full of pop cans everywhere - classrooms, my tiny office, the main office,” McGown said. Finding enough space wasn’t the only challenge. Sometimes critters, like ants and tiny mice, were hidden in the bags students brought to school.

Learning happened as well. The owner of an area recycling center brought his scale to school to demonstrate that 26 aluminum cans equal one pound. He promised the students that he would pay 30 cents per pound for their project. The drive yielded $200 and was matched by others inspired by the project. A fund was created at each elementary school to help those in need. McGown, the counselor, was given the responsibility of using the fund wisely. That was a beginning.

McGown knew that guidelines for such altruism were essential. She was adamant that both towns be included and that the dignity of folks receiving donations be protected. She partnered with Hill and a local minister to create the

Basehor-Linwood Assistance Services, abbreviated BLAS, but pronounced “blaze.” “We wanted to bring churches into the organizing of the group in order to reach the larger community,” she said. With McGown and Hill in the lead, volunteers came together. A Board of Directors was elected. Guidelines were determined. McGown’s husband used his accounting expertise to complete paperwork for non-profit status. The organization was officially afloat and ready to sail. Throughout this process, McGown and Hill kept their Beta Epsilon chapter members informed. A∆K sisters stood ready to help. The first major project of BLAS was an adopt-a-family event in December. Those in need communicated with McGown. Generous organizations, churches, and folks in both communities signed up to provide gifts, clothing, toys, and food. A∆K sisters encouraged their classes to bring needed donations. As enthusiasm spread, the adopt-a-family project worked and became an annual undertaking. Not content with one annual project, BLAS expanded its services with a year-round food pantry. Churches stepped in Marilyn McGowan (left) and Rebecca Hill (right) to provide space. The post office collected food items on their delivery routes. A backpack program was established, providing meals and snacks for students to take home on weekends. Restaurants, chambers of commerce, agricultural organizations, banks and civic groups joined the efforts. “The help just pours in from everywhere,” Hill said. “They see the need in their local community and they are willing to help.” Now in its 25th year, BLAS has continued its help for school and community with clothing items, educational supplies, emergency assistance with utilities and rent, and other needs. Kansas Beta Epsilon chapter and its members have been a significant part of BLAS’s success, donating regularly to the food pantry, volunteering to assist families at the pantry on distribution nights, helping set up for adopt-a-family pickup, and providing gift cards for hard-to-buy-for teenagers each December, over $400 worth in 2020. It’s all volunteer with no paid employees or tax money used. What started with a lesson in citizenship, enthusiastic firstgraders, pop cans, and two dedicated Alpha Delta Kappa members with support from their A∆K chapter has now become the primary social service agency in this large two-community district, a notable example of the power of altruism. Article by Marilyn Anderson, KA Beta Epsilon

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