Pottawatomie County is Good

The Monday before fall classes even started, hundreds of Oklahoma Baptist University students traded dorm move-in for yard work, cleaning, and care packages in the Shawnee community. About 450 OBU students and employees, including a large wave of incoming freshmen and transfers, took part in the university's annual Serve Shawnee event on August 24. Teams fanned out to more than 18 locations across Shawnee and the surrounding Pottawatomie County area, lending a hand at places

If you've driven by the Tecumseh High School ag building lately, you may have noticed a landscaping upgrade. And it's all thanks to the hard work of Tecumseh FFA students. Over the course of several weeks in May, students from across the agriculture program rolled up their sleeves and gave the entrance a complete makeover. Students dug up old grass, leveled the ground, built new beds and benches from scratch, and hand-picked the foliage that now welcomes visitors to the build

Sometimes good news shows up in the most unexpected way — like the back of a semi truck. That's exactly what happened this week in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, when 147 crates of squash landed at the Tecumseh Round Up Club, and the nonprofit came together to make sure none of it went to waste. The squash arrived by way of truck driver Billy Bazmore, who was hauling the load from Mexico. Walmart had ordered a different variety of squash, and when this shipment didn't match, the order w

It's the kind of small moment that could have easily gone unnoticed. But at Grove School in Shawnee, Oklahoma, one officer's simple act of kindness is getting the recognition it deserves. When a student's glasses broke during the school day, the situation could have meant a call home, a missed afternoon of clear vision, or a scramble to find a fix. Instead, Officer Harjo stepped in. On his own lunch break, he took the student's broken glasses to a local eye doctor, waited to

A Facebook post a couple of months ago was all it took to spark a wave of generosity in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Heritage Skilled Nursing & Therapy, a nursing home in Tecumseh, had shared that they were running low on birdseed — a big deal for residents who love watching the birds come by their windows each day. One local mom, Whitney Benge, saw the post and decided to act. She rallied the Tecumseh community, and together they collected an incredible 200 pounds of donated birdseed

Some of the best parts of a school day happen before the first bell ever rings, and at Horace Mann Elementary in Shawnee, Oklahoma, that's thanks in large part to Shawnee Police Sgt. Keehn. Sgt. Keehn has become a familiar and welcome face at the school, often showing up in the mornings to help greet students as they arrive. Whether he's flashing a smile, handing out high fives and knuckles, or walking alongside students during National Walk to School Day, he has a way of mak

Back to school season is in full swing across Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, and the Tecumseh community showed once again why it's one of the best places around to raise a family. Before the first bell rang this year, Mission Tecumseh hosted its 12th annual Back to School Bash, and families from all over Tecumseh turned out in a big way to kick off the school year on a high note. Doors opened at 9 am, and kids had the chance to pick out their own school supplies for the year

Two years ago, a group of women from Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Shawnee pooled their money together to buy a new mom and her young family a high-quality car seat for their new baby. The kind that swivels around, making it easy to buckle in an infant before turning them to face rearward. Today, she finished cleaning the car seat and converting it back into infant mode, preparing to pass it along to her brother, who is expecting his first baby. Always a good move to pass the

Some projects don't happen in the spotlight. They happen under the Oklahoma sun. This summer, Shawnee Middle School student Kellan Neely spent his own time giving back to Will Rogers Elementary by staining the school's picnic tables and benches. It was a scorching hot day, but Kellan stayed with the job from start to finish, determined to make sure it was done right. By the time he finished, he was absolutely drenched in sweat, but because of his hard work, Will Rogers studen

Story originally published in the August 2026 issue of Shawnee Outlook A woman at a local Shawnee care facility had just been done up with makeup and styled hair when a staff member walked in, looked at her, and joked that she didn't recognize her. The woman didn't miss a beat. "My name's Miss America," she said. She was ready for her glamour shot session. It was a small exchange, but for Kelly Brown, founder of the Rose Colored Lens Foundation, it captures exactly what she's