Joe's "75 on 75th"
“Nine-tenths of education is encouragement.” – Anatole France.
Dallas Joe McKenzie has been encouraging others his entire life. For 32 years, this Lenexa resident taught woodworking and American History in the Shawnee Mission School District at Indian Creek Junior High School and Westridge Middle School. He impacted the lives of many students and several of those relationships are still strong today. Former student Jerry Busch said, “When asked, most of us can recall at least one teacher in our school careers that made an impact on our lives, for me that teacher was Joe McKenzie. Little did I know that he would still be impacting my life 50 years later.”
Upon retirement in 2000, Joe and his wife Joyce continued serving others through various volunteering opportunities including CASA, Catch-A-Ride, Veterans Community Projects (tiny houses for vets), and Smiles Change Lives. In recent years, Joe has been the leading force in organizing a cycling group to encourage retired friends to stay active and build relationships. Joe has said, “It’s extremely important that we stay active both physically and socially”.
On August 21st, Joe McKenzie will celebrate his 75th birthday. In his “full-speed-ahead” style, he has set a goal of riding 75 miles on that day. Joe is working with the Brothers in Blue Reentry (BIBR) prison ministry to establish a GoFundMe page to allow friends to contribute as part of his birthday celebration goal. BIBR is a faith-based program, designed to equip inmates to function as positive, productive members of society upon release. BIBR serves members both inside the prison and after release. BIBR currently has programs in both men's and women's prisons in the State of Kansas.
