On August 18, 2018, Westview Elementary School sixth-grade teacher Mark Messner was honored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) and Sporting KC as the August Blue KC Sporting Samaritan.
“Mark is making an incredible impact at Westview,” said Christina Lively, Department Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Blue KC. “His desire to make a difference in the lives of students through the Westview Run Club is truly worth recognizing, and we are pleased to honor him as a Blue KC Sporting Samaritan program.”
Six years ago while serving at Westview, Messner was inspired to use his personal passion for athletics to help his students develop character skills. As an avid runner, soccer player and triathlete, he knew that there were invaluable life lessons to be learned through competition, and he wanted to help his students uncover them before they moved on from Westview. The result was the Westview Run Club: a no-cost after-school program available to all of the school’s 4th– through 6th-grade students.