An extremely windy Kansas day did not dampen the spirits of those who attended our 2024 Annual Meeting; however, the wind did affect the size of our crowd. We had over 80 reservations, but just 53 attended the event April 6 at the Memorial Building.
Guests enjoyed a scrumptious meal including roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, tossed salad, rolls and a choice of cobblers for dessert. The meal was prepared by John Ross Catering and was served buffet style.
Guest speaker Eric Leonard gave an interesting talk about his experiences with the National Park Service. Although he grew up in Washington State, his paternal grandparents, Lefty and Thelma Leonard, lived at Lakin, and his maternal grandparents, Norman and Emma Thompson, lived at Garden City. His family often stopped at national parks along the way on their road trips to Kansas. Thelma greatly influenced her grandson’s college and career choices by reminding him that his family was from Kansas. Thus, Eric attended Fort Hays State University like Thelma and Lefty, his Aunt Clarene Leonard Goodhart and Uncle David Leonard had. Eric received his bachelor’s degree in history from Fort Hays and his master’s from the University of Oklahoma. While a student at Fort Hays, he volunteered at Fort Larned Historic Site. Now the superintendent of the High Plains Group of parks in Colorado and New Mexico, Eric oversees Bent’s Fort, Amache National Historic Site, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and Capulin Volcano National Monument.
During the business meeting portion of the event, President Linda Peters introduced board members and Museum staff and gave a rundown of highlights for the past year. Board members Marilyn Wolfe, Karen Burden, Joe Eskelund, Robbie McCombs, Bob Price, and Brenda Rios were re-elected to two-year terms. An amendment to the KCHS Constitution restructuring the leadership positions was also passed.
Winners of the door prizes were Emily Rexroat, Judy Kleeman, Jim Fontenot and Jimmy White. Thank you to all who attended and those who helped with the event, and our sincere appreciation to guest speaker, Eric Leonard!
