She was married when she was merely a senior in high school, and later became a teenage mother, twice. Today, Sharon Kissinger is a respected financial planner, business owner, benefactor, and the 2018 Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.
"I just love this community and how good everybody has been to me," Kissinger said after the ceremony. "I'm speechless. When Erik (Kirkman) started describing me, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, he's talking about me.'"
Kissinger knows what it means to overcome obstacles, according to her son-and-law and business partner Erick Kirkman. Kissinger, he said, started college when her youngest daughter, Martha Kirkman, started kindergarten. Despite finding success in her field and with her family, Kirkman said Kissinger has quietly poured money and time into others, "as others poured into her when she was a young, scared teenage mother."
"The families and groups benefiting from her generosity could go on (and on), except most of these situations, no one would ever know about because she would never toot her own horn," Kirkman said. "I only know because I'm her son-and-law, I work with her, I see her schedule, and I know... She has never forgotten where she came from."
Kissinger visits the girls at Sierra Osage Treatment Center every Tuesday morning before heading to work at Kissinger and Kirkman Investment in Poplar Bluff. She has done this for years, Kirkman said. Through her weekly visits, Kissinger establishes bonds with the disadvantaged young women, and serves as a figure they can lean on.
"She has attended graduations, baptisms, and even attended family funerals for these young ladies because they continue to reach out to her as their mentor, spiritual leader, as well as a motherly, or grandmotherly, figure," Kirkman said. "Sharon regularly hosts these girls in her home and gives gifts that she knows no one else in their lives would take the time or money to give."
Kirkman said many of the young women passing through the Sierra Osage facility have been saved and baptized because of Kissinger's outreach.
"I tell the girls at Sierra that I come there, not to be their judge, but to introduce them to my friend, who is Jesus," Kissinger said. "If I can help them, that's important."
Kirkman said Kissinger is, also, a Sunday school teacher, committee leader, and has served many other roles at Fellowship General Baptist Church since the 1980s when she moved to Poplar Bluff from central Missouri.
She is a charter member of the Women Aware organization, which is in it's 31st year. Kissinger has given to charitable causes and missionaries, paid for funerals and purchased vehicles for folks who couldn't have afforded them otherwise. Kirkman said she has purchased groceries, paid camp dues for children, and has provided "presents for more families in need than we'll ever know."
Another member of the community, John Fuller, received recognition last night as the 2018 Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year.
Chamber of Commerce President Steve Halter said Fuller was chosen because of his dedication and involvement in many community and chamber projects.