According to Susie Kundrat, recipient of the 2024 Bell Tower of Fame Award, “getting an award means that you had a lot of people that you were fortunate enough to know who helped you along the way. No one is ever able to achieve anything on their own. It takes a lot of people to do this.”
As she accepted the award she named many of them, including her classmates in the Jefferson Community High School class of 1984.
Kundrat was recognized for her expertise in dietetics and wellness. She credited her mother Mary Kundrat, a longtime ninth grade English teacher in Jefferson, with teaching her to communicate, to be able to share her knowledge and to encourage people.
She shared memories of her teachers including second grade teacher Barb Gorman, and she said while attending fifth and sixth grade at Cooper she honed her ping pong skills and was on the dance team. “It was a fabulous place to foster positive experiences around health and wellness. That’s where it started for me,” she said.
She also named middle school English teacher Ray Dillard; Janet Adamson, who taught her to disco dance; a small protest group called Women On The Move who demanded and got more equitable learning; middle school basketball and track coach Roger Olhausen; high school coach Dave Hutchcroft; volleyball coach Teresa Green; and her coaches at Waldorf University and Minnesota State. She named high school English teacher Kristi Brushman Skoglund and Barb Baugh of the Bee & Herald for fostering her love for writing. She also credited Doug Rieder for introducing her to radio broadcasting.
She named coaches, her favorite bus driver, her mentors at Greene County Medical Center and Jefferson State Bank, and more. “As you can see, when you grow up in Jefferson, there are a whole lot of people who help you grow up and teach you,” she said.
“I’m so grateful to be standing here and receive this award. We all know Jefferson is a very special place. It’s the people who make it so. Growing up in Jefferson I always felt I had one foot firmly grounded here, which has given me confidence and support. That helped me as I worked to blend my experiences and background with my passion and expertise to carve out a career that has been a lot of fun that I think has made a difference in people’s lives,” Kundrat said.
She plans to spend the coming year on a national tour promoting her book “Eat Move Groove: Unlock the Simple Steps to Lifelong Nutrition, Fitness &Wellness,” and her lifestyle program EAT MOVE GROOVE.
The Bell Tower of Fame Award was presented during the opening ceremony of the Bell Tower Festival by Carole Custer. Festival steering committee chair Phil Heisterkamp welcomed everyone to the festival and explained the 2024 theme, Go for Gold. He said it not only notes this is an Olympic year, but was meant as an encouragement to strive for something, “to go all out, discover your passion, and go for it.”
The ceremony included a firemaking contest in lieu of a torch lighting. Jefferson city administrator Scott Peterson, county supervisor Pete Bardole, Jefferson Main Street director Matt Wetrich, festival steering committee member Tim Heisterkamp, and Susie Kundrat’s wife Audrey Vallance competed. Peterson (pictured) pulled out a last-minute win after trailing all other competitors most of the contest.
