News

We’re proud to share that our Executive Director, Sara McKeown White, received this year’s Dawn Banks Leadership Award at the Tin Cup Challenge Event Day.

Presented by the Community Foundation of Teton Valley, the award recognizes a nonprofit leader who uplifts the community through compassion, collaboration, and impact. It is named for Dawn Banks, a beloved local advocate known for her quiet strength, generosity, and deep care for others.

Below, Sara shares what the award means to her, and why it reflects a much bigger story of collective work and community hope:

A Note from Sara

I’ve often joked about starting a social media account called “All the Places I’ve Cried.”
Well, I can officially add Tin Cup Event Day to the list.

Because this year, I was handed the Dawn Banks Leadership Award, and all I felt was gratitude for the people who show up and make this work possible.

The award is named for Dawn Banks, a remarkable community member who led with compassion, integrity, and steady kindness. She showed up for others with generosity and love.
To be honored in her name is deeply humbling.

But truly, this award feels like it belongs to all of us.

Because leadership in this work doesn’t happen alone, it’s rooted in community, in shared hope, steady effort, and the everyday choice to keep showing up for one another.

And I’m so proud of what we’ve built together at the Coalition:

• A Community Counseling Fund that removes cost as a barrier to care

• Emotional First Aid Kits that offer visibility, comfort, and support in hard moments

• Mental health trainings that empower everyday people to respond with skill and confidence when someone is struggling

These efforts, and the broader culture shift they represent, only exist because people in this valley believe mental health is a shared value. Because they volunteer, give, partner, speak up, attend events, and check in on one another.

So thank you. To my team, our board, our partners, and every person who helps carry this mission forward.

This award is a reminder of what’s possible when a community shows up for mental health.

🎥Watch the Moment

If you missed it, you can watch my short acceptance speech here. Or read the full speech below:

Dawn Banks Leadership Award Acceptance Speech

Tin Cup Event Day 2025

I feel like I just won a Nonprofit Oscar—except I’m surrounded by people in running shoes and there’s no music to cut me off. So y’all better get ready for a long speech.

I met Dawn, who this award is named after, about ten years ago at Mimi’s Place, a now-defunct daycare.
Our kids are about the same age.
She was usually walking out the door—calm, put together, and smiling—while I was rushing in, completely disheveled from wrestling just one infant into a onesie.

But even in those brief moments, I noticed how kind she was.
To me. To the staff. To the kids.
We usually only exchanged a quick “How are you?”
But even then, Dawn radiated poise.

I remember thinking:
“Wow. She’s got it together. She’s got a grown-up job. She’s never running late. I wanna be like her when I grow up.”

So to be standing here today, receiving an award in her honor?
It feels… surreal.

Even though I’ve been with the Mental Health Coalition in one form or another for 14 years—long before we were even our own nonprofit (thank you, HAPI Trails, for being our fiscal sponsor! And our founder, Adam Williamson, for seeing a need and taking action)—
I never imagined being an Executive Director.
I didn’t even really know what that meant—I literally googled “What does an Executive Director do?” on my first day.
(The answer did not include half of what we actually do.)

Luckily, I found a wonderful community of nonprofit leaders who didn’t just tolerate my questions—
they welcomed them.

Thank you, Emily, Sue, and Alex.
Your encouragement, wisdom, and steady support have been a lifeline.
The collaboration our organizations share is rare and precious. We are truly better together.

To my incredible staff—
Especially my right-hand woman, Faith, who has stuck with me and this organization through many growing pains—
And Madison, who patiently answers all my “Hey Madison, will you’s…”
Thank you for walking beside me—and for helping me grow into this role.
I hope I’ve done right by you and that I’ve practiced the wellness we preach to others.

Since finding out about this award, I’ve joked there really should be one for partners of Executive Directors—
because I’ve seen a lot of y’all get “voluntold” for things and willingly show up.

So thank you to my family, D—and especially my partner Tinny, also known as my husband Brian—
for rolling with the odd hours, the “just one more email” nights, and everything this job brings—even the parts I can’t talk about.

Nonprofits ask a lot of us—of our time, our hearts, and our families.
But it’s also the most meaningful job I could ever imagine doing.

That’s why this recognition means so much.
Because I care deeply—about this mission, and about this community.
To be honored for that is incredibly humbling.

Thank you, Community Foundation, for your steady support of the nonprofit world—
for believing in care as a form of leadership, and for lifting up those of us doing this work day after day.

Now, if you’re a new or future ED—
or just someone who’s had to write a grant, fix the printer, and plunge a toilet before lunch—
in the spirit of passing the baton—or the passwords spreadsheet—
here are five things I wish someone had told me sooner.

These aren’t rules.
Just things I’ve learned the hard way:

1. You can’t know it all OR do it all.
   “I’m not sure.” “I don’t know.” “Let me get back to you.” — all perfectly reasonable answers.
   Even if you do know—because they buy you time to think.
   “I’m done for today” is also acceptable.
   As one ED once told me: “Sara, you’re not saving babies. Go home.”
   I promise—it will all still be there in the morning… and the next one… and the one after that.
   You’ll be able to handle it better when you’re rested. So just go home. And don’t take your work computer or phone with you.
2. Find a good support network—and meet with them regularly.
   Not a “this could’ve been an email” meeting.
   I mean a real-talk, someone-might-cry, you-leave-feeling-better kind of meeting.
3. Stay connected to the joy of your mission.
   A lot of the work we do is heavy.
   But there are moments of joy—notice them, celebrate them, remember them.
   They’ll carry you through the hard parts.
4. “No.” is a complete sentence.
   You probably aren’t using it enough. Start.
5. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and have completely different skillsets.
   Yes, it will be infuriating sometimes.
   And it will also make you—and your organization—so much better.

 

I work in mental health at a time when we’re facing a mental health crisis.
One in five people has a mental health condition.
Nearly half of us—46%—will meet the criteria for one at some point in our lives.
And we live in a state located in the suicide belt,
which means we’re ranked among the top ten in the nation for suicide death rates.

Someone asked me recently why I don’t get overwhelmed by all that.
What keeps me grounded is my belief in care.

Care matters.
Kindness matters.
Connection matters.

And on a day like today—where thousands of people have shown up early on a Saturday to walk, run, cheer, and give back—
it shows just how much care already lives in this community—
and how important it is that we keep building on it.

That’s why this moment—and your presence—mean so much.

Thank you.
For seeing me.
For believing in this work.
And for standing with us.

Let’s keep building a Teton Valley where no one struggles alone…
Because we show up for each other. Again. And again.
Just like I know Dawn did.
Just like we are today.
And just like we’ll keep doing—together.

Help Us Keep the Momentum Going

This recognition shines a light on what we can accomplish when we show up for mental health together.

Support our work through the Tin Cup Challenge.
Every gift helps build a more connected, compassionate Teton Valley.

👉 Give here