Through her work with the TeamMates program and numerous other projects involving youth and the community, Sertoma Clubs of Beatrice awarded the Beatrice Service to Mankind award to Joni Bruhn.
The presentation was made at a banquet Friday evening in Beatrice. The Service to Mankind Award is based on the amount of volunteer service that a person gives to the community, state or nation. It is based on the need for the service they provided, if they had to develop a new program or service or the uniqueness of the program or service.
When Tom and Nancy Osbome formed the TeamMates mentoring program, a local group was formed. After eight years of struggling, organizers were at a point of making the program work or shutting it down. Under the direction of Bruhn, who serves as a mentor to a middle school girl, the program has taken off and has gone from one mentor match to more than 20. Bruhn was recently selected by the TeamMates program as coordinator of the year.
Bruhn also has served on the Mother-to-Mother Ministry Board of Directors and is currently delivering Meals on Wheels.
Bruhn is active with youth projects, serving in various booster clubs making signs as well as helping raise funds. She along with others helped build a concession stand at the YMCA. She is active with her daughter's softball team and helps with anything that needs to be done. She has organized ball teams and set up tournaments for Zion Youth east of Beatrice to raise funds for their program.
She has coached and served as a referee for a large number of youth programs in Beatrice, especially volleyball.
She is an active member at the adult level in Orange Boosters at Beatrice High School.
When sports tournaments are scheduled at various places on Sunday mornings, she holds a service and prayers with those who wish to attend.
She has opened her home to people coming to Beatrice to perform at the Hevelone Center for overnight stays.
Bruhn is director of Youth and Family at St. John Lutheran Church. For 12 years prior to that, she also wore the hat of director of education (200-250 youths).
She leads the local Homestead Cluster Task Force to organize the Lutheran Campus Ministry at Southeast Community College and recently was appointed to serve on the Nebraska Synod LCM board.
She leads the high school “mission trips,” including one to Denver last year and one to the ELCA National Youth Gathering in San Antonio. She led a group to Texas to assist a Catholic church to broaden interfaith relationships and to shingle a house and clean brick for the church sign.
She also assisted in the planning and promotion to get 200 youths from the Midwest to rehabilitate a home in Thunder Bay, Canada.
Bruhn serves on the boards of Lutheran Youth of Nebraska and Camp Carol Joy Holling and was appointed by the bishop to work with young people interested in going to seminary .
Bruhn graduated from Dawson-Verdon High School. She attended Fairbury Junior College and Northwest Missouri State University and graduated from Peru State College. She played volleyball for all of these colleges.
Bruhn is also known as the community pie baker - she chooses people at random to deliver pies to - especially if they have had a bad day.