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inside

features

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cover story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Playing it Safety

arts & entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Beyond the Pales how i roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Bill Redick omaha! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Fat Brain Toys in the office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Michael Green the know-it-all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Hedge Funds 2.0 omaha! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Brite Ideas

columns

arts & entertainment Page 12

message from the mayor ...................................... 26 I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together

business ethics .................................................. 28 Taking the Ethics Challenge

Fall 2008 B2B omaha 7

cover story

Playing It Safety Over a long career, Kay Farrell has created her own path. story by Judy Horan

•

photo by minorwhitestudios.com

The National Safety Council has an image problem. “People misunderstand us totally,” says Kay Farrell, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chapter. “They think we’re governmental.” Not true. The National Safety Council is a private, 501(c3) community-based nonprofit program with a unique mission to reduce injuries. But the local chapter that covers five counties is unique not only in Omaha. It is unique in the nation. 8 B2B Omaha Fall 2008

Omaha Chapter Shines “The Omaha chapter is one of our best-producing chapters in raising awareness about safety and health and reducing injuries,” says Vago Galounis, calling from the National Safety Council headquarters near Chicago. He says Omaha takes a leadership role. “They’re always the first ones to want to expand their reach into the community, the first to want to augment the products and services they have in their community,” he adds. Galounis points out that in 2007 the Omaha area became only

the fourth American community to be selected as a “Safe Community” by the World Health Organization. Much credit is given to Farrell, the energetic, 69-year-old president of the chapter. During the 20 years she’s been in the office, the Omaha chapter has grown from a staff of 7 to 101 with 23 full-time employees and 78 part-time instructors. Membership has grown from 250 to more than 1,000. Farrell spearheaded the move in 1999 to a new $3 million building at 11620 M Circle. “When I started 20 years ago, we were at 24th and St. Mary’s with a classroom not much bigger than my office,” she says. A move to 87th and F Streets brought more room. But with 80 events taking place each month, more classroom space and more parking were needed. With the backing of her board of directors, Kay guided the chapter into the first building of its own. “Kay to me is a consummate leader… Someone who cares about the community she’s in and also the people she works with,” says Galounis.

A Leader in the Making After Farrell graduated from the University of North Carolina — where she was inducted into the Valkyries, the school’s highest women’s honorary for service to others — she had a job offer in Richmond, Va. The area’s beautiful scenery tempted her to stay. But her parents, Bill and Gertrude Boortz, enticed her back to her hometown of Council Bluffs to be an Ak-Sar-Ben princess in 1960. Farrell still has the jewel-encrusted, gold lame’ gown she wore the night of the Ak-Sar-Ben Coronation Ball, “…the prettiest princess gown they ever had.” At the Ball, she met her future husband, William Farrell, who was an Ak-Sar-Ben escort, and another reason to stay in the Omaha area was born. She took a job in the advertising department at Mutual of Omaha. She left after four years to marry Farrell. For a few years, she was public relations manager for her father’s chain of drug stores, Clark Drug Co. Her father was a strong mentor, she says. “Father had aspirations for me. He wanted me to be the best I could be.” She then became vice president of the company her husband founded, Farrell Construction Co. She also broke through a glass ceiling as one of the first women designers of irrigation sprinkler systems. Kay dipped her toe in another venture during those years. She began a company called Oriental Merchant Ltd., importing Chinese furniture and antiques.

During her five years with the business, she gave talks on Chinese symbolism and art. She traveled to Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan in search of merchandise. The flexibility of a job in the family business as well as running her business allowed time to spend with their three children. Farrell closed Oriental Merchant and left Farrell Construction in 1985 to join the Omaha Symphony as marketing director. Then she moved on to sell printing and sales promotion incentives for Prime Supply. “But I needed my own purpose. That’s why I volunteered all those years and that’s why I love this job so much.” The Safety Council was looking for someone with her background in business and volunteering. Active in the Rotary Club, she has volunteered for the Junior League of Omaha, the Omaha Symphony, Children’s Hospital Guild, Clarkson Hospital Guild and the PTA. Watching Safety Grow “It’s so exciting to know from 1998 to 2007, we have reduced traffic crashes in Douglas County by 42 percent and traffic crash injuries by 47 percent,” Farrell says proudly. “It helps us realize we can do this in other injury areas.” She says that traffic programs by the Omaha Chapter help about 10,000 people each year. “The overall impact of training in community safety, occupational safety, health and traffic safety and behavior modification programs helps 50,000 a year.” The varied programs offered by the Council are for those sent by the courts and by their employer as well as for the community at large. Many programs, such as the Car Seat Safety Check for Kids, are carried out with community partners. “We check thousands of children’s car seats each year with a lot of success. There’s now about 93 percent child passenger seat usage in Nebraska. “But only 79 percent in safety belt usage. We have developed a coalition of 600 people across Nebraska to promote safety belt usage in their communities.” For members, joining the National Safety Council chapter is a dollars and cents decision. “The companies are trying to avoid fines by having the National Safety Council tell them what needs to be done,” says Farrell, who adds that the Council provides consulting as well as workplace safety training. “We go into a workplace and do a walk-through and explain what needs repair for safety reasons.” The Chapter has been an OSHA Training Institute Education Center since 2003. New & Creative Ideas Farrell and her staff continually attempt to come up with new program ideas. “We have to constantly reinvent ourselves,” she says. “We are selling safety, which to most people seems boring.” “Safety Idol” was a new idea launched in May. The program is patterned after the TV show, “American Idol.” Entrants sent DVDs

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with music, magic or any entertainment with a theme of safety. Voting was by the public and celebrity judges. The first-place winner was Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital with a takeoff on Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” called “Safety Back.” In September, another creative program will start to coincide with homecoming season. More than 220 schools have signed on across Nebraska for the “Come Home Safe” school campaign that promotes seat belt use. “Teens are most at risk in motor vehicle crashes,” notes Farrell. The idea came from the ‘Click It, Don’t Risk It’ team, funded by the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety. The team is officed at the Safety Council. Farrell began the FIRST program (Fall Intervention Reaching Seniors Together) with 60 organizations collaborating to reduce falls for people over 65. Falls are the number-one cause of injury-related deaths for seniors. The idea came from her involvement with the National Safety Council, where she is a member of the national board and chairman of the chapter division. “I got involved with an effort to convince Congress to pass legislation to provide dollars to reduce elderly falls. I went to Washington and told senators what a serious issue this is.” Congress passed the Safety of Seniors Act this year. Because falls also are a danger to tots, she recently made available the book “Tumbling Tim” that parents can read to their kids. These are just some of the programs the National Safety Council offers to keep the Omaha area safer. Farrell is currently a member of the national Off-the-Job Safety Advisory Council. “I work with safety directors of top companies helping to design an annual symposium on a national basis to help people reduce injuries,” she says. She and her husband enjoy spending time with their three adult children and two granddaughters. Her husband retired 15 years ago, but Farrell has no plans to follow his lead. “I enjoy playing bridge, but how much bridge can you play?”

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Beyond the Pales:

Upstream and Nebraska Brewing Companies

elgium, Germany, Ireland and England. For centuries, these countries have been home to some of the world’s best breweries. Fortunately, you don’t need a passport to taste the ales, bitters and lagers that brought them such acclaim. That’s because Upstream and Nebraska Brewing Companies craft artisinal beers — from India Pale Ales to Grand Crus — that might give foreign-born beers a run for their money. While each has different degrees of experience and expertise, they both brew with great respect for tradition, as well as a commitment to creating their own signature beers. Having opened in November 2007, Nebraska Brewing Company is the newest addition to the regional beer scene. However, owners Paul and Kim Kavulak are by no means newcomers to fine beer. What began as a pastime for Paul has become his personal calling. “I’ve been brewing for seventeen years,” says Paul. “It’s a passion. Then Kim got impassioned. Two years ago, we said if we’re really serious, let’s start a business plan and start looking at locations.” The location they chose was Shadow Lake Town Center in Papillion, and the timing for the brewery opening proved ideal. “People (nowadays) are willing to try different beers,” observes Paul. “They’re developing a greater acceptance of craft beers, which means they are now more apt to try others.” Paul said he’s ready to help his customers explore the rich range of craft beers. “We don’t take any shortcuts,” he says. “We brew true to style.” This is evident in the original four beers that the Nebraska Brewing Company introduced: EOS Wheat, Eden Amber, India Pale Ale and Cardinal Pale Ale. Each beer is unique, with subtle infusions of ingredients including clove, caramel and 12 B2B Omaha Fall 2008

citrus. Special seasonal brews also rotate throughout the year. Valentine’s Day features beer with traces of cherry, chocolate and maca root – the so-called “Peruvian Viagra.” “Women loved it,” recalls Kim. “They dubbed it the ‘Sex Beer.’” For lovers of the sporting kind, Paul’s fall brew is a “Nebraska Red” ale, crafted in time for the kick-off to college football season. To round out their beer offerings, the Kavulaks make food a central part of their business. “We wanted a full restaurant,” says Kim. “We serve what we like to eat with great beer.” This includes classic beer staples such as steak and burgers, but often with a twist. Wherever designated by the Nebraska Brewing Company logo on the menu, beer serves as an important ingredient, most notably in dishes like the beer-infused ice cream. Such offerings underscore the Kavulak’s adventurous business approach. Says Paul, “Everyday, we always look to change, to lend an element of surprise. If you’ve come in before, come in again, and you’ll experience something new.” While Nebraska Brewing Company is a relatively new business, Upstream Brewery is well established, avidly popular and now expanding into new and exciting territory. Founded in 1996, Upstream followed the craft brewing/brew pub trend that began in the Northwest and made its way across the country. Since then, Brian Magee, Upstream’s owner and president, has seen consumer tastes change as the appreciation for artisinal beers has grown. “Over the last five or six years,” he says, “we’ve gone from selling lighter style beers to expanding to certain styles that five or six years ago would not have been popular.” Brew Master Zac Triemert, who has been with Upstream since 2002, has experienced the consumer’s willingness to experiment from the production side. “I started brewing British style ales, which have been Upstream’s bread and butter, but I’ve since gotten into more esoteric Belgian style and world beers.” Triemert is one of a few people in Nebraska with the kind of credentials to create those esoteric beers. In addition to holding a BS in microbiology and chemistry, subjects necessary to understanding and controlling the brewing process, Triemert earned his master’s degree

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from the International Center for Brewing and Distilling in Edinburgh, Scotland, at Heriot-Watt University. “I learned from the people who make the best whiskey in the world,” he says. For this reason, Triemert brings his own unique style to the Omaha brewpub, and both his training and brewing instincts have paid off big-time for Upstream. His Belgian-style beer garnered the gold medal in 2007’s World Beer Championship, proving that American brewers have what it takes to compete internationally. Says McGee, “We’re proud to say that in Omaha, Neb., we are producing world-class beer. Zac is a brilliant guy. He’s taken the business on the brewing side to a new level.” This fall, Upstream will rise to yet another level by launching its own microbrew label. Its Lucky Bucket beers will be available in bottled 12-oz. six-packs at local and regional retail outlets. The first three to hit the shelves include the deeply flavorful Lucky Bucket Lager, a robust, British-style India Pale Ale, and “Concentrated Evil,” a reserve-style beer bottled with a cork, which Triemert describes as “dark and super rich.” All these beers will be deeply dimensional, each with their own distinguishing characteristics, and each, says the master brewer, “created like no one else’s.” Additionally, Triemert is heading Sólas (Gaelic for “beacon” or “happiness”), the first commercial distillery to open in Nebraska since prohibition. “My goal is to make a Scotch-style single malt whiskey that I will lay down for years,” he says. In the meantime, Sólás will offer super premium vodka, light and dark Cuban-style rums and even a Calvados, a rich apple-based brandy typically available only in Normandy. As different as Upstream and Nebraska Brewing Companies are in terms of their histories and offerings, both share the same commitment. These local businesses create beers that expand upon the world of brewing traditions through their own unique innovations to the centuries-old craft. “We’re brewers at heart,” says Paul Kuvulak. “We pride ourselves on making beer true to style. It’s a quest to make excellent beer.” Master brewer Zac Triemert agrees. “I do this because it’s a passion.” And, he adds, “One thing’s for sure – we are having a lot of fun.” 14 B2B Omaha Fall 2008

story by sandy lemke

Photo by minorwhitestudios.com

Bill Redick Corporate Pilot

Bill Redick rolls on both roads and runways.

e imagined from the beginning that we would sometime feature a plane or a motorcycle in our How I Roll segment. How fortunate we are this issue to feature Bill Redick, 63, who not only flies a plane for a living, but also rides a BMW motorcycle during his time off. For work, Redick pilots a Learjet 45. He’s logged 16,000 hours since learning to fly at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach Campus.

On his off time, you’ll find Redick cruising up to 500 miles per day on a BMW K1200 LT. Like many motorcyclists, Redick is hooked. “I love the freedom and feel of the open road. My spouse, Jan, loves to ride with me, and this bike is one of the most comfortable bikes made.” Any similarities between flying and motorcycle riding? “I love it when I enter a turn and accelerate through it. It is the same feeling when we climb through [clouds] into blue sky,” said Redick.

This pilot doesn’t feel the need for speed when it comes to motorcycling. “I don’t ride very fast, but I love a good twisty country road. The hills of southwestern Iowa are great. We have taken some great trips to the mountains as well.” Back to the plane. What’s Redick’s favorite part of flying? “When the brakes are released for takeoff, you are pushed back into the seat. I hope to never get tired of that. I love all aspects of flying.” Any tricks? “No tricks.” Fall 2008 B2B Omaha 15

story by Tina king

Photos by minorwhitestudios.com

Fat Brain Toys

Successful online toy retailer opening retail store at Village Pointe

Karen and Mark Carson: parents, toy inventors, entrepreneurs.

t all started with a 10-year-old’s birthday present. Adam Carson received a set of Geomag magnetic building toys for his 10th birthday. He still had gift money to spend, so he went online looking for more magnet sets. It was a difficult and frustrating search, so he suggested his dad open an online store selling Geomags. Mark Carson did just that. Almost six years later, he’s not just a retailer, but also a toy inventor and bricks-and-mortar storeowner. The Geomag idea came in 2002, and the elder Carson was open to entrepreneurial ventures. As a web developer in the dot-com boom, he helped launch giftcertificates.com and netshops.com. He was ready to pursue business ideas for his own family. The magnetic toy business – initially toymagnets.com – evolved into Fat Brain Toys (fatbraintoys. com), an online retail business offering a variety of quality, educational toys for all ages. It’s web sales have grown about 60 percent in each of its five years. Today, on a peak sales day, the Elkhorn-based 16 B2B Omaha Fall 2008

company processes more than 7,000 orders. In September, the business will expand yet again, when the company opens a storefront in a southern lot of the ever-expanding Village Pointe shopping complex. Store merchandise will reflect the more than 4,000 products offered on its website. Magnetic toys will remain a featured item on store shelves, as well as many other quality toys of all types for all ages. The store’s main toy criteria: the products must all be open-ended, “accidental learning”-type toys that both entertain and educate. “We really try to search out those toys that at their core have some redeeming quality about them,” Carson says. Nostalgic parents will find classic Erector sets and Lincoln Logs, as well as the latest quality toy fair finds. They won’t find licensed characters like Dora or SpongeBob. “Our toys are good because of the toy itself,” Carson says. GARNeRING WeB SuCCeSS The fatbraintoys.com site’s operations and tools were developed using customer feedback. Online users can tell exactly how many of each product is in stock — nearly all the merchandise is on hand at the La Vista warehouse. They can also get immediate online answers to the cost and timing of shipping, or call the Elkhorn offices with product questions toll-free. A “gift wizard” search engine allows users to combine a child’s interest with their age and gender, as well as to choose which countries products are made in. There is also a section with toy recommendations for kids with special needs. The website includes photos of Carson and his wife and business partner, Karen Carson, and their kids Adam, 16, Jenna, 11, and Makenzie, 8. In a link to the company information page, users can view the photos of warehouse employees and their children. “I think it humanizes the website,” Carson says. Fat Brain Toys has about 30 employees, but that number jumps to more than 80 during the holiday season. Some of the full-

time employees were among the network of friends and family who helped out when toymagnets.com was a start-up business in the Carson’s garage. The introduction of a storefront comes two years after the company introduced toys of its own creation. BeCOMING INveNTORS Dado Cubes, a type of open building blocks with side slits for stacking, came about after the 2005 Christmas season. Carson built a prototype of the cubes and began testing and refining it. Nine months later, he had them on the market. They are now also for sale by FAO Schwarz and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The cubes even made it into a movie – Alvin and the Chipmunks – without Carson realizing it. His sister-in-law called him from a movie theater to let him know she had just seen his invention on the big screen. “That’s just fun,” he laughs. The entrepreneur believes in supporting other Omaha businesses as well. He had local Premier Plastics create a Dado Cube mold and the prototype of Dado Squares. Premier continues to manufacture the toys for the retailer. Premier Plastics owner Greg Bartlett is impressed with Fat Brain Toys and the honest business ethics of its employees. He’s never seen an official purchase order from the toy company – someone just calls and says how big of a run is needed. “They are very easygoing people and it’s easy to work with them,” he says. Karen Carson enjoys the family business. “Mark certainly has the entrepreneurial spirit,” she says. “While I wish I had a little more of that in me, I would view myself as the conservative one of the pair. This can get interesting at times, but truly makes for a great balance.” The future may hold an additional storefront or more inventions, but for now the Carsons are letting things move at a pace that makes sense for the business. The couple states their business philosophy on fatbraintoys.com. “In an era where many toy companies have struggled and failed, Fat Brain Toys is proof that quality products, hard work, and Midwestern hospitality can be a truly powerful combination.” Fall 2008 B2B omaha 17

story by mike watkins

Photos by minorwhitestudios.com

Michael Green

of EverGreen Capital Management

ichael Green is surrounded by images and words that remind him daily that everything of importance – no matter how great or small – comes with a price. Even freedom – something Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminds him of from a plaque above his desk in his sparsely but smartly decorated office not far from the Westroads Mall. Dr. King is just one of Green’s cultural and societal inspirations who speak to him from his office walls. Tennis champion and human rights advocate Arthur Ashe and boxing icon Muhammad Ali also look down upon him from framed portraits that he holds among the most prized possessions in his office. “As Dr. King said, ‘Freedom has always been an expensive thing,’ and that’s something I keep very close to me as a reminder of what’s most important,” said Green, owner of EverGreen Capital Management. “All three (King, Ashe and Ali) were proponents of civil and human rights and were much bigger than their sports. I’ve always admired that.” Freedom is one of the main motivators that prompted Green to break away from a position with Kirkpatrick Pettis, a leading financial investment firm, in 1989. Answering his entrepreneurial calling, Green established a three-year revenue sharing arrangement with the partners at Kirkpatrick Pettis and set out on his own as the only minorityowned wealth management firm in Nebraska – and one of a handful nationwide. A small business himself, Green initially focused on fulfilling the investing needs of small organizations, including a local educational institution. He also managed the retirement fund for the employees of the former US West (now Qwest Communications). Over the past 19 years, Green has grown his business into a very successful enterprise, handling both business and personal wealth management with assets of over $100 million. Green admits the venture hasn’t been without its obstacles over the years – few bigger than convincing businesses that EverGreen wasn’t too small to manage their investments. Still, it’s a decision and risk Green’s never doubted or regretted taking. Ever since he ran 18 B2B Omaha Fall 2008

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his own paper route as a youngster, he has wanted to manage his own business destiny. “I was always looking for opportunities to make my own money,” said Green, who lied about his age to get his first job as a stock boy in the restaurant of the Fontenelle Hotel as a teenager. “I honestly don’t know where it came from, but I always wanted to be my own boss.” A football and track star at Omaha Technical High School (now the site of Omaha Public Schools headquarters), Green rode his athletic talent to a scholarship at the University of NebraskaLincoln. He played tailback for Bob Devaney from 1965 to 1970 – one year removed from Nebraska’s 1971 and 1972 National Championships. During his freshman orientation, Green’s academic counselor convinced him to take an Introduction to Business course. It was in this class that his interest in financial wealth planning grew, and a post-college career plan was born. “Coming out of high school, my football coach told me that whatever I did, I shouldn’t major in history because all I’d be able to do is teach,” Green said. “So, I needed to find something else to focus on, and an interest in finance just came naturally to me. It made sense.” Green graduated from UNL with a degree in marketing and economics and enrolled in graduate school at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) where continued on next page

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he earned his MBA with an emphasis in finance. His first job out of graduate school was at Omaha National Bank (now part of U.S. Bank) in the lobby of the Woodmen Tower. He went on to take a position with Kirkpatrick Pettis several years later. Even though the number of minorityowned financial investment firms has increased exponentially (it’s now in the thousands) since Green began almost 20 years ago, the majority of firms are still white-owned. It remains his mission to continue to help younger minority students explore and embrace their inner entrepreneur, and to think about a future within their own control. “Considering that 95 percent of wealth firms are not minority owned, I want to continue to change that number dramatically,” said Green, who sat on the MECA (Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority) Board for 10 years as well as the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. “Over the years, I’ve worked hard to give younger students a taste of entrepreneurship because there weren’t many minority entrepreneurs when I was coming through school. “I want them to imagine and experience the possibilities so when they’re ready to start their careers, they realize it’s something not beyond their reach.” And when he’s not acting as a career counselor, Green often finds himself guiding his clients through good and bad financial moments. He believes a wealth advisor proves their true worth to clients by helping them maneuver through tricky financial markets and giving them piece of mind that their money is in good hands. “In the late 90s, people were throwing darts and making money, but in today’s unpredictable market, investors are looking for people they can trust, who have credibility and are experienced,” said Green, who boasts several plaques and honors in his office, including one from the Urban League of Omaha. “Part of my service is to listen to people and prove my value in long-term planning. Markets are susceptible to excess and correct themselves, and a good financial advisor gets their clients successfully through the bad times even more so than the good.”

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Hedge Funds 2.0 Inflated Energy and Commodity Prices

ave you and your business suffered enough yet from the high energy and commodity prices? Well, relief is in sight. The stranglehold market manipulators had on the futures markets seems to be lessening. I wonder just how many good businesses they caused to go bankrupt, as they churned the markets with borrowed money. News organizations around the world are finally getting the story straight: We have all been duped by greedy market manipulators. Congress has been investigating this for months. Commodity speculators, trading in Atlanta, with corporate offices in London, have not gone away. Many of the worst of these have stated that if the U.K. or U.S. try to regulate their activities, they will relocate their operations to Singapore or Dubai. Whom do I blame? On one hand, I look at the congressional bill, passed in 2000, sponsored by Phil Gramm and written by Enron, which freed these market manipulators from regulations. Remember the crushing electricity prices, and brownouts, in California, which happened the year following the passage of Philâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bill? Yes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to blame the event which allowed this to all get rolling, and the people involved. On the other hand, it is easy to focus blame on those who rose to the top of that corrupt organization called Enron. I also blame certain enablers within our Federal government. New revised reports regarding the domestic oil consumption have been reissued. This has effected a delay in the Energy Department 22 B2B Omaha Fall 2008

reporting the significant decline in oil consumption in the U.S., which led proppedup oil futures prices in the four-month period during which oil rose from $100 to $147 a barrel. That’s right…Our federal government allowed the charade to continue during this four-month price run-up. The congressional report on commodity market manipulation has been reissued to show that a single trader’s activities have been reclassified from industrial to pure speculation. A single trader was responsible for 10% of the market trades in oil futures. This reclassification significantly changed the conclusion of the congressional report, now proving that the market was indeed manipulated. Now that those reports have been reissued, it is easy to see that this error was intentional. Why so? To allow the investment bankers time to recover their earnings, preventing another Bear Stearnstype bailout by the Fed. The best way to treat the symptom of these inflated commodity and energy prices is to increase the supply (i.e.: drill more NOW). You can see the impact of opening the outer shelf of the U.S. coast is having on prices. We need to allow other forms of energy generation to be developed, without years of legal battles. Nuclear and cleanburning coal plants are solid producers of electricity. Wind is nice, just ask T. Boone. Texas is now the largest producer of wind power in the world. That’s great, but numerous natural gas power plants have to keep their boilers hot all day to make up for when the wind dies down each afternoon, just when electric demands are the highest. So, what seems like a great idea may not cut it in the real world. The best way to treat the illness is to have Congress undo the damage done by the Phil Gramm bill. Then, the FBI can do what is necessary to punish those behind this market manipulation. It is really troubling to me how a thief who steals $500 from a business is thrown in jail, yet the commodity market manipulator who bankrupts a business flies off to their vacation home in their Gulfstream 5 jets. Something is just not right here.

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story by Heather Heier Lane

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It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

Brite Idea’s lights use one-tenth the electricity of regular holiday lights.

amilies and businesses love to deck the halls and show the world how much they adore celebrating the holiday season! Lights and decorations start showing up in neighborhoods as early as October, and some people go to extremes to make their homes and businesses shine with holiday bling! Yet with all the hustle and bustle, some people find they have more ideas than time. Sure, they want a giant tree lit up out front, and have visions of an animated elf village, but they wind up overwhelmed by the thought of spending a month’s worth of Saturdays putting it all up (not to mention taking it down…) This is where Brite Ideas Decorating comes to the rescue. Travis Freeman, president and owner of Brite Ideas Decorating, helps makes the holidays more enjoyable for his clients by creating and installing state-of-the-art decorations. So instead of spending time digging through old boxes filled with mismatched decorations, customers call on him to do the heavy lifting. All THEY need to do is remember to turn the lights on. Established back in 1990, Brite Ideas was born when Freeman started to look for ways to expand his business. He owned a landscaping company at the time, and realized that the most logical way to 24 B2B Omaha Fall 2008

expand was to extend his season. Putting up Christmas lights seemed to be the perfect fit, so he placed an ad in the paper and waited to see if there was interest. The phone eventually started to ring, and soon Freeman was showing up at homes ready to spread some holiday cheer. In the beginning it was a low-tech affair, and he spent many hours unraveling lights stored in garbage bags and making due with what decorations he had. The business quickly expanded, and now his staff produces festive displays that cost thousands of dollars to bring to life. They conceptualize and produce elaborate lighting and displays, then install, tear down and store the equipment for clients. In 2000 things really took off when Freeman started selling franchises. Now the company that started out by placing a simple classified ad has 290 locations across the United States. Five years ago they opened a factory in China enabling them to produce and sell their own line of lights. This ensures the quality of the product and makes it easier for Freeman to distribute to his franchises. What makes Freeman’s business extra special, aside from the thousands of smiles his work elicits from children and adults alike, is the fact that he created a unique business that is a friend to both the economy and the environment. But how can a company that literally illuminates Christmas be considered green? Simple — his factory creates LED lights that use one tenth the electricity of regular holiday lights. And as for the economy—with 290 franchises, run mostly be seasonal landscaping companies—Brite Ideas provides hundreds of employees the opportunity to add a few extra months’ income to their household’s bottom line. This extra cash means more money in their pockets to spend on a pile of Christmas gifts, helping the economy even further. Kinda seems like Travis Freeman came up with more than just another bright idea…he came up with the perfect one!

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ight years ago I was a businessman looking for a way to give back to the community that has given me so much and is the city that I love. Omaha was on the right path, but changes needed to be made. City spending was out of control, public safety needed to be prioritized, civility was lacking, and our neighborhoods deserved the same attention that was being given to our riverfront. As mayor, I promised to address all of those issues. Fast forward to today, and those promises have been fulfilled and the quality of life in Omaha has been enhanced for ALL citizens. Together we have tackled difficult issues, made tough decisions, faced unimaginable circumstances, and have done what is best for the future growth and prosperity of our city. These efforts and accomplishments are not mine alone. Omaha’s success is larger than any one person, and it has taken all of us — corporate heads, neighborhood leaders, nonprofit advocates, elected officials, our caring citizens, and countless others — to turn our goals into reality. I am confident that whoever leads this city as mayor now and well into the future can keep Omaha headed in the right direction by embracing cooperation and partnerships. I look at my job as mayor as an opportunity and not a right. I’ve worked to uphold the honor of the office the citizens of Omaha placed me in, and I’ve never taken this wonderful opportunity for granted. Omaha was best served by fresh ideas and a new outlook on city government in 2001, and I believe it’s once again time to take our city in a new direction on our path of success. Therefore, I have decided not to seek a third term as Mayor of Omaha. Eight years is long enough for any person to lead. I love this job and I cherish the opportunity our citizens have given me. But it is time for a new mayor to take up where I leave off, just as I did over seven years ago and forty-eight other mayors have done before me. I look forward to the final ten months of my administration and paving the way for a smooth transition to the next administration. I want to thank everybody who has supported me over the years, most importantly my family. I am proud of our accomplishments and Omahans should be too.

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he results are in. The inaugural Organizational Ethics Survey reveals Omaha’s business ethics style1. Among the findings are two important points. First, Omaha business leaders want their organizations to convey strong moral values. Second, Omaha business leaders think we need to do a better job communicating business ethics in our organizations. We love a challenge. As Midwesterners, we know what it takes: Hard work. As Husker fans, we know how to achieve our goals: Practice. Let’s accept the challenge. Let’s start with the basics to make sure we can verbalize business ethics. Suppose a subordinate asks, “What is business ethics”? “Um…..” Ok. Time to practice. Business ethics is an action word. Business ethics is about doing what is right and good in business. But is everything that is right and good in business about ethics? No. Some things are right because they are the law, e.g., filing corporate taxes. Some things are good because they are efficient, e.g., holding a teleconference rather than flying across the country for a meeting. Still others are good because they show you have manners, e.g., giving the visitor the comfortable chair at the table. Ethics is on a continuum with, but is different from, the law, efficiency, and etiquette. Ethics pertains to what is morally right and good. Philosophers have attempted to define ethics for two thousand years and there is still disagreement about the particulars. However there is consensus on this: Ethics is about how people treat each other. The moral perspective requires longterm thinking about the serious harm or help we can do to other people. Great. You can define “business ethics”

for your subordinate. “Luckily, I don’t have to deal with business ethics,” your subordinate says. “I’m not a CEO so I don’t have to worry about these things.” “Um….” Ok. Practice isn’t over yet. There are three levels of business ethics – micro, meso, and macro. At the micro level of the individual, business ethics does not discriminate. Fairness, loyalty, and cheating are issues for every person at every level of an organization. A CEO has to ask himself whether hiring his friend is the right thing to do. A salesperson has to decide whether to make an unnecessary sale in order to meet her monthly commission goals. Meso level business ethics deals with organizational ethics and the rules, policies, and procedures necessary for creating a culture of integrity in a workplace. For example, whether an organization should have a compensation structure based on commission is a meso level business ethics issue. But isn’t compensation structure just a business issue? No, because compensation structures have implications for how salespeople treat their clients – and that’s about ethics. An organization must examine its compensation structure in order to ensure that it is aligned with its corporate values. Macro level business ethics is about the institution of business as a whole, its purpose and overall direction. An example of a macro level business ethics issue is the debate about whether the incentives used in capitalistic systems enhances or diminishes human flourishing. Heady stuff. Ok, practice is over for today. Time to hit the showers. 1 The 2008 Organizational Ethics Survey was sponsored by

the Greater Omaha Alliance for Business Ethics at Creighton University’s College of Business Administration. For more information, email beverlykracher@creighton.edu. Beverly Kracher, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Business Ethics & Society Executive Director of the Greater Omaha Alliance for Business Ethics College of Business Administration Creighton University beverlykracher@creighton.edu

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Methodist Health System

Making women’s health care a priority into the details and amenities that make a hospital Throughout Methodist Health System—Methodist experience more pleasant,” Korth said. Hospital, Methodist Physicians Clinic and Jennie Full-size rooms were constructed at Methodist Edmundson Hospital—attention is being paid to replicating the same floor plans, requisite equipment wellness for women in many different ways. One of and décor as the patient rooms in the new hospital. the most palpable examples of this initiative is the Doctors, nurses, staff and patients were then invited construction of an entire hospital and campus to tour the rooms and provide feedback on feasibility, dedicated expressly to women’s care. ergonomics, comfort level—anything and everything Building is currently under way at 192nd & that might affect patient care. Their responses are West Dodge Road for Methodist Women’s Hospital, helping to shape the hospital stays of future patients the first hospital of its kind in the region. The 74 because a positive obstetric and gynecologic experience will often result physicians and three nurse in a positive outcome. midwives, who currently All patient rooms in practice at Methodist the Methodist Women’s Hospital, are already slated Hospital will be private, to move to the new facility. with necessary equipment Heading up the new hospital and apparatus on-hand, is the energetic and highly but out-of-sight. Some focused chief operating rooms, such as those officer, Susan K. Korth, Ph.D. reserved for high-risk The new COO’s Rendering of the new Methodist Women’s Hospital at 192nd & West Dodge Road pregnancy patients, will professional and academic feature accommodations closely resembling studio credentials make her uniquely qualified for the job, apartments. but it is her creative and well-reasoned approach to this A Level IIIA Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) undertaking that is most compelling. will help alleviate the metropolitan area’s shortage “I want to go beyond the confines of ‘what’s been of beds for at-risk babies. In addition to maternity done’ and make ‘what can be’ something tangible,” services, the new women’s hospital will provide a full Korth said. range of gynecological services for women of all ages. The goal of the Methodist Women’s Hospital is to The new hospital will offer both men and women a provide excellence in personalized, family-centered host of outpatient diagnostics, while the 84th Street care through education and creative practice. Korth campus will continue to provide the core major services and her team intend to deliver on that goal. They’ve of cardiac and cancer care. Many green spaces have been planned for the campus, including a rooftop living garden. The garden will feature easy access for hospital beds, providing patients on mandatory bed rest a much-needed change of venue. Dr. Korth and her staff are working tirelessly to implement innovations that will benefit patients and personnel alike. They join colleagues throughout begun by looking at every aspect of care in the new the system in championing wellness for women facility through the eyes of the patient. and making Methodist Health System the leader in “Hospital visits and stays can be stressful for everyone women’s health. n in the family, so we’ve put a great deal of thought

“I want to go beyond the confines of ‘what’s been done’ and make ‘what can be’ something tangible.”

Chief Operating Officer of the new Methodist Women’s Hospital

About Susan K. Korth Susan K. Korth has over 20 years of clinical and medical management experience, including five years at Methodist Hospital as a clinical supervisor in high-risk OB/GYN. Korth earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Administration from the College of St. Francis, a bachelor’s in nursing from the College of St. Mary, a master’s degree in Public Health Administration from the University of Minnesota and a doctorate in Health Care Administration from Pacific Western University. She joined Methodist from Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, where she worked in quality improvement. “I’ve been looking forward to a challenge like this since I began working in women’s health care. It’s a privilege to work with such an inspiring team.”

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