In the News

Hesston College and Hesston Recreation partner for a Day at the K

Hesston College and Hesston Recreation are partnering to give community members and alumni and friends of college a summer afternoon enjoying America’s favorite pastime with a Day at the K, Saturday, June 24. The Kansas City Royals will take on the Toronto Bluejays at 1:15 p.m., at Kauffman Stadium.

Group discounted tickets for the game are $19 per person. Children 32 inches in height and under are free as long as they sit on the lap of an accompanying adult. Tickets are subject to the Royal’s announced rainout policy.

The event recognizing Hesston in Kansas City was planned as part of Hesston College’s annual Explore Kansas! weekend trip, and Hesston College’s Director of Alumni and Church Relations Dallas Stutzman expanded the offer for the game to the larger community.

“The college has its annual Explore Kansas! weekend trip to the Kansas City area that includes the Royals game over this weekend,” said Stutzman. “In talking and planning with Ryan Magill from Hesston Recreation, we decided to invite the community and other college alumni and friends to come out as well for the event. We think it will be a great time for all of Hesston, and it can help to continue to build community good will. We hope to see a huge turnout for the game!”

Participants on the Explore Kansas! trip will spend Saturday night in Kansas City at the Crowne Plaza Kansas City Downton. Guests attending just a Day at the K can stay at the hotel for the same discounted rate as the tour group. A limited number of rooms are available on a first come first served basis.

Baseball tickets and Crowne Plaza reservations can be secured by contacting Sheri Esau at Hesston College at 620-327-8147 or sheri.esau@hesston.edu. No refunds will be made for the baseball tickets after the initial purchase.

Explore Kansas! trip to visit the Wonders of Kansas

Hesston College alumni and friends are invited to take part in the college’s annual Explore Kansas! trip, June 24 and 25. The 2017 overnight excursion includes a weekend of art, sports, cuisine, history, architecture, worship and music, with stops at or learning about 15 Kansas Wonders winners or finalists.

Leaving early Saturday morning, June 24, the chartered bus tour will head for the northeast part of the state with stops that include The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City), a first-class nationally-rated museum with 28,000 comprehensive artifacts.

The afternoon event will be Hesston College Day at the K for a 1 p.m. showdown between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Bluejays. Community members and those not participating as part of the weekend Explore Kansas! trip are also welcome to attend the Day at the K on their own, including a discounted ticket price of $19 per person. Contact sheri.esau@hesston.edu or 620-327-8147 to reserve game tickets.

Overnight lodging on June 24 will be at the Crowne Plaza Kansas City Downton. Guests just attending the Kansas City Royals game can stay at the hotel for the same discounted rate as the Explore Kansas! group. A limited number of rooms are available.

Sunday events include a tour at First Presbyterian Church in Topeka, which features the Tiffany windows – an art wonder of exquisite stained glass windows installed in 1911. The windows depict biblical stories with incredible detail. Participants will also learn about the Kansas Capitol’s John Steuart Curry murals and native Kansan Poco Frazier’s “Justice” statue.

For afternoon entertainment, and for the final stop, the group will take in the Kansas Mennonite Men’s Chorus concert at the historic Grace Episcopal Church in Topeka, with a post-concert church tour and presentation.

Tour group participants will eat well throughout the weekend, including Saturday evening at Kansas City classic, Stroud’s, for pan-fried chicken, and Sunday lunch at Woodyard Bar-B-Que, which was featured on The Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

The cost for the trip is $160 per person, based on double occupancy lodging. Reservations are encouraged as soon as possible, and no later than Friday, June 9, as available space is limited. No refunds will be made past the June 9 cutoff date.

Contact Alumni Relations at 620-327-8109 to reserve a spot. See a complete itinerary online.

Students and faculty commissioned for service

During a May 3, Hesston College chapel, 41 students and faculty were commissioned for Christian ministry and service for summer and fall placements.

The students will serve around the world in positions from camp counselor to supervisors at disaster sites.

Doing a three-week field experience in Greenbrier County, W.V., with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) are Disaster Management Program students Keegan Cook, Whitewater, Kan.; Luke Husbands, Lancaster, Pa.; John Ebaugh, Holtwood, Pa.; Rebecca Reutzel, Topeka, Kan.; and Angus Siemens, Newton, Kan. Following that placement, Cook, Ebaugh and Reutzel will serve an additional five weeks in Detroit, Mich., and Husbands and Siemens will spend five weeks in Pine Ridge, S.D. Program director Cleo Koop will serve alongside the students.

Disaster Management student, Christy Kauffman, West Liberty, Ohio, will serve with MDS for three weeks on the Pacific island of Saipan, and for six weeks with Ten Thousand Villages in Akron, Pa.

Cleo Koop, director of the Disaster Management Program, will serve as project director with MDS for one month in Greenbrier County, W.V., and for one month in the Pacific island of Saipan.

Cheri Baer, Apple Creek, Ohio, will serve for eight weeks with VBS (Vacation Bible School) on the Road in South Texas.

Nicole Loewen, Hutchinson, Kan., will serve with Converge International Fellowship and Youth for Christ.

Elizabeth Eichelberger, Geneva, Neb., will serve with Youth Venture in Detroit, Mich., through Mennonite Mission Network.

Morgan Leavy, Telford, Pa., will serve as an intern with UrbanPromise in Camden, N.J., as a counselor at one of eight camps throughout the city, and will help direct a play for high school students involved with the organization.

Bailee Nichols-Clary, Wichita, Kan., will work with youth from Park Place Ministry Center, Wichita, at Wheat Slate Camp, Augusta, Kan.

Billy Bass, Yoder, Kan., will support conflict resolution in serving with KIPCore through Bethel College, North Newton, Kan.

Abraham Mateo, Fort Myers, Fla., will serve at Toledo (Ohio) Mennonite Church through the Ministry Inquiry Program.

Gabby Willis, Rusk, Texas, will serve with a week-long Vacation Bible School at her home church.

Jonae Hochstetler, Ogema, Minn., will direct a week-long Vacation Bible School at her home church.

Zach Neely, Ada, Okla., and David Ladwig, Wichita, Kan., will serve for one week with Wayne Simien’s Called to Greatness Camp. Ladwig will also serve three weeks with Legacy Ministries, Inc., Wichita.

John Ruth, Harleysville, Pa., will serve as a mentor at the Souderton (Pa.) Boys and Girls Club.

Malik Ellis, Midlothian, Va., will serve with Foundation Basketball, Midlothian.

Students serving as staff or counselors at camps include:

• Cassidy Bontrager, Wellman, Iowa, at Crooked Creek Christian Camp, Washington, Iowa.
• Sarah Booth, Goessel, Kan., at Camp Mennoscah, Murdock, Kan.
• Desiree Bretado, Whittier, Calif., at Fellowship for Christian Athletes softball camp.
• Rachel Brown, McKinney, Texas, at Shepherd Community Center day camp in Indianapolis, Ind.
• Erin Brubaker, Goessel, Kan., at Drift Creek Mennonite Camp, Lincoln City, Ore.
• Elena Buckwalter, Fulks Run, Va., at Highland Retreat Center, Bergton, Va.
• Renee Buckwalter, Wellman, Iowa, at Crooked Creek Christian Camp, Washington, Iowa.
• Abby Byler, Harrisonburg, Va., at Drift Creek Mennonite Camp, Lincoln City, Ore.
• Silas Driver, Harrisonburg, Va., at Drift Creek Mennonite Camp, Lincoln City, Ore.
• Andre Eanes, Harrisonburg, Va., at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, Divide, Colo.
• Chloe McNiel, Valley Center, Kan., at Royal Family Kids Camp at Camp Horizon, Arkansas City, Kan.
• Hannah Miller, Parnell, Iowa, at Crooked Creek Christian Camp, Washington, Iowa.
• Trevor Oyer, Hubbard, Ore., at Drift Creek Mennonite Camp, Lincoln City, Ore.
• Kathryn Roth, Wauseon, Ohio, at Little Eden Camp, Onekama, Mich.
• Shalee Rowley, Colorado Springs, Colo., at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, Divide, Colo.
• Jaelyn Rufenacht, Archbold, Ohio, at Little Eden Camp, Onekama, Mich.
• Janelle Schmucker, Los Fresnos, Texas, at Amigo Centre, Sturgis, Mich.
• Carissa Slabach, Newton, Kan., at Ponca (Ark.) Bible Camp.
• Ally Vogt, Hesston, Kan., at Victory Bible Camp, Sutton, Alaska.
• Sadie Winter, Newton, Kan., at LifeChange Camp, Clinton, Mo.
• Hannah Yoder, Freeman, S.D., at Swan Lake Christian Camp, Viborg, S.D.

Bartell to serve as Director of Nursing Education

Hesston College has announced that Becky Bartell, M.S.N., R.N., C.N.E., has been named Director of Nursing Education and the successor to longtime director, Bonnie Sowers, who has served in the role for 37 years and will step down on June 30. Bartell will assume the role July 1 while Sowers will transition to a teaching position within the department.

Bartell joined the Hesston College nursing faculty in 2010, teaching upper-level nursing courses and serving as the curriculum coordinator while the department shifted from an associate degree program to a bachelor’s degree program.

“Becky has earned the respect of students and colleagues through her in-depth knowledge of and commitment to nursing education and to the mission of Hesston College,” said Brent Yoder, Vice President of Academics. “She has many strengths that she will bring to the position: passion for nursing, clear and focused thinker, proactive, decisive, committed team player, willingness to listen, calm demeanor, poised, warm and supportive, kindness, loyalty and good-humor.”

Bartell earned a master’s of science in nursing from Fort Hays (Kan.) State University and a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.). She is also a Certified Nurse Educator (C.N.E.).

“Becky will lead our program into the next decade with great skill, poise and a deep knowledge of what it takes to continue ‘The Hesston College Nursing Experience’,” said outgoing director Sowers. “Our culture of developing competent and caring nurses will remain and only grow stronger in the years to come.”