Homemakers Furniture in Urbandale recently named him a 2022 Community Champion and awarded him a $1,000 Homemakers gift card to celebrate his contributions to the museum and cultural center in Lake City.

“Thank you for going above and beyond to help strengthen your communities and make a positive impact during such a hard year,” said Homemakers Furniture in its award announcement.

McChesney was one of eight Community Champions across Iowa to win this honor for 2022.

“We are so grateful for all the great work Josh and his family have done for Central School,” said Darcy Maulsby, CSP board president. “We knew there would be tough competition for this award, which was also presented to a firefighter, a nurse caregiver and other exceptional volunteers. We are thrilled that others recognize Josh as an outstanding Community Champion, just like we do.”

-Messenger photo by Darcy Maulsby
In January 2022, Josh McChesney, and his fiancee, Presley, worked with Central School Preservation, volunteer Rhonda Hanks, left, of Lake City, to display Southern Cal High School banners inside various rooms at Central School. The tall banners, which honored the accomplishments of Southern Cal sports teams and Academic Decathlon teams, were donated by South Central Calhoun High School in Lake City.

Here’s a look behind the scenes of the application Maulsby wrote to nominate McChesney:

Question 1: What makes your nominee a community champion?

Small-town museums rarely have many young volunteers, but Josh McChesney is helping buck this trend in Lake City. Josh and his fiancee, Presley, both in their 20s, are strong supporters of Central School Preservation, a former 1884-school-turned-museum and cultural center in Lake City. They pitch in whenever there’s work to be done, and they aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, literally, doing jobs that many others shy away from, including painting.

I first connected with Josh when and he and Presley brought their two young children to the museum’s open house during Lake City’s annual Western Days town celebration. Josh seemed especially interested in the vintage photographs and other items on display at the museum. When I asked if he’d ever be interested in volunteering here, he said yes. Before he and his family left the museum, he said, “I expect you to call me.” I was surprised, but I followed up when we had a major painting project to tackle in August 2021.

We have a playground on Central School’s property, complete with three large, metal slides, a couple swing sets and a vintage merry-go-round. All were in desperate need of priming and painting. Several of our board members were willing to help paint, but we needed more assistance to get the job done. We asked some local civic groups and other potential volunteers, but they all declined.

Then I thought of Josh. Within a few minutes of me texting him, he responded with a yes. (I really appreciated this, since Josh has a full-time job at Bowie International in Lake City, plus his kids keep him busy when he’s not at work.) The entire painting project took a few weeks and multiple painting sessions totaling more than 90 hours of volunteer labor. Josh and Presley devoted many hours to helping paint the playground equipment and never complained about the August heat or the task at hand. We couldn’t have done it without them.

Josh also helps with other projects inside the museum. He’s happy to volunteer when we need someone young and strong to help climb up on ladders to hang tall banners (ones that used to hang in the high school gym honoring various sports’ teams accomplishments) for displays. Josh has also helped us create other exhibits sharing local history, from sports uniforms to prom server costumes. Josh grew up in this community, cares about CSP and is willing to contribute his time to preserve local history.

Question 2: Why does your nominee deserve to be recognized?

Josh is one of those quiet guys who doesn’t seek the limelight, but he has a heart to serve and makes our community a better place to live. He leads by example and gets the job done.

Josh also stepped up to help during a critical time in CSP’s history, although he didn’t realize this at the time. In 2019, CSP’s board president passed away after an extended illness. Later, two long-time board members retired. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, there were few new board candidates and volunteers stepping forward to help.

At one point, someone suggested it might just be time to lock the doors forever and close Central School permanently. The remaining board members disagreed and went to work, brainstorming solutions to raise more money and recruit new volunteers and board members.

Josh was a godsend to Central School at a time when we needed this support the most. We’re so grateful that he is always willing to help and gets his family involved, too. It’s fun to have this youthful energy at Central School. It motivates us and inspires us to continue finding new ways to connect with the community, especially younger generations.

Josh is the third generation of his family to support Central School. His grandparents, Harold and Bonnie McChesney of Lake City, worked and volunteered at the museum in the 1980s and 1990s. His mother, Becky, is one of Central School’s financial donors and enjoys bringing her grandchildren (Josh’s young son and daughter) to events at the museum.

Josh understands the importance of passing his values along to his children and is instilling in them a sense of family heritage and community service. He and his family are a true asset to the community.