unljnews

2010

Erin Balderson is working for Honeybaked Ham as office manager and in-house marketing coordinator.

Katelyn Bierman is an on-call crew member for NET sports remotes.

Rachel Bruss will attend graduate school at UNL this fall.

Andrew Ciaccio has relocated to Los Angeles where he works for Kastner & Partners Advertising Agency.

Marianne Cicmanec, former member of the Husker women’s tennis team, is attending the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles.

Justin Dahlke is doing an internship with the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League. He is production manager for the Wilmar, Minn., baseball team’s 35 home games.

Sarah Davis will be a full-time middle school language arts teacher at St. Joseph’s School in York this fall and will begin work on a master’s degree in secondary education.

Lindsay De Marco works for R5 Productions in Philadelphia, Pa.

Lauren Garcia is serving as a Catholic missionary for the next two years.

Nicole Gatz is an executive sales associate at Broadcast House in Lincoln.

Elise Hernandez works at Archrival ad agency in Lincoln.

Johnna Hjersman is a copy editor with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock.

Ivanna Jackson will attend graduate school to earn a master’s degree in media management and corporate communication.

Janelle Keeler is studying abroad in Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand.

Adam Kiser joined Bailey Lauerman as an interactive developer in the agency’s digital department.

Jennifer Larson is a media relations intern at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill., this summer, and will return to UNL for graduate school in the fall.

Bryce McLeay has been accepted into the masters of fine arts program at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, Calif.

Lauren Piller is working for the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa as a girls service manager.

Brady Potthoff is working at the Grand Island Independent.

Katelyn O’Rourke is working at Pine Cove Christian Camps in Texas this summer and will travel with Up With People next spring.

Natasha Richardson has joined the Seattle Times for a copy editing internship.

Kelli Sajevic is interning for Christ in Youth church camp this summer and will move to Kearney, Neb., this fall to intern with Christian Student Fellowship at UNK.

Michael Sammons has an art director internship at Bozell in Omaha.

Mike Schaefer has joined the sports department of the Columbus (Neb.) Telegram. His prior work experience includes free-lancing for The Advocate, a Louisiana newspaper, and UNL’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Nebraskan.

Alina Selyukh is interning with Thomas Reuters in Washington, D.C., this summer.

Spencer Shute is the operations manager for Staples in North Platte, Neb.

Erin Sorensen will attend graduate school in marketing, communication and advertising at UNL this fall.

Tyler Thomas is studying abroad in Southeast Asia and will be an interactive project coordinator at Swanson Russell in Lincoln when he returns.

Steven Treat plans to teach English in Asia and then return to the states to study documentary film studies in graduate school.

Anthony Troester is a communications specialist for CEDARS, a non-profit child care organization in Lincoln.

Jessica Williams is director of marketing for DiVentures, a full-service scuba and swim facility in Omaha.

Joan Wortmann is working on an account team for Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago, Ill.

2009

Brent Atema started a website called Global Football Today in April. He and co-founder Matthew Martin hope to provide worldwide coverage of soccer. The site is at http://www.globalfootballtoday.com .

Scott Koperski of St. Paul joins the Beatrice Daily Sun where he is the new city and business reporter. Koperski worked as an intern for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and has written for Lincoln 55+ magazine and The Daily Nebraskan.

Lindsey Smith and her husband, Bob O’Brien, also a UNL graduate, began teaching English to schoolchildren in Busan, South Korea, at the Corem Language School at the end of June. They will teach for one year. Prior to leaving for South Korea, Smith was the marketing manager for an Omaha-based, online childrens clothing company called www.sophiasstyle.com where she was in charge of writing and maintaining the company blog and creating the content for weekly e-mail promotions.

Nicole Steier joined Crossroads of Western Iowa in February as its development director. Her duties include increasing public awareness about Crossroads’ programs and services and organizing and implementing foundation events and campaigns.

2008

Brittany Jeffers has been promoted to morning and midday news anchor at KLKN Television, Lincoln’s ABC affiliate, in March. Jeffers joined Channel 8 Eyewitness News as a reporter in June 2008. Crowned Miss Nebraska in June 2009, she finished in the top 10 in January’s Miss America pageant.

Michele Kaiserman is an associate executive with Mechanical Contractors Association of Omaha, a professional association representing contractors in the mechanical construction industry.

2007

Stephen Hermann has been named managing editor of the Hastings Tribune. His previous newspaper experience included working on the news, sports and or photo desks at the Lincoln Journal Star, Omaha World-Herald, the Storm Lake (Iowa) Pilot-Tribune, the Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel, the Arcadia (Wis.) News-Leader and the Curry Coastal Pilot in Brookings, Ore.

Mark Mahoney received the Outstanding Young Journalist Award from the Nebraska Press Association at its annual convention in April. Mahoney joined the Missouri Valley Times-News and Washington County Pilot-Tribune/Enterprise in Blair, Neb., in February.

Nels Sorensen was promoted to director of marketing for Lambert Vet Supply, a distributor of animal health care products. He began as a creative services specialist with the company in 2007.

Brad Young is an audio/video production coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs. He creates animations for Arrowhead Stadium’s big screens. Young writes, directs and produces content for KCCHIEFS.COM, the official website of the Kansas City Chiefs.

2006

Joey Lomicky is a communications consultant in corporate communications with Xcel Energy in Minneapolis. He previously worked for several public relations agencies in the Twin Cities, developing award-winning public relations campaigns for clients such as Jim Beam, General Mills and the National Marrow Donor Program. Xcel Energy is a U.S. electricity and natural gas company with operations in eight states.

Alyssa Schukar, photographer, and Ben VanKat, designer, of The Omaha World-Herald, each earned an award of excellence in the 31st annual Society for News Design Best of News Design contest. A multiple-page sports section titled “Formula for Success” won in the Special News Topics/Sports category.

2005

Sarah Johnson has been appointed manager of the Greater Omaha Young Professionals (YP), a group formed in 2004 to draw the next generation of leaders into the city’s business life. She comes to the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce from The Reader & ABM Enterprises, also of Omaha. Prior to that Johnson was director of agency operations for Archrival.

Robert Jorgenson joined Steel Quill Writing Services of Lincoln. He brings 10 years of experience as a writer, producer and director of local television stations.

Patricia Vannoy has joined Mattson, Ricketts, Davies, Stewart & Calkins, a full-service law firm in Lincoln. Vannoy received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2009. Her primary areas of practice include investor rights, natural resources law and general civil litigation. She is admitted to practice in Nebraska and Colorado.

Jerry Widhelm is with ESPN in Bristol, Conn. He programs commercial content for ESPN’s international channels.

2004

Dirk Chatelain, a sports staff writer with The Omaha World-Herald, earned an award of excellence in the 31st annual Society for News Design Best of News Design contest. He was a reporter for a multiple-page sports section titled “Formula for Success” that won in the Special News Topics/Sports category.

Sarah Wootton Rider is with the Creighton University Office of Alumni Relations.

2003

Anna Jo Bratton is a regional editor for the Associated Press, working with reporters in 13 Western states. She’s based in Phoenix and leads the region’s immigration reporting team. Bratton moved to Phoenix in May 2009 from Omaha, where she covered Nebraska politics for AP.

Serena Carpenter, Arizona State University, has been named the recipient of the 2010 Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) New Faculty Research Grant. An assistant professor at the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, she specializes in newer media and media sociology. She has a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

Carrie Myers joined the Nebraska Alumni Association staff in 2010 as director of special events. A native of Lincoln she is seeking a Master of Arts degree from the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications’ MCA program. Prior to working at the Alumni Association Myers was an event and promotion coordinator at Union Bank & Trust.

2002

Lincoln Arneal received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law in May. As class president, he spoke at the 110th Law School graduation ceremony.

Brad Davis is a foreign exchange reporter for Dow Jones & Co., Inc., in New York City. His stories appear on Dow Jones Newswires and in the daily Currency Trading and weekly Forex Week Ahead columns of The Wall Street Journal.

Emily Hurd Davison was recently promoted to account director for the Coca-Cola account at Leo Burnett office in Chicago, Ill. She married last July to Matt Davison, a 2001 UNL communications grad.

Katie Kemerling has been promoted to a director position at Ervin & Smith Advertising in Omaha. Her duties will include strategic planning and overseeing product development and sales. Kemerling is a member of the Omaha Creative Institute Advisory Board, American Advertising Federation Omaha and the American Marketing Association.

Amanda McGill became the managing director of the YWCA Lincoln in January 2010. The Omaha native was elected to the Legislature in 2006 serving in Nebraska’s 26th legislative district. She was a television reporter for KOLN-TV and communications director for the Nebraska Democratic Party.

2001

Karissa Armstrong, of Omaha, organizes events for All About Omaha, a charitable and social organization aimed at keeping young professionals engaged in the city. Her most recent event was to raise money for the Winners Circle Educational Program at the Torchlight Ball held April 30. A broadcast journalism major, Armstrong previously worked in media planning and buying for an advertising agency in San Diego, Calif.

Danaria Farris McCoy, of Greenwood Village, Colo., has received a Gold U.S. MAXI Award in the ICSC U.S. Global Awards competition. McCoy, who is the director of marketing, helped ServiceStar Development Company win its award for a public relations campaign titled “We Are Making History” at its Freedom Crossing retail real estate property in Fort Bliss, Texas. ServiceStar was a finalist in ICSC’s Global Awards competition held in Las Vegas in May 2010.

Neal Obermeyer displayed a collection of his artwork in April at the Handmade Modern Studio & Gallery, a part of the Parrish Project, in Lincoln. The exhibit included editorial cartoons from the last 10 years. Obermeyer, who got his start at the Daily Nebraskan, draws for the Lincoln Journal Star, the Omaha Reader and the San Diego Reader.

2000

Doug Carr is a partner and vice president at Snitily Carr, a Lincoln- and Omaha-based full-service advertising agency. He co-founded the agency in 1992 with Dave Snitily.

Tina Reeves has joined Snitily Carr as an account director. In her new role she will lead the day-to-day team that provides full-service marketing communications and client relations support.

1999

Scott Claypool has been promoted to art director with the Pickering Creative Group in Lincoln. He has more than 10 years of experience in graphic design, including creating iconic brand identities, designing websites and developing print and emerging media applications.

1998

David Abele has joined Snitily Carr as the company’s director of design. He most recently was director of creative and strategic development with NeuLion Inc./JumpTV Inc.

Jina Paul has been named director of marketing at Clarkson College in Omaha. Prior to joining Clarkson, Paul was vice president of marketing and communications for Great Western Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D. Her experience also includes work for Nelnet and Union Bank and Trust of Lincoln.

1997

Tera Norris has been promoted to president of Junior Achievement of Lincoln. She was its director of marketing and events. Prior to that Norris worked for an accounting firm and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

Matt Waite received a Young Alumni Award from the Nebraska Alumni Association on May 7, 2010. He is the news technologist for the St. Petersburg Times/Tampabay.com, and is principal developer of Politifact, a data-driven website that checks the accuracy of claims by politicians and government officials. In 2009, Waite won a Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for Politifact. He has also won awards for reporting on Florida’s vanishing wetlands.

1996

Amy Schweitzer has joined The Grand Island Independent as a regional reporter. She will cover news and feature stories in central Nebraska. Schweitzer previously worked as the regional reporter and regional editor at the Kearney Hub.

1995

Rhonda Gerrard, general manager of NRG Media-Omaha, is a Midlands Business Journal 40 Under 40 award winner. The awards are given to entrepreneurs, business owners, managers and professional men and women under 40 years of age.

Rainbow Rowell returns to The Omaha World-Herald as a full-time columnist and feature writer for the Living section and Omaha.com. She was a World-Herald columnist in the Midlands section for nine years. Rowell left the newspaper in 2006 for a job with Bailey Lauerman, an advertising agency. She has completed her first novel, “Attachments,” due out next April.

1994

Kiley Cruse took over as Community Connection editor at The Omaha World-Herald in January. She replaces Veronica Daehn Stickney (’02), who is managing the World-Herald’s new momaha.com website. Cruse has been the chief photographer for the weekly Community Connection section and will continue to handle many of those photo assignments.

Kevin Kugler, of Omaha, has been awarded the title of 2009 Nebraska Sportscaster of the Year for the sixth time by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He is the host of Unsportsmanlike Conduct on 1620AM The Zone.

Ronald Ng has been named executive vice president and executive creative director of BBDO’s headquarters in New York City. BBDO is one of the world’s largest marketing communications networks, comprising 287 offices in 79 countries.

Shannon Uehling is a marketing communications manager at Stepping Stone School of Austin, Texas. Stepping Stone School provides early care and education programs for young children.

1993

Jon Vanderford, and his wife, Taryn Gilster Vanderford, became KOLN/KGIN-TV’s morning anchor team beginning Feb. 15. Jon had co-anchored the station’s evening newscast since 2003. Taryn began a career in radio, which grew to include work at a variety of local radio stations. She currently hosts “Design Time,” an interior design show that airs on 1240 KFOR AM Radio.

1991

Darran Fowler, a Hastings Tribune managing editor from 2001-2009, has been named publisher. He has been with the newspaper since May 1995. He was named president of the Nebraska Press Association during the organization’s annual convention in April 2010.

Monte Olson, a veteran marketer with 20 years experience, has been hired as president of Thought District. Thought District is a brand strategy and design agency located in Lincoln. He is president of the Lincoln Children’s Museum board of directors, a member of Rotary Club No. 14 and is on the board of Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra.

1990

Jeff Carney has been promoted to managing editor for digital development at The Omaha World-Herald. The newly created position reflects the company’s increasing emphasis on Omaha.com and affiliated digital products such as Big Red Today, Momaha.com and Omaha.com mobile. More recently he has served as an assistant managing editor and headed recruiting efforts for the newsroom. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

1989

Lori Griffin is a sports clerk and reporter with the Lincoln Journal Star.

1984

Al Carl has been hired as news director at KMTV Action 3 News in Omaha. He comes to KMTV from FOX and NBC affiliates in Kansas City, Mo., where he served as executive producer for news for the past five years. Before that he ran newsrooms in Alabama and Georgia and was a newsroom manager at television stations in New York, Michigan and Iowa.

Doug Hindman is the author of an article, “Mass Media Flow and Differential Distribution of Politically Disputed Beliefs: the Belief Gap Hypothesis,” that appeared in the Winter 2009 edition of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. Hindman earned a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and teaches at Washington State University.

1983

Tad Stryker signed copies of his new book, “Historic Photos of Nebraska,” at Nebraska Bookstore in Lincoln on June 12, 2010. The book is a collection of rarely seen black-and-white photos that document Nebraska’s evolution from its first settlers to the 1970s. He is editor at NebraskaPedia, a contributing writer at Huskers Illustrated and a corporate journalist at News Link.

1981

Kimberly Cuda has been named director of the Fremont Area Medical Center Foundation. She most recently served as the director of alumni affairs for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Cuda holds a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

1979

Rob Barney of Gering, Neb., is the recipient of the 2010 Alumni of the Year Award from the University of Nebraska Panhandle Alumni Chapter. He is the sports director for KNEB Radio in Scottsbluff, Neb.

Steve Chatelain, and his wife, Mary Jo, have purchased Home Instead Senior Care in North Platte, Neb. Established in 1990, the office serves 13 counties in southwestern Nebraska. Chatelain continues to work as the publisher of the Kearney Hub.

1978

Lynette Staroska of Omaha manages the Corrigan Senior Center. She is an adjunct professor, part-time travel writer and tour host at Metropolitan Community College. Her most recent tour was to Pella, Iowa, in April.

1977

Doug Dohmen is a vice president of sales and marketing for Osiris Entertainment, a full service film distribution company in Chatsworth, Calif. He oversees the television, home entertainment and digital distribution of independent filmmakers’ projects. Dohmen began his career in 1989 as Midwest regional sales manager for Republic Pictures Home Video and was promoted in 1993 to national director of sales/home entertainment. In 1994, he was vice president of sales with Hallmark Home Entertainment. In 2007, he was recruited by Porchlight Entertainment to serve as director of sales for home entertainment.

Sue Weidner is a managing partner of Leopard Inc., of Omaha. In 2009, the company launched a website for entrepreneurs who want to start businesses in Nebraska. Weidner co-founded the company in 1987.

1976

J.D. Hansen is a director with the NFL Network in Culver City, Calif., a network he helped to create in 2004. He has directed Total Access, NFL Redzone, as well as the last five Superbowls. Hansen’s past experience includes directing and producing for Sports and Entertainment and NBC Sports in New York City for 13 years and CBS sports for six years. He has won a national EMMY Award four times and was nominated 25 times. He has directed television concerts for the Foo Fighters, B 52’s, Stevie Wonder, Travis Tritt and Cash Money Millionaires as well as the Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica.

1975

Ivy Harper of Lincoln won the Democratic nomination for the 1st District congressional seat in April. She is a contributing writer to American Politics magazine; author of a manuscript housed at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Mass., titled “A Change for All Seasons: A History of the Special Olympics,” and “Waltzing Matilda: The Life and Times of Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey.”

1974

Bill Bennett is a special projects/events planner with UCLA Athletics. For 32 years he worked in the collegiate sports information field at Nebraska, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Dan Dillon, with KFDI News (KFDI 101.3 FM) in Wichita, Kan., is part of a news team that has won two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. KFDI News will compete nationally against winners from 12 other regions.

1972

Deanna Sands was inducted into the Omaha Press Club Journalists of Excellence Hall of Fame in April. Sands started her newspaper career at her hometown Nebraska City News-Press. She joined The Omaha World-Herald in 1974 and retired in 2006 as the paper’s managing editor.

1970

Bob Thacker received an Alumni Achievement Award from the Nebraska Alumni Association on May 7, 2010. After retiring in 2004, he signed on as the new senior vice president for marketing at OfficeMax in the fall of 2005. He has earned national kudos at Target where he successfully redesigned the brand during his 12 years there and at the famed BBDO ad agency in the Twin Cities where he served as president and CEO for four years, starting in 1999, and has frequently consulted for some of America’s best-known retail brands.

1969

Richard Holman of New York City, N.Y., has been promoted to senior vice president at HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. He is a supervisory analyst in global research at the Americas Investment banking unit of London-based HSBC Holdings, one of the world’s biggest banking companies.

1954

Kristin Johnson Styers has published her second book, “Tea Pie, Love and Reality,” a collection of memoir essays she wrote over the last half century.

1951

Marlin Bree, Shoreview, Minn., won a first-place award in the annual writing contest of Boating Writers International. Bree’s story, “The Last Battle of the Grampa Woo,” appeared in the May-June 2009 issue of The Ensign, the magazine of the United States Power Squadron. His website is at www.marlinbree.com .

ENGAGEMENTS

2008

Metta Cederdahl and Andrew West are planning a July 17 wedding at First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln. She works at Meredith Corp. in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kristin Jirovsky and Nathan Knisley are planning an Aug. 7 wedding in Lincoln. Jirovsky is employed by Gallup in Lincoln.

WEDDINGS

2009

Mallory Hyland and Mitch Connelly were married June 4, 2010, in Lincoln. She is employed at KOLN-TV.

2007

Amanda Pohlmann and Steven Holzwarth, both of Lincoln, were married June 19, 2010, in Lincoln. She is employed as a production specialist with HuskerVision.

2006

Abbi Groteluschen and Benjamin Hellbusch were married Nov. 28, 2009, in Columbus, Neb. She is currently a marketing representative for Ernst Auto Center and Ernst Toyota in Columbus.

2005

Lindsay Geist and Seth Jonas were married June 26, 2010, in Fort Collins, Colo. She works for Yahoo! as an associate account manager.

2004

Elizabeth Garber and Richard Bastman were married May 15, 2010, in Omaha. She is a marketing specialist in the retirement plans division at Mutual of Omaha.

Lindsey Johnson and Brent Marr were married June 5, 2010, in Omaha. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in recreation administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

2003

Heidi Nelson and Jeremy Moore, both of Omaha, were married June 26, 2010. In 2007 she earned a Bachelor of Science in early childhood education from Peru State College and teaches  preschool for Hamilton Heights Child Development Center in Omaha.

DEATHS

1954

Francis “Frank” Scott, Alexandria, Va., died May 11, 2010. After a brief acting career, Scott rose through the ranks at radio and TV stations in Omaha, Tucson, Ariz., and Denver, Colo. He was pivotal in the creation of the Omaha Press Club and in 1984 was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame. In 1976, he served as an NBC Radio vice president. In 1982, he was named director of programs for Voice of America and later became the director of VOA Europe headquartered in Munich, Germany.

Marjorie “Marj” Walsh of Ft. Collins, Colo., died March 1, 2010. She earned a Master of Public Relations degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and was a stay-at-home mom for 16 years before becoming executive director of CARE-A-VAN, a non-profit transportation service for the elderly, poor and physically or mentally disabled. She also oversaw RSVP (the Retired Senior Volunteer Program) and SAINT (Transportation by Volunteers).  For two years, she administered the bus system of the City of Ft. Collins and during that time secured grants for the combined city and Care-A-Van transportation maintenance facility.

1953

Donald Pieper, a veteran newspaperman, died Dec. 20, 2009. He was 78. Pieper wrote for publications across the United States. He was a columnist and reporter at The Omaha World-Herald; a columnist and assistant managing editor of the Lincoln Journal Star; a reporter for the Norfolk Daily News; a reporter, Omaha bureau manager and regional executive for United Press International; a columnist for the San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune; and contributing editor for the Lincoln Forum Bulletin.

1950

Nancy Sayre Somermeyer, of Nebraska City, died March 9, 2010. In the 1960s and 1970s she served as the award-winning editor of the Osceola Record newspaper. In the 1980s she worked as an event coordinator for the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City.

1943

Barbara Rehberg Fox, 86, died Dec. 19, 2009. She was the founder of the Self Help Information Center of Nebraska, co-founder of Houses of Hope of Nebraska and co-owner of Antlers Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program.

1938

Betty Jayne Hill Knigge died Aug. 24, 2009, in Walnut Creek, Calif.