Madison-Champaign ESC Hosts 6th Annual Community STARs Service Award Program

Kianna Gsell and her Person of Impact, Steve Wilhelm

​On Thursday, November 14, 2024, the Madison-Champaign Educational Service Center held its sixth annual Community STARs Service Award program. This program was developed by the staff of the ESC to recognize students and staff in both counties who best exemplify servant leaders. These individuals know what it means to serve the needs of others. The very essence of servant leadership is a deliberate attitude of a person looking outside of him or herself and focusing on the needs of those around them.
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Recognized STAR individuals excel in the areas of Service, Teamwork, Attitude, and Reliability. They are the first to serve the needs of others, sacrificing time, effort, and material resources. They are great team members who focus on the goals of the team and ignore their own goals for the greater good. These individuals exhibit a positive attitude even in the face of adversity. All while being reliable day-in and day-out and being consistently servant-minded

Servant leadership as a philosophy holds the key to advancing the greater good of a school, an organization, and a nation. If we adopt this philosophy, personally and professionally, we will take our eyes off ourselves, look at what others around us really need, and take action to meet those needs. The following staff members were honored for exemplifying this philosophy: Jill Jackson (Graham), Angie Nawman (Jefferson Local), Megan Marling (Jonathan Alder), Amy Neal (London), Tobi Briggs (Madison-Plains), Sarah Shepherd (Mechanicsburg), Cheryl Coleman (Triad), Kathy Zaborowski (Urbana), and Julie Hartsel (West Liberty-Salem). This year’s STAR students were Luka Castelucci (Graham), Wyatt Keyt (Jefferson Local), Estrella Flores-Villanueva (Jonathan Alder), Isabella Kerry (London), Mattalyn Long (Madison-Plains), Stefany Troiano (Mechanicsburg), Ellie Johnson (Triad), Kianna Gsell (Urbana), and Taran Logwood (West Liberty-Salem).

Along with the student recognition, each student was asked to invite and honor a Person of Impact as strong leaders are developed through the influence of others. Awardees honored individuals who have had a positive impact on their character and leadership development, which included parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, youth leaders, and pastors.

This year’s recipient of the Dr. Daniel Kaffenbarger Community STAR Award was Kianna Gsell from Urbana. Kianna has developed a “living to serve” plan, which includes a clothing drive and fundraising to benefit the Urbana Caring Kitchen and support local homeless. She is also hoping to raise funds to host a “Meals of Hope” event with a goal of being able to package 50,000 meals.

This year’s event was brought to life thanks to the generous support of our financial sponsors: CRSI, First Central National Bank, KTH Parts Industries, Park National Bank, and People Savings Bank of Urbana. We are also grateful for the thoughtful contributions of refreshments, flowers, and gift bag items from our community partners: Ethel's Flower Shop, Farmer's Daughter, Gemini Coffee & Eats, Goshen Lanes, Madison Lanes, Marie's Candy, Olive Garden, Plain City Lanes, Southwest Lanes, Stacey Longshore, Sweetie Pie's Baked Goods and Coffee Shop, and Tim Hortons. Their generosity helped make the event truly special.