Written By: Kara Greenwalt
On March 7th Leadership Kearney Class #31 traveled to Lincoln for State Government Day. We started the day with donuts on the bus and voting for our new Chairpersons. Congratulations to the LK Class of #31 Adult Chairwomen Katie Solomon and Angie O'Brien, Youth Chairwomen Jamie Hoefer and Kim Orcutt, and Alumni Chairwomen Brittany Kloke.
We arrived in Lincoln and started our tours at the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency & Army National Guard. We heard from Ervin Provis, the Assistant Director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and Major General Daryl Bohac – Adjutant General, of the Nebraska National Guard. We learned about how the National Guard serves the state of Nebraska, especially during state and federal; declared disasters ranging from floods, fires, and Covid. We toured the airport wing where the National Guard Black Hawk Helicopters are located. Our second stop was the Nebraska Game and Parks. Here we heard from a panel of the 10 Game and Parks departments. We learned about how the Nebraska Game and Parks serves Nebraska and also Kearney. Bob Hanoverm the Assistant Parks Division Administrator talked about the new Shooting Range and facility at Fort Kearney. He also talked about events, fundraisers, and other details relating to Fort Kearney and the White Water Rafting Trail in Kearney.
Third, we toured the new Nebraska State Patrol Headquarters and heard from Colonel John Bolduc. John talked about the importance of having fun at work and loving what you do. He mentioned that the Nebraska State Patrol currently has over 70 open positions and is always looking for new recruits. We enjoyed Valentino's pizza, salad, and breadsticks while learning about how the state patrol serves Nebraska. From there we headed to the state capital. We had a tour by the very energetic guide, Roxanne. We ran into Governor Jim Pillen while on our tour and took a picture with him. We also had a 30-minute meeting with Senator John Lowe where we heard about his priority bill, frustrations with filibusters, and why he loves being a senator and serving the Kearney area. After talking with John Lowe, we toured the governor's mansion and learned about the beautiful history behind the building and how it is used today for events and the governor's residence. We ended our busy and fun day at Misty's Steak House where we enjoyed a great meal, drinks, and hanging out with our fellow classmates.
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