Last March, Beverly Triplett chaperoned 16 students from the Thomas Jefferson High School Key Club who attended the Key Club Pacific Northwest District Conference at the Seattle Convention Center, an event that attracted 2,000 high school students interested in growing their leadership skills.

It was an experience she won’t forget.

“Kids in high school are amazing,” Triplett said. “You see those 2,000 kids jumping and screaming, dressed up and clean cut, behaving themselves – it was an encouraging weekend.”

Triplett, now retired, is an active member of the Greater Federal Way Kiwanis Club, along with her husband Wayne, and has served as the adviser of the Key Club at Thomas Jefferson for seven years.

Five years ago Triplett founded the Builders Club at Totem Middle School – a feeder school to Thomas Jefferson. The Builders Club teaches sixth, seventh and eighth graders leadership skills and ways they can be leaders in their community.

But Triplett’s involvement with youth doesn’t stop there. She has also read to elementary youth as part of the Kiwanis Club’s Read around the World program at Star Lake Elementary School. She has helped in handing out free dictionaries to third grade students at Mark Twain and Star Lake elementary schools. And she also has celebrated with students in grade schools when they raise their grade and receive a congratulatory certificate from the Kiwanis.

Triplett volunteers at the Federal Way Food Bank where she comes in contact with many children and families. She said she makes sure to connect with them and make them feel welcome. She gives children an opportunity to draw and be creative.

Wayne Triplett said his wife gives families a break if they come in lacking a piece of information required by them to receive service.

“She makes a connection with the family,” he said. “Bev is not a stickler to the rules.”

Beverly Triplett grew up in Kansas City, Mo. Some of her upbringing was spent with her grandparents on their farm, north of Kansas City.

“When I was growing up we didn’t have a lot of money, but we helped a lot of people,” she said. She remembers her girlfriend in elementary school whose family helped another student from a poor family. Triplett said her girlfriend’s family helped the student wash her hair so she was presentable at school and housed her when she needed a place to stay.

Triplett said she has held onto that experience her whole life. It’s remarkable, she said, how a small thing you do to help someone can go a long way. One of Triplett’s passions is handing out free dictionaries to third grade students.

“Their eyes light up because some of these kids have never had a book of their own,” she said. “They hold the book close to their chest. It brings tears to my eyes to see them so happy.”

For her dedication to children and education, Triplett has received Kiwanian of the Year four times and has also received Everyday Hero awards from the club.