Volunteers help make Lenexa a community of choice, and hundreds of people donate their time and talents to make the city a better place. April is National Volunteer Month, and six Lenexa volunteers were honored for their service to the community at our recent Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on April 23.

Volunteer Hall of Fame

Each year, we recognize people who have made significant contributions to the Lenexa community through our Volunteer Hall of Fame. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees were:

Wayne Dothage

As a retired schoolteacher, Wayne has been actively involved in his grandchildren’s PTAs, served as a room parent, served three years on the PTA Executive Council, was a volunteer moderator for the Chat N Chew reading groups and was appointed to serve on the Site Council. The school PTA awarded him a KANSAS Life PTA Membership. Wayne was appointed to the Lenexa Arts Council in 2011 and was chair from 2014-2018; he currently chairs the Scholarship Committee. Wayne also served on Lenexa’s Vision 2040 Steering Committee and was elected to serve as Kiwanis’ Lieutenant Governor for Division 9. Wayne is also involved in his church, where he sings in the choir, is a member of the Men’s Quartet and is chair of the Inviting Ministry Committee.

Ed Fullington

After a successful career as a law enforcement officer, Ed became Equipment Technician Specialist and Department Armorer. He volunteers countless hours every week, ensuring the firearms the Lenexa Police Department officers use work flawlessly. Police departments and law enforcement officers across the metropolitan area bring their firearms to him for repair and maintenance. Ed also volunteers his time attending tactical call-outs, making sure the tactical vehicles are in proper working order. During firearm range qualifications, Ed works on many firearms, sometimes in 100-degree weather. After a lifetime of providing service to others, he continues to volunteer hours upon hours of his retirement to area law enforcement.

Dave Mennenga

He is a longtime Lenexa resident who attends most city events. Dave volunteers for the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle and the Lenexa Chili Challenge. Dave has been Lenexa BBQ Ambassador since 2003. Other ambassadors rely on him for rule interpretations because he is a Master Certified BBQ judge through the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Dave also judged the Chili Challenge for several years, before starting that event’s Ambassador Program. In 2008, as the only ambassador, he completed all the meat inspections for more than 160 teams! Dave has organized and coordinated volunteers with city staff every year since.

Linda Rumsey

Linda is a past president of Johnson County Young Matrons with 30 years of service including, volunteer hours to Shawnee Indian Mission, Safe Home and Kids TLC. She is a past president of the Desoto United Methodist Church Women’s group, having served 30 years working on relief projects with local charities and in the soup kitchens in Kansas and Missouri. Linda also directed children's choir there for more than 20 years. At Kids TLC, Linda has been involved in fundraising and is a hands-on therapy assistant. She served the DeSoto food pantry for 4 years as well as helped with fundraising for the National Association for Mental Illness.

Lifetime Volunteer Hours

We also honor volunteers who have given countless hours to the City of Lenexa as lifetime volunteers. This year’s honorees are:

Sue Wholforth & Connie Puett

Sue (500 lifetime hours) and Connie (250 lifetime hours), also know as the dynamic duo, have been the Senior Center Bridge Coordinators for over 10 years. The Bridge group meets weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Together, they coordinate an extremely challenging program and supervise the diverse patron personalities like true pros. The Bridge program is quite a project, but both Sue and Connie handle all aspects of the job well, and work everyone into the games no matter how many come for the day. They are both always in a good mood and are fun to be around. The Bridge players have often commented how happy they are that Sue and Connie are working and playing with them, and do such a marvelous job.