The First National Bank of Arenzville, Jacksonville, and South Jacksonville announced last week that Concord native Katie McDannald as the recipient of the 2024 Blue Diamond Community Service Award.
McDannald is currently an administrative assistant at Lincoln Land Community College in Jacksonville. Prior to her work at LLCC, she was employed by the Jacksonville Police Department and US Bank. McDannald said she was taken by surprise with the award: “I was very surprised. I do enjoy doing things in the community, but it’s never to get recognized. So, I was very surprised when they called me and said that I had been nominated by a few friends and that I was selected. I’m very grateful but definitely surprised.”
McDannald, who founded and coordinates the annual Concord Fish Fry which is now in its 7th year, says that she wanted to provide something for the village she grew up in and help raise money for events and causes for the area: “I have said for years that Arenzville was represented with the burgoo and Chapin used to have Big Country Days and Concord hasn’t had anything in my lifetime in that they’ve done a yearly event for. I had kept saying ‘Someone needs to bring that back.’ I kind of realized that if someone needs to do it, maybe I should do it. I went to the village board and presented my idea. They said ‘That sounds great. What about a fish fry?’ I said I didn’t know much about fish but I’ll find people who do. We’ve got a great group of guys that come and cook for us every year. It’s just kind of grown from there. [The proceeds] go back into future events and we also donate to things. Several years ago, we had one of our cooks who had a son with a brain tumor, and we donated to their benefit. We’ve donated to the [Arenzville] burgoo/5K. We just have different sponsorship opportunities in the Triopia community and also into future events for the town.”
As a Triopia High School graduate, McDannald was one of the many Ken Bradbury theater students. She became the theater director for her alma mater and reorganized regular play performances at the school two years ago. She also volunteers regularly at the Green Pastures Performing Arts Camp.
Through her current career at Lincoln Land, she currently serves as an active member on the Jacksonville Promise Scholarship Committee. When she’s not assisting youth or her community, McDannald also fosters animals.
McDannald has this advice for people who may be on the fence about taking initiative in their community: “I think that you see a lot on social media ‘I wish we had this to do in this town’ or ‘This town does this. Why can’t we do this?’ and I think my advice is be that person to create that opportunity. I said for several years ‘Why doesn’t Concord have an event? Well, I’m going to make one.’ If you want to see change in your community, it starts with you. It’s really important. If you have an idea and you think that it could be successful, just go for it and do what you got to do to make it happen. I love my community. I love it here in Jacksonville. I love the Triopia community, and I’m happy to do whatever I can to see it continue to succeed. My advice really would be that you need to be the change that you want to see in your community essentially.”
McDannald adds that the cost in time and equity is made up in fulfillment of helping others in your community.