GU team develops activities for Lincoln Siebert memorial event

Published: July 10, 2023

Author: Dave Bell

As a Greenville University student, Lincoln Siebert was known as a person who would do anything to help someone in need. But then, on May 24, 2020 – just three years after graduating from GU with a business management degree – Siebert was killed in a single-vehicle automobile accident just outside of Greenville.

To keep his memory alive, a foundation named “Live Like Lincoln” was formed by Michael Turley, owner of The Milk House, where Lincoln had worked since graduation. Helping that foundation was the focus of one of the teams in this spring’s Experiential Learning curriculum at GU. The team and their coach, Missy Durbin, worked throughout the semester to plan activities for the foundation’s annual Lincoln Siebert Memorial Tractor Drive and Cookout on Memorial Day weekend. Team members presented their event plan on GU’s Common Day of Learning on April 25 (pictured below).

Advising the team was Cara Thiems, president of the Live Like Lincoln Foundation Board. She was a friend of Siebert and helped guide team members as they planned the events.

Team members (pictured from left to right in the photo below) were Austin Ricketts, Jarred Johnson, Jackie Belzer, Tanner Gerdes, Abby Webster, Jason Dossett, and team coach Missy Durbin. Their objective was to enhance the foundation’s annual event by planning three family-friendly activities: a water balloon toss, an egg relay race, and a cast iron skillet toss. The team also designed and printed a T-shirt promoting the event.

In the process of doing the project, group members said they learned about Siebert and the character qualities he embodied.

“We were told so many stories about Lincoln during our research,” said team member Jason Dossett during the group’s presentation. “He demonstrated many Christ-like qualities, and we wanted to reflect his faith and family values in the activities we planned. We also wanted to encourage people to serve others like Lincoln did.”

Team member Jarred Johnson added: “We wanted to do this project well because it was clear that Lincoln meant so much to so many people. Our goal was to create ag-related events that would add to the experience of the tractor drive, let the public know who Lincoln was, and bring awareness to the foundation.”