Written by Lucie Krisman | May 15, 2026 | Causes & Community | Johnson County Post
Stann Tate’s love of libraries started with childhood trips to the stacks — and one memorable college night. Decades later, he’s become one of Johnson County Library‘s most dedicated volunteers. When people think of libraries, they tend to think of quiet rooms and shelves of books. One certainly doesn’t expect to push open the doors and hear the lively sounds of a party inside.
But after midnight one night in college, Stann and his friends made an exception to that. Roughly half an hour before the lights clicked off at their school’s library at Ohio University, Tate and his friends slipped into the library, backpacks full of beers and cameras in tow.
After midnight, when the library closed, Tate and his friends stayed behind, pulling a different kind of all-nighter — one that involved partying instead of studying.
Now a Leawood resident, the memory has become something of an origin story for what Tate does now in his home of Johnson County. Only this time, as he puts it, the party is “for good.”
Today, Tate is a longtime Johnson County Library volunteer who has played a large role in making the library’s annual Library Lets Loose fundraising event happen. It’s these types of efforts that earned Tate an “Above and Beyond Volunteer” distinction from the library this spring.
Tate helps put on library’s “signature” fundraiser
Tate’s involvement with the library officially began in 2017, when he was hired as a DJ for the Library Lets Loose fundraising event that year.
The concept — an after-hours party inside the library — felt instantly familiar.
“This time I’ve kind of come full circle, because now I’m legally having a party in the library,” he joked.
That experience ultimately paid off. What began as a DJing gig quickly turned into something deeper, as Tate became a bigger part of the brains behind the event.
He began lending his ideas and efforts by joining the library’s volunteer committee, working with staff members and foundation leaders.
“I just kept coming up with ideas,” he said. “I (thought), this is even more fun than just being the DJ at the event, because you get to shape the event, and you get to help plan the party and plan entertainment.”
Today, the annual fundraiser has grown into what Tate calls the library’s “signature” fundraiser, drawing community partners and volunteers of all ages. Last year, Library Lets Loose raised more than $140,000 to go toward buying more books to put on library branch shelves.
In April, Tate received the “Above and Beyond Volunteer” distinction at this spring’s Johnson County Library Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon.
“This is the first time I’ve ever received an award for my volunteer work, and honestly, I was tickled,” he said. “I was so happy to be thought of in that way.”
Tate’s connection to libraries goes back to his earliest years
Tate’s love for libraries began long before he moved to the Kansas City area 32 years ago, and long before that late-night adventure in college.
When he was growing up in Ohio, he and his mother made regular trips to their local library. He recalls wearing out their copy of his favorite book, “Curious George”, and being in awe at only 6 years old that he could check out records, too.
Those early experiences, he said, helped shape the way he sees public libraries today. From what’s on the shelves to what goes on inside the library’s walls (whether that’s educational programs, art events or voter registration and polling), he sees the library as a sort of central nervous system for the community.
“I call them the hub of our community,” Tate said. “The library is a place that you can go to gain information, and you can be a part of so many different organizations and learn so many different things from the different programs that we have at the library.”
Tate also mentors the next generation
The library isn’t where Tate’s volunteer efforts end. In addition to serving on boards for organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Leawood Arts Council, he also mentors kids in the Kansas City metro.
For nearly nine years, he has volunteered with nonprofit C You in the Major Leagues’ mentoring and leadership program, which was founded by former Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore in 2014.
Through that program, Tate has mentored three students so far. He’s watched one graduate from college, and another is on track to finish at the University of Central Missouri next year.
His current mentee, Dakota Thompson, is a senior at William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri. He’ll attend Baker University in the fall.
Throughout his time as a mentor, Tate said, he’s tried to impart the types of lessons and be the kind of mentor he would have wanted to have at their age.
That means everything from teaching them about financial investments to effective communication skills (eye contact, a firm handshake, asking thoughtful questions) that he worries can get lost in a world of screens.
“I did not have a mentor growing up as a teen, I didn’t even have a mentor in my 20s or 30s,” he said. “It wasn’t until probably in my 40s that I realized the importance of mentorship.”
Now Tate sees mentorship as something that can last a lifetime, both for the mentor and the mentee.
“It’s always good to have someone else to just bounce an idea off of other than your parents or guardians,” he said. “I think, you know, being a mentor and even being a mentee is something you should do your entire life. It’s being able to again, share information, best practices, pass along experience and wisdom to another person.”
View the original article. This story is part of Johnson County Post‘s series “Helping Hands”, which aims to spotlight Johnson Countians doing good in the background of their community. If you have an idea for someone to spotlight in a future “Helping Hands” story, email them at [email protected].