Highland County resident Shannon Yochum is one of six Appalachian Ohioans selected to receive a 2024 Jenco Award.
The Jenco Awards, a partnership between the Jenco Foundation Fund and the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO), recognize and celebrate Appalachian Ohio residents who go and above beyond in service to others outside their paid positions. Each recipient, nominated by fellow community members, exemplifies the difference we can all make when we give time, talent and passion to helping our neighbors and building community.
“Through their service, visionary leadership and caring nature, all of these individuals make the lives of others, their communities and our world better,” said Michelle Shively MacIver, Jenco Foundation committee member. “Their impact will be felt for generations and inspires each of us to make a difference in our daily lives.”
A Highland County educator who serves on academic committees at the local and state level, Yochum has spent the past 10 years creating opportunities and building community for farm youth and their families in Appalachian Ohio and beyond.
She is the founder and co-administrator of the Southern Ohio Showdown, a nonprofit organization that has enhanced and expanded opportunities for junior exhibitors to show beef cattle while earning points and awards – all within a supportive community. Since its inception, the Southern Ohio Showdown has grown to more than 200 entries and nine counties hosting shows.
In addition to scheduling the shows, Yochum and her Southern Ohio Showdown partners organize family-friendly events that have included fitting competitions, cornhole tournaments and trailer decorating contests. Each season of the program ends with a banquet where participants receive awards and prizes, including scholarships.
Yochum’s work with youth in cattle shows around Ohio, which includes volunteering with the Ohio Junior Maine-Anjou Association and at the Ohio State Fair, procuring and organizing awards for the beef department, has impacted thousands of young people and their families.
The Jenco Foundation and the Jenco Awards uphold the legacy of Father Lawrence Martin Jenco, a Roman Catholic priest who dedicated his life to serving others. In 1985, Father Jenco was kidnapped while serving as director of Catholic Relief Services in Lebanon and spent 19 months in captivity. Even in confinement, Father Jenco continued to serve, providing a listening ear for other detainees, including journalist Terry Anderson.
In 2001, Anderson founded the Jenco Foundation to honor the legacy of his friend. In 2011, the Jenco Foundation joined FAO as an endowment, ensuring that Father Jenco’s legacy would live on in perpetuity. The Jenco Awards celebrate individuals who, like Father Jenco, have made a difference through community service and visionary leadership.
Joining Yochum as 2024 Jenco Award recipients are Margaret “Peggy” Adams of Guernsey County, Robert Black of Scioto County, Holly Johnson of Adams County, Patty Summers of Mahoning County and Mike Workman of Morgan County.
For more information about the Jenco Foundation, the Jenco Awards, the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and how you can make a difference in your community, visit www.AppalachianOhio.org, email [email protected] or call 740.753.1111.
