“L egacy,” although a simple, rather straightforward word, carries so much meaning. It’s about building a lasting heritage. It involves creating a meaningful bequest. Legacy is about paying homage to the past and securing the present. It involves honoring the history of those who came before while simultaneously securing the future for up-and-coming generations. Legacy reflects a strong foundation with plenty of room for skyward growth.
For this reason, establishing a legacy in business is a complex endeavor. In this issue of B2B Omaha, we explore legacy from several perspectives. Veteran business writer Steve Jordon covers the century-long history of Boyd Jones Construction from its inception to current leadership. President Jon Crane, who inherited the mantle from his father, Roger, in 2000, reflects on the importance of long-standing relationships and the richness they contribute to company culture.
Family certainly plays an enormous role in establishing and maintaining legacies, and that comes through loud and clear throughout this issue. Take, for example, Sarah Vogel, who left a lucrative career at Union Pacific to take the reins as CEO of Interstate Printing, a company that has been in her family for 107 years. There is a certain amount of familial duty, responsibility, and pride in undertaking such a leadership role, and Vogel demonstrates how upholding traditions while leaning into the future is an exciting proposition for any business leader.
Then there are multi-generational Omaha mainstays like Max I. Walker, renowned for its dry-cleaning and uniform services, and Egan Supply Company, a leader not only in janitorial supply solutions but also in refinishing gymnasium flooring. Both these businesses are leaders in their fields because of the family bonding that has propelled them forward throughout the decades. Families that work together make beautiful businesses together.
Whether you’re just embarking on creating a legacy or piloting a well-established business, B2B Omaha’s annual Legacy issue examines the topic from a myriad of viewpoints that provide multiple ways of considering what this simple, straightforward word entails.
Kim Carpenter is editor-in-chief at Omaha Publications. She can be reached for story suggestions and pitches at kim@omahapublications.com
B2B
ABOUT THE COVER
Jon Crane, president of Boyd Jones construction, shares his insights into running one of Omaha’s oldest legacy companies in this issue of B2B Omaha. Cover photography Bill Sitzmann | Cover design Renee Ludwick
Jon Crane
BOYD JONES
A CENTURY OF BREAKING GROUND AND
BUILDING A FOUNDATION
Omaha’s Boyd Jones, which turned 100 years old in 2024, traces its construction history to a young St. Louis native who arrived in Omaha in 1917. Today, from its Omaha headquarters in the historic Rail & Commerce Building at 10th and Mason Streets rescued after decades of disuse Boyd Jones combines the legacies of three families.
Walter Boyd Jones founded the company in 1924 and led it through the Great Depression, World War II, and Omaha’s post-war growth.
His successor was Louis Pruch, a South Omaha boy who began as a draftsman and estimator. He headed the business until 1980 when he turned over leadership to his son-in-law, Robert T. Owen.
Then came the Cranes: Roger, who joined as a partner in 1984 and bought the business outright five years later, and Jon, who bought out his father in 2007. Today, Roger watches contentedly from the sidelines.
Boyd Jones’ work is familiar to many in the Omaha area. Projects include the Omaha Community Playhouse, multiple buildings at Offutt Air Force Base, the Sutherland Power Plant near North Platte, Fontenelle Forest Nature Center, JPII Newman Center at UNO, St. Wenceslaus Church, several projects for Baxter Auto Group, including Lexus and Audi of Omaha, Airlite Plastics’ manufacturing plant, and hundreds more.
W. Boyd Jones’ relationship with St. Louis’s Busch family (of Anheuser-Busch beer fame) indirectly led him to Omaha. After working on the Busch offices in St. Louis, the brewer sent him to Dallas to oversee the construction of the 22-story Adolphus
Hotel, named after cofounder Adolphus Busch. Busch’s connections with the Metz beer family of Omaha led Jones to a job as supervisor for an established Omaha builder.
After making a name for himself with Omaha’s expansion-minded leaders, he founded W. Boyd Jones Construction Company in 1924. Jones began bidding and winning jobs on his own, from small to large, renovations and new construction, private and public. The Sutherland project, for example, was part of a federal program to help the nation recover from the Depression.
During World War II, Jones’ crews helped build cargo boats known as Tank Lighters, which carried tanks and other heavy equipment to the Normandy invasion beaches. The U.S. Army recognized Boyd Jones’ speedy work, which a top officer said saved lives and may have shortened the war.
As W. Boyd Jones built up his business, Louis Pruch, born in Brooklyn, New York, arrived in Omaha at age 2. After graduating from South High School and completing military service, Pruch worked as a draftsman for a design company and, in 1941, joined Boyd Jones as a project estimator.
Robert Owen, a Californian, married Pruch’s daughter, Joanne, and joined the firm. Pruch and Owen ran the business with Jones’ emeritus-style help until Jones died in 1963 and Pruch became president. He semi-retired in 1980, and Owen took over operations.
The premier project during the Owen-Pruch period was the Omaha Community Playhouse in 1958, landed in part through W. Boyd Jones’ presence on the Playhouse board of directors. It
was the company’s most significant job since the 1927 Bee-News building, just ahead of Belle Ryan School in 1952. Customers over the following decades included schools, banks, hospitals, colleges, government agencies, and TV stations a wideranging list of clients into the 1980s.
Louis Pruch died in 1982, and Owen began nearing retirement age. Enter Roger Crane.
With solid construction and management experience, including serving as president of the highly regarded Foster-Smetana Construction Company of Omaha, Crane was looking to run his own business.
An Iowa native, Crane had used the G.I. Bill to complete his civil engineering degree at Iowa State University. He worked for several large companies Standard Oil and Northwestern Bell among them before answering a Wall Street Journal ad by FosterSmetana seeking a potential future president. But after 12 years, Foster’s owners changed plans, and the Boyd Jones opportunity beckoned.
By then, Crane was well-known in Omaha’s building circles and had met Louis Pruch and Bob Owen. “They were honest people, and their customers had no bad things to say about them,” Crane said. Moving to the much smaller Boyd Jones was a change, but the possibilities were energizing.
“Everybody knew me,” Crane said. “I had been a director of the Chamber of Commerce for a couple of years. I knew all the architects, so I was calling on everybody. I knew there wouldn’t be a problem getting work.”
FEATURE | STORY BY STEVE JORDON | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN
A few lean years grew into a steady business, including early contracts with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Iowa National Guard, and Offutt Air Force Base.
Crane said business cycles such as the 1980s’ sky-high interest rates were challenging, but conservative financial practices and a steady job flow saw the business through. Annual revenue grew substantially within a few years.
“When he joined, it was about to quietly go away,” said his son, Jon. “Roger was good at what he did. He was a good estimator, and he had some contacts. Without him, it wouldn’t have continued.”
Roger’s decision at Foster-Smetana to start a new company to design and build bank offices parallels Jon’s decision in 2012 to start Bluestem Energy Solutions, a renewable energy company. “Roger was very influential in sustaining and promoting diversification,” Jon said. “He is the foundation of the modern Boyd Jones.”
Jon, who painted welds and performed other “yard boy” tasks in his early years, earned a political science degree and served as an intern for U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy before graduating from George Washington Law School.
But he didn’t plan to practice law. “I chose law school over getting an MBA because if nothing else worked out, I could always practice law to pay the bills,” he said. He worked for a real estate development firm and initially rejected his
father’s offer to join Boyd Jones. But before long, he married and began looking to have a business of his own and raise a family.
“I had never thought of returning, so when I recognized the opportunity in 1992, it was surprising to find myself coming back to Omaha.” He took over management of Boyd Jones in 2000.
Roger and Jon got along well, working together for 14 1/2 years. “I was Roger’s exit strategy,” Jon said. “I was fortunate to work with him as long as I did.”
Jon was 45 when he completed the purchase of Boyd Jones in 2007, and his father, then 73, retired completely. “I told Jon, ‘I want you to write me a check, and I’m out of here. I’m walking away,’” Roger said.
By then, Boyd Jones was consistently growing. Its reputation was strong, being known for highquality, on-time, within-budget project outcomes.
Boyd Jones shifted from relying almost solely on low-bid competitive contracts to negotiating contracts through long-term relationships with repeat project owners “raving fans,” as the Cranes call them.
“Those relationships are precious to have,” Roger said. “You want to make sure that the client gets what they want and are paying what they should pay. You’re working for them. You want future work. That’s important.
“It’s also about getting the right people,” Roger continued. “You want that person who goes out of their way to do things for you, and you have confidence that they will give you the best product.”
Roger said he was confident his son would succeed. “I knew he would take this company to the next level, which he has. He has taken this and grown it immensely. I’m proud of him, and I’m really happy.”
Today, father and son remain close.
“He calls, we have lunch,” Roger said. “We always do that. He asks for ideas. We have a great relationship there, my goodness, and I know he feels the same way.”
Said Jon, “We keep him up to date with our newsletters so he can track what’s going on, more for fun. Really, it wouldn’t be what it is today without him.”
Under Jon’s 32 years of leadership, Boyd Jones has diversified into a national construction company with projects across the country and its home state of Nebraska. Its work spans the commercial, educational, government, housing, community, energy, healthcare, and industrial sectors.
Bluestem Energy Solutions is an independent company that develops, builds, owns, and operates renewable energy facilities, especially wind farms and solar-plus-battery installations. These projects also provide steady work for Boyd Jones crews.
“We built the largest rooftop solar project in the state,” Jon said. “We developed and own the first tandem solar-plus-battery project in Nebraska.”
Boyd Jones’ construction of Riverfront Place Tower II, along the Missouri River near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, is one of the most visible recent Boyd Jones projects. Its renovation of the Rail & Commerce Building is another. Completed in July 2017, it was one of Nebraska’s largest historic tax credit projects.
Jon and the staff work hard at driving value and fostering a partnership approach that helps Boyd Jones stand out from other contractors because of its track record of controlling costs, meeting schedules, quality workmanship, and ensuring successful outcomes for clients.
“Trying to get a couple of new customers every year and serving them for life,” Jon said. “Our success is grounded in being a family-owned company that takes on varied and complex projects that other companies might not want to tackle.”
He has built a staff that aggressively seeks and builds those relationships, establishing values to engender trust: safety, respect, integrity, innovation, stewardship, entrepreneurship, and continuous improvement.
“Trust is the foundation of business,” Jon said. “If you don’t have that, everything starts to break down. We build extraordinary projects, but it’s really about people. It’s the people and processes paired with sophisticated clients that lead to exceptional results.”
In search of new ideas that work, Boyd Jones’ leaders held a planning retreat last year at the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas, the very building that boosted W. Boyd Jones’ career in the early 1900s.
“Just being in the Adolphus Hotel that W. Boyd Jones built was really a special moment for us all,” said George Schuler, executive vice president. “With us celebrating our centennial anniversary, it was nice to reflect on the individual who got it all started and to experience a building he was involved in making happen so long ago.
“You could tell it was built with a lot of quality and care. It just brings things into perspective. We’ve really worked hard to carry on his legacy. I think many of our core values are the same as his.”
For more information, visit boydjones.biz.
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ROUNDTABLE | STORY BY KIM CARPENTER | PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
BUILDING SUPPORT FOSTERING SUPERB TEAMS
Any business, regardless of industry, is only as good as the team that supports it. Here, three leaders in different sectors share their insights and expertise into how to build and maintain efficient and supportive teams. Our professionals for this round table include:
Mark Floersch, CEO, CATCH Intelligence, a technology firm focused on delivering World Class Business Intelligence (BI) systems that provide clients with the latest software, tools, analysis, resources, and insights necessary to identify, catch, and utilize data that provides the greatest value to their organizations. catchintelligence.com
Gina Pappas, owner and president, Pappas Marketing Communications, which utilizes earned, owned, shared, and paid media in a customizable, integrated way to provide solutions that achieve client objectives with services that include a complete suite of marketing communication strategies. pappasmarketing.com
Cyrus Jaffery, founder and CEO, Jaffery Insurance & Financial Services, an independent insurance agency dedicated to serving clients across Nebraska, Iowa, and beyond to help them achieve their financial goals and manage risk. jafferyinsurance.com
B2B: What makes a team successful in your opinion? What is the best way to build a great team?
MF: Trust is the foundation of all relationships and teamwork. We have to be able to trust each other and count on each other. We have to assume good intent. We have to really, truly care about each other. We have to trust that our teammate or sister department is going to do their job. We have to have each other’s backs. We have to be positive
PR agents for each other. We create dynamic, high functioning teams all the time. In the consulting world, we need to dynamically create teams that function well together. First, we look for people who are flexible and adaptable. Second, we train people to be great listeners and to be flexible and adaptable. Third, we hire A-players who want to be top performers and expect everyone on their team to be accountable high performers. Fourth, we hire and train great leaders to lead teams. Fifth, we clearly define roles on the team so people know when they are the leader or when they are a follower. Sixth, we hold each other accountable to deliver world-class results. Seventh, we under promise and over deliver and deliver “plus ones” to ensure that we meet and exceed expectations. Eighth, we recognize, reward, and celebrate great results and accomplishments.
GP: A well-rounded team is a successful team. Bringing together people with a wide range of skills and empowering them to own their roles leads to a high level of personal satisfaction for your team members. Building a great team takes time. Leaders need to take a bird’s eye view of their organization and their goals in order to identify in what areas their team needs to be built. Think ahead to what you want to achieve, and ensure you have a team that possesses those skill sets. A thorough interview process can identify if a potential team member is a good cultural fit. Tapping into your industry peers to find top talent can be an effective means of identifying job candidates.
CJ: A successful team is made up of strong communication, work ethic, collaboration, and a shared purpose. We achieve this by building trust, setting clear goals, keeping people accountable to the goals, and encouraging open feedback. Effective
communication is key to aligning everyone toward common goals. Our recruitment philosophy prioritizes work ethic and cultural compatibility with our organization. This allows us to keep the culture strong, which is a key component of a strong team. We don’t need a bunch of A-players; I would rather hire good culture fit B-players all day and build them into A-players, the Jaffery way. Collaboration allows team members to utilize their strengths and solve problems together for the good of the organization. A shared purpose motivates individuals to work towards a common vision and think about something a lot bigger than just themselves.
B2B: What is your strategy around employee engagement?
MF: Praise, praise, praise. In our busy worlds, we often do not take time to praise our people. This should be everyone’s job to recognize great accomplishments that happen every day. Every two weeks during our lunch and learns, we publicly praise our teammates for their great accomplishments. This might be recognizing someone for living our core values, achieving a certification, receiving high customer praise, a manager “thank you” for teamwork, or a peer thanking a peer for their help and support. Our people need to take time to share their gratitude with each other. This is part of all of our jobs. We all need to make time to think about whom we can thank and praise each day. It is easy if you just take the time to step back and reflect on the day or the week. Whom can I thank for their kindness today? For whom am I grateful today?
GP: We have been a remote organization for more than 20 years, and we’ve learned that connecting outside of the remote environment is important. Lunch or coffee are simple ways to connect
that provide a change of scenery from the home office. Tools like Teams and Zoom, which have grown immensely since 2020, make connecting in a remote environment even easier. I also think simple check-ins go a long way. Understanding what’s going on in your employees’ lives outside of work, while maintaining professionalism, helps employees feel valued.
CJ: At Jaffery Insurance, employee engagement is a top priority. We promote a positive work culture through teamwork and camaraderie. Along with providing professional development opportunities, we prioritize work-life balance to support our employees in all aspects of their lives. Regular check-ins, team-building activities, and recognition programs keep our employees motivated and engaged. Employees are more engaged when they are in the right mindset and that starts with employees working on personal development. We have read one book a month for four years now as a team and that has helped the team work on themselves. We are trying to build great husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, sisters, community members, and humans in general instead of just great employees.
Mark Floersch
Gina Pappas
Cyrus Jaffery
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B2B: How do you motivate people to go the extra mile?
MF: Same: Praise, praise, praise. “Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it all into words is all that is necessary.” Margaret Cousins
GP: Be a positive and approachable leader. When giving feedback on a project, always lead with the good. Say “please” and “thank you” every time you request something from your team. Make your team members feel valued as people, not just employees who complete tasks. And be honest; if you aren’t getting the output you need, be clear about what needs to change. But, again, kick off that conversation with something positive.
CJ: To motivate our team to excel, we acknowledge their contributions and foster a sense of ownership and pride in their work. In addition to meaningful incentives and rewards for exceptional performance, we empower our team to take on new challenges and provide them with necessary resources and support. We create a supportive and inclusive work environment where every individual feels valued and heard. Our mission at Jaffery Insurance is to empower employees to become leaders. This takes shape in helping them make decisions for the office to feel included, which in turn translates into employees going the extra mile. When they know, they have skin in the game, it pushes them daily to be better. One of the best ways we have shown this is by doing vision boards every year. It is pretty awesome seeing employees check things off their vision boards.
B2B
RUN PAYMENTS
“It’s all about helping people,” explained Dan “Rowdy” Rau, area vice president of Run Payments. “My favorite one-liner in ‘Jerry Maguire’ is ‘Who’s coming with me?’ And my friends and clients and partners know I’ve got their back s ”
Collecting payments from customers can be nerve-racking for any business owner. Fortunately, Rowdy makes this task much simpler through his technology and service.
“One of the biggest things we do is software integration,” Rowdy explained. “A lot of people have a point-of-sale system in place, and they don’t want to rip it out. We can go in there, change nothing on the front end, plug a different part on the back end, and save them thousands of dollars. We don’t change the way they do things, but we’re able to put money back in their pockets.”
Rowdy prefers to use his nickname with colleagues and clients because “nobody remembers Dan, but nobody forgets Rowdy.” On social media, his hashtag is #RunningWithRowdy. He says his faith in Jesus strengthens him to love and serve others.
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LEADING WITH LEGACY
SARAH VOGEL’S JOURNEY TO FIRST FEMALE CEO OF INTERSTATE PRINTING
In May 2024, Sarah Vogel was appointed CEO of Interstate Printing, a familyowned, full-service commercial printer in Omaha with a legacy spanning over a century. Her appointment marks a historic milestone Vogel is the fifth Peter family member and the first woman to hold the top leadership position in the company’s 107-year history. Her journey to this pivotal role is a testament to her expertise and a deep-rooted commitment to honoring her family’s heritage.
Founded in 1917 by German immigrant Valentine J. Peter, Interstate Printing has always been a familyrun business. Over the years, the leadership baton passed from Valentine to his sons Raymond and Eugene, and then to his grandson, Bill Peter. Vogel takes on the mantle now as Valentine’s greatgranddaughter, recognizing the weight of her family’s intergenerational legacy as she navigates the modernization of the printing industry.
“It was very important to my great-grandfather, as a small businessman, to have a company that provided valuable service to the community,” Vogel shared. “It’s humbling to be entrusted with this company by my family members. It’s my duty to make sure it grows and prospers.”
Women at the Forefront
Before joining Interstate Printing, Vogel spent nearly 16 years at Union Pacific, where she achieved significant milestones and honed the skills she applies in her current role. Initially working as a train dispatcher, Vogel progressed to overseeing the entire locomotive fleet and eventually managing all Pacific Northwest operations as Lane Superintendent. Each position refined her operational expertise, leaving behind a lasting legacy of her own as she brought her experiences to the printing industry.
Departing from Union Pacific was not an easy decision, but Vogel was driven by a sense of responsibility to her family’s business. Joining Interstate Printing as chief operating officer earlier this year, she brought a wealth of skills from her time at Union Pacific, ascending to CEO just a few months later. Vogel naturally brings a fresh perspective as the first woman in this role she feels especially passionate about empowering women and fostering diversity within the industry.
“Sarah has been instrumental in forming a [foundation] of core values, purpose, and vision to prioritize and drive decisions,” said Brenda Sawyer, who works alongside Vogel as Chief Financial Officer. “We have a mutual passion for networking, mentoring, and supporting young people and women, knowing it adds meaning and purpose to our work.”
Vogel highlighted her partnership with Sawyer as a positive step toward creating a more inclusive workplace and keeping more women in leadership positions in the company’s future.
“I’ve always worked in male-dominated fields, predominantly in operations and logistics at UP, with very few women by my side. Bringing other women up in the organization was always important to me I intend to do the same thing [at Interstate Printing],” Vogel affirmed.
Vogel and Sawyer’s partnership is relatively new, with Vogel only having joined the team in late February. Sawyer, however, already praises Vogel as intuitive and personable, highlighting her consistent encouragement and gestures of appreciation toward the team. Sawyer also appreciates Vogel’s attention to detail, such as personally refreshing the workspace by painting and replacing her office flooring with her husband.
“When I joined Interstate Printing in 2014, as I networked at various industry trade shows and conferences, it was noticeable how few females and young people were in those rooms,” Sawyer added. “That is changing, and I am grateful to be a catalyst of that change as Sarah and I work together. She’s a problem-solver and a strategist she brings a lot of contagious passion and enthusiasm to work each day.”
Innovation and Sustainability
Vogel envisions the future of Interstate Printing as one where existing traditions are upheld while innovation is embraced to guarantee long-term success. She emphasized the company’s dedication to remaining at the forefront of rapidly evolving technology, particularly by leveraging new equipment to broaden their reach.
“We recognize the quality of our work and our longstanding traditions, but we’re also exploring new avenues to engage a younger workforce and accommodate more remote work,” she added. Vogel’s main objective is to integrate modern technology without losing the human touch of customer service, which has long been a hallmark of the family-owned business.
Furthermore, Vogel expressed her determination to understand the role of Artificial Intelligence in the printing industry. She believes that effectively implementing AI technology will be pivotal for automation and efficiency enhancements in their operations. Vogel is also keen on expanding the company’s sustainability efforts, which currently include recycling, responsible resourcing alongside partners, using sustainable soy inks, and more. Interstate Printing is actively working on getting a Forest Stewardship Council certification, she noted.
FEATURE | STORY BY NATALIE VELOSO | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN
“IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER, AS A SMALL BUSINESSMAN, TO HAVE A COMPANY THAT PROVIDED VALUABLE SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. IT’S HUMBLING TO BE ENTRUSTED WITH THIS COMPANY BY MY FAMILY MEMBERS. IT’S MY DUTY TO MAKE SURE IT GROWS AND PROSPERS.”
-SARAH VOGEL, CEO, INTERSTATE PRINTING
Community involvement remains another top priority for Vogel, echoing the core values upheld by her great-grandfather. “I am reaching out and engaging local companies to spark new partnerships, provide jobs, and support those in the area,” she said. With their headquarters based in North Omaha, Vogel’s approach prioritizes the continued growth of other neighboring businesses and the company’s own social responsibility.
Looking Ahead
One of Vogel’s most pressing tasks is addressing the industry-wide topic of an aging workforce. “This industry is filled with very skilled and loyal workers, and it’s going to be hard to replace those folks as they retire. Recruiting is very important,” she explained. “There is already such a solid culture here, so to foster and expand what we have is so rewarding.” Vogel plans to leverage their new technology for even more schedule flexibility, which is crucial for attracting a younger, more diverse workforce.
Vogel is proud to take the reins of her family’s company, ushering in the next chapter of Interstate Printing’s legacy by guiding the team toward the future. “For the longevity of the business, we need young talent and fresh ideas,” she said. “I think many people think of the print industry as a dying industry; in fact, it’s just shifting and changing.”
Vogel leverages her extensive operational experience and forward-thinking outlook as she navigates the challenges and opportunities ahead. Admiring Interstate Printing’s century-long history, Vogel is dedicated to ensuring the business not only thrives, but evolves under her leadership.
“There’s a shared drive to continuously improve our products and our customer service there’s always an opportunity to grow as a team. We’ll celebrate each accomplishment, then work toward
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“A STRONG COMMUNITY NEEDS A STRONG BANK. IF THE COMMUNITY DOES WELL, THE BANK DOES WELL. IT’S A VIRTUOUS CYCLE. WE BELIEVE THAT SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY IS SIMPLY THE RIGHT THING TO DO.”
-CHRISTINA KAHLER
[L to R] Whitney Baker, Christina Kahler
“SIMPLY THE RIGHT THING TO DO” FIRST
NATIONAL BANK OF OMAHA’S IMPACT GRANTS
First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) is a hometown bank that’s proud to put the community first. Founded in 1857 before Nebraska became a state, the current independently and privately owned FNBO footprint extends to eight states, and with six generations of family leadership in Omaha, FNBO remains focused on community support.
“We’re proud to have been part of the growth of Omaha,” said Christina Kahler, director of marketing & philanthropy at FNBO. The bank is intentional about its philanthropic efforts knowing that it is building and planning for a successful future.
As part of that mission, this year FNBO awarded $1,738,000 in Impact Grants, including $1,143,000 to 53 organizations across Nebraska and Western Iowa. This annual program makes a large impact in the community with grants supporting programs dedicated to workforce development and entrepreneurship; affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization; and adult education, financial literacy, and security.
“There’s a component of that commitment embedded in the culture at FNBO. Employees take pride in the way that FNBO supports the community,” said Whitney Baker, FNBO’s director of philanthropy and giving.
During the competitive application process, FNBO received 182 applications, with half receiving funding. Applicants undergo a rigorous review process, and those demonstrating the highest needs receive priority. Applicants list measurable goals and detail the strategies they will use to achieve them. Utilizing localized data helps applicants stand out among their peers. Although there are many deserving applicants, FNBO understands that some organizations have more resources, and it strives to create variety when choosing organizations.
“A strong community needs a strong bank. If the community does well, the bank does well. It’s a virtuous cycle. We believe that supporting the community is simply the right thing to do,” Kahler said.
The grant process also gives FNBO staff an opportunity to learn about some of the groups that need assistance. Worthy causes abound, and the process informs FNBO about what needs exist in the community. “It allows us a unique and informed view of the community by understanding the needs that come through this grant,” Kahler said.
In addition to ensuring impact grants align with organizational needs, FNBO’s team revaluates how goals were achieved one year later. “It’s looking at things at the micro and macro levels. The impact that they have over time is very clear. We have a vehicle to ensure that we are providing support in the communities that are needed,” Baker explained.
“FNBO recognizes that investments in workforce development, education, affordable housing, and financial literacy have returns that far outlast a one-time donation,” Baker continued. “Through this grant program, our goal is to find community partners working in these areas that not only impact individual lives, but build stronger and more financially successful communities.”
Baker and Kahler both worked for nonprofits before they joined FNBO, and both feel fortunate to be in positions where they can have a direct impact on their community.
This holds true for all FNBO employees, who provided 38,603 service hours in 2023. All FNBO employees receive eight PTO hours to contribute to community volunteerism, but many do more. The bank also enacts an Employee Impact fund during times of natural disaster. FNBO matches funds collected from employees and donates them to local organizations in order to provide direct relief. During the April 2024
tornado that impacted Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa, for example, employee contributions and the FNBO match totaled $75,000.
Nebraska Enterprise Fund has recived FNBO support for over three decades. This has allowed them to grow their service to all of Nebraska and Southwest Iowa.
“Because of FNBO, we can provide coaching and funding to clients, and they can eventually grow and work back into the banking system. We can help them with micro loans and small business loans before they are ready for bank loans,” said Jim Rief, director of Nebraska Enterprise Fund. “FNBO has always given back to us with their staff for leadership training for our staff and to the clients whom we serve. They give back with their time and talent along with their money.”
Through the FNBO grant, Volunteers Assisting Seniors can staff satellite assistance sites throughout the Omaha area with trained volunteers to assist low-income senior homeowners with the Homestead Exemption application process that helps them stay in their homes. “We recently saw a client who was misinformed by his tax preparer about whether they could deduct medical expenses for the application or not. They are entitled to do so, and we caught the error, which helped them become eligible for tax relief and allowed them to stay in their home,” said Toni Roberts, executive director of VAS.
It’s the investments in local organizations in need that make FNBO a vital part of the growth and sustainability of our Omaha community. “Commitment to the community is at the heart of what we do as a company,” Kahler said.
For more information about FNBO’s impact initiatives, visit fnbo.com/impact.
BIZ + GIVING | STORY BY HOLLY MCATEE | PHOTO BY SARAH LEMKE
Chris Phillips, COO North End Teleservices Congratulations
We are proud to announce Chris Phillips’ appointment to The Next 100. As one of the youngest Chief Operating Officers in the nation and part of a select cohort of less than 4%* of African American COOs, Chris is at the forefront of a movement to change the leadership landscape.
Chris’ induction into The Next 100 is a testament to his inspirational leadership, dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion, and fostering generational impact by creating opportunities for all individuals to be successful.
Photo by Debra Kaplan
*Zippia
We are proud of Carmen Tapio’s appointment to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Board of Directors. It is an inspiring achievement for our CEO to provide leadership as a part of the Federal Reserve’s 10th District and the largest monetary system in the world.
Carmen’s approach to servant leadership exemplifies what is possible and serves as an example for us all.
Thank you for your tireless contributions and vision for the betterment of so many.
Carmen Tapio, CEO Congratulations North End Teleservices
TIGHTLY-KNIT SERVICE TO THE MAX
MAX I. WALKER KEEPING OMAHANS LOOKING SMART SINCE 1917
Max I. Walker Uniform Rental Vice President Chris Walker wasn’t trying to be clever when he used the phrase “tightly-knit” to describe his company, whose two primary divisions are dry cleaning and uniform rental. Nonetheless, it’s a perfect metaphor for many reasons, from the company remaining familyowned for more than a century to the evolution of a spectrum of related services that has been developed over time in response to customer needs.
“We’ve lasted through the Great Depression, World War II, the COVID-19 pandemic the city’s history, the country’s history, the company’s history,” Chris said. “Simply put, companies just don’t [usually] make it five generations, and we’re proud [that we have].”
“We’ve been able to employ lots of people in the community and give back to the community over the years, through all of those challenging times in unique ways and creative ways,” said Casey Walker, who serves as vice president of Max I. Walker’s retail division. “We’ve kept our business running, but also gave back to the community through all of those difficult times, too.”
One example of adaptation, Casey said, was bringing female workers at all levels to the thenmale-dominated dry cleaning sector during World War II. “Overnight, women became the stars of the show, and our grandfather, Bob Walker, Jr., wanted it that way,” he explained.
“Female managers at the stores was kind of unheard of at that time,” Chris said. “But that was a trend that stuck, and we’ve had a lot of success there.”
One of the biggest challenges for the U.S. dry cleaning industry was the introduction of easy-care fabrics and “leisure suits” in the 1970s, or as Casey called it, the “polyester revolution.”
“That was a major headwind for the industry, and a lot of dry cleaning places were lost during that time,” he said. “But that is also when we started uniform rental, a pivot and a diversification at that time.”
“Garments used in uniform rental are heavy on polyester,” Chris added. “In 1974, it was a perfect opportunity to start renting those polyester work garments on the uniform rental side.”
The uniform rental division of the company is still going strong half a century later.
Another major change for the company in more recent decades was reducing the environmental impact of dry cleaning chemicals and processes.
“In the last 30 to 40 years, the push towards green and reuse has been huge,” Casey said. “That translates to the dry cleaning process being a complete net-zero, as far as water use and chemical use, because everything used is extracted in the machine. It seems like the ‘dirtiest’ way to clean clothes, but it’s actually the cleanest because it’s a closed-loop system. On the uniform side, I would say reuse of water has been huge.”
The company has also adopted products and practices like reusable bands to bundle multiple pieces in customers’ dry cleaning orders, digital coupons, a metal hanger reuse program, and offering sturdy bags for dirty laundry that are cleaned along with the customer’s clothing and then used to cover the hanged garments instead of plastic.
Although the business of cleaning clothing is always going to be fundamentally mechanical, Chris said, computer technology has made record-keeping, tracking, and other administration easier.
“It helps the customer in that we can tell them exactly where their garments are in the system,” he said. “It feeds both sides, customer facing and internal, and plays somewhat of a factor into green efficiencies and just efficiencies overall.”
Max I. Walker now serves the community through 10 dry cleaning locations throughout the Omaha and Council Bluffs areas, as well as a pick-up and delivery service. Besides dry cleaning, the company offers laundry services, wedding dress cleaning and preservation, leather and suede cleaning, repairs and alterations, and special handling for bed linens, window coverings, and area rugs.
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FEATURE | STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS | PHOTO BY SARAH LEMKE
[L to R] Rob, Chris, & Casey Walker
“WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO EMPLOY LOTS OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY OVER THE YEARS, THROUGH ALL OF THOSE CHALLENGING TIMES IN UNIQUE WAYS AND CREATIVE WAYS.”
-CASEY WALKER
The uniform service is based out of Omaha and delivers to and picks up from around a thousand businesses in the region every week. Those customers can additionally order entryway mats, dry and wet mops, shop and bar towels, and other janitorial products. Max I. Walker also delivers restroom supplies from hand soap and sanitizer to paper towels and toilet paper.
One aspect of business that would be instantly recognizable to Max I. Walker customers of any decade, Chris said, is personal customer service.
“In almost every other aspect of people’s lives, you pick up the phone and you’re talking to either someone on the other side of the world at a call center or you’re rifled through all these channels. It’s very difficult to get to a human being who has answers or to walk up to a counter and just have a genuine interaction with someone at a place of business,” he said. “Outside of what people are wearing, and the slang terms people use and how language changes, and the cars people drive, the individual experience on both sides of the business is largely unchanged. You’re going to talk to a local human being the first time, whether you call or you go up to a counter.”
“The majority of our dry cleaning locations still do the cleaning on site, and there’re very few dry cleaners left in the country that still operate that way. It is a better customer experience,” Casey said. “It remains unchanged that you’re talking with the people doing the cleaning of your garment. You know that you’re in trusted hands.”
For more information, visit maxiwalker.com.
B2B
THE PINK CHARIOT
RONCO CONSTRUCTION FUNDRAISES THROUGH “BARBIE CAR”
How does a friendly golf tournament wager turn into a viral fundraiser? Ronco Construction managed it easily with humble sportsmanship and a little inspiration from a recent box office smash.
“We have a lot of fun within the Ronco culture,” said Zak Olsen, president of Ronco Construction. “People are constantly challenging each other in different ways, both on the job and off the job, and golf is a common hobby amongst a lot of the folks here.”
Golf tournaments among the employees became an internal contest, the loser having to stand on the corner of 72nd and Dodge Streets in a hot dog costume with a sign that declared, “I suck at golf!” Olsen took this penance, along with COO, Mike Langford.
This year, the Ronco team decided to take a jovial stab at masculinity.
“I was watching TV with my daughter, who at the time was 7 years old, and a preview for the ‘Barbie’ movie came up,” Olsen recalled. “A light bulb went off. I thought, ‘What if we get an old car, fix it up, and wrap it like the Barbie car, and the loser has to drive that for a period of time?’ Everybody who was in the text loop immediately jumped on that and said, ‘Yep! That’s the winner; let’s go with that.’”
The company purchased a used Honda Odyssey and had it painted and primed for the unfortunate soul who had to drive the bright pink vehicle. Sadly for Langford, his golfing skill did not exceed that of his fellow employees.
Langford drove the car to a company holiday party in December 2023, and all the buzz and photo ops spurred an idea: use the car to raise funds and awareness for a cause. Ronco’s philanthropic committee, Ronco Gives, eventually settled on partnering with
Chariots4Hope, a “faith-based, non-profit organization that supports low-income families and individuals to maintain selfsufficiency through reliable transportation and RIDE programs.” “The Pink Chariot,” as it is affectionately known, emerged as the perfect symbol to raise awareness for the organization.
After Langford served his 23-day penance, Ronco created a “See, Snap, Share” campaign: see the car around town, snap a photo, and share it on social media. “For every tag or post that happens throughout the year of 2024, the Ronco Gives organization will make a financial contribution to Chariots4Hope,” Olsen explained. “We want the car to be out on the road as much as possible, whether it’s just driving around for lunch, going to job sites, picking kids up from school the entire organization is really helping out by taking their turns and getting the car out on the road so that it can be seen.”
Langford’s humiliating punishment therefore turned to positive change. “Initially it was humiliation, but it was a lot of fun when we turned it from penance to philanthropic,” Langford said. “I really enjoyed the pointing, laughing, drive-by, the photos. Watching people take photos at 70 miles an hour is risky, but we appreciate the buzz and excitement.”
The Pink Chariot will be retired at the end of 2024, as Ronco plans to donate it to Chariots4Hope. “Our philanthropic arm, Ronco Gives, will continue in perpetuity,” Olsen said. “We’ll find a new fun idea and organization for next year. In the end, we’re just a catalyst of a couple guys making a stupid golf bet that turned into something brilliant.”
To learn more, visit ronco-construction.com and chariots4hope.org.
HOW I ROLL | STORY BY CLAUDIA MOOMEY | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN
“LEGACY PLANNING AT BRIDGES TRUST AIMS TO NURTURE FAMILY LEGACIES, PREPARE FUTURE GENERATIONS AND LEAVE A MEANINGFUL MARK ON THE COMMUNITY THROUGH PHILANTHROPIC ENDEAVORS. THIS APPROACH HELPS ENSURE THAT OUR CLIENTS’ LEGACY CONTINUES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, EXTENDING BEYOND THEIR TIME WITH US.”
-NICK WILWERDING
Nick Wilwerding
A SIMPLE PLAN
LEGACY PLANNING PUTS NEW TWIST ON ESTATE, SUCCESSION STRATEGIES
According to a report from December 2023 in Kiplinger Personal Finance, the United States is currently experiencing the “Great Wealth Transfer,” the largest asset shift in history a staggering $84 trillion, to be precise. Led by baby boomers, individuals are handing down their assets via wills, trusts, financial gifts, and property holdings to younger generations, who include Gen X, Millennials, and even Gen Z.
To appreciate fully just how large a windfall that wealth represents, consider the US national debt made headlines the world over when it turned over the $34 trillion mark earlier this year. Boomers alone represent 63% of the wealth to be transferred, or $53 trillion.
This tsunami of asset transfers includes individuals’ personal net worths as well as millions of businesses changing hands. Financial planners, estate attorneys, and business consultants have been awash in demand for services to help craft plans that ensure the smooth transition of wealth from one generation to the next, services collectively known as “legacy planning.”
As defined by smartasset.com, legacy planning is the en-vogue term to describe estate planning, a label from which the industry is recasting itself as many consumers consider it overly elitist or moribund. But beyond the name, legacy plans also hold substantive differences from previous strategies, including the more abstract elements of discussing the family values and ethics that the deceased wishes to be carried on or placing a heavier emphasis on philanthropy.
Nick Wilwerding, who took over as CEO of Bridges Trust on July 1, said people are increasingly looking to address elements that define and fund the building blocks of a person’s lasting legacy.
“Legacy planning at Bridges Trust aims to nurture family legacies, prepare future generations, and leave a meaningful mark on the community through philanthropic endeavors,” he said. “This approach helps ensure that our clients’ legacy continues to make a difference, extending beyond their time with us.”
The firm’s suite of services combines fairly wellrecognized strategies for estate planning, such as trusts, with services targeting more specialized needs in the areas of philanthropy advising and outsourced chief financial officer services (OCFO).
“OCFO provides personalized financial services to affluent families, encompassing a specialized approach to managing the financial affairs of high-net-worth individuals and their families,” Wilwerding said. “We oversee complex family wealth. Acting as the family’s CFO, we aim to provide extensive strategies and a personalized approach, built to suit our clients’ family needs. Our team has long-standing experience and an understanding of financial complexities, and we are dedicated to helping our clients simplify their financial lives.”
With so much money in play, the assumption might be that people have adopted saving and legacy planning across the board but recent survey results indicate this is not the case. Motley Fool reported its May survey findings that revealed only 61% of non-retirees have a 401(k) and 20% have no savings whatsoever.
In its 2024 wills survey, Caring.com similarly found that only 32% of Americans had a will, posting the first year-over-year decline in estate planning since the pandemic. Four in ten of those who neglected estate planning did so because they felt
they didn’t have enough assets to warrant it, the survey reported, and 25% of those without a will said they had no plans of ever getting one.
“Despite the benefits of early planning, individuals often postpone due to perceptions of complexity, procrastination, avoidance of end-of-life discussions, and simply lack of awareness about the importance of legacy planning,” said Marietta Luellen, Bridges Trust’s EVP of Trust. “While understandable, delaying these crucial conversations can lead to unintended consequences, making it essential to prioritize legacy planning that aims to secure wealth and family values for the future.
“Bridges Trust recommends initiating legacy planning as early as possible to fully leverage its benefits, ideally coinciding with pivotal life events such as marriage, the arrival of children, or periods of wealth accumulation. It is also important to regularly review your estate, tax, and financial plans to ensure they align with the client’s current situation, financial objectives, and legal requirements.”
The paramount importance of legacy planning can also be seen in the business community. According to a recent white paper by J.P. Morgan Wealth, 76% of business owners plan to transition over the next 10 years, representing 4.5 million businesses and over $10 trillion in wealth. Yet, the paper goes on to report, less than half of businesses overall have a formal succession plan and greater than 6 in 10 have none at all.
Failing to plan, as the saying goes, is planning to fail, and not having a well-defined, cohesive strategy can quickly bring about chaos, said Dave Nabity, founder of Nabity Business Advisors.
FEATURE | STORY BY DWAIN HEBDA | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN
FROM PAGE 22
“[Legacy planning] primarily deals with people who run and own companies and have built them up over 20 or 30 years,” he said. “They’ve got a company where they really care about the management folks [and] they might have children in the business that they care about. They’re wanting to develop a legacy where they can take the business and transition it down to the next generation or position it in such a way that it can be marketed and sold to the marketplace in such a way that it provides a great blessing and value to the family when everything’s said and done.”
Consultants such as Nabity provide expertise on any number of operational or organizational matters from valuating a company for sale to forming a catastrophic plan that addresses business continuation in the event of the unexpected loss of an owner. He said his role is to be the objective voice to the C-suite, especially in multigenerational businesses, who often get stuck in the emotional mud that clouds judgement, gives emotions undue influence, and ignores impacted issues versus addressing them head-on.
“There are a lot of dynamics of what’s going on in a family business that go into this,” he said. “Sometimes the kids aren’t ever going to be ready to be in leadership, but the parents really hope they are, and so they keep hanging on to the idea that maybe this is going to work. They need outside people to come in and say, ‘Look, your child has got this kind of a skillset, and it may not be best applied in the CEO role.’
“Lawyers and CPAs are really not in a position to have these kinds of tough conversations. They’re there to do the legal work and make sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed and the legal and financial fundamentals are being followed. Business owners need somebody who is going to come in and have those heart-to-heart conversations with them.”
“[LEGACY PLANNING] PRIMARILY DEALS WITH PEOPLE THAT RUN AND OWN COMPANIES THAT HAVE BUILT THEM UP OVER 20 OR 30 YEARS.”
-DAVE NABITY
Steve Busskohl, CEO of Arrow Stage Lines, has known and worked with Nabity for 20 years during which time Nabity has advised his client on various buy-sell agreements, forming a management incentive retention program, and shepherding shareholders through buyouts. Busskohl said the key elements of their successful consultant-client relationship boil down to a few key fundamentals.
“We’ve been in business for 96 years, and we’re in our fourth generation,” he said. “We know how to operate a motor coach company. I think we were missing some of the best practices of the business and for this we needed good counsel.
“We look for people with high character and integrity and wisdom, and Dave really brought that to us. He had good connections in the community, and he was a very good communicator, who held me accountable. He had a servant-leadership style, which I thought was very effective.”
Nabity said this latter trait doesn’t happen by accident, but springs from a genuine caring about the success of clients and is one attribute that has allowed his firm to thrive for almost 40 years.
“The first thing I try to do in the initial meetings is see if there’s a relational bond that we can build with each other,” he said. “If you get clients that you really, really care for and you really care for their families, you want to do everything you can to help those people make better decisions. I try to have a humble approach to it all and show genuine love as I’m working with people. I think that helps build the trust you need to walk alongside the client and help them be successful.”
For more information about legacy planning, visit bridgestrust.com and nabity.com.
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FULL STEAM AHEAD
WP ENGINE’S MILLWORK COMMONS OFFICE SPACE
Step inside the Ashton building on 13th and Nicholas streets, and history is embedded in every brick. A renovated warehouse in the Capitol District’s Millwork Commons neighborhood, the building boasts an open concept layout that blends existing architectural elements with modern functionality to create a cohesive community space where creativity thrives. Spanning more than 50 acres, Millwork Commons is home to retail, residential, nonprofit, startups, and entrepreneurial ventures including WP Engine. Located on the top floor, the open-source technology company provides WordPress products for businesses, brands, and agencies.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, WP Engine has experienced considerable growth in recent years, including the 2019 acquisition of the local startup Flywheel, which added Omaha to office locations such as as London, Brisbane, Kraków, and Limerick. Like those workspaces, The Ashton’s intentional design offers the flexibility to be creative via a work culture that emphasizes employee wellbeing and innovative workplace practices. This is a core value at WP Engine, where “design matters.”
“Every time I walk into the WP Engine office, I instantly feel inspired,” said Lindsey Haas, director of Digital Customer Experience at WP Engine. “The space itself is an embodiment of everything that WP Engine stands for including keeping our core values at the forefront of all we do.”
The Ashton was ideal for making “design matter.” Built in 1908, the historic factory warehouse sat vacant for many years. With its crumbling brick and deteriorating foundation, which had been damaged by flooding, the turn-ofthe-century building was slated for demolition before a renovation reprieve. Architecture firm Alley Poyner Machietto helmed the project, and in 2020 McGill Restoration executed a massive large-scale renovation of the site. The original timber and much of the brick remained intact with seamless engineering designed around the structure, restoring the historic building to its former glory. Today, The Ashton is home to restaurants such as Kros Strain Brewery, Archetype Coffee, Sweet Magnolias Bake Shop, Clean Slate Food Co., Heirloom Fine Foods Market & Cafe, and multiple technology firms.
The warm, industrial aesthetic of the building reflects an open, innovative culture and emphasizes that design does indeed matter. From the artful décor to the flooring materials and the preservation of historic architecture, that value is evident in every aspect of WP Engine’s space. Upon entering the 66,000-square-foot building, which can accommodate 400 employees, an impressive, perforated steel staircase serves as the focal point. The cutout circles represent transparency within the company with an overhead skylight offering natural light. The staircase leads to “The Dock,” the fourth floor’s spacious community corridor, which provides a hub for people to gather. WP Engine’s focus lies in community, so this space is ideal for unifying teams throughout the day for
meetings, socializing, and bites to eat. Features such as refrigerators, dishwashers, coffee and ice machines, and beer taps make for convenient amenities, all of which encourage the continuous flow of ideas.
“The overall space is open and inviting, encouraging everyone to engage one another which of course inspires creativity and energy,” Haas explained. “Every time I work from the WP Engine office, I leave feeling accomplished and inspired, because of the productive conversations I had with teammates and from the overall atmosphere.”
The fourth floor offices, which boast 47 conference rooms with tele- and video-conferencing capabilities, foster a hybrid work environment and people-focused culture, providing a space where “knowledge workers,” or employees, can do their best work. Cubicles are a thing of the past; spaces on the edges are perfect for impromptu collaboration, and staff members visiting from out of town can reserve flexible desk spaces. There’s even a call booth station, which includes 19 private phone rooms for working in seclusion.
“WP Engine creates spaces where creativity can flourish,” said Bob Kubicek, senior director of product. “Each decision was designed and led to [mirror] company core values. We’re powering the freedom to create.” For
IN THE OFFICE | STORY BY NATALIE MCGOVERN | PHOTO BY SARAH LEMKE
Jim Egan
EGAN SUPPLY COMPANY
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON–AND GRANDFATHER AND UNCLES, TOO
The staff of Egan Supply Company stays quite busy in the summer. That’s mostly because it’s the season when school is out of session and gymnasium floors aren’t being used. And if a school’s gymnasium floor is spending its summer vacation being redone, there’s an excellent chance that Egan Supply Company has something to do with it.
How does a company that offers customized janitorial supply solutions wind up in the gym floor refurbishing business? As with many small business success stories, it involved seizing opportunity when it arose. “Forty-five or 50 years ago, my grandfather was selling gym finishes to Catholic schools, and the maintenance guy who put it down retired. The nun who was running it said, ‘Can you put it down?’” explained Matt Egan, son of owner Jim Egan. “That year we did one; this year we’re going to do about 450 re-coats, which is about 3.5 million square feet.”
“PEOPLE SEE THE WORK THAT WE DO AND HOW QUICKLY WE DO IT, AND HOW WE’RE VERY PARTICULAR. WE PUT DETAIL INTO EVERYTHING WE DO. WORD OF MOUTH GETS OUT THERE.”
-PAT EGAN
Matt said that everyone involved enjoys these gym floor projects because it’s fun to see them come together. The company is known for its quick and high-quality gym floors, and word spreads like wildfire among schools within districts. He said that word-of-mouth is likely their biggest form of marketing because a gym floor will open back up, the school will host an event, other schools within the district will attend, and the improved gym floor makes such an impression that Egan Supply Company’s phone is ringing the next day.
Of all the gym floors Egan Supply Company has redone, Matt said that Creighton Prep’s gym floor stands out as a fond memory. Most of the Egan men attended Creighton Prep, so they enjoyed doing work at their alma mater. But the main reason the job is such a distinct memory is because they had to drive a skid loader into the gym, but the only door it could fit through had just had the sidewalk replaced in front. “So we had to make the loader fly,” he laughed. “We rented the largest telescoping forklift in the country at the time, strapped the Bobcat to it, and shot it into the building.”
The Egans are no strangers to providing creative solutions to challenging problems, but a flying skid loader certainly makes for a memorable project.
Matt’s uncle, Pat Egan, said, “People see the work that we do and how quickly we do it, and how we’re very particular. We put detail into everything we do. Word of mouth gets out there.”
“WHAT SETS US APART IS WE CREATE CUSTOM-TAILORED SOLUTIONS THAT MEET OUR CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS.”
-MATT EGAN
The same can be said for the other facets of their business. Matt explained that they don’t simply provide janitorial supplies, but they help businesses understand the importance of details. A good example is the many car dealerships to which Egan Supply Company provides janitorial supplies. Matt said that someone going to a luxury dealership to buy a six-figure vehicle doesn’t want to use the dealership’s restroom and encounter brown paper towels and a “grubby soap dispenser.” The Egans help businesses understand the importance of being particular and conveying a certain image to clients.
Matt predicts that the company will continue to grow and expand in the future as a result of how they stand out amongst their competitors as more than a supply company. “What sets us apart is we create custom-tailored solutions that meet our customers’ needs,” he said.
For more information, visit egansupply.net.
omAHA! | STORY BY TAMSEN BUTLER | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN
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THE VISIONARY
XAVIER JACKSON’S LOCAL ART PLUG
e realize the benefit and impact of buying art from your community,” explains Xavier Jackson on the “About Us” section of Local Art Plug’s website. “It strengthens bonds, creates friendships, and provides resources to your local artists.”
“WE REALIZE THE BENEFIT AND IMPACT OF BUYING ART FROM YOUR COMMUNITY. IT STRENGTHENS BONDS, CREATES FRIENDSHIPS, AND PROVIDES RESOURCES TO YOUR LOCAL ARTISTS.”
-XAVIER JACKSON
This is precisely why Jackson, a passionate advocate for local artists seeking to carve out their place in the creative world, founded Local Art Plug, an organization dedicated to helping art lovers find artists, artworks, and art events in their area so that they can connect with all three on a more personal level.
Jackson’s entry into the creative world began here in the Midwest, where he faced significant challenges gaining access to the local art scene. “Starting out my art journey in Omaha was very isolating,” Jackson recalled. “If you didn’t know anyone, it was hard to get into the art scene, especially if you were new and trying to get your name out there. It was difficult to find out who was doing what, and there wasn’t a central hub for creatives to connect. This inspired me to create a way for creatives to earn a living without leaving the state and to help mitigate brain drain in Omaha.”
With a clear vision, Jackson set out to create the Local Art Plug with a plan to work exclusively with those already established in the field. “Initially, we thought we’d only work with professional artists with gallery showings to gauge their seriousness about their art careers,” Jackson explained. “Soon, we found many artists faced barriers to having their first show due to financial reasons, lack of knowledge, or lack of connections. We decided to work with artists at any level, guiding them through the process.”
Jackson’s mission was not without its hurdles. “In the beginning, it was an uphill battle. Many people saw the Local Art Plug as competition and didn’t understand our mission,” he said. “I reached out to many people at art shows, and over time, our actions spoke louder than words. As the team demonstrated the commitment to building and educating the art community, it became easier.”
Luke Armstrong, Jackson’s friend and the co-founder of RenMind as well as the senior product designer at Brightflow AI, provided additional insight into his journey. “[Jackson]’s good at listening and understanding local artists. We met at a startup collaborative called The Chamber Project,” Armstrong said. “We both recognized that artists needed more exposure to make our community more vibrant and cooler.” Armstrong admired Jackson’s perseverance and community-focused approach.
The growth of the Local Art Plug relied heavily on innovative marketing strategies. “Our strategy involves being consistent and repetitive,” Jackson noted. “We share our events in Facebook groups that might have community members interested in the arts, boosting our reach significantly. We also use guerrilla marketing, posting flyers in local coffee shops and handing them out at larger events.”
Looking ahead, Jackson has ambitious plans for the Local Art Plug. “We have several plans for the future,” he revealed. “This includes expanding physical locations in different states, hosting art shows where artists travel between galleries, and licensing our software for the Metaverse to larger companies and organizations for virtual events.”
Jackson’s dedication to Omaha’s art community transformed the Local Art Plug into a cornerstone for local artists. His journey from isolation to community leader highlighted the importance of persistence, community support, and innovative thinking in overcoming barriers and fostering artistic growth. Jackson’s vision continued to drive the Local Art Plug forward, promising a vibrant future for artists both locally and beyond.
For more information, visit localartplug.com.
ON THE RISE | STORY BY BRANDI LONG-FRANK | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN
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Xavier Jackson
TAILORED TRAVEL FOR EVERY PASSION
W hat type of traveler are you? The inquiring minds at Visit Omaha want to know. Today’s travelers seek out personalized experiences built around individual interests. Visit Omaha is keeping pace with the demand for customization with a marketing campaign that speaks to the individual traveler.
On the VisitOmaha.com homepage, the question is asked, and visitors can select from seven possible answers: Family Fun, Active Adventurer, Foodie Fanatic, History Buff, Sports Fan, Art & Music Lover, and Surprise Me (for the truly travel-curious). Clicking on each directs users to tailored content to aid in planning their trip.
For example, Family Fun links to a sample itinerary outlining kid-friendly restaurants and entertaining ways to spend four days in Omaha. Click through to things to do (familyfriendly attractions), places to stay (hotels with a pool), and places to eat (like sweets shops). Choose Foodie Fanatic for a sample itinerary with stops at Omaha standouts from diners to fine dining, and find information about complimentary breakfast, specialty food, and Omaha Restaurant Week. A video on each itinerary page drums up further excitement. The videos are also used in digital advertising and paid social media.
To further build on this specialized content, Visit Omaha is partnering with social media influencers who align with these traveler personas. With their established authority and taste, influencers can significantly impact their audiences’ travel choices. Those selected will be invited to experience Omaha firsthand. Each influencer will follow an itinerary based on a specific persona and create captivating stories, stunning visuals, and authentic experiences to share across their platforms. Visit Omaha will also promote and publish the material on social media through paid advertising.
Whether prospective visitors encounter customized itineraries on our website or discover the content created by influencers online, they can trust that their Omaha journey will be as unique as they are.
For more information, go to visitnebraska.com/ omaha-convention-visitors-bureau.
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HONORING OMAHA’S WORLD-CLASS BUSINESSES
F or over 130 years, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce has been a cornerstone in the development and prosperity of our region. We’ve worked hard to play an instrumental role in fostering a thriving business environment, encouraging entrepreneurship, and facilitating economic growth. Through collaborative efforts with our members and local partners, the Chamber has focused on turning Omaha into a vibrant hub of innovation and enterprise.
The influence of Chamber members like Union Pacific, Security National Bank, Security Equipment, Inc., Streck, and Omaha Performing Arts cannot be overstated in the effort to make Omaha the center of everything.
With its deep historical roots, Union Pacific has been a significant employer and a vital contributor to Omaha’s infrastructural and economic development. The company’s commitment to the city has helped anchor Omaha as a central node in America’s transportation and logistics network.
Security National Bank, a thriving Omaha institution, has provided financial stability and growth opportunities for countless individuals and enterprises. Its role in supporting local businesses and fostering financial literacy has been crucial in sustaining our regional economic momentum.
Security Equipment, Inc., a safety and security industry leader, exemplifies innovation and excellence. The company’s security technology advancements have garnered national recognition and enhanced the safety and operational efficiency of businesses and institutions across the region.
Streck, a prominent player in the biomedical field, has propelled Omaha into the spotlight of scientific innovation and healthcare excellence. Their groundbreaking research and Heath
development efforts have created high-quality jobs and positioned Omaha as a critical contributor to global health advancements.
Omaha Performing Arts, meanwhile, has enriched the city’s cultural landscape, making it a vibrant and attractive place to live and work. Their world-class performances and educational programs have drawn visitors from far and wide, boosting local tourism and providing substantial economic benefits.
As we highlight the impact these five businesses have made in making the Omaha economy more dynamic and resilient, all of these businesses have been led by a leader who will be recognized as a new inductee to the Omaha Business Hall of Fame later this month. This honor celebrates individuals whose contributions have profoundly impacted Omaha’s business community and economic landscape. Their achievements serve as an inspiration and a testament to the enduring spirit of innovation and leadership that defines Omaha.
Congratulations to Lance Fritz from Union Pacific, Mickey, C.L., and Jim Landen from Security National Bank, Sid Meridith from Security Equipment, Ic., Connie Ryan from Streck, and Joan Squires from Omaha Performing Arts for leaving such powerful legacies and giving back so much to our business community.
Interested in hearing more about these business leaders? Attend the 2024 Omaha Business Hall of Fame Gala: omahachamber.org/BHOF
Mello is the CEO for the Greater Omaha Chamber.
Deborah Ward is the executive director of Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau.
