Sarah Goeke

Sarah Goeke is a recent graduate from Cape Central High School, but she has been very active in her community. Sarah has served Old Town Cape as a volunteer leader of the Downtown Kids Association since spring of 2004. The purpose of the Downtown Kids Association (DKA) is to involve students and young adults in all aspects of the redevelopment of downtown Cape Girardeau so that they feel a connection with this important part of our city and continue to support the area throughout their lives. In her role as leader of DKA, Sarah is a full voting member of Old Town Cape's Board of Directors.

Sarah has also worked over the past year to complete her mission as the volunteer leader of the DKA. In doing this she has developed a youth movie night on the Common Pleas Courthouse grounds and helped organize a trivia night to raise funds for the event. More than 75 people attended the first even alone. Encouraged by this early success, she continued to find ways of improving the event so that it draws more young people and their parents to Old Town Cape. In March of 2005, Sarah was instrumental in the success of the downtown cleanup day, recruiting more than two-thirds of the total amount of the volunteers present for that event. All of the volunteers recruited by Sarah were high school students.

Sarah's enthusiasm for these projects has carried over to others who she was able to recruit for assistance when needed. These motivated members of the DKA have ensured that the program continued to grow and flourish now after Sarah has graduated from High School and begun her pursuing her college education away from Cape Girardeau.

Old Town Cape's vision is to become a community that cherishes it's past and in an economically viable district for the citizens of Cape Girardeau to live, work, and to play. This vision is supported by Sarah's work through the DKA, believing that the entire community, including youth, must support the redevelopment of downtown Cape Girardeau if its efforts are to be successful. Sarah's work also reflects Old Town Cape's mission statement; Old Town Cape preserves the historical integrity of Cape Girardeau and promotes economic development using the Main Street Four Point Approach. She does this by encouraging community youths to not only get involved with the redevelopment, but to continue to support it throughout their lives.

In addition to her work through the DKA and Old Town Cape, Sarah was and is active in Cape Central High School's choir, orchestra and drama program. She has performed vocally at many area churches and is a very visible part of the arts community in Cape Girardeau. Sarah has been a motivated member of Old Town Cape and the Downtown Kids Association. Through her time and dedication, she has shown this community great how to give back. Sarah has been a determined and enthusiastic volunteer.