Topeka Business Hall of Fame | Marsha Sheahan

Photo by JOHN BURNS

Marsha Sheahan has served the Topeka community for as long as she can remember, spending the majority of her career (35 years) acting as vice president of public relations for the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce. During this time, she over-saw the marketing, publications, website development, special events, and leadership programs for the Topeka Chamber.

While her marketing and storytelling skills enabled her to excel at her job, it was her forward-thinking approach to business and community partnerships that helped set the stage for growth in Topeka.

MAKING THE CONNECTION

The daughter of a business owner, Marsha saw firsthand the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship. She watched her father, who owned Martin Lumber, maneuver the complexities of inventory, marketing, staffing, record keeping and compliance.

“He wouldn’t let me get near the place, though,” Marsha said with a laugh. “He thought it was too male-oriented with bad language and other behaviors he didn’t want me exposed to.”

The daughter of a homemaker, Marsha also witnessed the importance of volunteering in the community and taking care of those less fortunate. She grew up in a close-knit neighborhood where the mothers taught them more than just valuable life skills.

“Our moms taught us those skills you don’t see so much today how to cook, how to maintain a well-run household, how to play Bridge, and the art of community organizing,” Marsha said.

Every summer, the kids in the neighborhood would put on a community carnival, complete with carnival games and food. After the work was over and the money was counted, one of the moms would take them down to Let’s Help, where they would donate every last cent.

BEGINNING THE STORY

Marsha’s love for storytelling began early. While still in middle school, she helped publish a neighborhood newspaper. She and some friends interviewed people throughout the neighborhood about topics relevant to those within the small community and even sold advertising to cover the cost of printing and distribution. At Topeka High, she was involved with student government and was co-editor of The World newspaper, and at Kansas State University, she worked on the Royal Purple yearbook staff while earning her home economics and journalism degree.

“My dream job was to write for a magazine, but there were no writing jobs available in 1971, especially for women,” Marsha said.

While it wasn’t the magazine writing job she initially hoped for, Marsha spent seven years as special project editor for The Menninger Foundation before joining the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce in 1979.

As part of her early public relations duties, Marsha was tasked with helping drive support for three key initiatives that leadership felt was essential for long term growth: establishing a community foundation, building a municipal airport and strengthening the reputation of Topeka as place to live and work.

BUILDING CONSENSUS

She set to work, enlisting the help of fellow Junior League members Barb Haney, Janet Kerr and Sandy Vogel. Junior League of Topeka provided funding for them to attend a grant making seminar in Nebraska, where the concept of a community foundation began to take shape.

Marsha credits Junior League with giving her the confidence— through resources, training and mentorship to build the community consensus required for the Topeka Community Foundation to become a reality. Armed with a $10K grant from Junior League to plant the seeds of the foundation, Marsha was determined to find the support to help it take root.

“We [Junior League] had a lot of great ideas and the time and the drive and the knowledge to do the work needed to set up a community foundation. But we were women, young women, which meant we didn’t have the clout we needed for business leaders to take us seriously.”

So, the group found the clout, enlisting the help of community leaders such as John Stauffer, Philip Elwood, Bal Jeffrey and Carolyn Alexander, and three years later, in 1983, the Topeka Community Foundation was established.

Today, the Topeka Community Foundation has nearly $100 million in assets and manages almost 400 funds established by businesses, non- profit organizations, families and individuals.

FOSTERING LEADERSHIP

During that same period, the Chamber discovered itself in a leadership void as it underwent a shift from the influence of major CEOs to more of a grassroots approach to leadership and struggled to find a more diverse board. Marsha played an instrumental role in helping found Leadership Greater Topeka in 1984.

“I was behind the scenes,” Marsha said, “but always pushing to help Topeka grow as a healthy, well-rounded community that wasn’t one-faceted.”

To achieve that growth, Leadership Greater Topeka sought to teach class members confidence and an understanding of their own skills to help them give back to the community and build consensus on a plan for the future. While that mission has stayed the same, Leadership Greater Topeka has shifted its focus from “know your city” to “how to be a good board member” to “how to solve community challenges and problems.”

With the help of mentor Maureen “Twink” Lynch, Marsha devised a curriculum that delved into boardsmanship, strategic planning, building consensus and discovering root causes.

“I am really proud of that,” Marsha said. “People who go through the program today are now viewed as community resources.”

PUSHING IDEAS FORWARD

Once again working behind the scenes to facilitate change, Marsha found herself using her connections to help bring people to the table during the Heartland Visioning process. Those leaders who had participated in the leadership program were now sitting at the table to help build consensus for a growth plan for Topeka. Those people brought diversity of thought and represented a community approach to the process.

“Leadership in a community is everyone’s responsibility, not just on the shoulders of a select few,” Marsha said. “The world is different. We can’t do things today the way they were done even 10 years ago.”

For Marsha, leadership means finding shared experiences. “All people have similar experiences in life,” Marsha said. “They just experience them differently.”

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY

Marsha views herself as a community builder, someone who helps those outside looking in to develop the skills and confidence to speak up and ask for a seat at the table.

Crediting a strong mother who taught her the value of helping others, Marsha says she experiences almost a maternal sentiment when she watches someone come through the leadership program, obtain the knowledge and skills to maximize their aptitudes, and then be recognized for it.

“I swell with pride knowing I influenced that. I didn’t do it for them, but I gave them a subtle push to follow their own dream and the resources to experience personal and professional growth,” Marsha said.

Marsha is excited to see Topeka move forward with ideas that have been decades in the making. She believes the Greater Topeka Partnership, GO Topeka, Topeka Chamber and Forge, have all made huge strides in the past few years because they are embracing different ideas about what makes a strong and vibrant community.

“It isn’t enough for businesses and individuals to make charitable contributions and donations,” Marsha said. “A strong community doesn’t just happen because a few people want it to. It takes involvement from everyone.”

ENJOYING THE VIEW

Although she is retired and enjoying more personal time, often with her three adult children and their families, Marsha still finds herself mentoring and connecting people with resources. Just recently, while getting her hair cut, she discovered that her stylist wanted to grow her business but didn’t know how to make that happen. Marsha suggested she meet with Glenda Washington at GO Topeka to learn more about available resources to make that dream come true.

Marsha and her husband, Bill, who once served as a commissioner of streets and public improvements for the city, and then owned his own architectural firm, celebrated 50 years of marriage last May. Remember that close-knit community she grew up in? He grew up there as well. They have known each other their entire lives. When she was in college, they happened to go out for a beer, then another one. And thanks to their mothers, who already had the church reserved before he proposed, more than 50 years later, they are still going out for a beer.

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