Former Great Bend resident Marla Mingenback Sheiner has a newly published book entitled “McCain’s Navy* Class of ’82: A Leadership Field Guide from John McCain’s First Congressional Campaign.” It was published on Authorhouse and is available on Amazon and will soon be available on Audible.
A resident of Phoenix, Ariz., Sheiner graduated from Great Bend High School in 1974. She recently retired after a 50-year career in mass communications, including as press secretary to John McCain from 1981-84. In the introduction to her book, she said she fondly reminisces how her formative years as a Kansan were influenced “by the local newspapers, the weather and the political climate then.”
“The 91-page book is a memoir based on my years as press secretary to the late U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John McCain during his first campaign,” she said. “It weaves entertaining short stories based on the Navy’s 11 leadership principles that he imbued in our staff and our start-up culture. All relevant today from boardrooms to public pulpits.”
It includes photos from her personal collection and “rare documents that historians and McCain Republicans will value: endorsements from US Senators John Tower, Bill Cohen and Orrin Hatch and storied politicos; his candidacy announcement speech and several campaign committee formation news releases; his FEC, petition and exploratory committee filings etc.”
Sheiner writes, “As John McCain’s first press secretary for his Congressional campaign in 1982, I was inspired to show how McCain laid the foundation for his iconic 40-year public service career with the Navy’s 11 leadership principles as a centerpiece of his start-up campaign. The book is a leadership field guide with storytelling to show how principled leadership is made real and reflected in start-ups and campaign cultures today. As we head into the 2024 presidential election, the book is poignant and timely now. We need to see qualities and evidence of principled leadership in those we choose to represent us at the federal, state and local levels. Our democracy depends on it.”
The main characters named in the storytelling are Sheiner and John and Cindy McCain.
Due to privacy concerns, staff and volunteers’ names are kept anonymous.
