Overland Park woman receives Citizen of Year award

That Sue Bond would be selected for a volunteerism award should surprise no one. Except Sue Bond, that is.

The list of organizations and projects to which the Overland Park woman has dedicated her time fills four pages – single-spaced. And that is not even the complete list.

Still, Bond reacted with incredulity to the news that she had been selected for the Citizen of the Year Award from United Community Services of Johnson County.

“I was shocked. It was such a surprise,” she said. “I’m not one that fits the role of someone who gets awards. I’m a behind-the-scenes person who works in the trenches.”

That might be true, but over the past 40 years, Bond surely has served in more trenches than a World War I infantry unit.

Her background made her a natural choice for the UCS honor, which goes to “an individual who has provided lasting contributions that enhance the well-being of Johnson County.”

The list of Bond’s involvements includes charitable organizations and agencies such as the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, the United Way, Sunflower House, Safehome and the Junior League of Wyandotte and Johnson Counties. She also has participated in, and often led, many school and church committees and projects as well as political campaigns. And the list goes on…and on…

Many of those undertakings came about in large part, she said, because her husband is Dick Bond. Being married to the prominent former state senator and chief of staff for three members of Congress put her in contact with scores of people and organizations eager to recruit good volunteer help.

“I can’t ever remember going out and looking for something to do. Things found me,” she said.

Another former state senator, Audrey Langworthy, said it never was by accident or as a favor that Sue Bond got found when a group or a cause needed help.

“Any organization that gets Sue Bond interested in committing her energy and enthusiasm to their cause is very lucky indeed,” said Langworthy, who has worked and socialized often with the Bonds.

“She’s just a person who, if you want to get a job done, you get Sue Bond. She is tireless and tenacious and very much a self-starter. She also works very well with other people and she’s not shy about speaking her mind. She always takes a leadership role in whatever she gets involved in.”

While Bond was surprised by this award, it is not her first. She and Dick have received joint honors, including the Volunteers of the Year award from the Volunteer Center of Johnson County. She also was honored for her years of work for the American Cancer Society.

Bond tends to downplay her contributions somewhat by comparing what she has done to higher-profile community leaders, including her husband. “His list (of community efforts) is much longer than mine,” she says.

“That’s Sue,” Langworthy said of Bond’s modesty. “She is in there involved in multiple things all the time, but her husband always takes the headlines.”

Bond readily acknowledges being overshadowed by her husband, but she said that is how it should be and how she prefers it. After all, her volunteer work is not about gaining recognition.

“I don’t think that people are going to think I’m wonderful or anything. I just do these things because I want to do it,” she said. “I say all the time how lucky and fortunate I have been to be able to help so many people.”

She emphasizes that the undertakings are never about individual effort, achievement or gratitude.

“Volunteering isn’t something you do by yourself. It’s being part of a team. It involves a lot of like-minded people working together on a project,” she said. “I’ve had fantastic experiences with staff people and other volunteers that make an organization run.

“People don’t really realize how dedicated the staff people are to these organizations. After the volunteers leave in the evening, the staff still is there. They always have been great, dedicated, superb people.”

Those staff people are quick to return the compliments.

Cynthia Smith, president and CEO of Sunflower House child abuse prevention center, has seen Bond at work for the past several years as a board member of the agency.

“She’s just a wonderful, generous woman and a wonderful friend,” Smith said. “She’s very honest with us. If we’re planning something and she sees something that based on her experience won’t work, she’ll speak up and let us know. And she’s never been wrong.”

It was interest in her own children, Amy and Mark, that got Bond initially involved in her volunteer efforts.

She was a room mom and newsletter editor, and ultimately PTA president.

Along the way she has labored in a wide variety of organizations, but many of them have involved helping children.

“Kids in the community don’t have a better friend than Sue Bond,” Smith said. “She has looked out for them for a very long time. They might not know her name, but she’s helped them in many ways.”

Bond said it is easy to find motivation and satisfaction with endeavors involving children.

“There are so many kids in great need. At Safehome (domestic violence shelter), there are children that have been in situations where they have been battered or sexually abused and part of some sad, sad stories,” she said.

Earlier in the day as Bond attended a Grandparents Day lunch at her grandchildren’s school, statistics she learned during her volunteer work came to mind.

“The numbers are unbelievable. One of every six boys will be sexually abused and one in four girls will be. And that’s in Johnson County, too. People don’t think that happens in Johnson County,” she said.

“That’s so sad and troubling. And as I saw all those kids come and go (at the lunch), I couldn’t help but think how many of them are in those numbers.”

Bond continues to be highly involved in various pursuits. One of the most recent was serving as co-chair of an organization opposed to a ballot question that would have made district judgeships elective positions.

In the same election, husband Dick worked for voter approval of the Johnson County Education and Research Triangle.

Both backed what proved to be the winning side.

“We’ve been a great team over the years,” she said.

After her brief and unaccustomed moment in the spotlight to receive the Citizen of the Year award on Dec. 4, Bond happily returned to the familiar obscurity of the trenches. After all, people keep asking for her help, and she never has learned to just say no.

“I’m sure I have said ‘no,’ but I can’t remember when it was. I haven’t said ‘no’ in quite awhile.”

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