Communities grow stronger when people choose to invest their time and energy in the places they call home. For Bob Pankey, that commitment has taken many forms over the years—as a pastor, coach, parent, and for the past thirteen years, a member of the Benton Grade School Board.

Pankey’s connection to Benton began long before he ever attended a school board meeting. After moving to the area as a child, he grew up attending Benton schools and graduated from Benton High School in 1992. “I’ve basically lived in the Benton area for the majority of my life.”

After high school, Pankey attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in animal science and secondary education. His early career took him into agriculture, managing a large swine farm for several years after college. But during those early years of marriage and family life, another calling began to take shape.

Pankey and his wife, Candy, became deeply involved in Whittington Church, where their faith and their commitment to community continued to grow. In 2002, he stepped into a full-time role as an associate pastor. “I’ve never really viewed a dividing line between ministry and life,” he explained. “It’s all about serving people and trying to make a positive difference.”

That mindset shaped many of his choices as his three children grew up in Benton schools. Pankey coached Little League baseball and softball, as well as youth basketball, always looking for ways to encourage young people beyond the scoreboard. “Certainly I wanted to be around my kids,” he said, “but there was always a thought in my mind about trying to be a positive influence for other kids and families too.”

In 2010, that opportunity expanded when he joined the football coaching staff at Benton High School as an assistant coach. Seven years later, he became the head football coach, balancing that role alongside his work in ministry. Coaching allowed him to build relationships with students and guide them through some of the most formative years of their lives.

His leadership would eventually expand even further through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where he served in several roles over the years, including a statewide leadership position and later a regional role overseeing ministry across five states.

Even as those responsibilities grew, Pankey’s connection to Benton remained central to his life. In 2013, community members encouraged him to consider serving on the Benton Grade School Board. When a board member stepped down mid-term, the board appointed Pankey to fill the position. He later ran for election and has continued serving since that time.

“For me, it was just another way to get involved in the community and try to serve people,” he said.

During his time on the board, the district has experienced significant growth and change. One early milestone was the construction of the school’s event center and gymnasium, a major addition that required cooperation and long-term planning. Pankey remembers the project as an example of what can happen when community leaders work together with a shared vision.

Another defining period came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools everywhere faced unprecedented challenges. Pankey recalls how Benton’s teachers, administrators, and board members worked together to guide the district through that difficult time. “Our faculty, staff, and administrators did a phenomenal job with a very difficult situation,” he said. “Everyone came together and did the very best they could for the students.”

That focus remains the heart of every conversation at the board table. “The most important question is always what’s best for our kids,” Pankey said. “That has to be the lens we look through when we make decisions.”

Today, Pankey serves as vice president of the Benton Grade School Board while also beginning a new chapter as the lead pastor at Whittington Church, a role he stepped into earlier this year after more than two decades as an associate pastor.

As he looks toward the future of Benton Grade School, he hopes the district will continue building on the same foundation that has guided it through years of change. Leadership roles will shift, new teachers and administrators will arrive, and board members will come and go. What matters most, he believes, is maintaining the same sense of purpose.

“My hope is that the focus never changes,” he said. “No matter who’s involved, the goal should always be making decisions that help our students learn, grow, and succeed.”.