Meet the Crew: Sean & Angela Mendell, volunteers

Sean and Angela Mendell are pictured with Adventure Crew Executive Director Libby Hunter.

At Summits & Horizons last month, we presented Sean and Angela Mendell with this year's Vanguard Award. Adventure Crew's highest distinction, the award is given to a community member (or members) who exemplifies our mission and values. 

The Mendells both grew up loving the outdoors. Angela experienced it in several different regions: Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Virginia and Utah. Sean spent his childhood in Campbell County.

"You could always find me in the woods with my younger brother, exploring trails or following a creek bed to see where it came out," he said. "We didn’t have cable TV, but we did have 40 acres to play on, and growing up with horses was always … well, always interesting. We’d pack a lunch, ride our horses a few miles down the road to A.J. Jolly Park and spend the day fishing."

In fact, the outdoors is what brought the couple together. They met as camp counselors at YMCA Camp Ernst. It's where Sean ultimately proposed.

"I asked the ranch director if I could borrow two horses for 'a short' ride, and she knew exactly what I was planning," he said.

Today, they live on a small farm (yes, with horses!) in Burlington

"The farm isn’t glamorous, but we live in a great little farming community where everybody helps each other out, and I’ve learned a lot from each neighbor," Sean said. "They taught us about planting raspberries, sporing shiitake mushrooms and so many other random farm things. The community is what makes it so special." 

They both cite their time working with kids outdoors there as a big part of what drew them to Adventure Crew's community.

"As a former counselor at YMCA Camp Ernst, I’ve seen the transformations that happen when kids get the chance to experience the outdoors," Sean said. "They gain new skills, make new friends and find out they’re capable of way more than they ever thought. I saw that at camp, and I see it with the Crew kids."

Angela's background also includes clinical research and working in the STEAM science space; she's currently Program Manager for CCTST – Collaboration and Team Science at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

"My work consists of working with science teams, helping them work together and better understand each other. I do a lot of education around teams and leadership," she said.

But she came to Adventure Crew through her volunteer position as Lieutenant for Boone County Water Rescue (BCWR), where she's been volunteering for about a dozen years.

"We do a lot of safety patrols on the river, search for and recover things lost under the water using our Sonar Statesman and dive team," she said. (That volunteer role was a natural extension of volunteering in emergency services, which she started more than 25 years ago when she got her EMT certification and began volunteering on the ambulance at Erlanger Fire Department.)  

Volunteering with BWCR meant she served on safety patrols for Ohio River Paddlefest and the Great Ohio River Swim. One year, Sean heard about a need for volunteer safety paddlers at the event, and he thought it would be fun to work an event with his other half. 

"After paddling with the Crew kids during Paddlefest and hearing about the adventures they’ve gone on through this program, I wanted to keep helping out," he said. "I grew up exploring the outdoors, and I know how lucky I was to have those experiences. Adventure Crew is giving kids that same opportunity."

Sean, whose varied career path has included marketing, aviation and owning a small businesses, started volunteering with the Crew before eventually becoming a program partner through his current role as assistant director for the Behringer-Crawford Museum. Not only did he propose having the museum be part of the April Explorer programs at Devou Park, but he also jumped in to help lead our Juneteenth Paddle, serving as a safety paddler and a historical interpreter along the Licking River.

One of his favorite stories from volunteering with us happened right on the Crew's new campus while he was assisting with a mini skills course.

"A kid from the neighborhood, maybe with his older brother, wandered up and asked what we were doing," Sean said. "I told him about the program, and you could see his eyes light up. When I said it was free and that he should ask his school counselor about it, he was so excited. For me that was priceless and why creating these kind opportunities is so important."

And there's another reason they like being part of the Crew.

The people are awesome!" Angela said. "You all rock!"

Back at you, Angela and Sean! We're so glad you're part of our Crew!