Ben Martens | U.S. Bank
Ben Martens describes himself as a true Nebraska boy, raised on Runza, a graduate of the University of Nebraska, married a local gal and enjoying the good life of our state. Martens was raised in Seward, a community just a few miles outside of Lincoln. He came to Lincoln for college and graduated from University of Nebraska with a degree in finance. Martens dreamed of moving to the East Coast but found himself staying in Lincoln as he met his wife at UNL.
Christina Usher | Mattson Ricketts Law Firm
At the beginning of July 2021, Christina Usher assumed her duties as president of one of the oldest Rotary Clubs in the world, Lincoln’s Downtown Rotary, also known as Rotary 14.
In this capacity, Usher will lead the club of nearly 300 members out of the era of online Zoom meetings and into a new hybrid style for the 115-year-old organization at a new location, the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Lincoln.
Usher said she has two primary themes for her year as Rotary president.
“First, building community," she said. "Post-pandemic lockdown, it is vitally important for us to gather in person, reinvest in our personal and business networks, and to again build friendships that stretch beyond our closest circles – circles we’ve been 'stuck' in the last year because of the pandemic. From this foundation of community, we can reach further and stronger in service to others."
Chuck Schroeder | Media Artist
The guy’s made Lincoln his home three times, and finally the third time was a charm, he’s settled in. As you get to know Chuck Schroeder, I call him Cowboy, you’ll discover he’s learned to answer when opportunity calls. Cowboy first came to Lincoln from the ranch near Palisade, Nebraska. He answered the call to study Animal Science at UNL, discovered his bride (they’d known each other since high school but started dating in college) and headed back to the ranch. Then, about ten years later came a call from then Governor Bob Kerrey inviting him to return to Lincoln as Assistant Director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. From there he hopped back over to the University of Nebraska, serving as Executive Vice President of the UN Foundation. But eventually another call came and he and his family headed to Colorado where he helped found the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
“I helped put the Association together, and spent about seven years really growing the organization,” noted Schroeder, “but I never intended that to be my career.” The NCBA was a merger of several groups in the beef industry and Cowboy was just the person to herd them together and point them in a common direction. All the while this was happening, he was still dabbling in his interest in art. Chuck’s wife Kathi knew of his love of art and encouraged him to participate in a program in New Mexico. Stick with me here, we haven’t gotten him back to Lincoln the third time.
Dave Livingston | Livingston Investments, Inc.
Dave Livingston describes his beginnings as a humble life in a small town in Kansas. He moved north to Lincoln, Nebraska for graduate school in the department of social psychology and sociology starting his experience with “the good life.” Little did he know that Nebraska would become his home.
While in graduate school, he met his wife while teaching an introduction to sociology class. Between his master’s and doctorate degrees, he took a job at Emporia State as an assistant professor but still has strong connections to Lincoln. His father-in-law encouraged Livingston to join him in the movie theater business. Without any background in business, Livingston took a gigantic leap, moved back to Lincoln, and began working for Douglas Theaters. He worked for Douglas theaters for 37 years until the company was sold to Marcus Theaters. For the last 17 years of his career, he was the president and CEO of the company.
Diane Temme-Stinton | TMCO
Picture yourself in the UK and Europe, focused on your career in teaching and performing classical music, married to a European and following your dream. Then imagine receiving a call from your mother asking you to return to Lincoln to help run the family business. Oh, and that business has nothing to do with music . . . it’s a high-tech metal manufacturing company. Seem improbable? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Dr. Diane Temme-Stinton, a Lincoln native who boomeranged back home.
Dr. Temme-Stinton (I think she prefers to be called Diane) received a degree in German from UNL, a Masters in International Studies from Bangor University in North Wales, United Kingdom, and her Ph.D. in Renaissance Music from Bangor as well. It helps to know her father has German heritage and her mother is Japanese. Her love for music was fostered by the appreciation both parents have for music, participating in a small string group at Lincoln Lutheran and the Lincoln Youth Symphony.
And, a bit about that family business. It’s known as TMCO, or Total Manufacturing Company. (https://www.tmcoinc.com/) Dad Rolland Temme started the business in a shack about the size of two-car garage nearly 50 years ago. Along the way he built a one stop, concept-to-completion metal manufacturing company. Today TMCO is a high-tech incredibly busy company making a wide variety of things from the cab of a combine to high pressure natural gas shipping containers to the iconic dome of the gazebo at Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens. If you drive along 6th street just north of Park Middle School, you’ll find TMCO, it’s hard to miss.
Erin Dobesh | Davis Design
Erin Dobesh is prepared to be a Rotarian for the rest of her life. As a Lincoln transplant who has lived both in Kansas and Colorado, she has found her most welcoming community in Rotary 14. This club has shaped her opinions of Lincoln and made this capital city into her home. She originally came to Lincoln for graduate school and graduated with a Master’s degree in architecture from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2007. For the past six years, she has worked as an architect at Davis Design. Erin lives in Lincoln with her husband Ryan and their dog.
Erin and Ryan joined Rotary in February of 2016. They were brought into the organization by Randy Bretz. Ryan met Randy when working with TEDxLincoln. Dobesh said that they had joined previous service groups while trying to get more involved in Lincoln. However, after attending a couple Rotary 14 meetings with Bretz, they realized that this was the perfect organization to find volunteer opportunities and like-minded people. Now, six years later, Erin is proud of the organization and their work. She expected to get involved and make friends but not expect to feel this immense amount of pride. She loves the wide range of ages, personalities, and backgrounds that are represented in the club and enjoys the welcoming environment.
Jess Rustad | Farmers Mutual of Nebraska
Jess Rustad describes her love for the south, especially sweet tea and fried okra, with much fondness. She is not a Nebraska native and has lived many places as her family moved around so her father could open restaurant chains all over the country. After bouncing around the country, she landed in Nebraska in 1998 and for someone whose favorite place she has lived is Florida, her Husker pride runs deep.
Rustad attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and majored in broadcasting. After graduating, she began her career in the broadcasting realm which eventually steered her into the field of marketing. She fell in love with marketing and decided to go back to UNL to earn a master’s in business administration with a focus in marketing. She currently serves as the Vice President of Communications and Marketing for Farmers Mutual of Nebraska.
John Gessert | Union Bank & Trust
“A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.”
That quote by William Hazlitt, a 19th Century literary critic, jumped out at me as I sat staring at my computer screen trying to think of a way to describe John Gessert, President of Rotary 14 in 2022-23. Gessert is a man who with a gentle word can influence a major decision. He’s a man who always has a kind look on his face no matter if he’s struggling with an issue or suggesting that you change your direction in life. And, when you catch a glimpse of him across the room, you’ll be impacted by his good-natured smile as he’s listening intently to what’s happening.
John Gessert is Vice President and Senior Trust Officer at Union Bank and Trust. He’s been with the bank since 2014. More importantly, he’s the husband of Suzie, whom he met in law school, and the father of Gretta and Ingrid, both of whom are pursuing higher education. Then there’s the way he serves the community by being involved in the Chrons & Colitis Foundation, The United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County Cabinet, the Suicide Prevention Coalition, the Nebraska Council on Economics Education. He’s an Omaha native surrounded by a family of biochemists, but he studied finance and law which led him to his current position. And in each case you’ll find him sharing that gentle word, giving a kind look and always . . . always with that gentle smile that Hazlitt noted.
Maggie Stuckey-Ross | Lincoln Parks Foundation
Born and raised in Lincoln, Stuckey-Ross has quite an interesting history with Lincoln’s parks. As a child her parents, Scott and Nancy Stuckey pushed her in a Lincoln Parks swing. They watched her play on a merry-go-round. When she was a student at Southeast High School and a participant in the Youth Leadership Lincoln program, “I was in YLL #3” she proudly proclaims, Stuckey took a suggestion from Principal Brent Toalson and helped make it happen. That suggestion was to revitalize the playground at Antelope Park. Stuckey and the Student Council raised $25,000 to help turn the Antelope Park playground into the largest and most accessible play area in the region. Stuckey was there for the dedication in September of 2000.
After a couple of years at Boston University, Stuckey-Ross returned to complete her degree in Political Science at UNL, then it was off to Washington to work with Senator Chuck Hagel. She returned to Lincoln to work with the Arbor Day Foundation and the University of Nebraska Foundation. “When I came back to Lincoln, one of the ways I reconnected with the city was to participate in the Leadership Lincoln Fellows Class,” she noted. “I’m a two-time Leadership Lincoln participant and I’m going for my third time.” Stuckey-Ross plans to participate in the organization’s Executive Cohort in the near future.
Mark Feit | Combined Health Agencies Drive (CHAD)
Mark Feit was raised in Beatrice, NE. But his connections to Lincoln and to Rotary started at birth. Feit was born in Lincoln General Hospital, the very hospital that Rotary helped found with their fundraising campaign. Little did he know that Rotary 14 would become one of his favorite groups in Lincoln.
After being born here, then returning to Beatrice, he moved back to Lincoln for college and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in broadcast journalism. Radio was Feit’s career of choice after college and was in radio for 20 years. Eventually, the radio business got negative. He was having to fire people and realized that he didn’t want to work in environments where he had to make a lot of money for other people. Feit wanted to be able to reinvest in his employees and company. He took a leap and joined the nonprofit world. He was hired as the Development Director for the Alzheimer’s Association and spent the next three years there. After this experience, Feit was hired by CHAD (Combined Health Agencies Drive) Nebraska. He started this job in 2015 and has been there since. Feit says that he loves raising money for deserving nonprofits and thinks of fundraising as telling stories and building connections.
Meagan Liesveld | United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County
Meagan moved to Lincoln in 2001 and accepted a position as Donor Relations Coordinator with CEDARS, a child-service organization that offers help for kids unable to live at home, support for foster families, an emergency shelter and a transitional living program for children. “Not long after I started at CEDARS, they suggested I participate in Leadership Lincoln’s Fellows program,” noted Meagan. “That exposed me to the people who were in leadership positions in Lincoln and helped me realize you could lead from where you are.”
Along the way, Meagan and Jack had children. Johnny is at Lincoln East High School and Norah is at Morley Elementary. Yet, this woman while busy raising her family and working with donors at CEDARS was exhibiting leadership in other ways as well. She has coached her daughter’s volleyball team, sits on the Lincoln Community Learning Centers Board, serves on a number of other committees and is a new member of Rotary 14.
After a number of years and promotions with CEDARS, in early 2020, she was selected as Executive Director of United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County. “Talk about a challenge, just a few weeks after I started with United Way, we had the COVID pandemic. So much of what we do calls for personal interaction, but we were in a quarantine. Yet, the people of Lincoln and Lancaster County really came through and helped us meet the challenges of supporting so many nonprofit organizations.” One illustration of how our community has illustrated how we care for one another, in 2020 the United Way’s significant donor pool called the Tocqueville Society, had the best ever participation in the agency’s history. That means more people stepped forward and gave significant amounts for the United Way to share with participating agencies
Shari Veil | College of Journalism and Mass Communications,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Shari Veil is a former Oklahoma Sooner. For anyone that knows the history of Nebraska football, this is an interesting fact. However, Veil says she has become a Husker now as she is the Dean of a college at UNL. Now, she is doing wonderful work in the UNL and Lincoln community and has found her place in Rotary 14.
Veil hails from North Dakota where she received her undergraduate and master's degrees as well as a PhD. After college, she met her husband and worked in marketing. Soon after, she moved to Oklahoma University and started her work in academia as an assistant professor. She helped run a research center and center for crisis management. As her career continued, she got pulled into student crisis issues, became a department chair, and then an associate dean. Eventually, she became tired of trying to fix problems without the budget to actually make a difference. This spurred her decision to move to Nebraska. In July of 2020, she accepted a position as the Dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Stuart Stofferahn | Nebraska Air National Guard
Stuart Stofferahn is a serial co-creator. That’s right – as he’s navigated through life and encountered a need, he’s taken action. Learning of his involvement in the community is both encouraging and a bit overwhelming at the same time.
Let’s begin with some of the basics about Stuart. He’s in the midst of a Ph.D. program in education leadership at the University of Nebraska. Right now he’s debating about doing his dissertation on the impact of poverty on the education of children or the need for helping educate young adults who are autistic. He and his dog Buckley are trained hospice volunteers. He’s an instructor who teaches communication tips for Lincoln’s Community Action Program. And, he’s involved with youth in his church.
Stofferahn comes by his desire to serve naturally. His dad Ken, now retired, was a farmer, legislator in South Dakota and member of the South Dakota Public Service Commission. And his mom, Diane, was a teacher for many years.
Topher Hansen | CenterPointe
Topher Hansen is a man of the people. He believes in people so much that he is the CEO of CenterPointe, a nonprofit that specializes in mental health and addiction treatment for low income and homeless people in Omaha and Lincoln, NE. For our interview, he showed me around the building that CenterPointe is currently remodeling to be a new clinic. Hansen’s passion for helping others and his belief that relationships are the most important part of life are truly inspiring. This is what led him to both join Rotary and seek ways to help so many patients with their complete health.
Hansen is originally from Minneapolis, MN but moved to Omaha at 18 months. He lived in Omaha for about 12 years before moving to Lincoln where he has been ever since. He taught ethics and practiced law for many years. He first worked for CenterPointe as legal counsel and in resource development before becoming the CEO in 2000. His work as legal counsel is what led Hansen to Rotary. He joined Rotary 14 in 1996 on the advice of his board director. He joined only knowing that he was joining a civic organization but after the first meeting he knew he had witnessed an amazing group. Hansen loves that each person in Rotary 14 is there for the right reasons: to help others, contribute to their community, and build friendships and networks. While he says he is not as involved currently because of other time commitments, Hansen is a huge believer in Rotary, its code built on positive principles, and its “service over self” motto.
Valerie Hunt | Bryan Foundation
After graduating from Waverly High School, Valerie headed to Northwest Missouri State where she majored in marketing and business management and snagged Adam. They married in 2004 and headed to Kansas City where Valerie worked with Wells Fargo. It was during this time that she met the person who had helped fund a scholarship that paid for much of her college education. That meeting helped her realize just how philanthropy could positively impact people. It was a turning point in her career.
She and Adam headed to Colorado where she helped raise money for the University of Northern Colorado Performing and Visual Arts. Next was West Virginia University College of Law to manage a significant campaign. But it was the arrival of the third child, Tyler, that really tugged at the desire to be closer to family. Adam saw a job posted with the Bryan Health organization so she applied. We laughed as Valerie talked about flying to Lincoln with 3 year-old Abram in tow for the interview. Her parents, Mark and Bonnie Lemke were thrilled to have the two of them in town and even happier when Valerie took the job with the Bryan Health Foundation.
