Key Cooperative delivers $5,000 grant to Central Iowa Outdoors Without Boundaries

A source of pride grant will help a local nonprofit and honor the memory of a longtime Newton resident.

Central Iowa Outdoors Without Boundaries will receive a $5,000 grant to purchase more adaptive equipment, which will expand their programming.

Established in 2010, Outdoors Without Boundaries organizes deer, turkey and pheasant hunts, as well as fishing outings for folks with physical limitations. The organization uses specialized equipment to move participants to and from hunting areas. Although Outdoors Without Boundaries is based in Newton, the organization supports folks throughout central Iowa.

It was an easy decision for Key Cooperative Energy Division Manager Scott Richardson to enter into the hometown pride grant program put on by their energy partner Cenex and parent company CHS. It was a way for the co-op to honor former employee, Kevin Tish, who passed away last year. He was an energy salesman for the company but he brought love of the group Outdoors Without Boundaries.

“(He was) just a wonderful individual, great employee and he had a heart of gold for that community in Newton. We just want to make sure people understand and that it was in Kevin’s honor and supporting a great cause in central Iowa,” Richardson said.

The Tish family was involved in the check presentation and they were “highly honored” to have Tish’s name attached to the grant to help an organization he had been heavily involved in.

“(They were) so touched, lots of tears. We made them feel like family and they really appreciated it,” Richardson said.

Members at Key Coop view the Outdoors Without Boundaries organization as a great organization to support as much of the staff and customers are avid outdoors enthusiasts. It was a great feeling to win a grant to help people have the opportunity to take part in these activities.

“Because of Outdoors Without Boundaries, people who might not have been able to partake in certain outdoor activities like hunting and fishing are now able to,” Richardson said. “We’re proud to support their programming, in honor of Kevin, give folks with physical limitations equal opportunity and access to the outdoors.”

The grant was provided through an initiative that encourages Cenex dealers, retailers and distributors to share stories about what makes their local communities special. In its second year, the initiative will grant more than $100,000 to Cenex communities.

The grant program has been active for three years and the group has supported many hometown pride initiatives in that time. The Outdoors Without Boundaries grant was the first to be awarded in honor of someone.

Rachel Oehlke, CHS Energy communications specialist, said when people at Key Coop submitted the grant application and included the story of Tish and the organization’s goals, it was a perfect fit for the program.

“He really valued his customers and he had a special place in his heart for this nonprofit organization,” she said. “We just thought it was a clear choice. A really great example of what it means to be proud of your community and have hometown pride.”

All of the Cenex coops and store locations are independently owned and operated and have the opportunity to enter the grant program to champion a cause in their community. Oehlke said it has done well “across the board” with much of the sales team finding fulfillment to work with customers on this level.

“People have been pretty pumped about it. Winners across the footprint have done some pretty cool things with the money, whether it’s funds to help with an event, funds to purchase equipment or I don’t know I could go on and on about it. It’s been really cool,” Oehlke said.

Contact Pam Pratt at 641-792-3121 ext. 6530 or pampratt@newtondailynews.com