Each month, Eagle Radio in Great Bend will recognize groups or individuals that make a big impact on our community. This Appreciation Month is highlighting volunteers.
By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
There are many similarities in the lives of Jim and Kathi
Armatys. Kathi grew up on a farm in northeast Nebraska. Jim grew up on a farm 30
miles south of Kathi in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska. Both of them have seven brothers
and sisters.
“There is a little, bitty town close to where Kathi grew up, called Raeville,
Nebraska,” said Jim Armatys. “It’s basically a Catholic church and parish hall.
They had wedding dances every Saturday. Us guys from Cedar Rapids would come up
to Raeville.”
The two would eventually get married and have three children. Jim started with
Edward Jones as a financial advisor in 1984 and left Columbus, Nebraska to open
an office in Broken Bow, Nebraska. The home office asked Jim and Kathi if they
would be interested in operating a branch in Great Bend.
“Initially, I said no,” noted Jim. “Then we took the kids out of school and came
down to Great Bend and spent the weekend. By Monday we had to make the decision
if we were going to move to Great Bend. We made the decision and here we are.”
The Armatys family settled into Great Bend in 1988.
“It was a little scary,” said Kathi. “This was the first time we had lived so
far away from our families. We found Great Bend to be a very friendly place.
Some of the people our kids met that first summer we were here, we’re still very
good friends with them.”
Kathi started as Jim’s branch office administrator at Edward Jones in Broken
Bow and continued that role in Great Bend.
“Now I am very part-time,” joked Kathi. “I would classify myself more as a
homemaker and travel planner now.”
Financial advisory made its way through the Armatys family with two of three
children working with Edward Jones. Todd Armatys works for Edward Jones in
Great Bend and their daughter Kris has an office in Goodland. Their oldest son
works for Rockwell Collins, and aerospace company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This son has a PhD in aerospace engineering and Kathi joked that oftentimes they don’t
truly know what he does.
“For a time, he didn’t tell us what he did because he deals a lot with the
military,” said Jim. “Then he figured out that we didn’t understand what he was
saying anyway so he didn’t tell us.”
Another similarity Jim and Kathi share is their passion to volunteer,
especially with Meals on Wheels through Volunteers In Action. Volunteers In
Action is sponsored by Barton Community College and encourages volunteerism in
all areas of the community as it helps non-profits build their capacity through
utilizing volunteers.
“I was in Pilot Club in the early 1990s and they encouraged us to get involved
with a volunteer project,” said Kathi. “I chose Meals on Wheels and have been
doing it ever since.”
Kathi noted she gets attached to the seniors as she sees them every week
delivering meals.
“It gives people a nutritious meal and it helps them recover at home following
surgeries,” said Kathi. "I think they like it when I bring the grandkids."
Growing up on farms, both Jim and Kathi had experience “volunteering” with
chores but their generous approach continued in each community they lived in.
“We’ve always been active in volunteering,” said Jim. “It’s a push to get out,
meet people and develop relationships. Not growing up here, volunteering was a
way to meet friends.”
Read the previous Appreciation Month stories by clicking HERE.