Shonna Vest
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Published in USA Wrestling on November 8, 2024
by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Shonna Vest, USA Wrestling Manager of Customer Success, worked over 36 years with USA Wrestling before her passing.
The entire USA Wrestling family is deeply saddened to share the news that longtime USA Wrestling employee Shonna Vest, 63, of Colorado Springs, Colo. passed away last Friday.
Vest, who served as USA Wrestling’s Manager of Customer Success at the time of her passing, was one of the few to serve over 35 years on the USA Wrestling national staff. Shonna joined USA Wrestling in 1988 and dedicated her professional career to serving the needs of USA Wrestling members and supporting its grassroots volunteer leaders.
She served with distinction in USA Wrestling’s State Service Department. Shonna was as responsible for the growth, development and success of our organization as any employee going back to USA Wrestling’s founding.
“USA Wrestling has lost one of its true unsung heroes. Shonna Vest faithfully served the sport and organization for nearly 40 years, quietly going about her business and setting a high standard for customer service to State Chapters and the members of USA Wrestling. Shonna was a true team player, one that always gave unselfishly to the organization and her teammates. She will be sorely missed,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director.
“Shonna’s impact on our organization and me personally is immense. It’s not an accident we have been able to meet member needs from a customer support standpoint, as Shonna’s work day started before 5:00 a.m. and went until the work was done. It was no different right to the very end, and that sort of leadership in effort and output was noticed and appreciated in and out of our national office,” said Tony Black, USA Wrestling Director of State Services.
Shonna waged a courageous battle against ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), continuing to work at USA Wrestling while dealing with the debilitating affects of the illness. She worked in the office for as long as she was physically able, then continued to work remotely and help the organization to the best of her ability. She displayed incredible courage and dignity that inspired those who knew her.
Shonna arrived at USA Wrestling from the Western Slope of Colorado without a background in wrestling, but a wealth of experience in a variety of jobs. She quickly became a leader in customer service and supporting USA Wrestling’s grassroots structure.
As USA Wrestling grew and expanded, led by the development of new technology, Vest also grew to master the cutting-edge needs of her job and the organization. Not only did she learn how to do her job in a more efficient way, she also taught the volunteer and professional leaders at USA Wrestling’s state associations how to be more effective. As she grew in her job, the entire organization grew along with her.
State association leaders considered Shonna as their lifeline. Shonna not only gave them to tools to succeed, but was a personal support for them, a friend who was there whenever needed. The relationships that Shonna created with state leaders was the foundation of growth of USA Wrestling and the sport at all levels.
She was equally respected by USA Wrestling members who contacted the national office for help and information. She was dedicated to taking care of member needs, while making them feel welcome and appreciated.
Based upon her decades of work experience and service to the wrestling community, Shonna Vest was a quiet leader on the national staff, supporting her fellow employees and adding to the work environment in a positive way. She was one of the staff members who others knew they could count upon.
She agreed to come to the USA Wrestling office early, long before other employees arrived, because there were members on the East Coast who needed to be served at that time.
Shonna Vest touched the lives of a vast number of USA Wrestling members, state leaders and fellow staff members, all who were blessed to have her impact them personally. USA Wrestling sends its sincere condolence to all of Shonna’s family and friends, as well as those who knew her through the sport of wrestling.
In lieu of flowers, her family suggests that people make a contribution in her name to Compassionate Care ALC, a non-profit organization with a mission to support people diagnosed with ALS, their families, healthcare providers, and communities as they navigate the complexities, both physical and emotional, associated with the disease.
