By Earl Jones
Patricia Jones has been an active volunteer since moving to Alliance to teach at the high school more than forty years ago. Since retiring from education in 2012, she and her husband Earl have become even more involved in supporting Alliance.
As a member of the Task Force on Poverty, Patricia has been writing a weekly column, trying to raise awareness about poverty in our area. Rural Nebraska has high rates of people who experience food insecurity and have trouble providing for their families’ basic needs. Her goal is to try and help people connect with agencies that are set up to help them.
When she first joined the Task Force on poverty, Patricia brought up the idea of serving a lunch to the kids of Alliance after summer school ended and there were no more meals through the USDA school lunch program. That summer the group organized a free noon meal in the city park to anyone who declared hunger. This grew into the Community Table program that continues to provide a noon meal every weekday from the Masonic Center. She has organized at least one hot meal every month, more during months when there has been a shortage of volunteers.
Humanities Nebraska has worked with Patricia twice as she co-chaired Chautauqua activities and tent shows in the city park. This involved months of pre-Chautauqua planning, including speakers, book clubs, contests, and committee work on all the behind-the-scenes activities necessary for the event to run smoothly. Patricia has used HN’s speakers bureau to line up programs for several local organizations.
From the time she moved to Alliance, Patricia has been active with the Chamber of Commerce, and she has been recognized as Chamber Volunteer of the Year. She currently serves on the legislative committee, which hosts political candidates and town halls. Political forums during election years invite candidates for the Nebraska Legislature, Alliance City Council, and the Alliance School Board to answer questions from the public.
Her work with the Chamber has included organizing the banners for Frank Thompson when he qualified for the Olympics in 2012. She served on the first Autumn on the Bricks committee, where she lined up activities for children. In 2017, Patricia was on the Eclipse committee. She contacted several scientists, astronomers, and film-makers to give programs about the projects they were working on. These programs in the Performing Arts Center were free of charge and were attended by hundreds of people from all over the United States and several other countries.
Dutch oven cooking is one of Patricia’s hobbies. She taught herself the skills when she was a Campfire leader. She continues to share her dutch-oven-baked goods for citizens of the Panhandle, providing desserts for the Carnegie Garden Walk, the Nebraska City Manager convention, even the Dawes County Fair. She and Earl have cooked dutch oven meals for auctions and fund raisers. They made 23 pies for Cruisin’ for a Cause, with donations going to Dobby’s Frontier Town.
Patricia serves on the board at Dobby’s and has cooked in dutch ovens at the Fall Festival for over twenty years. For the last two festivals she has helped Lori White and Laura Nussbaum line up musicians, vendors, and speakers for the Fall Festival.
As a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Patricia served several years as chairman of the education committee. In that position she organized Sunday school, including lining up teachers, and even writing weekly lessons when teachers didn’t find a curriculum they liked. She organized Journey to the Cross, an Easter program, for two years. Any visitors to the church services from February of 2018 until COVID stopped in-person worship received a home baked gift for her kitchen to welcome them to St. John’s.
This year Patricia was elected to a third term on the Board of Educational Service Unit #13. ESU 13 provides support to the schools in the Nebraska Panhandle, focusing on services individual schools cannot offer due to costs or expertise required. While still teaching she served two terms on the Nebraska Federal Reserve Council for Economic Education.
Patricia first moved to Alliance in the late 70’s to teach at Alliance High School. She was the DECA advisor and ran the cooperative education program where students work in local businesses. DECA activities included skate-athons for muscular dystrophy and a fashion show, with more than a dozen clothing stores in Alliance at that time. DECA students won several state and national awards and scholarships. Patricia gave up DECA when she decided to switch to teaching part-time to stay home with their children until the youngest started Kindergarten.
As a teacher, Patricia was most proud of the accomplishments of her students. At Chadron Scholastic Contest, they won gold medals in Business Law 85% of the time, and
60% in Economics. Five of the six years she was Academic Decathlon coach her teams qualified for state, winning the medium school competition once, and placing second the other four years. She worked with the FFA Marketing team, whose projects twice won at the state level and qualified for nationals.
Mock Trial was Patricia’s favorite activity. The Nebraska Bar Association created a case every year, and students would act as attorneys or witnesses, conducting trials in area courtrooms with Panhandle judges presiding. Mock Trial not only taught legal procedures, students also learned speaking and organizational skills and to think on their feet.
Patricia also loves musicals. For fifteen years she helped with the AHS musical by helping cast parts, designing sets and costumes, and running the sound.
Other nominees for person of the year include:
Helen Iossi
By Robyn Iossi, Ron Iossi and Tory McVicker
We would like to take this opportunity to nominate Helen Iossi as the 2020 Person of the Year.
Helen has lived most of her life in Box Butte County. At a young age she started helping her mother, Hazel Case, at Don’s Café. In 1955 she married Alvin Iossi which was the beginning of a 57 year marriage. Al and Helen had three children (Robyn, Ron, and Tory) who have all chosen to live in Alliance as well. Helen worked a full-time job, all while raising three kids and helping on the family farm north of Alliance. She also served on the District 42 school board and was the Spotlight 4-H club leader for 25 years.
Helen was a merchandise buyer for the LB Murphy Company for 12 years until it closed in 1984. The very next day, she began her 35 year career for KCOW/KQ106 and will retire December 31st at the age of 82. She has received numerous top sales awards and the Bob Schmitt Community Award. All culminating in the honor of having December 21st named Helen Iossi day in Alliance by Mayor Mike Dafney.
In 1987, Helen, Dave and Tory McVicker purchased the Alliance Country Club. Every night she could be found at the restaurant being the first to greet you at the door. After 20 plus years, the Alliance County Club changed to the West Side Event Center. This is when the focus switched from every night dining to special events and the home of Hazel’s Best Potato Salad. Through the years the potato salad has come to be rather famous. It even made an appearance at the Shark Tank Auditions in Omaha in 2019. Unfortunately, it never made it on the show, but it was a huge hit to the judges and other contestants at the Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Helen values the importance of supporting her community. She is a member of PEO, The Fraternal Order of the Eagles, the Alliance Chamber of Commerce, Box Butte Development Corporation, and Presbyterian Church. She was awarded as the Alliance Chamber of Commerce Business Woman of the Year, not only once, but twice. In 2013 the Helen Iossi Family was selected as the Grand Marshall of the Heritage Days Parade. Helen continues to support numerous benefits and fundraisers. She is always ready to volunteer, the first one there, and the last one to leave.
Every Sunday she can be found in the kitchen cooking dinner for her family and friends. Her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all their friends know that the coffee is always on and good food is just minutes from being served.
Helen has touched the lives of numerous people near and far though out the years. Her smile and genuine personality touched the hearts of many. Helen makes Box Butte County the best place to live!
Unsung Heroes
By Debbie Hagler
As I reflect back on the year 2020. I wonder who deserves to be named Person of the year.
Is it the one who learned a new way to educate, so all children could be reached
Or the one who made sure no one went hungry
Maybe that one who comforted and cared for the elderly and sick
Is it the one who cleaned and sanitized to keep us safe
Or the one who risk all to serve and protect
But then there are the ones who delivered food and supplies by road or rail
The one who keeps everyone informed
Maybe the one who keeps the shelves stocked by working late in to the night and back bright and early to open and service
Is it the one who delivered to your door or meet you at the curb
Or the one who works short staffed to keep the Drive thru open to service you
Is it someone who cares for the children, so others can go to work
Or maybe the one who did random acts of kindness. That made a difference in someone’s life
As I thought about it, no one person. Should be Person of the year. But a large group of tried, brave unthanked individuals. Who stepped up and went above and beyond what anyone should be expected to do.
All these individuals could be Person of the year
I would like to nominate all those individuals who are here when we need them and still fighting the battles.
We are so blessed to have so many wonderful individuals in Alliance.
That is why Alliance is
The Best Hometown in America