Sandy Vogel Honored as Gold Rose Award Recipient

On Wednesday, September 18, Sandy Vogel was honored as the Junior League of Topeka’s 2024 Gold Rose Award recipient.

The Gold Rose Award honors a Sustaining Member of the Junior League of Topeka for their ongoing positive impact in our community. Started in 1971, it is the most prestigious award given by The Junior League of Topeka to recognize a member who has used their League training and experience to contribute to the betterment of the Topeka Community.

Sandy joined the Junior League of Topeka in 1980. During her time in League she served as President, Vice President, and chair of the Grantsmanship and Community Project Committees. She considers her proudest Junior League contribution to be as one of the initiators of The Topeka Community Foundation which she served as a board member for six years.

Through her years in Topeka, she chaired the Every Woman’s Resource Center and chaired the Showhouse lunchroom for three years, served as Vice President of the YWCA and chaired the YW building addition committee in 1984. She chaired the committee that initiated the YWCA’s Women’s Leadership Luncheon which continues today as an annual event. She was a Whitson Elementary School volunteer for many years. In 2001 she chaired the capital campaign to renovate a new facility for Let’s Help, Inc., of Topeka.

Sandy currently volunteers for the Mobile Access Unit of the Topeka Rescue Mission, serves as a Stephen Ministry Leader at Topeka First United Methodist Church, and she mentors women at the Topeka Correctional Facility for six months to a year before their release date and for a year afterward. She also serves as vice president and social chairperson for the McFarland Farm Villas Home Owners Association.

After beginning seminary in 1994, Sandy served as chaplain at Topeka State Hospital and pastor of Grantville, Shawnee Heights and Topeka First United Methodist churches. For three of those years, she chaired the Commission for New Church Development for Eastern Kansas and led stewardship workshops for several church finance committees in northeast Kansas.

She and her husband Stan moved to Topeka 46 years ago and have been married for 55 years. They have two sons, David who lives in Denver with his wife and son and daughter, and Byron who is in Shawnee with his wife and two sons.