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Mission: Service — Nebraska veteran is an award-winning volunteer who also served the country for 30 years

Rhonda McClellan served in the Nebraska Air National Guard and continues to give back
Posted at 7:47 PM, Nov 29, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-29 20:47:05-05

LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — Rhonda McClellan is always looking to give, which she does every week by volunteering at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.

It’s one of many places she volunteers her time and efforts.

“She does a lot,” Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Chaplain Jeff Gerdes said.

Her desire to give started with her time serving our country in the Nebraska Air National Guard.

“I enlisted as a firefighter and, after my first enlistment, I joined the chaplain corp. My last assignment was a liaison to USAFE-AF Africa,” McClellan said.

A military career that spanned 30 years and impacted the nation.

“That was all I was focused on doing — trying to help the military through their difficult times,” she said. “What can I do to make their life better, make their life easier, to help them help the people.”

Her volunteer services at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital began five years ago when she was driving by the hospital.

“And it was Veterans Day. I thought, ‘You know, I need to visit some veterans.’ So, I stopped in and met Marla who is the volunteer coordinator.”

She turned in the paperwork the next day and has been there since.

“What I get out of it is a sense that I’m a part of the community, and I’m able to help people that are in a difficult place and help them see that there is hope,” McClellan said.

But this wasn’t her first stint at Madonna. That came in 2009.

“I was t-boned and I had to learn to walk again because my pelvis was fractured.”

Her time rehabbing at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital as a patient gives her a perspective that most don’t have.

“You may not be at the same 100%, but now you’re at your new 100%, and you can still function and be a vital person to society,” she said.

It also allows her to make more of an impact when she visits patients and transports them to church services.

“Not just being positive but being genuine, having a connection with people to get to know them well enough to support them in their struggle,” Gerdes said. “She can point out the things that motivate them, inspire them, and affirm them in their path of recovery.”

Service to others — it's engrained in Rhonda's DNA.

“She knows that her life is not her own. She exists in community, in family and relationships with others and seeks to make a difference in the lives of others and to serve them,” Gerdes said.

“And that’s really what I believe we should do - always be able to look for ways that we can help others in whatever capacity,” McClellan said.

Rhonda was recognized for her service to the community in October when she won the Veteran Award at Serve Nebraska's 2022 Step Forward Awards.

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