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77th Annual Ten Outstanding Young Omahan (TOYO) Award
| Here are the 2009 recipients |
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| Elaine Buescher is the full-time domestic arts administrator/CEO for the Buescher family. Prior to making this recent career move, Elaine was the Grants Manager at the Nebraska Arts Council. She coordinated grant programs for arts projects and arts organization support across the state of Nebraska. Elaine has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both Art History and Russian from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and has a Master of Public Administration degree with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Elaine is the currently serving as the Vice President of Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) Nebraska. She is the President of Leadership Circle, a political organization for young Republican women. Elaine is a founding board member and current treasurer for Emerging Terrain and a founding committee member of the Joslyn Art Museum's Young Art Patrons. She is involved with the Douglas County Republican Party Central Committee, Nebraskans for the Arts, Field Club Homeowners League Board and Our Lady of Lourdes church and school. |
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| Stephanie Hansen is a Senior Attorney in the Sarpy County Attorney's Office. As a prosecutor, Stephanie represents the State of Nebraska in felony-level criminal prosecutions in Sarpy County. In addition to her courtroom responsibilites, Stephanie is in charge of training new prosecutors and providing on-going training and development for other attorneys in their office. Stephanie has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Hastings College and a Juris Doctorate from University of Nebraska College of Law. She has completed the year long Nebraska Bar Association Leadership Academy, served as a judge for the Creighton Law School mock trials and the Nebraska High School Mock Trial Competition. This year, Stephanie was honored by MADD with the Outstanding Law Enforcement Award for successfully prosecuting a double fatality caused by an intoxicated boater. Stephanie is a member of Junior League of Omaha, Rose Theater Guild, Kappa Alpha Theta Omaha Alumnae and active in the Westside Community Schools. She has also been a Big Sister in the Big Brother/Big Sisters program and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), serving as a voice for abused and neglected children in the Nebraska court system. |
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| Kristine Hull is Controller at Omaha Performing Arts, a nonprofit organization that operates the Orpheum Theater and the Holland Performing Arts Center. She is primarily responsible for coordinating financial planning and forecasting, strategic planning, and budgeting. Kristine received a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Master's Degree in Business Administration from Creighton University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Kristine is a board member of the Greater Omaha Young Professionals Council and a member of Leadership Omaha Class 32. She in an active member of Junior League of Omaha, a tax preparer volunteer for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and serves on the Not-For-Profit Committee of the Nebraska Society of CPA's. |
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| Jeffrey Jorth is a Principal in the Group Benefits Division of SilverStone Group. He is responsible for developing new client relationships, maintaining exisiting client relationships and marketing the firm's capabilities. Jeff's area of expertise is employee benefits, including dental, health, life and disability insurance, health saving accounts, alternative funding arrangements, and strategic planning. He has Bachelor of Arts Degrees in both Finance/Banking and Management from Waldorf College. Jeff is the 2010 President-Elect for the Nebraska Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He is a board member for the Nothing But Net Foundation and Floor Committee Member for Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben. Jeff is an active member of St. Thomas Lutheran Church, National Association of Health Underwriters and a graduate of Leadership Omaha Class 28. |
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Craig Moody is a Principal and co-owner of Verdis Group, Omaha's premier sustainability consulting firm that helps organizations make true green decisions. His daily responsibilities can range from client delivery to filing receipts and all things in between. Craig received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Finance and Master's in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota. Craig is an active member of the Young Professional Council - having served as the Chairman of the Board for 2009. He is currently a Core Committee and Natural Environment Sub-committee member for Environment Omaha. Craig is also active in the following organizations: Earth Day Omaha Coalition, the Green Omaha Coalition and recently, VOICE Omaha.
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| Crystal Rhoades is the Assistant Executive Director for the Neighborhood Center. Her responsiblities include oversight of the daily operations of all Neighborhood Center staff, program delivery and training programs. Crystal has her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Psychology from University of Nebraska at Omaha and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Political Science. Crystal was elected to the Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors where she worked to improve state funding, ensures equitable distribution of state aid for eduction and created and implemented responsible contracting practices to protect taxpayer funds. She is involved in Morton Meadow's Neighborhood Association, the South Omaha Neighborhood Alliance, the Building Bright Futures Advisory Board, Tree of Life Committee, Clean Solutions Omaha Saddle Creek Basin advisory panel, Omaha Heathly Kids Alliance Housing and the Omaha Chamber's South Omaha Redevelopment Project. |
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| Shawntal Smith is an attorney with Lieben, Whitted, Houghton, Slowiaczek and Cavanagh, P.C.,L.L.O. She concentrates her practice in the area of domestic relations law. Shawntal received her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Docatrate from Creighton University. Prior to joining, Leiben, Whitted, Houghton, Slowiaczek, and Cavanagh, P.C.,L.L.O, she represented the legal interests of abused and neglected children in the Separate Juvenile Court of Douglas County and an Attorney Guardian ad Litem. Shawntal is a member of the Omaha Bar Association, Nebraska State Bar Association and American Bar Association, as well as, President of the Midlands Bar Association. She serves on the Nebraska Minority Justice Committee and the Nebraska Minority Corporate Counsel Program Steering Committee. Shawntal is an active member of the Omaha Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., KETV's Kaleidoscope program and a graduate of Leadership Omaha Class 31. |
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| Kelli Sweet is the Senior Manager Shortline Development at Union Pacific Railroad. Kelli graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Art and from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Master of Arts in History. She is involved with the Latino Employee Network and LEAD (Lead, Educate, Achieve and Develop Women's Initiative) at Union Pacific. Kelli is a founding member and Secretary of Wear Yellow Nebraska, a member of Midwest Lampworkers Guild and at-large board member for the Omaha Running Club. She is involved with the Greater Omaha Colon Cancer Task Force, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Midlands, and Voices for Children. |
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| Quinn Vandenberg is an associate attorney with Baird Holm LLP. She represents and counsels both public and private employers in aspects of labor and employment law including discrimination, sexual harassment and unfair labor practices. She has appeared before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board as well as state anti-discrimination and wage/hour compliance agencies. Quinn has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Governmental/International Studies and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Notre Dame Law School. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Ollie Webb Center, Inc. and is Vice President of the Notre Dame Club of Omaha. She is involved with Baird Holm's Women's Initiative Group as well as the Publicity Chair for the Nebraska Society for Human Resource Management. |
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| Carol Wang anchors the evening news for Action 3 News. She reports the news of the day at 5PM, 6PM and 10PM and reports weekly on family issues. Carol received a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism at Boston University and Master's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University. As an active member of Junior League Omaha, Carol is currently the Chair of the Publications Committee, a member of the Holiday Mart Committee and Finance Council. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Nebraska AIDS Project and the chair for their Night of A Thousand Silver Stars Gala. Carol is on the Communications Committee for the Women's Fund of Greater Omaha, serves on the board for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, assists with the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk and hosts the Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. |
TOYO began in 1932 and is the Longest Running Jaycee Project in the World!
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