The West Plains Waves Swim Club, joined by supporters from the Seymour and Houston swimming communities, raised more than $450 this summer for the Ozarks Healthcare Cancer Treatment Center while honoring the memory of a longtime Houston swim coach and mentor.
The fundraiser included support from Morgan McKinney, swim instructor at the Toni M. McKinney City of Houston Municipal Pool and daughter of the late Toni McKinney.
The Houston pool was named in Toni McKinney’s honor in recognition of her decades of service to the community. She began as a lifeguard in 1995 and spent nearly 30 years teaching swim lessons, coaching swim teams, training lifeguards and mentoring young athletes.
Even after being diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in 2021, McKinney remained involved with the pool and swim team.
“She was everything pool,” Morgan McKinney said. “She always knew what to say and pushed us harder than we imagined. Even while fighting cancer, she was still helping with swim team, organizing meets and training lifeguards. She never stopped.”
Inspired by her mother’s legacy, Morgan McKinney and the Houston swimming community joined the West Plains Waves’ fundraising effort for the cancer treatment center.
“Her legacy lives on through the pool, through the swimmers she taught and through the people she inspired,” McKinney said. “This fundraiser was a way to honor her while helping others who are facing cancer.”
The effort also highlighted the role local swim programs play in encouraging fitness, discipline, teamwork and perseverance among young athletes.
Kristi Sheridan, a speech-language pathologist at Ozarks Healthcare Therapies, has also been active as a coach, mentor and supporter of the Waves Swim Club. Sheridan has worked with young swimmers while encouraging community service through efforts such as the fundraiser.
“This fundraiser is a powerful example of what can happen when a community comes together with compassion and purpose,” said Terence Farrell, Ozarks Healthcare president and CEO. “These swimmers, families and supporters are helping ensure that local patients have access to exceptional cancer care close to home.”
“We are incredibly grateful to the West Plains Waves Swim Club, Morgan, Kristi and everyone who supported this fundraiser,” said Josh Reeves, Ozarks Healthcare vice president of development and advocacy. “Their generosity and desire to honor Toni’s legacy will have a meaningful impact on patients and families receiving cancer care right here in our community.”
Morgan McKinney said continuing to coach, teach swimming and manage the pool where her mother spent much of her life is one way she hopes to carry that legacy forward.
“I’m trying to look up to her,” she said. “She meant so much to so many people, and I hope to continue what she started.”
