Blane Mundle & the Random Acts of Kindness Group in Hannibal
If you've lived in or around Hannibal for any good length of time, you have almost certainly rubbed elbows with Blane Mundle. He's been actively involved in the Hannibal school system and sports for years and now is part of a group promoting random acts of kindness in Hannibal.
Blane Mundle was kind enough to stop by for a visit and talk about some nostalgic sports experiences in Hannibal and his new group that is working to promote kindness in our communities.
Quick backstory. I grew up with Blane in Hannibal. We were one year apart in school and played baseball and football during our formulative years at the old Clemens field. He is quite literally family to me.
Blane Mundle - "The old Clemens Field. We had so much fun doing so many different things and playing baseball there. I have memory after memory after memory...my father coached me...my dad was a tremendous man...we were a very close family. Man we had some good times there, didn't we?"
Blane was a stellar quarterback for the Hannibal Pirates during the mid-80's and continued to support the school and sports program as a broadcaster for a few years afterward.
Blane Mundle - "I did...I love Pirate football. Pirate football has been a passion of mine ever since I was little growing up and talking to Brad Griffie...talking to all the great players...Kevin Payne, Scott Rampy...we've had some great players...great character people".
Blane and his wife Michelle remain active in the Hannibal community to this day and have just started a group called Random Acts of Continuing Kindness that's already done many great deeds for those in need.
Blane Mundle - "Years ago and I've coached a lot in my lifetime...I coached one that was killed in a car accident and we started a foundation. When I chose to leave Hannibal, the foundation kind of went to the wayside...Nobody's fault. When I came back, I really wanted to something for the community. The community of Hannibal has done so much for me. It's given me a great life...things you can only hope for in dreams. I really feel like our world needs a little kindness. It really traced back to my mom and dad. My mom...she loved to give back to people. When people say it's so much better to give than to receive. It's absolutely a fact."
Already the group has put money on lunch accounts at schools anonymously. They've taken meals to people. He's asking for help in identifying others who may be in need, too. If this is an effort you'd like to be a part of, you can freely join the Random Acts of Continuing Kindness group on Facebook.
Thanks to Blane and Michelle Mundle for the great work that they continue to do in the community of Hannibal. I agree that the world does need a lot more kindness and what they're doing is going a long way towards making that a reality. You can listen to our entire conversation in this week's on-demand feature in our app.