Midlands Business Journal June 28, 2019 Vol. 45 No. 26 issue

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

TRANSPORTATION, DISTRIBUTION & WAREHOUSING A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

June 28, 2019

Transportation partnerships seize opportunities for development

by Michelle Leach

Traction and resistance alike are represented by public-private partnerships and tariffs.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is also bringing what Nebraska Trucking Association President Kent Grisham called “desperate infrastructure needs” to Congress, while taking a hard look at the regulatory environment; notably, Grisham said the intention behind “hours of service” (driving vs. resting hours) is good (“you don’t want tired and fatigued drivers on the road”). But Grisham said regulations are difficult to meet with mandatory electronic logging.

“As soon as you’ve gone a matter of seconds over, it will kick out a violation notice,” he said, noting traffic jam- or bad weather-related delays aren’t accounted for, all this when member-companies are challenged to recruit new drivers who

Reaanddit

are required to have more classroom time before they can take a test.

Grisham is optimistic about a federal government pilot program for younger drivers that may have experience driving large military equipment, yet regulations dictate they can’t cross state lines. Companies end up trying to catch mid-20-somethings when they’re in other careers, versus offering the prospect of a bright career early. Additional classrooms, instructors, trucking equipment, and testers are also required.

Overall, Grisham’s encouraged by the state’s active, supportive industry.

“We have an environment of cooperation and collaboration, not just in the trucking industry, and it comes from our deep roots in ag,” he said.

During recent floods, Grisham said mem-

Branch Owner - Omaha Terry McMullen of AIT Worldwide. bers donated time and fuel to haul emergency Web-based e-Builder has helped track prorepair, relief and ag supplies. gram financials and other functions for these HDR’s Matt Selinger said the Dual, Divided projects since 2014.

Freeway program within the Iowa Department “Drivers should pay attention to signs as of Transportation’s Transportation Improvement traffic shifts will occur more frequently,” he said.

Program project, the Council Bluffs Interstate The Council Bluffs Airport Authority is System improvements, strategically focusing opened this spring on development opporamid flooding. tunities, as Executive The DDF creates Director Andy Biller Interstate 80 express noted there is room to and I-80/I-29 local include businesses that lanes. A first for Iowa don’t necessarily need and the region, the to be on the airport or DDF opening includaccess taxiways. ed complex overnight “It’s not uncomclosures (to install mon for airports to signs, shift traffic), and have businesses of a Grisham Selinger signs with emergency ‘business park’ nature,” flood response messages were used as planned he said; for instance, Chicago Rockford Interdetour routes were flooded. Iowa DOT dis- national Airport secured a large employer due trict and contractor teams worked together to its onsite property, and Biller noted interest to keep the program on schedule and lead from an out-of-state manufacturing company. recovery efforts.

It’s leveraging the airport’s relationship with “Construction crews are expected to open Iowa Western Community College (its aviation another eastbound portion in late summer, maintenance training program has a physical depending on weather and field conditions,” presence at the airport) and the University he said. of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute (to Other milestone CBIS projects include develop professionals in face of the industry’s reconstruction of the Nebraska Avenue Inter- labor shortage). change set for this fall and the completion of “Employers in close proximity to aviation I-29/I-480/West Broadway Interchange Right maintenance training programs have a more Continued on next page. of Way acquisition and final design.

Reap!

Transportation, Distribution & Warehousing — inside JUNE 28, 2019

THE BUSINESS NEWSPAPER OF GREATER OMAHA, LINCOLN AND COUNCIL BLUFFS

THIS WEEK 'S ISSUE:

$2.00

VOL. 45 NO. 26

Don Peterson & Associates benefits from diverse expertise

by Michelle Leach

Sapahn gains following by putting Thai artisans, artistry first. – Page 2

40 er d Un 40 Leadership, problem-solving skills accelerate Glassman at Proxibid.

– Page 3

& ng nti phics i r P ra G

Printing and marketing campaigns increasingly personalized, datadriven. – Page 4

As a fiber in the fabric of Fremont, 63-year-old Don Peterson & Associates has grown to four offices in three markets, with an edge in agriculture and auctions that blankets the state. The firm is adding to affordable housing during a time when stock is in short supply and as its home community rebounds from historic floods.

“Flooding affected the community in general, whether it directly impacts our agents or not,” said President Jennifer Bixby. “Our agents were filling sandbags and working in shelters. We had agents who couldn’t get into their homes for days. And, with the real estate market, it’s taken some properties out of commission when we’re already in a shortage.”

Leadership with the locally owned and independent real estate brokerage firm founded by the late Don Peterson (and a partner) in 1956, referenced the long-term effects of the flood, and also its involvement with close community partners, Continued on page 6.

President Jennifer Bixby at the downtown Fremont office … SunRidge Place subdivision adds to much-needed affordable development in Fremont as real estate firm benefits from diverse expertise across state.

(Photo by MBJ / Becky McCarville)

Encompas targets partnerships with custom furniture solutions

by Savannah Behrends

Stemming from the idea that commercial furniture can solve problems, encompas has found its niche partnering with architecture and interior design firms to create custom spaces, from moveable walls down to cushion buttons.

“Furniture has become so specialized that no architecture or interior design firm can know everything about it like we do,” said Lisa Miller,

who founded the firm in 1999 with longtime colleague Herman Weist.

The firm, with locations in Kansas City, Missouri and Wichita, Kansas, opened the Omaha office five years ago and recently moved in to a 10,000-square-foot space at 1425 Jones Street.

Weist, an architect by trade, was drawn to the building’s 75-foot trusses that span the building without Continued on page 6.

Account Manager Bob Bally … Seeking aggressive growth opportunities with tech solutions for businesses.

Aureon eyes software-defined wide area network tech for Nebraska growth plans

by Richard D. Brown

From left, Vice President Herman Weist and President Lisa Miller … The Kansas City, Missouri-based firm has moved its Omaha office into new showroom that triples its space.

Aureon, a 30-year-old Midwestern-based technology support firm for small-to-medium-sized firms, has announced an aggressive growth program for its Omaha location. The office has been open for six years and has grown to employ 10 employees that serve about 35 clients in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

“We’re a larger company with

an Omaha presence, which is giving us a big back-end advantage — and with an Omaha flavor,” said Account Manager Bob Bally.

Bally, a Ralston native, joined Aureon five and a half years ago after a lengthy early-career stop with DIT Computers in Omaha, a chain that grew with multiple locations throughout the city.

“In Omaha our growth has Continued on page 22.

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Sapahn gains following by putting Thai artisans, artistry first

by Michelle Leach

It’s been said purpose-driven companies are driving today’s economy — and putting 300-plus artisans first, hailing from across 20 villages some 8,500 miles away from Sapahn’s home base of Lincoln — is driving the fashion-forward, ethically-conscious company.

Sapahn

Services: ethically-conscious, fashion-forward backpacks, crossbody bags, wristlets, clutches, wallets and accessories, handmade by artisans in rural Thailand Founded: April 2010 by Brooke Mullen Industry outlook: Opportunities abound for fashion companies that balance aesthetics and quality materials with human rights first principles and sustainable sourcing.

Website: sapahn.com

“People are buying without the story; they fall in love with the design and the quality,” said founder, CEO and Designer Brooke Mullen.

“But when you tell them that they’re the ‘bridge’ making things happen, that’s when their faces light up.”

Thai for “bridge,” Sapahn connects makers of bags and accessories in rural areas of the southeast Asia country with markets that would

Founder, CEO and Designer Brooke Mullen … Mission to support one woman’s education evolves into handmade goods business supporting hundreds of artisans and their families. (photo courtesy of Sapahn) otherwise be un-reachable, providing women survive, made under duress, and that celebrates and their families with choice — breaking a cy- Thailand’s rich craftsmanship. cle of poverty as an alternative to work merely to “It’s an amazing way to support a village, to

Business Minute

Ashley Perkins

Vice President - Cox Business, Cox Communications Hometown: Edmond, Oklahoma.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma.

know with what you just bought, they were able to buy a cow — this was tangible,” Mullen said, when discussing the journeys that ultimately led to Sapahn.

Mullen, whose family moved to Lincoln when she was six, was first exposed to the world in a big way as a foreign exchange student in Romania, getting to know Peace Corps volunteers and non-governmental organizations assisting drug-addicted street kids and developmentally-challenged children in orphanages.

“You’ve got to do what you gravitate toward and what puts a fire in your belly,” she said.

She and her husband ended up majoring in international studies and human rights — work that would eventually lead them to border country, Burma (or Myanmar), and Mullen’s aforementioned purchase that made such a difference.

“We were trekking in a remote village and I fell in love with these women’s headscarves,” she said.

She met a woman during this journey, and efforts to support this woman’s education by selling handbags made by rural artisans would evolve into more than proceeds to pay for tuition; it would become Sapahn.

“She lived a very different life, she had to be working at all times,” Mullen said. “These women had to make different decisions than I had to … I wondered, ‘How do you create tangible change and instill dignity?’These women are strong, resilient, and their craft is so powerful.”

With the profits from the first two-and-a-half years of Sapahn, the woman paid for a good portion of her schooling. She now serves as a liaison for Myanmar Parliament, and owns a therapeutic massage business to employ local women.

In the past nine years since Mullen officially organized the business during a trip home she has worked to overcome the barriers oft-cited Continued on page 10.

Midlands Business Journal Established in 1975

How I got into the business: I started in the management program with Southwestern Bell Telephone right out of college. They put me in the mainframe computer area as a manager running the tape library. I knew exactly nothing about mainframe computing, job code language or managing people!

Accomplishments or milestones: Recent transplant to Omaha from Oklahoma City (excellent choice — we love it here!); Named to the Journal Record’s statewide award, “50 Women Making a Difference” twice. Torch award winner for business sales and co-chairing an epic, citywide event called “Downtown in December” which is still in existence in Oklahoma City.

First job: Darleen’s Hallmark. I worked there most of my high school years.

Biggest career break: A peer from my early years in telecom reached out to me to have coffee. He shared with me how much he enjoyed working at Cox Communications and I started with them nine years ago. Best cup of coffee ever!

The toughest part of the job: Internal conference calls. I would much rather be with customers.

The best advice I have received: Don’t put anything in email that you don’t want to see on the front page of the newspaper (now, Facebook!)

About my family: My husband, Jeff, and I have been married 25 years. We have three sons, a daughter-in-law and two gorgeous grandsons. We also have a Labrador that thinks he is a human.

Something else I’d like to accomplish: Finish the fiction book that I’ve been writing.

It is quite daunting to think about submitting it to someone else for evaluation.

Book I finished reading recently: “The 12 Week Year.” I am actively using the ideas in this book right now and finding success.

Something about me not everyone knows: I still wear my retainer at night. I wore braces, headgear and miscellaneous other orthodontic devices for six years. I never want to go through that again.

How my business will change in the next decade: I can’t even consider a decade! The technology and cloud computing businesses are changing daily. In the next three years alone we will see companies making major overhauls in the way they transmit, store, and protect their data. We are having amazing conversations today with customers about how they communicate digitally 24x7 and globally.

Mentor who has helped the most in my career: I have been so fortunate to have so many people contribute to my growth. I can’t name just one mentor, but I do know my dad has always been my best supporter and sounding board.

Outside interests: Writing, furniture refinishing, volunteer board work and Life.Church.

Pet peeves: The death of the RSVP. When did we stop formally letting people know we were attending their event?

Favorite vacation spot: Turks and Caicos.

Other careers I would like to try: Television anchor or interior designer.

Favorite movie: Here’s my age showing — “About Last Night” or “St. Elmo’s Fire.”

Favorite cause or charity: Salvation Army and Urban League.

Favorite app: YouVersion bible app and Spotify.

Interested in being featured in the Business Minute? Email news@mbj.com for more information.

PUBLISHER & FOUNDER, Robert Hoig

ADMINISTRATION VP OF OPERATIONS, Andrea “Andee” Hoig

EDITORIAL EDITOR & VICE PRESIDENT OF NEWS, Tiffany Brazda EDITORIAL ASSISTANT, Savannah Behrends STAFF WRITER, Becky McCarville

ADVERTISING ADVERTISING CONSULTANT, Catie Kirby ADVERTISING CONSULTANT, Julie Whitehead OFFICE OFFICE ASSISTANT, Rosemary Gregurich BOOKKEEPING/LEGAL NOTICES, Beth Grube

(402) 330-1760 Zane D. Randall (1925-2006) Co-founder LeAnne M. Iwan (1932-1986) First News Editor

The Midlands Business Journal (ISSN 0194-4525) is published weekly plus one by MBJ Inc. and is available for $2.00 per individual copy or $75 per year. Editorial offices are 1324 S. 119th St., Omaha, NE 68144. Periodical postage paid at Omaha NE POSTMASTER; Send address changes to Midlands Business Journal, 1324 S. 119th St., Omaha, NE 68144. All submissions to the Midlands Business Journal become the property of the Midlands Business Journal and will not be returned.

Written permission must be obtained from Midlands Business Journal and MBJ, Inc., to post any of our stories or other published materials on a website. Under no circumstances, because of spamming potential and other issues, will permission be granted to transmit our stories by email.

-The Publisher.

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

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Leadership, problem-solving skills accelerate Glassman at Proxibid

Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of profiles featuring Midlands Business Journal 40 Under 40 award winners — entrepreneurs, business owners, managers and professionals under 40 years of age.

by Dwain Hebda

In 10 years, Jacqueline Glassman has gone from an entry-level customer support representative to senior vice president, product and experience for Proxibid, an Omaha ecommerce company. It’s a fast-track experience that has challenged her at every stop along the way.

“Naturally I’m just a problem solver,” she said. “Initially it wasn’t my goal to just move up and to take on more responsibilities, but I think I established myself as someone who was very hardworking and wanted to find solutions for challenges that we were having.

“Whenever there would be something that was too complex or too hard, that was causing issues or people needed help I just became that person, and that’s really where all the opportunity for me came from.”

Covering as much corporate ground as she did in a short time didn’t let her get too com-

fortable in any one position, but it also gave her a whirlwind tour of a number of different areas of company operations. She’s emerged far more well rounded than she would have otherwise, she said.

“Once you start to get enough exposure across the organization, you do have a unique perspective because you’ve been a part of so many different departments and you can see that whole picture,” she said.

“I tell people on my team and new employees that I think there’s just something about not being in the same department for your entire career, even if it’s through different organizations or the same company. Moving around is so valuable because you can never quite get the same perspective if you’re only looking through one lens.”

Glassman came to the firm with a few months left in her undergraduate work at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she majored in political science and organizational sociology. Back then she was like many college students in entry-level gigs, primarily there for benefits. She’d originally planned on heading to law school but was surprised by how the

Proud Sponsors of the 2018 40 Under 40:

Jacqueline Glassman, senior vice president, product & experience … Trying on different hats has proven beneficial to climbing the ranks. new challenges in relating to the upcoming company inspired her on a number of levels.

“I would say I get bored easily with generation. It’s an individualized process she things,” she said with a laugh. “I wanted to approaches one person at a time, she said.

“When it comes to people younger than solve problems and once something was figured out, I was happy to hand that off and let me, I just try to relate,” she said. “I had a lot somebody else manage and maintain and scale. of responsibility, moved up at a young age and I’ve maintained the mentality of it’s not about I wanted a new challenge.”

Throughout her career, Glassman got used your age; it’s about how hard you work and to being the youngster of her professional what you contribute. I have older parents and peers by 20 years or more. But a decade is a both my parents were entrepreneurs and very long time in an internet business and although business-oriented and I think that played into she’s just 32, she said she’s not viewed that things, too. I find that in a lot of other people way anymore, which has provided her with as well.”

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

PRINTING &GRAPHICS

A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

June 28, 2019

Printing and marketing campaigns increasingly personalized, data-driven

by Michelle Leach

It’s hard for target consumers to miss increasingly personalized, and dynamic content, courtesy of teams boasting diverse skillsets, rich data analytics and sophisticated printing technologies.

“Customers like it and it really makes them feel important and that you value them,” said PIP Marketing owner Debbie Bremer, when asked about a key trend: customization of printed flyers, proposals and direct mail.

Bremer also said personal offers, images and landing pages allow for better targeting.

Thomas “You are understanding your customers’ needs, wants and buying habits,” she said. “Better response — more business.”

All things digital rounds out what Bremer indicated are the top two areas informing PIP’s strategy, and she said the company is upgrading equipment as needed.

“We stay ahead of the curve with our large-format equipment, as well as 24/7 online ordering,” she said.

More unique products going forward means better return on investment, according to Bremer.

Senior Vice President of Print Ryan Henkel put the spotlight on Firespring’s automated campaigns — using technology that manages marketing processes and multifunctional campaigns across multiple channels automatically.

Chief Operating Officer Kevin Thomas said data is driving much better results with (and for) direct mail.

“Automated campaigns, if done well, allow you to build better future campaigns because of the data that can be captured and studied,” he said.

Thomas also referenced Firespring’s evolution — from more of a marketing company than a printing company.

“Printing, at its core, is simply one of many marketing tactics,” he said. “For it to be successful, it needs to be in concert with other marketing efforts. Printing is still very much at our core, but it is one of many solutions that we provide to our clients.”

Henkel, too, referenced how the business world has evolved into more of a digital landscape — incorporating print production with traditional and digital marketing methods.

Debbie Bremer, owner of PIP Marketing, Signs & Print, Omaha.

Thomas noted the implications for hiring (and we want to work with them on solutions to training) people on skills foreign to printers acquire and manage their data so that they just 10 years ago. can market themselves more effectively in “For example, we now have copywriters, the future.” developers and strategists to help ensure maxWhen asked about other hot topics of imum results for our clients,” he said. interest to business, Henkel highlighted how Giving the right people appropriate tools signage, promotional products, experiential is paramount, Thomas indicated, as is finding campaigns and digital storefront capabilities ways to maximize results. converge to create a single-source ordering “To do this, we need to help our clients and tracking solution. understand their data to have a better return,” If there was a popularity contest among he said. “If our clients don’t have good data, Renze Display’s products at present, the

“winners” would be large prints and murals on fabric frames — front-lit and back-lit as LED lightboxes.

“These are gaining popularity in corporate interiors as well as retail settings,” said Executive Vice President Mike Compton, who referred to a “rich, contemporary look.”

Specialized printing processes allow for high-res graphics of up to 10 feet in one direction (almost any other length in the other direction). Frames for display require a simple connector system for ease of set-up and take-down, and Compton’s customers appreciate that graphics can be switched Compton out; earlier graphics may be “reused” later.

Additional treatments can be added behind the fabric; for instance, sound-deadening material or metal so items can attach on top of the fabric and be held in place with strong magnets, which gives customers more flexibility.

“We are also producing a lot more of these wall-mounted fabric-graphic frames as lightboxes,” he said.

A nod again to energy-efficient, long-lasting LED technology, the lightboxes have a slim profile that mounts to the wall like a picture frame, according to Compton.

Dimmer options are available, and the interchangeable fabric graphics are accompanied by other customized options, such as woodgrain edges (to cover aluminum) and other finishes to complement décor.

Creative graphic design helps to build overall brand

by Gabby Christensen

Local print and design gurus say it’s important that businesses know when and how to utilize design elements to their advantage.

Scott Allison, owner of The Local Locale, said well executed design will catch the eyes of prospective clients.

“Poor design will likely hurt you more than great design will help you,” Allison said. “For instance, a beautiful, thoughtfully designed website won’t guarantee you win business, but a poorly designed, outdated and non-intuitive design will almost certainly end the conversation before it starts.”

Allison said apparel and auto wraps are usually good tactics.

Additionally, he said signage is key for

Allison Eskra retail space.

“Signage should be big enough, cleanly designed and bold with limited copy,” he said.

“Thinking of the storefront like the homepage

of a website, from my comparison above. That’s the same for your signage and storefront.”

Overall, Allison said designs should always embody the business.

Nate Eskra, partner at Regal Printing Co., said accurately depicting a business’ brand and identity is critical to success.

“Your brand is what you say about your company when you’re not there to say it,” Eskra said. “I always push brand cohesiveness, which means businesses should use the same messaging, color schemes, fonts and logos to be the most effective. Impressions matter and people assume a lot about a business by the way it looks.”

He also said the print industry has shifted Continued on page 10.

Printing & Graphics •

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Don Peterson & Associates benefits from diverse expertise Continued from page 1. for quality properties in a more affordable such as the Fremont Area Community price point — attractive to younger famiFoundation and its “Big Give” in early lies and downsizing empty-nesters alike.

May; the FACF established the Fremont “Don Peterson has developed a lot of Area Flood Relief and Recovery Fund.

Fremont, and we’ve been involved with all “Our owners and of east Fremont, and brokers all live here Don Peterson & Associates this is our biggest in our community,” Phone: 402-721-9700 (downtown Fredevelopment to date B i x b y s a i d . “ O u r mont) at a time when the kids attend school Address: 100 East 6th St., Fremont 68025 community needs here, our spouses Founded: 1956 in Fremont by the late Don housing more than work here. So, for Peterson (and partner) ever,” she said. us, it’s beyond just Services: real estate brokerage with land With roots traca ‘workplace com- development, new home construction, ing back to one ofmunity project.’ Our commercial, multifamily, property managefice in 1950s -era community is wo- ment, farms and auctions expertise Fremont, Bixby said ven into the fabric Website: DonPeterson.com the firm opened its of our company and second local office in our agents.”

1999 as a “market leader” in the commuShe described community involvement nity. Bixby isolated both its client service not as a part of the job, but as a part of life and community involvement.

— with the firm supporting employees and “We saw a deficit in the smaller comagents in everything from nonprofit boards munities north of Fremont that maybe to PTAs and church service projects. weren’t receiving the same level of service Given the overarching environment, as clients closer to Omaha,” she said. “So, its newest subdivision couldn’t come at a we set out to include those areas into the better time; according to Bixby, Don PeOmaha area MLS, and therefore increase terson & Associates recently broke ground broker cooperation, which ultimately on SunRidge Place — on the eastern edge leads to increased activity for sellers and of Fremont. buyers.”

“We will see the first homes go in later This strategy gave way to the opening this year with prices starting in the $200s,” of its West Point office in 2005. she said. “We have a long history of devel“The local market responded quite oping Fremont’s residential neighborhoods well,” Bixby said. “That office is extremeand we know the community is excited for ly busy and now accounts for over 7% of SunRidge Place.” our annual revenues.”

A sunny outlook surrounds the develIt acquired the Hartington, Nebraska, opment, given that Bixby referred to a need office in 2009.

“Those agents service a large area very well,” she said. “We have seen increased revenues every year since 2009 from the Hartington office.”

She characterized all of the markets — Fremont, Omaha, surrounding communities — as “very similar.”

“We are all part of the same Regional MLS that even includes the Lincoln area,” Bixby said. “We have found that our presence in Omaha has grown since the recession. Some of our community members work here in Fremont and choose to live in west Omaha due to a spouse’s employment or other factors, and they often choose their DPA Realtor to help them sell and buy.”

She said DPA has already been a part of over $5 million in residential real estate sales in Greater Omaha for 2019, and anticipates continued growth. And, while Bixby noted its residential real estate clients are in eastern Nebraska, DPA is known across the entire state for land and large commercial auctions.

“We have recently done land auctions in Sidney, York and Valentine areas,” she said. “Our company and our community are rooted in agriculture. Our agents know and understand wells, septics and the working acreage.”

So, she indicated clients trust the team’s expertise in everything from farm management to selling a city home.

Encompas targets partnerships with custom furniture solutions

Recognizing different working styles, Continued from page 1. columns. Miller, an experienced interior companies are also purchasing stations designer, fell in love with the location that utilize a pull-out shelf to simulate an open-or-closed door. and history.

Determining what kind of furniture a The new showroom is three times the size of the former office, lending space to company might need comes from listening, what could be a company’s lobby, kitchen, a trait that Weist said seems to be inherent to interior designers. workspace, confer“The worst thing ence room, office or encompas you can do is not lisoutdoor space.

Phone: 402-991-7471 ten well,” Weist said.

MCL Construc- Address: 1425 Jones Street, Omaha The furniture t i o n f o u n d e r a n d 68102 dealership is unique President Bob Carl- Services: solution-based custom furniture in that it doesn’t isle recently stopped for mid-to-large sized companies employ any sales by the showroom Founded: 1999 by Lisa Miller and Herman staff, only interior to view and discuss Weist in Kansas City, Missouri designers, who removeable walls for Employees: 35 spread between Missouri, ceive salaries plus MCL’s new head- Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska offices commission. quarters.

Industry outlook: With historically low Miller and Weist “This is all about un-employment rates holding steady, described a situation module interiors, so employers are finding creative ways with in Kansas City were the moveable walls, furniture to help attract and retain talent. a facilities manager t h e r a i s e d a c c e s s Website: encompas.com for the Federal Refloors, it makes it easy to reconfigure and future-proof,” serve Bank was frustrated by previous experiences with dealership sales personnel.

Weist said.

“He was frustrated with salesmen who The duo emphasized that encompas is not an interior design firm, but rather it would tell him he could get something and is a firm that aids interior designers and then he’d work with an interior designer who told him that they couldn’t do that,” architects.

Ninety percent of the firm’s options Miller said.

Encompas’ solutions-first mentality fall under Haworth lines. They noted that Haworth is the “American dream;” started helped win the bid for the 14-story Federal

by G.W. Haworth in his garage in western Reserve Bank in Kansas City. At the time Michigan with a $10,000 loan from his it only had a staff of five, nowadays it’s parents, the company has grown to net inching past 35, 85% of which are women.

The firm is also a certified women-owned $2.04 billion.

G.W. Haworth’s grandson, Matthew business.

“Anytime we’re breaking that glass Haworth, is a third generation chairman and most furniture is still made in the U.S. ceiling, even though we can’t do it on a “All of our parts and pieces are in one national level, it’s still a step in the right catalog but they can all look different direction,” Miller said.

A project lead or manager is often a depending on the height, width, color or client’s only point if contact, which can material,” Miller said.

While the price for custom furniture reduce confusion and strengthen the reis higher, they said most companies lationship.

The main challenge for the firm is keep furniture, if it’s high quality, for name recognition. While it has been 20-30 years.

Low unemployment rates have also able to partner on several projects with changed what kinds of furniture companies Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, are looking for. While sit-to-stand desks Holland Basham Architects and JE Dunn have become more standard, Weist said Construction, they said the firm has lot companies are adding lockers attached to of room for growth, especially with its new showroom. workspaces.

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

Low unemployment drives employee benefits

by David Kubicek

More than 2 million net jobs were created in 2018, reducing the pool of available talent and increasing the demand for top-notch professionals across the U.S. In Nebraska, the state’s 2.9% unemployment rate has created a job seeker’s market.

“With more career options for workers than ever, local employers are struggling to find candidates to fill open positions,” said Nuria Archer, Omaha branch manager for Robert Half.

Due to the high demand for specialized and skilled talent, companies realize they must offer — in addition to competitive compensation — non-monetary perks to attract and retain top performers.

According to OfficeTeam research, 73% of workers say a company’s health and wellness offerings influence their decision to work there. Employees also want options that afford them greater work-life balance, such as extra vacation days and flexible schedules, so they can return to their jobs rejuvenated.

A Robert Half survey shows a disconnect between the perks and benefits workers want and what companies provide.

The perks most employees want are flexible work schedules (88%), a compressed workweek (66%) and the ability to telecommute (55%).

“While 62% of companies offer flexible work schedules, our survey found fewer than one in five offer shorter workweeks or remote work options,” Archer said.

Travis Martin, an employee benefits

consultant with The Olson Group, said many employer groups are considering medical management programs to help their employees more effectively navigate the health care system.

Plan, is a tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan that makes saving for college simple, approachable and affordable.

With NEST@Work, employees may use their use their employer’s existing

Archer Martin “Medical management typically includes a team of nurses and doctors who come to the side of the patients via telephone to help them navigate both the health delivery and health plan system more efficiently,” Martin said. “The focus of a quality medical management company is to help employees receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right price.”

In recent years, many of the firm’s clients have pooled together to purchase health insurance as a group through captive health insurance or association health plans, which allow like-minded employers to join together to gain the purchasing power of a larger employer.

Nebraska Educational Savings Plan Trust 529 (NEST 529) College Savings

Goodkin Becker payroll system to direct deposit from their paycheck into their NEST 529 savings account, according to Deborah Goodkin, managing director for savings plans at First National Bank of Omaha.

“The onboarding process for NEST@ Work is simple,” Goodkin said. “There are no set-up costs or contracts to sign, no open enrollment period restrictions, and it uses the employer’s already-in-place payroll process.”

As part of the Employer Matching Contribution Incentive Program starting January 1, 2022, employers who match any part of an employee’s contributions to a NEST 529 account will receive an incentive payment of 25% of their matched contributions, up to $2,000 per employee per year.

7

Small businesses realize that they need to balance the cost of benefits with their overall labor budget, according to Aaron Becker, a general partner with Growductivity, a national Professional Employer Organization (PEO).

“Health care inflation has become unsustainable for many small businesses,” he said. “Offering the right mix of plans and benefits can position the company competitively as an employer of choice.”

According a report published in the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2018, 55% of private industry workers in firms of fewer than 100 employees offered medical care benefits, compared with 83% in firms of 100 to 499 employees and 88% in firms with more than 500 workers.

PEOs can help level the playing field so small businesses can offer their employees “big company” benefits at a lower cost.

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8

• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

UPCOMING

SECTIONS

IN THE MIDLANDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

JULY 5

ACCOUNTING PROFESSION

WORK RELATED INJURIES JULY 12

NONPROFITS

JULY 19

LINCOLN GROWTH REPORT To advertise your company’s products or services in one of our upcoming sections, contact one of our MBJ advertising representatives at (402) 330-1760 or at the email addresses below.

Julie Whitehead - Julie@mbj.com • Catie Kirby - ads@mbj.com Space and materials deadline is the Friday prior to the publication date.

You may email us your insertion orders directly, or fax them to us at (402) 758-9315. We will acknowledge receiving your instructions.

REGIONAL LANDSCAPES

Briefs…

WP Engine, a WordPress digital experience platform, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Flywheel, a WordPress hosting and management company based in Omaha, Neb. By combining their strengths, WP Engine and Flywheel are enhancing the WP Engine Digital Experience Platform for WordPress with creative and business workflows for agencies, building upon their collective investments and leadership in WordPress and creating one of the largest agency partner programs in WordPress. WP Engine will now power more than 120,000 brands and agencies in 150 countries served by nearly 900 employees across seven offices globally.

NP Dodge Real Estate introduced a suite of tools offered by Agent Icon. The tools include daily social media images, articles, training and an instant imaging system for social media. Social media continues to gain momentum and become a primary source for Realtors to promote themselves, find new buyers and sellers and provide valuable information to the communities they serve. Agent Icon sends NP Dodge agents daily content to ensure that they are viewed as icons in their marketplaces.

Green House Data has acquired Deliveron, an agile-focused DevOps development firm. By deepening staff and company capabilities around refactoring applications for modern cloud-based architectures — in particular, within Azure — DevOps enablement and consulting, and analytics-driven software development, Green House Data is suited to deliver comprehensive IT modernization and IT management.

Farris Engineering’s Beth Schuler, P.E., LC, and Brad Kennedy, P.E., LEED AP, received their Professional Engineer licenses in the state of Nebraska. Schuler joined Farris Engineering in 2014 as an electrical engineering intern in the Omaha office. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architectural engineering from the University of Nebraska and is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women, Omaha Metro. Kennedy has been with Farris Engineering for over 11 years as a mechanical engineer in the Lincoln office. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architectural engineering from the University of Nebraska.

Patricia Catering and Cocktails is partnering with Hillside Solutions, a waste hauling company focused on diverting materials from the landfill, to bring zero waste events to the area. Along with a zero waste office and kitchen, the company offers a venue space that can accommodate corporate and social events. The Bellevue catering company has reduced its use of plastics by substituting with the use of compostable products. Plastics that are used are recycled, and Styrofoam is no longer used. Another way the company has reduced the use of plastics is to use real dishware instead. The company divides its waste into recycling and composting. Zero waste certification requires that less than 10% of a company’s waste is sent to a landfill.

Syngenta’s seed corn facility in Waterloo, Nebraska, has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year as a “Nebraska’s Safest Company with Distinction” for 2019.

The Nebraska’s Safest Companies Award, administered by the National Safety Council, Nebraska, was established to recognize and celebrate companies that make safety

a priority. The Waterloo site has remained accident-free for more than two years, representative of more than 250,000 hours safely worked. Additionally, the site has not reported a lost-time injury for more than eight years, translating to more than 1 million hours worked without a lost-time injury.

Taco John’s franchisees Larry and Donna White hosted a fundraiser for flood victims throughout the Midwest at 12 of their restaurants located in the Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings and Kearney areas. Taco John’s guests had the opportunity to donate any amount at the restaurant or purchase a Midwest Strong Sticker for a $1 or $5 donation.

Bremer Restaurant Group, a Taco John’s franchisee, presented a $11,464 check to the Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross to benefit flood relief and recovery.

Health care notes…

NexCore Group and CHI Health have opened its medical office building prototype, the 37,800-square-foot CHI Health Clinic Valley View multispecialty clinic in Council Bluffs. The new clinic has 60-rooms that include behavioral health, women’s services, pediatrics, urology, dermatology, diabetic education, radiology, ultrasounds and physical therapy. NexCore, with CHI Health, created a prototype that includes three scalable buildings built using an adaptable structural steel frame to accelerate project design, significantly reducing timelines for future projects. CHI Health Clinic Valley View won the “Best New Development, Medical Office Buildings and Other Outpatient Facilities, 25,000 to 49,999 square feet” category at the HREI Insights Awards.

University of Nebraska Medical Center researcher Jingwei Xie, Ph.D., received the Chancellor Emeritus Harold M. Maurer, M.D. and Beverly Maurer Scientific Achievement Award. Maurer served as UNMC chancellor from 1999-2014. A biomedical engineer, Xie is an associate professor and research scientist in the UNMC Department of Surgery-Transplant and is part of the Mary and Dick Holland Regenerative Medicine Program. His research is aimed at gaining a better understanding of materials and cell/ tissue interaction and for developing a better design of biomedical devices/materials for use in health care. He’s also involved in the development of novel formulations for local drug delivery.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center and its hospital partner, Nebraska Medicine, were part of a major study that determined a new heart pump is an improvement over previous models, and perhaps as good as a heart transplant itself. These pumps are now available at the med center.

The study’s results have been published in a recent edition of “The New England Journal of Medicine.” The new magnetically levitated centrifugal-flow device is smaller than previous models. The study lasted for several years and included more than 1,000 patients nationwide. With more than 60 enrollees, UNMC/Nebraska Medicine was one of the study’s top sites. These new pumps not only performed better, but also lasted longer.

Education notes…

The five final Nebraska libraries have been selected to host Nebraska’s Library Innovation Studios: Transforming Rural Communities maker spaces. They join the Continued on next page.

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

9

REGIONAL LANDSCAPES Continued from preceding page.

26 initial libraries chosen in October 2017 and December 2018. The Nebraska Library Commission was awarded a National Leadership Grant of $530,732 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for this partnership project with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Innovation Studio, Nebraska Extension, Regional Library Systems, and local public libraries. The newly selected library partners are: La Vista Public Library, McCook Public Library, Superior Public Library, Nelson Public Library and Lied Pierce Public Library.

The board of trustees for the Nebraska State College System voted to set tuition and fees for Chadron, Peru, and Wayne State Colleges for the next two years. Full-time students attending state colleges will pay an additional $4.50 per credit hour in tuition for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years.

This is the first time in NSCS history that tuition has been set for two academic years.

The 2.54% and 2.48% increases respectively are the lowest increases the NSCS has been able to implement since the 2014-15 academic year.

The Better Business Bureau Foundation has awarded three students from Omaha, Lincoln and southwest Iowa with $2,000 Student of Integrity Award Scholarships. The scholarships are for the winners’ post-secondary education expenses at any accredited institution. Winners are: Kelly Mahoney, Ethan Chen and Kamryn Buntrock.

Activities of nonprofits…

The 10th anniversary Pinot, Pigs & Poets event raised $520,000 and drew 425 guests in support of Completely KIDS. The 2019 Taste of Elegance Competition Chef Par Excellence was awarded to Chef Ben Maides of Au Courant Restaurant. He will attend the 2019 Midwest Pork Summit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for his winning dish. Domaine Serene 2015 pinot noir, Willamette Valley grown, edged out more than 40 other wines for the top pinot noir of the evening. Due to the event’s success, Completely KIDS has been able to increase the number of children enrolled in the Weekend Food Program, which provides healthy, child-friendly food to take home

every Friday.

All Omaha Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs kicked off this year’s Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals fundraising campaign to help treat local children who are sick or injured. All money raised during the Omaha CMN Hospitals campaign directly benefits Children’s Hospital & Medical Center to fund critical treatments, pediatric medical equipment, research and charitable care. The Walmart - Sam’s Club CMN Hospitals campaign runs through July 7. Those wanting to donate can donate $1 or more at the checkout lane or self-checkout of any Omaha Walmart store or Sam’s Club.

MindSet a leadership development brand in Omaha, has been selected as the leadership development partner of the Greater Omaha Chamber and Human Resource Association of the Midlands.

New in 2019, MindSet has partnered with the Greater Omaha Chamber to launch a program called Propel, which is a leadership accelerator for front-line leaders and rising star employees. For leaders who may want a chance to sample MindSet, complimentary MindSet workshops will soon be offered in Omaha on the weekend. The complimentary workshops will be held from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. on Saturdays.

Arts and events…

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts launched its alumni program. Bemis alumni can apply for a four-to-six week alumni residency at Bemis Center to continue their research and work. All past exhibiting and residency alumni are eligible to apply. Two alumni will be selected by a rotating panel.

Applications for 2020 Alumni Residency opportunities are open through Aug. 31 and the recipients will be notified Dec. 31.

The Alumni Award is a $5,000 unrestricted annual award designed to provide financial support to increase the capacity of an alum’s practice. In December, one Bemis alumni will be announced as the winner. This award is nomination only and will be selected by an independent panel.

Pottawattamie Arts, Culture and Entertainment added a new piece of public art to its collection. Tom Friedman’s sculpture “Looking Up (2015)” towers 33

feet high and is among the largest of Friedman’s works. “Looking Up” makes use of crushed aluminum foil, roasting pans, and baking tins to create a figure, which, through a process of molding and lost wax casting, retains the imprint of the original materials.

It will be on display at Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park through May 2020.

Holly Kranker and John Cohorst are the recipients of the 2019 Amplify Arts Public Impact Grant, a $10,000 award, which will support their project CAR>GO (Community Activated Resource on the GO).

CAR>GO will be used as a shared meeting and workspace for artists and creatives to exchange ideas, have conversations around issues of infrastructure, and collaborate on neighborhood projects. CAR>GO is also a response to climate change and its effects. CAR>GO proposes alternatives to maintaining the status quo by rethinking our approach to building infrastructure and creating a space that’s scaled down, made of repurposed materials, and powered by renewable energy and biofuels.

The 2nd annual Catered Bowl Pet Fest at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village will be on June 29. All pets are welcome at this free event. If you stop by all the vendors you will be qualified to win a prize pack valued at over $1,000 with gifts from all of pet partners, including pet food for a year from Catered Bowl. Country Vet Naturals will host an enclosed and monitored dog-run play pen. The Green Spot will provide a cooling tent. There will be free training demos from the Nebraska Humane Society and David Codr from DogGoneProblems.com.

The Fempreneur Fair’s second event

on July 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Thrive Space, LLC will feature up to 30 businesses and organizations that are run by female entrepreneurs. The showcase will be free for attendees and open to the general public.

This event will be free flowing but there will be guest speakers offering tips and tricks regarding running a small business. There will be complimentary muffins and mimosas

by Elegant Edge Events from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then grab lunch from one of the food trucks.

The 3rd Annual Infusion to Infusion Bike Ride, hosted by Infusion Brewing Co., is kicking off at 9 a.m. on June 30. The route will take bikers from the southwest location to the Benson location for a total of 25 miles.

There will be a stop at Beacon Hills and the farmers market on the way to and from the Benson location but no stops are mandatory.

There will also be a poker tournament for $5 with all proceeds going to the Nebraska Cattleman Disaster Relief Fund.

Omaha Performing Arts invites fans of Broadway’s “Hamilton” to celebrate the production before the show arrives to the Orpheum Theater this fall. OPA will host Hamiltunes: An American Singalong at the Orpheum’s Slosburg Hall at 7 p.m. on July 22. Registration for the free event is open now through July 12 at OmahaPerformingArts.org. Participants may register to lead a song or sing with a group of up to four friends. Because time is limited, those who sign up will be randomly chosen to perform and lead the audience in song. Costumes are encouraged. Tickets aren’t necessary, but all those attending must register.

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Philanthropy is the ultimate ‘risk capital’

by Bruce DeBoskey

The definition of “risk capital” varies greatly depending on context.

In the world of private equity, risk capital refers to the funds Philanthropy used for speculative, high-risk, high-reward investments. Depending on the success of the investment, it can either earn spectacular returns or dwindle to a fraction of the initial amount.

In the charitable world, venture philan-

thropy applies the same concepts of high risks and high rewards to social (rather than financial) returns on investment. For a number of reasons, philanthropy can be the optimal place for taking speculative “moonshots.”

Two other primary tools for effecting social and environmental change are government and business — both of which are inherently limited in their ability to take big risks. When it comes to performance, government is ultimately accountable to the electorate and business to the shareholders. Taking huge

Creative graphic design helps to build overall brand

Continued from page 4. is a process that evolves and changes with over the past few years as many long-standing every project.

“We always try to ask questions to deterbusiness professionals near retirement and a mine what a client is wanting to need for new talent arises. accomplish with regard to promo“I’ve never been deterred from tional items,” he said. “This is the making the print industry my career most important part of the equabecause of digital advertising,” tion. To simply have items with Eskra said. “We have to bridge the your logo or info on them may not gap between print and digital. You accomplish what your end goal is need to be able to put a print piece and spending money on advertisin front of a prospect that ties into ing with no return in mind is just and leads them to your mobile app, tossing your money into the wind website or email campaign.” to see what might come back.”

He said he’s also noticed that McCarville said the imporpeople are spending the same McCarville tance of promotional items are amount of money on print, but ordering in smaller batches more frequently often downplayed or sometimes not well thought out. due to data changes that occur more often.

“In all actuality, promotional products Scott T. McCarville, president at Amplified Image Marketing, said combining many accounted for over $24 billion in sales last methods of “promotional media,” such as year, so it is a growing and needed part of any T-shirt design, business cards, brochures and business,” he said. “The categories involved encompass everything from brochures, pens folders, is very useful.

According to McCarville, creativity in and notepads for small business to global what a client may need to share their message campaigns for the largest players in business.”

2019 Nominations are now open at MBJ.com Ask us about sponsorship opportunities

risks to tackle huge problems is not usually part of their DNA. “Philanthropy should be taking much bigger risks than business,” said Bill Gates.

“If these are easy problems, business and government can come in and solve them.”

Optimal place for “moonshots” As opposed to government or business, philanthropy is uniquely unaccountable for the performance of donated funds. This means that donors have tremendous freedom to take big risks in experimenting to find solutions to the world’s most difficult problems.

(Recently, much has been written about how this lack of accountability has led to greater income inequality and the misuse of philanthropy to achieve private goals. Nonetheless, for better and worse, grant-making is essentially accountable to no one.)

Usually, philanthropic capital is money that is no longer owned by the donor, having been transferred to a separate 501c(3) nonprofit organization that actually owns the funds – such as a foundation or donor-advised fund.

In making such a contribution, the donor has already determined that the funds are not needed to support personal, family or lifestyle goals. The funds will never return to the donor’s balance sheet. This is a perfect category of funds with which to take risks.

Opportunity for impact investing Philanthropic donors also can take some risks with the investment of their philanthropic capital by exploring impact investing, which seeks both financial and social returns on investments.

Unlike grant-making, impact investing with foundation or DAF capital carries with it the fiduciary responsibility to manage the funds with due care and to make prudent investments. There are many opportunities to engage in impact investing in companies that advance a philanthropic mission while also generating solid financial returns. Legal and tax advice should be sought before proceeding.

A wealth of worthwhile risks Thousands of nonprofit organizations are taking big risks in an effort to solve pressing regional, national and global challenges. For example: -The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative is an international nonprofit that develops new treatments for neglected diseases that affect tens of millions of people — primarily in developing countries. Because of the huge costs needed to develop new treatments, combined with the economics of pharmaceutical R&D, production, and distribution, the vast majority of drug R&D investments do not benefit neglected communities around the world, particularly people in poor countries who do not represent a lucrative market. These are high-risk investments with potentially outsized human and social benefits. DNDi has developed treatments for malaria, African sleeping sickness, leishmaniosis, Chagas disease and pediatric HIV. -10.10.10 convenes ten successful entrepreneurs for ten days to turn ten “wicked problems” into business opportunities for profit and impact. It encourages each entrepreneur to create a new venture that delivers a game-changing new product or service. It focuses on the areas of health, water, food, energy, learning, infrastructure waste, security and climate change. In its first six sessions, it has helped launch eight promising for-profit ventures.

-Prime Coalition partners with philanthropists to invest charitable capital in companies that combat climate change and have a high likelihood of achieving commercial success

– but would otherwise have a difficult time raising support. Philanthropists can use program-related investments, recoverable or traditional grants, or support operating overhead.

All risk, no matter the context, must be carefully evaluated and managed. Philanthropists can evaluate and manage their unique tolerance for risk with the proper legal, tax and philanthropic advice, and potentially achieve outsized returns with their philanthropic dollars.

Ford Foundation CEO Darren Walker said: “We need to expand our imaginations and our tools if we want to tackle the large-scale problems facing the world today.” ©2019 Bruce DeBoskey Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Sapahn gains following Continued from page 2. by craftswomen in rural villages: supply chain issues, capital and raw materials, and design.

While not formally trained as a designer, Mullen has an eye for design and “what other women are after.”

“I wondered, ‘how do we make this more timeless and more functional?’” she said.

“When I’m designing, I’m constantly thinking about the dynamic lives that women lead.”

Just as the products are handmade by rural artisans like Sirichai and Kay, Mullen (with the artistic assistance of her husband) draws patterns by hand.

“We don’t do CAD or anything like that,” she said, a reference to Computer-Aided Drafting. “That’s the most beautiful thing; being able to preserve these different trades in Thailand, especially when it comes to silk.”

In fact, Sapahn was featured in a documentary to coincide with the Thai Queen’s 80th birthday, which explored the royal family’s support of handicraft preservation — from silk- to coffee-making.

At the time of this writing, Mullen was finalizing fall and spring collections, and noted Sapahn is encouraging customers to nominate an inspiring woman to be honored with her name on a bag.

“All of our bags are named after women I’ve found inspiring,” she said; for instance, the “Amelia” is a small, minimalist leather backpack in bright purple, orange, and yellow hues named after Amelia Earhart, whereas the Nora shopper tote pays homage to a customer’s mother.

“We’re trying to go mainstream fashion — so, customers don’t have to sacrifice quality, style or function to do good,” Mullen said. “I wanted to challenge the fashion industry.”

As it relates to the supply chain, for the 10 years the family lived in Thailand, wrapping their arms around where hardware, lining, tannery and other elements of products were made was an ongoing challenge.

“We spent weeks trying to trace who is dyeing the leather, and to help them create a more environmentally-sound business,” she said.

This afforded opportunities to think about how to help entire communities, such as implementing water purification systems.

A member of NMotion, Sapahn is further benefiting from mentorship opportunities as part of the spring 2019 cohort of the Lincoln-based startup accelerator, as Mullen navigates scaling the business and human resources.

“I’m very excited about the awesome ecosystem,” she said of the Lincoln environment.

“And there are other amazing women who are running boutiques, big and small.”

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

11

Here’s why homeowners are pumping the brakes on home remodeling spending

by Deborah Kearns

With homeowners staying in their homes longer these days, it’s no surprise that they’ve dropped a lot of cash on big-ticket home improvements in recent years. But new research suggests homeowners Real estate are pumping the brakes on how much they’ll shell out for remodeling projects this year.

After home remodeling spending hit a record high of nearly $425 billion in 2017, annual gains are projected to slow in more than half of the nation’s largest housing markets in 2019, according to a report from SUPER CROSSWORD

the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The pace of spending by homeowners is expected to cool in 29 of the 49 major metros the Remodeling Futures Program tracks in comparison to 2018 gains. What’s more is researchers estimate the annual growth in home improvement spending will fall to the lowest rate in three years in nearly half of the housing markets studied.

Researchers say pronounced slowing is likely in markets such as San Antonio, Texas, Kansas City, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, RETURNED

New York and Dallas.

In some housing markets, though, remodeling spending will actually see an uptick, according to the report.

“Despite the broader deceleration, remodeling gains should remain strong and even accelerate through year-end in some areas of the country, including Orlando and Las Vegas where remodeling permitting, house prices and homebuilding have picked up,” says Elizabeth La Jeunesse, senior research analyst in the Center’s Remodeling Futures Program.

“Regionally, the strongest growth in 2019 is expected to be among metros in the West, paced by projected growth of 8% or more in Sacramento, Denver, Seattle, Tucson, San Jose and Las Vegas.”

Here’s what’s driving the expected declines Several forces on a macroeconomic level are giving homeowners pause before pursuing big-ticket projects, such as kitchen upgrades or basement finishing.

“Metros with cooling home prices and sales activity are not able to sustain the same pace of investment in home improvements as in recent years,” says Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Indeed, home-price growth rose by just 3.7% in March on an annualized basis, marking the 12th straight month that price growth has slowed.

Other factors at play on a microeconomic level suggest there are constraints within the remodeling industry that are impacting homeowners’ spending.

On the supply side, existing tariffs on materials such as timber, aluminum and steel have driven up the cost of home improvement projects, according to a recent CNBC report.

Furthermore, President Donald Trump’s threat of proposed tariffs on Mexico would drive up the cost of materials like brick and

concrete dramatically, says Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders.

Ultimately, those increased material costs will be passed down to homeowners looking to do renovations.

On the demand side, homeowners are seeing cooling home prices as a catalyst that’s likely to reduce their household net worth — an important driver of remodeling spending, Dietz says.

“A good deal of remodeling activity occurs right before a home is put on the market and right after a home is purchased,” Dietz says.

That aside, though, Dietz adds: “In hot markets, remodeling will remain hot.”

Labor shortages pose key challenge for remodeling companies Another issue throwing a wrench into home remodeling demand — and costs — is a severe shortage of skilled laborers, Dietz says.

“Most individual remodelers will say they’re busy and schedules are full because they don’t have enough help,” Dietz says.

Construction hiring remained relatively flat in May, up by more than 4,000 positions, following an increase of 30,000 jobs in April. Although the construction industry is poised for higher-than-average growth of all jobs in the next seven years, contractors are struggling to attract younger, native-born workers into those positions, Dietz says.

“A persistent shortage in skilled laborers in construction jobs is nothing new,” Dietz says. He adds that labor shortages typically prompt remodelers to pay higher wages, which in turn means customers pay higher prices and it takes longer to finish improvement projects. ©2019 Bankrate.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Hate the open office? Think it’s too loud? Enter the ‘phone booth’

by Abdel Jimenez

Answers on page 12.

As Generation Z starts entering the workforce, office interior designers are creating flexible workspaces that offer the privacy young workers — those born between 1997 and 2012 — demand.

Design experts say privacy is important to this young generation of workers in order to escape the noisiness Workplace that has enveloped the open office, so they are drawing inspiration from a surprising place: the phone booth, an obsolete space most members of Gen Z have probably never entered.

Tall and narrow “phone booths” are making their way into offices to insulate sound and provide a quiet space where employees can step away for a phone call or to focus on work. Most models have one glass side, but others are all glass, providing a fishbowl-like experience. There’s no built-in phone, but there is a countertop, seat, power outlets, a light and ventilation.

The open-office concept was heralded as a way to lower costs and promote interaction and collaboration among employees throughout organizations. But a study last year by

Harvard University researchers found, among other things, that workers miss their privacy.

Young workers make up an increasingly large section of the labor force as baby boomers continue to retire. According to consulting firm BridgeWorks, Gen Z is estimated to account for 63 million people in the U.S., and the eldest of this group are starting to trickle in the workforce. As more young people start working, furniture makers are coming up with products to help employers attract young talent.

Dozens of vendors showed off office phone booths recently at NeoCon, the annual commercial interior design show at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.

“It’s really difficult to find privacy or quiet in the open floor plan,” said Brian Chen, co-founder and CEO of Room, a designer of phone booths. “We are definitely noticing that companies are seeing a big mistake in putting all sorts of different activities in one single floor plan, and that is a recipe for people being stressed or unhappy in the office.”

Room has sold its phone booth offices to more than 1,500 businesses since launching in May 2018. The company, which sells its Continued on next page.

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Six last-minute retirement planning strategies

by Barbara Whelehan

Are you facing imminent retirement with nothing but Social Security and pocket change for your so-called “golden years”? It may not be too late for you to catch-up on your savings.

If everyone saved a decent chunk of their income throughout their career and never dipped into savings Retirement to deal with emergencies, all could enjoy a cushy retirement. But in reality, many people find they are rapidly approaching retirement age without nearly enough savings.

If this situation is all too familiar to you, don’t worry — you still have several options to get your retirement savings back on track. Implementing these last-minute solutions may not work as well as long-term retirement planning, but it’s better than doing nothing at all.

“Every day that you delay making progress toward your retirement goals is a day that you fall further behind,” says CFP professional Michael Shanahan, managing partner at Overland & Shanahan Wealth Advisors in San Diego. “Any action taken is always better than ignoring the problem and pretending it will go away.”

These six last-minute retirement planning

strategies may ensure that you won’t have to pawn jewelry, borrow from relatives, panhandle or take other desperate measures to make ends meet in retirement.

1. Save like mad Financial professionals recommend that you save 15% or more of your annual income throughout your career for retirement. If you haven’t done so and time is running short, try drastically increasing your savings rate.

Reduce your current expenses wherever possible and funnel the savings into your retirement accounts. The IRS makes this easier by offering catch-up provisions that allow people over age 50 to contribute extra money to IRAs and 401(k)s. For example, for the 2019 tax year, if you add in the $1,000 catch-up savings the annual contribution limit for an IRA is $7,000 for people 50 and older.

Those who are 50-plus may contribute as much as $25,000 into a 401(k) plan when the $6,000 catch-up contribution is factored in.

These catch-up contributions can make a big difference. For example, if you are age 50 and haven’t saved a penny for retirement but are able to max out your IRA and 401(k) contributions going forward, you can set aside $32,000 annually (compared with a maximum of $25,000 for younger savers). If your annual returns average 6 percent, you

Continued from preceding page. phone booths for about $3,500 each, expects annual sales to reach $30 million this year, Room spokeswoman Morgan Albrecht said.

Phone booths give employees the option of stepping into someplace quiet without walking too far from their desk, said Jonathan Webb, vice president of workplace strategy at KI Furnishing Knowledge, another phone booth manufacturer at NeoCon. “I think that companies are figuring out ways for their entire workplace to be more flexible overall,” Webb said.

A big part of Webb’s job is helping companies retain young workers through design.

In order to provide a more inviting office, Webb said he examines the study environments of younger workers throughout their collegiate years. What he found is that newly hired graduates want a flexible office that accommodates their different work styles.

“I think the death of open offices is over-exaggerated,” Webb said, “However, I think the death of static workstations is more accurate. Companies are figuring out ways for their offices to be more flexible overall and furniture plays a big part in that design.”

In addition to phone booths, KI also offers “hackable” office designs that allow employees to adjust their workspaces when moving between individual work and group projects, Webb said. Hackable offices incorporate movable furniture pieces, adjustable privacy screens and other customizable elements.

“Privacy is still a big deal,” Webb said.

“Even for Gen Z. They still want to have the ability to be private.”

KI’s phone booths can cost as much as $7,000 each. But companies that don’t have money to spend on big-ticket items are getting creative.

Verano Holdings, a medical marijuana

company in the River North neighborhood, installed its version of the phone booth office earlier this year at a cost of a couple thousand dollars each. The company’s chief marketing officer, Tim Tennant, said he was looking into affordable office booths but couldn’t find one.

“We decided to custom-build these small offices on our own after looking at the market,” Tennant said. “It became easier to make it ourselves.”

With the help of a contractor, Tennant said the company added three phone booths to previously unused space. “Immediately, they were a big hit,” he said.

Tennant said employees had been taking work home because the office was getting rowdy, making it hard to concentrate and lowering the company’s productivity.

Adding phone booths boosted productivity by 30 to 40 percent, Tennant said.

“This is why prioritizing choice and flexibility is so vital to a successful workplace.

It gives employees with different working styles the ability to self-select,” International Interior Design Association executive vice president and CEO Cheryl Durst said in an email.

Chicago-based Tock, the online restaurant reservation system, employs less than 100 workers but Brian Fitzpatrick, co-founder and chief technology officer, said the company bought 10 office booths from Room in order to provide more private space for employees.

“We saw that we had way too many people and fewer conference rooms,” Fitzpatrick said. “These conference rooms were a waste of space if only one person was using them.

So we went online to search for a cheap and quiet option.” ©2019 Chicago Tribune Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Hate the open office? Think it’s too loud? Enter the ‘phone booth’

could still accumulate a portfolio worth more than $1.2 million by age 70.

2. Take more risk Are you a nervous investor with most of your money in certificates of deposit and low-interest-paying bonds? Consider taking more risk in your investment portfolio and ratcheting up your stock holdings. Many investments in CDs and money market accounts have been losing money in recent years once inflation is taken into account.

And if you can generate higher returns on your investments, your portfolio will grow more rapidly, making up for some of your savings shortfall.

Ultra-conservative investors can be “significantly rewarded for making even modest moves up on the risk spectrum,” Shanahan says. For example, you might want to consider switching from six-month CDs to higher-yielding corporate bonds or increasing the percentage of stocks in your portfolio from 20% to 30%.

Of course, the challenge with this approach is that greater risk could lead to a loss of principal, placing you even further away from your retirement goal. So, it’s important to remember to make moderate moves. Large, radical portfolio shifts are rarely a good idea.

3. Delay your retirement While you are working, you aren’t drawing down your savings, so your investments get more time to grow. Working longer also gives you additional time to add to your retirement fund and build your savings.

Delaying your retirement date also can increase the income you will eventually receive from Social Security. By postponing your starting date from age 62 to age 70, you will get significantly higher monthly payments.

According to the Social Security Administration, if your full retirement age is 66, your benefit would be reduced by 25% if you begin drawing benefits at age 62. On the other hand, you’ll get 132% of your monthly benefit if you wait until age 70 to collect.

IRS rules can be complicated, so be sure to consult with a tax or financial professional to discuss your specific situation.

4. Get thrifty Most people want to live a lifestyle in retirement at least equal to the one they enjoyed during their working career. However, if your savings are inadequate, you may have to cut your expenses to stretch your savings.

For example, let’s assume that you’ve saved $400,000 and are used to spending $50,000 each year. Ignoring any investment gains during retirement, you would have enough savings to last only eight years if you continued to spend at your current rate, and that doesn’t take into account any taxes owed.

But if you cut your spending in half, your savings would last 16 years. Even better, since more of your money will stay invested for a longer period of time, your portfolio would have the opportunity to continue growing.

Does spending that much less sound impossible? Then try combining less dramatic spending cuts with part-time retirement employment. Says Shanahan: “We are seeing many retirees actually begin new careers in areas that they truly enjoy or consider a ‘hobby.’ While the pay is typically significantly less than what they were earning in their primary long-term occupation, this additional income can help retirees stretch their retirement savings considerably longer than if they have no additional income at all.”

5. Consider a move If you have significant equity in your Continued on next page.

SUPER CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS

Puzzle on page 11.

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

As new market booms, which meat alternative will win out?

by Kristen Leigh Painter

Mighty Spark Foods, a Minneapolis maker of lean natural meats, links and blended patties, filled its corporate website for months with recipes and news about its executives and charitable work.

Then came the Beyond Trends Meat IPO. The Los Angeles-area maker of faux meat based on pea protein and other ingredients went public last month, and its stock price jumped more than any other IPO this year.

An article then appeared on Mighty Spark’s website headlined, “The Truth About Lean Poultry Compared to ‘Faux Meat.’ ” It said that its patties have fewer calories, fewer carbs, less fat and less saturated fat than Beyond Meat’s.

“I don’t think the average consumer understands that,” Nick Beste, Mighty Spark’s founder and chief executive, said in an interview. “I know my girlfriend doesn’t and I run this company.”

Beyond Meat’s meteoric stock-market debut has shown there’s big money in alternative meats, perhaps far more than entrepreneurs like Beste ever expected. Its shares opened at $25 on May 2, briefly touched $200 recently before falling to around $165, a level that placed the company’s market value at $10 billion.

Now, investors are looking more seriously at other makers of alternative meat products.

And industry giants like Hormel and Tyson said they are working on their own plant-based proteins.

Like Beyond Meat, scores of small companies are trying to do meat differently. Some are raising meat from cells in a lab while others make imitations from newly concocted plant-based ingredients. All these innovators are trying to connect with consumers, as well as investors, and are preaching their own different virtues: environmental, social or nutritional benefits.

And in the weeks since the Beyond Meat IPO, the tone coming from these entrepreneurs’ firms has changed. While they

Minneapolis-based Mighty Spark is one modern meat company trying to stand out in a crowded field of competitors. Here, Mighty Spark founder, Nick Beste in his dog friendly office near Loring Park. (Brian Peterson/Star Tribune/TNS) previously extolled the virtues and benefits I think it’s good for consumers to have those of their approaches against conventional meat choices,” Harris said recently. “But I am products, they are now drawing sharp contrasts resentful of the criticism that each of these with each other — with knives unsheathed. proteins is offering of others.”

“The competitors in the space are freaking The past year has given rise to a plethora out because there is so much attention right of alternative-meat companies that fall into difnow,” said Laurie Demeritt, chief executive ferent segments and claim different advantages of consumer-food research firm the Hartman over regular meat and each other.

Group.

Beyond Meat and Impossible make fake For instance, Impossible Foods, which meat from non-animal ingredients. Cultured makes a plant-based burger patty similar to meat is grown in a lab from the cells of aniBeyond Meat’s, just published an environmen- mals. Blended-meat products, like Applegate’s tal-impact report that took aim at a practice Blend Burger or Mighty Spark’s Southwest called regenerative grazing, which yields meat Chicken Patty, aim to reduce the amount of from animals raised in a manner that reduces meat in a product by mixing in vegetables, their carbon impact. Impossible called such beans and nuts. meat “the ‘clean coal’ of beef.”

And then there is the regenerative-agriculThat angered Will Harris, a well-known ture movement, led by firms like White Oak rancher and leader in the regenerative-agricul- Pastures, Harris’ Georgia-based company that ture movement. “I welcome the discussion and supplies meat to Epic Provisions, a General the new meat products that are being offered. Mills brand. Such producers rotate animal grazing and take other steps that some said more than offset the carbon cost of raising an animal on a farm.

The more that industry creates new, excitform a powerful combination that will allow you to make up for lost time. Likewise, mov- ing options, the more consumers will experiing to a cheaper locale while also moderating ment, Demeritt said. “People are looking for your lifestyle can produce substantial savings a diversity of choices because they are eating in retirement. Plus, more and more retirees (protein) so much,” she said.

Vegetarianism and veganism rates remain are choosing part-time employment, which not only supplements retirement savings, relatively flat, while consumer willingness to but provides an opportunity to stay mentally swap out some meat for some plant-based and physically active and engaged in the options is growing. But advances in food technology have led to a flood of new options community.

Regardless of which solutions you that are moving the segment far beyond the old choose, the key is to ramp up your retirement black-bean or garden burger.

The lab-raised meat category attracted planning now, rather than worry about what three times more investment capital, about you didn’t do in the past.

CFP Professional Daniel Gannon, pres- $50 million, in 2018 than the year before, ident of Union Street Financial in Kennett according to the Good Food Institute, an Square, Pennsylvania, recommends two final interest group advancing cell-based and plantbased meat alternatives. Minnetonka-based exercises for his clients: Determine how much income you will Cargill Inc., one of the world’s largest meat be receiving from Social Security, pensions, processors, has invested in two cell-based meat and dividends and interest from investments. startups, Memphis Meats and Aleph Farms.

Meanwhile, sales of plant-based meat Try to live for two years off of that amount of income prior to retirement. Gan- alternatives grew 9.1% in the year ended May non says that clients “find this to be a great 19, according to SPINS, a Chicago-based ‘gut check’ to confirm whether or not they are consumer data firm that specializes in specialty and natural foods. indeed financially ready to retire.”

Proponents for both lab-raised and plant©2019 Bankrate.com based meat products said they provide a way Distributed by to eat meat — or a meat-like substance — Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Six last-minute retirement planning strategies Continued from preceding page. home, you might want to consider selling and using the proceeds to top off your retirement account. This is a radical move, but it is often possible to substantially reduce your total housing expenses by renting or by buying a smaller place. Another possibility is getting a reverse mortgage, which allows you to continue living in your house while receiving monthly income.

Regardless of whether you own a home, moving to a less expensive location can make a difference. Individuals in coastal areas where the cost of living is high may be able to stretch their retirement dollars further by moving to less expensive locales.

For example, the cost of living in Bozeman, Mont., is 29% less than in San Diego, and the cost of living in Orlando, Fla., is less than half that of living in New York City.

Less expensive locales such as Florida and Arizona also draw large numbers of retirees, offering the possibility of a robust social life and attractive recreational opportunities at a reasonable cost.

6. Take a combo approach Use your creative skills to combine some of these solutions. For instance, delaying your retirement date while saving like crazy can

13

without contributing to the high greenhouse gas emissions commonly associated with traditional livestock farming.

Meanwhile, advocates of regenerative grazing said their product, when raised using the best practices, goes a step further by actually creating a carbon net-negative.

Harris points out that a recently completed life-cycle analysis by independent-research firm Quantis found that White Oak Pastures contributed a negative 3.5 kilograms of carbon for every kilogram of meat produced, while the Impossible Burger was a net emitter. But a separate life-cycle analysis by the same research firm found Impossible Burger reduced other environmental loads, including water use and methane emissions from cattle.

Still other innovators said the best way to change and improve the meat business is to simply reduce the amount of meat in a product by lacing it with vegetables. This has given rise to the so-called blended-meat products.

And beyond the nutrition debates, there are social arguments. Proponents of regenerative agriculture say their system can help restore rural America’s economy. And Mighty Spark uses proceeds from its product sale to donate meals to those in need.

“Wherever you can see a benefit, there is a trade-off,” said Jennifer Schmitt of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. “It matters what you care about” in determining what product you are going to choose.

But research continues to show that personal health and wellness remains the most important food attribute consumers seek. And in the weeks since the Beyond Meat IPO, a robust debate emerged about whether its products are nutritious.

“Regardless of what a professional (nutritionist) might tell you, the consumer perception is that these products are better for you than meat, and they are better for you then the first generation of meat alternatives were,” Demeritt said. “I do think the jury is still out on whether that perception of health will change or not.”

That’s what Mighty Spark wants to educate consumers about. Its Southwest Patty is 50% chicken and 50% vegetable add-ins.

Mighty Spark, with revenue just below $10 million in 2018, is quickly working to develop additional blended-meat products.

If everyone were to adopt products like this, it would be a good step toward reducing global meat consumption, said James Gerber, at the U’s Institute on the Environment. “When you think about … how we struggle and fight over car efficiency standards of 5% change per year and here is 50% stat, that’s huge,” Gerber said.

Demeritt said she thinks blended products are the most likely to succeed long-term.

“They have some of those taste attributes and the consumer feels good about eating less meat,” she said.

As for all the companies bashing one another, Harris of White Oak Pastures in Georgia, hopes producers keep their minds open and let the products do the talking.

“What’s true is there are many, many consumers, that have their own reasons for eating or not eating something and we as producers should be respectful of that and we should do that by respecting the truth of what we do,” Harris said. ©2019 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at www.startribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

14

• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Clarity about nationalism In order to make arguments for nationalism, we have to define it.

The first definition in Merriam-Webster is “loyalty and devotion to a nation.” But in a second paragraph, it adds, “especially: a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing ennis primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as rager opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.”

Let’s be clear: If the second paragraph is the only definition of nationalism, nationalism is always a bad thing.

Furthermore, I acknowledge that this definition is what some people have in mind when they call themselves nationalists.

At the same time, even anti-nationalists would have to acknowledge that if the first paragraph is the definition of “nationalism,” nationalism can often be a beautiful thing.

So, if we are to be honest, the answer to the question of whether nationalism is good or bad is “How do you define it?”

Dictionary.com offers seven defiOpinion nitions.

The first is “spirit or aspirations common to the whole nation.”

The second is “devotion and loyalty to one’s own country; patriotism.”

Only when we get to the third definition is the definition pejorative: “excessive patriotism; chauvinism.”

Therefore, a) based on the competing definitions of the term, b) assuming both definitions can be true and c) if intellectual honesty is to govern our discussion, we can reach only one conclusion: There is good nationalism and bad nationalism.

That—not “nationalism is always good” or “nationalism is always bad”—is the only accurate assessment.

Therefore, morally speaking, nationalism is no different from anything else in life.

There is moral violence (in self-defense, in defense of innocents, in defense of a society under unjust attack, etc.) and immoral violence (murder of innocents, wars of aggression, etc.).

There is moral sex (consensual sex between adults and, in the Judeo-Christian value system, within marriage) and immoral sex (such as rape, incest and with a child).

There is moral use of a gun (in self-defense, etc.) and immoral use of a gun (against an innocent, etc.).

Knives are used morally by chefs and surgeons and immorally by murderers, muggers and torturers.

Even love must be morally assessed according to context.

Love is not always beautiful and moral. Germans’ love of Hitler, Chinese people’s love of Mao and Russians’ love of Stalin were evil.

Nationalism is beautiful when it involves commitment to an essentially decent nation and when it welcomes other people’s commitment to their nations. Nationalism is evil when it is used to celebrate an evil regime, when it celebrates a nation as inherently superior to all others and when it denigrates all other national commitments.

One should add that nationalism is evil when it celebrates race, but that is not nationalism; it is racism. Nationalism and racism may be conjoined, as German Nazism did. But they are not definitionally related. While some Americans have conjoined American nationalism with race (such as the Confederacy, the Ku Klux Klan and currently various fringe “white identity” movements), American nationalism, based as it is on the motto “e pluribus unum” (“out of many, one”), by definition includes Americans of all races and ethnicities.

That is how conservatives define American nationalism. I have never met a conservative who defined American national identity as definitionally “white.”

Otherwise, nationalism—the celebration of one’s nation and one’s national identity—is almost always a beautiful thing.

The creation of nations was a major moral achievement.

It got people to identify with something beyond their families and tribes, which always involved violent feuds and warfare.

The creation of the nation is one of the main reasons the West developed morally and in many other ways ahead of other cultures.

D P

Payroll tax is one state’s bold solution to help seniors age at home

by Donna Gordon Blankinship

Nearly a decade after federal officials discarded a provision in the Affordable Care Act that would have provided Americans with long-term care insurance benefits, two states — Washington and Hawaii — are experimenting with taxpayer-funded plans to help older residents remain in their homes.

Washington state’s ambitious plan, Retirement signed into law in May, will employ a new 0.58% payroll tax (or “premium,” as policymakers prefer to call it) to fund a $36,500 benefit for individuals to pay for home health care, as well as other services — from installing grab bars in the shower to respite And the lack of a unifying national identity is one of the two main reasons (the other being corruption) that much of Africa lags behind other regions. If Hutus and Tutsis would have identified first as Rwandans, one of the worst genocides in the contemporary world—the Hutu slaughter of nearly 1 million Tutsis in a little over three months in 1994 -- would likely never have happened. It was murder at a greater pace than the Nazi genocide of the Jews in the Holocaust—and without any modern machines of death. It was done one-onone almost entirely using machetes.

Today, nationalism in Europe is increasing primarily because of the belief among many Europeans that the European Union is overbearing and because many Europeans do not believe that a “European” identity can offer anywhere near the comfort, emotional sustenance and communal ties a national identity offers.

Human beings need a descending order of commitments: first to oneself, then to one’s family, then to one’s community, then to one’s nation and then to humanity. It is neither possible nor praiseworthy to cry over a family killed in a car crash on the other side of the world as one would cry over the death of one’s own family or a family in one’s neighborhood or in one’s own country.

The great teaching of the Bible is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It does not say “Love all of humanity as yourself.”

Love must begin with our neighbor. It should never end with our neighbor, but it must begin with him.

Copyright 2019 Creators.com

care for family caregivers.

Hawaii’s Kupuna Caregivers Program, which was initiated in 2017, is also publicly funded, but state budget allocations limit enrollment and benefits. It provides up to $210 a week for services when family caregivers work outside the home at least 30 hours a week.

Other state policymakers are closely watching both experiments because, as seniors account for a greater proportion of the American population, the need for long-term care will increase. Josephine Kalipeni, director of policy and partnerships for Caring Across Generations, a national group that advocates for long-term care policy improvements, said, “What’s most exciting for us and for the country is to have a working model we can learn from.”

The need is great. The number of Americans 65 and older will double to 98 million by 2050, and studies show few have the financial resources to pay for care in old age. More than half of adults 65 and up will require long-term assistance at some point with everyday activities, for an average duration of about two years, according to a 2015 study by the Department of Health and Human Services. Finding a way to help people stay in their homes — and not move to nursing homes — can keep them happier and save them and the state money.

Medicaid programs help cover the costs of 62% of nursing home residents.

Sixteen% of Americans have private long-term care insurance, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. But that is an expensive option, with premiums averaging as much as $3,000 a year in 2019.

Affordability and sustainability are the two main challenges to public long-term care insurance programs. The federal ACA originally included the long-term care provision — sponsored by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who did not live to see it enacted — called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Plan. The voluntary program would have provided benefits of up to $50 a day for home assistance or to help with nursing home care for people who paid into the system. But critics said the program was unlikely to draw healthy people to help pay premiums, and the Obama administration in 2011 said it could not find a way to make it solvent. Congress later repealed the provision.

Continued on next page.

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

15

Survey: Nearly 1 in 4 American adults are worse off now than before the Great Recession

by Sarah Foster

The Great Recession may have ended a decade ago — but when it comes to Americans’ finances, many have yet to bounce back.

A nationwide Bankrate survey found that nearly half (48%) of Americans who were adults when the downturn began in December 2007 have seen no improvement in their financial situation. One in four respondents (or 25%) report that their overall financial situation is Economy about the same as it was when the worst economic crisis in nearly 80 years hit, while 23% say their situation is worse.

That comes at a time when the traditional economic data tells a story of booming growth and maximum employment.

The expansion is poised to become the longest on record in July, and the unemployment rate is now at a near half-century low after 104-straight months of job creation.

Even though nationwide numbers paint a rosy picture overall, the survey underscores that such a recovery hasn’t been the reality for all Americans.

“The echoes of the financial crisis and Great Recession remain very present in the financial lives of many Americans, despite the improvement in the broader economy,” said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst. “While some have managed to prosper in the decade since, there are still tens of millions who are struggling to even get back to where they were before the economy took a turn for the worse.”

Majority of Americans report negative impact from Great Recession Bankrate’s survey delved into the experiences of Americans who were adults during the Great Recession, and the majority (55%) report that they were negatively impacted in some way.

Most notably, two in 10 Americans reported that their home lost value during the downtown. Nineteen percent lost money in the stock market, another 19% incurred substantial debt and 15% said either they or their partner lost a job. Seven percent of individuals depleted their emergency funds, while

6% tapped into their retirement savings.

It’s not surprising that many Americans’ financial situations still haven’t recovered from those negative outcomes, said Karen Dynan, an economics professor at Harvard who formerly worked for both the Federal Reserve’s board of governors and the Department of the Treasury.

“The recession and the weak recovery that followed it were really bad periods for some families,” Dynan said.

“Given job loss and weak wage growth, a lot of families depleted any savings they had just to get by. We saw people running down their savings and cashing out their 401(k)s to make ends meet.”

Economic recovery hasn’t been even, survey finds Just as the survey indicates that not all Americans have fully bounced back, the extent of individuals’ recovery has also been largely uneven.

Individuals who said they were negatively impacted by the Great Recession were more likely to be doing worse off now. More than a quarter (26%) of adults whose finances were harmed by the downturn now face a less favorable situation, compared with 14% of those who said they were not negatively impacted.

At the same time, more than a quarter (26%) of women said they were worse-off now, compared with 19% of men.

Individuals with lower incomes and educational levels were also more likely to report that they were doing worse now than before the recession.

Of the different generations, 25% of Baby Boomers said they were worse off, compared to just 19 members of the Silent Generation as well as Millennials.

Contributing to the general uneven nature of the economic recovery is underemployment, Dynan said. Individuals working part-time for economic reasons, such as not being able to find full-time work, have only just recently matched its pre-crisis level, according to the Labor Department.

At the same time, prime-age labor force participation (or the rate at which individuals aged 25 to 54 are working) recently returned to a “healthy level,” Dynan said, though it’s

Payroll tax is one state’s bold solution to help seniors age at home Continued from preceding page.

Initially, Washington state officials considered an alternative plan — shoring up the private long-term care insurance market — but determined that option was neither affordable nor likely to succeed.

Instead, they created a benefit system with a broad definition of covered services, from paying someone to build a wheelchair ramp to helping a caregiver learn how to deal with aggressive or violent patients. They could have shrunk this list to make the program less expensive, but Washington policymakers believed offering a wide menu of services would help keep people out of nursing homes.

The state will begin collecting the payroll tax in 2022, and starting in 2025 residents can collect benefits if they have paid into the system for at least three of the previous six years or five consecutive years within a decade. The details will be set over the next few years, but to qualify for a benefit of up to $100 a day, which will be adjusted for inflation, a person must show they need help with at least three activities of daily living.

The Long-Term Care Trust Act is expected to save $3.9 billion in state Medicaid costs by 2052.

Setting up a new state-run tax and benefit system is complicated. And figuring out how to determine who qualifies and how the money can be spent could take Washington state officials the next five years.

“The challenge is just the enormity of the insurance product itself,” said Bea Rector, director of the home and community services division of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services, one of four agencies involved in implementing the new program. State feasibility studies estimate the Long-Term Care Trust Act provisions will eclipse long-term care benefits paid through the state Medicaid program, which helps about 66,000 people at any time. The number expected to seek the new benefit is estimated at 15,000 in the first year of operation in 2025, growing to 97,000 by 2050.

Jason McGill, Gov. Jay Inslee’s senior health policy adviser, is not concerned about implementation. “We’ve been

working on this for five years now,” he said, adding that the Trust Act is a modest benefit that will cover what most people need without breaking the state budget. “It’s not like we just cooked this up. This has been thoroughly thought through.”

Rector said the new state program for paid family leave, which also involves a payroll tax, has laid the groundwork for administering the new long-term care fee.

“We’ve got a long way to go before we start paying benefits,” said McGill, who believes the biggest challenge will be communicating with the public why they’re paying this new tax. Self-employed people can voluntarily join the new program and workers with private long-term care insurance can opt out; otherwise, all public and private employees will be assessed the new tax.

Other states are also grappling with long-term care.

Minnesota is considering allowing people to convert life insurance plans to long-term care insurance.

Last November, Maine voters rejected a ballot proposal to provide free long-term care to residents, funded by a 3.8% income tax on residents making more than $128,400 a year.

Instead, the state government is educating people about the need to buy long-term care insurance, including an awareness campaign in high schools.

The California Aging and Disability Alliance, an advocacy group, is considering a ballot initiative for a state program to provide long-term services and support, but it is still researching how to pay for and run this program. Michigan and Illinois are also studying proposals.

New York lawmakers have debated a graduated income tax to pay for comprehensive long-term care for its citizens.

The Assembly has passed such a bill repeatedly, but the state’s Senate has refused to approve it.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. ©2019 Kaiser Health News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

still below the pre-crisis level.

“The standard measure of unemployed has been at pre-crisis levels for several years now, but it took longer for other measures — like people working fewer hours than they wanted — to recover,” Dynan said. “What all this means is that while a lot of people may be back in jobs with growing wages, some are only beginning to rebuild the wealth they lost during the long earlier period of weakness.”

Why many Americans haven’t seen much improvement But another factor is contributing to that uneven recovery, and it’s a harsh reality for the many individuals trying to enjoy the benefits of the current expansion: Wage growth has been stagnant.

Despite the largely positive gains associated with the job market and the economy, many Americans’ wallets have yet to feel the results.The majority (54%) of Americans said their wages or salaries haven’t recovered to their pre-recession level. Thirty-two percent said they were about the same, while 31% said they were worse off.

A slow pace of wage growth, even while the unemployment rate sits at historic lows “has been the puzzle of the economic recovery,” said Gary Burtless, a senior fellow in Economics Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., who works with the Future of the Middle Class Initiative. “We haven’t seen very much acceleration in wage gains or in the compensation per hour gains of American workers. That’s something of a mystery.”

Average hourly earnings on an annual basis breached 3% in October for the first time since 2009 — an occurrence that economists say should’ve occurred much earlier, based on economic theory suggesting that a low unemployment rate puts upward pressure on wages.

Analyzing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Burtless estimates that since the third quarter of 2009 — around the time when the recession ended — the share of laborers’ business sector output (or the percentage of economic output that workers get as compensation for their labor) has ranged between 56 and 58%. At the beginning of this century, that share was closer to 64%.

In Bankrate’s survey, most of the individuals who saw improvement in their wages belonged to the top income level, or those who make $80,000 a year or more, according to the survey. The majority (65%) of individuals in this income category reported that their incomes were either much better or somewhat better since the crisis. That’s in line with Burtless’ analysis, which also found that the share of output is disproportionately going toward top earners.

“If you just look at the labor share, it turns out that inequality of the share has been going up,” Burtless said. “So the top-paid people across a huge range of industries and businesses are much better paid compared with the average worker.”

More than half (58%) of women reported that their pay hadn’t fully improved, compared with 48% of men. About 60% of individuals whose highest educational level is a high school diploma or less said their pay hadn’t fully recovered to its pre-crisis level, compared with 52% for individuals with some college or a 2-year degree and 46% for both bachelor’s and master’s degree holders.

Nearly a quarter (26%) of individuals in the Baby Boomer generation said their pay is worse, compared with just 16% of Millennials who were adults in 2007. More than one-third (36%) of respondents who reported that either they or their partner lost their job claim that their pay is worse now than before the recession.

Burtless also blames depressed wage growth on other longer-term trends. Since the 1980s, workers’ bargaining power has been declining, amid globalization and de-unionization.

“Workers in those areas of the economy have suffered a loss of wage share because they know that their employer can pretty much produce the same thing elsewhere. They realize if their wages get too high, it’s a big part of their business,” Burtless said. “Not having an institution that represents their interests or not having state legislatures in their corner protecting their interests is going to mean fewer wage increases and less fringe benefits.”

Americans’ perceptions that wages are worse than before the crisis may also be partly psychological, meaning “it’s the Continued on page 21.

16

• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

LEGAL NOTICES MBJ legal notice instructions The following are some guidelines to consider when posting legal notices with the Midlands Business Journal: 1. Submit a written notice in either Microsoft Word or as a PDF document to Beth Grube at legals@mbj.com, fax to 402-758-9315 or mail: 1324 S. 119th St. Omaha, NE 68144.

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5. You will receive a paid invoice copy and a courtesy proof of the notice the first week it runs and a copy of the affidavit filed with the courts the last week.

LEGAL NOTICE In the District Court of Hall County, Nebraska. PR17-523 STATE OF NEBRASKA, on Behalf of EMANUEL ANTONIO RIVERA, Minor Child, Plaintiff, vs. ANTONIO JAMES RIVERA, Defendant, MARTHA ROMINA RIVAS, Defendant.

TO: ANTONIO JAMES RIVERA, Defendant: You are hereby notified that Defendant Rivas has commenced an action in the District Court of Hall County, Nebraska, the object and prayer of which is for Defendant Rivas to obtain legal and physical cusody of the parties' minor child; establish parenting time and that the parties should share in the daycare expenses and unreimbursed medical expenses of the minor child; for a modification of child support effective May 1, 2019; for attorney fees; and for such other and different relief as the Court may deem just and equitable. You are required to answer said Complaint on or before July 10, 2019, or an order will be entered against you.

MARTHA ROMINA RIVAS, Defendant Joshua A. Johnson, #25260 CONWAY, PAULEY & JOHNSON, P.C. P.O. BOX 315 Hastings, NE 68902-0315 402-462-5187 jjohnson@hastingslaw.com Attorney for Defendant Rivas First publication May 31, 2019, final June 28, 2019 JAMES WALTER CRAMPTON, Attorney 1904 Farnam Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68102 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE SALE TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: You are hereby notified that the following described property will be sold by James Walter Crampton, Successor Trustee, at public auction to the highest bidder at the Douglas County Civic Center, Farnam Street Level, 1819 Farnam St, in the City of Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska on July 12, 2019, at 9:00 a.m.

Lot 9, and the East 40 feet of Lot 10, Block 126, South Omaha City Lots, now a part of the City of Omaha, as surveyed, platted and recorded in Douglas County, Nebraska.

DATED, at Omaha, Nebraska May 20, 2019.

First publication May 31, 2019, final June 28, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: FELICIA R GLASS & KHADIJAH MILLER, 12130 Anne St Apt 1, Omaha NE 68137, you are hereby notified that on January 2, 2019, SHELTER MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY filed a suit against you in the Douglas County DISTRICT Court at docket CI19-31, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $61,141.00, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County DISTRICT Court on or before the 5th day of August, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 14, 2019, final July 5, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: LONDAN YANCY, 221 E Mckinley Ave Apt 202, Des Moines IA 50315, you are hereby notified that on January 3, 2019, American Family Mutual Ins. Co., S.I. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-254, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $7,171.85, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 29th day of July, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 7, 2019, final June 28, 2019

NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is given that BEAUTY SCAPES OF OMAHA, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska with the following registered agent and registered office: Jim Simmons at 5034 Corby St. Omaha, NE 68104. The general nature of the Company's business is to engage in any lawful business permitted under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The company was organized on May 17, 2019, and it shall continue in perpetuity unless sooner terminated in accordance with the terms of its operating agreement. In general, the Company's business is to be managed by its primary member Josue Lopez in accordance with the Company's operating agreement.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019

WHITMORE LAW OFFICE LLC 7602 Pacific Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that Folk, L.L.C. (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the Company is 5621 Pine Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68106. The registered agent of the Company is Thomas E. Whitmore, 7602 Pacific Street, Ste. 200, Omaha, Nebraska 68114. The Company was formed on June 25, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP, Attorneys 13330 California Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF CONVERSION OF SCRIBE GREETINGS, LLC TO SCRIBE GREETINGS, INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that SCRIBE GREETINGS, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, has filed Articles of Conversion with the Nebraska Secretary of State converting the limited liability company to SCRIBE GREETINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation, effective June 6, 2019. The Company has designated its registered agent as The Corporation Trust Company, with registered office at 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 DIANE B. METZ, Attorney 1823 Harney Street, ES 1005 Omaha, Nebraska 68102 LEGAL NOTICE In the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska. PR19-760 Estate of Lucille Cochran, Deceased Notice is hereby given that on May 31, 2019, in the County Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, Charles Cochran whose address is 6304 North 40th Street, Omaha, NE. 68111 has been appointed as Personal Representative of the estate.

Creditors of this estate must file their claims with this Court, located at Courtroom No. 30, Third Floor, Probate Division, Douglas County Hall of Justice, 17th & Farnam Streets, Omaha, NE 68183, on or before August 14, 2019 or be forever barred.

CARROL L. MILLS Registrar First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: MARIO ROJAS LOPEZ, 106 N 9th St, Tecumseh NE 68450, you are hereby notified that on March 27, 2019, AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INS. Co., S.I. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-6966, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $7,375.77, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 5th day of August, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 14, 2019, final July 5, 2019

NOTICE OF PUBLICATION TO: MAYRA ALFARO You are hereby notified that on 01/20/19, the Plaintiff Credit Management Services, Inc., filed a Complaint in the COUNTY Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska, against you shown as Case Number CI19 1762 . The object and prayer of which is a judgment in the amount of 9,467.00, plus court costs, pre-judgment interest and attorney fees, if applicable.

The Complaint prays that judgment be entered against you. You are hereby notified that you must answer the Complaint on or before 07/28/19 at the COUNTY court of DOUGLAS County, OMAHA Nebraska.

Megan L. Bischoff #25206 P.O. Box 1512 Grand Island, NE 68802 (308)398-3801 Attorney for Plaintiff First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: JOSHUA CASE, 2501 Poppleton Ave Apt 3, Omaha NE 68105, you are hereby notified that on February 18, 2019, Credit Acceptance Corp. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-3961, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $8,818.36, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 29th day of July, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 7, 2019, final June 28, 2019

NOTICE OF PUBLICATION TO: KEVIN BLACKEMCCLAIN You are hereby notified that on 12/31/18, the Plaintiff Credit Management Services, Inc., filed a Complaint in the COUNTY Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska, against you shown as Case Number CI19 15 . The object and prayer of which is a judgment in the amount of 235.00, plus court costs, pre-judgment interest and attorney fees, if applicable.

The Complaint prays that judgment be entered against you. You are hereby notified that you must answer the Complaint on or before 07/28/19 at the COUNTY court of DOUGLAS County, OMAHA Nebraska.

Steven J. Morrison #24708 P.O. Box 1512 Grand Island, NE 68802 (308)398-3801 Attorney for Plaintiff First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019

ABRAHAMS KASLOW & CASSMAN LLP, Attorneys 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION CSI Auto Sales & Service LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office of the company is 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114. The name and street and mailing address of the initial registered agent of the company for service of process are Robert M. Schartz, Abrahams Kaslow & Cassman LLP, 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 ABRAHAMS KASLOW & CASSMAN LLP, Attorneys 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION Chemocharity has been incorporated under the Nebraska Nonprofit Corporation Act. The corporation is a public benefit corporation. The street address of the corporation’s initial registered office is 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114, and the name of the initial registered agent of the corporation at that office is Kathryn A. Glissman.

The name and street address of the sole incorporator of the corporation is Kathryn A. Glissman, 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114. The corporation will not have members.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 DANIEL J. WATERS, Attorney LAMSON, DUGAN and MURRAY, LLP 10306 Regency Parkway Drive Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3743 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF PHYSMED INCORPORATED Notice is hereby given that the Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of Physmed Incorporated, were adopted on December 17, 2018 to increase the amount of authorized shares. The name and street address of the corporation’s registered agent is LDM Business Services, Inc, 10306 Regency Parkway Drive, Omaha, NE 68114. The full text of such Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation is on file with the Secretary of State.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 DANIEL J. WATERS, Attorney LAMSON, DUGAN and MURRAY, LLP 10306 Regency Parkway Drive Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3743 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF SERENECARE, INC. Notice is hereby given that the Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of Serenecare, Inc., were adopted on December 17, 2018 to increase the amount of authorized shares. The name and street address of the corporation’s registered agent is LDM Business Services, Inc, 10306 Regency Parkway Drive, Omaha, NE 68114. The full text of such Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation is on file with the Secretary of State.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION of a Limited Liability Company Notice is hereby given the registration with the Nebraska Secretary of state’s office of JLC Construction, LLC under the laws of the State of Nebraska as follows: The name of the company is JLC Construction, LLC. Registered agent and office of JLC Construction, LLC at 2020 Oak Street, Omaha, NE 68108. Initial members: Juan Luis Aguilar Ceballos. General nature of the business is the general construction and to transact any and all lawful business for which limited liability companies are allowed by statute. The LLC was organized on May 2019 for the perpetual duration and is managed by its members.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 • LEGAL NOTICES KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that A Latere Academy LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, filed its Statement of Dissolution with the Nebraska Secretary of State on May 22, 2019, and the company is in the process of voluntary dissolution. The terms and conditions of such dissolution are, in general, that all debts and obligations of the company are to be fully paid and satisfied or adequate provision is to be made therefore, and that the balance of any remaining assets are to be distributed to its Members. Ellen Miller will wind up and liquidate the company’s business and affairs. If you have a claim against A Latere Academy LLC, please provide the following information with respect to your claim: (1) your name or the name of your entity; (2) the nature of your claim; (3) the amount of your claim; and (4) the date your claim arose. All claims shall be mailed to 2517 N 56th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68104. A claim against against A Latere Academy LLC is barred unless an action to enforce the claim is commenced within five (5) years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF SITE DEVELOPMENT LEASE SIX OZ FUND, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Site Development Lease Six OZ Fund, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The Designated Office Address of the Company is 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68122. The Registered Agent of the Company is Zach Wiegert, 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68122.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 ABRAHAMS KASLOW & CASSMAN LLP, Attorneys 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Thrive Partners, LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office of the company is 18615 Edna Street, Omaha, NE 68136. The name and street and mailing address of the initial registered agent of the company for service of process are R. Craig Fry, Abrahams Kaslow & Cassman LLP, 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 THOMAS C. LAURITSEN, Attorney ANDERSEN, LAURITSEN & BROWER 1005 South 107th Avenue, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF FILING OF CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION OF RANDAZZO EXECUTIVE RECRUITING, LLC A Limited Liability Company NOTICE IS I HEREBY GIVEN that Randazzo Executive Recruiting, LLC, a Limited Liability Company, has filed a Certificate of Organization under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The address of its registered office is 2524 S. 166th Street, Omaha, NE 68130. The general nature ofthe business is to engage in and to do any lawful act concerning any and all lawful business, other than banking or insurance, for which a limited liability company may be organized under the laws of Nebraska.

The company commenced business on June 7, 2019,and its duration shall be perpetual. The affairs of the corporation are to be conducted by its members.

Member: Jason Randazzo First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 BENJAMIN J. PICK, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF SMART TITLE, LLC Notice is hereby given of the organization of Smart Title, LLC. 1. The name of the limited liability company is Smart Title, LLC. 2. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 17725 Welch Plaza, Suite D-1, Omaha, Nebraska, and the name and street address of the initial agent for service of process is Tiffany E. Thompson, 4611 South 96th Street, Suite 250, Omaha, Nebraska 68135.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 DAMILOLA J. OLUYOLE, Attorney YOLE LAW P.C., L.L.O. 10730 Pacific Street, Suite 247 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF SOKPOH LAW GROUP, LLC Notice is hereby given that Sokpoh Law Group, LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under Nebraska laws, with its designated office at 10730 Pacific Street, Suite 247, Omaha, NE 68114. It is organized to transact any lawful business for which a Limited Liability Company may be organized under Nebraska laws and its duration is perpetual commencing from April 30th, 2019. Its affairs are to be conducted by the manager Karine Sokpoh. Its registered agent is Karine Sokpoh and her office is located at 10730 Pacific Street, Suite 247, Omaha, NE 68114. First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019

DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ON 680 ZONE I, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that On 680 Zone I, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 1303 South 72 Street, Suite 209, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The Registered Agent of the Company is DDLG Business Services, Inc. 9500 W. Dodge Rd., Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ON 680 ZONE II, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that On 680 Zone II, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 1303 South 72 Street, Suite 209, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The Registered Agent of the Company is DDLG Business Services, Inc. 9500 W. Dodge Rd., Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 ERICKSON l SEDERSTROM, P.C., Attorneys 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF JIM BROWN ELECTRIC, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Jim Brown Electric, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company (the “Company”), has been duly organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with its designated office located at 21045 Timber Lane Circle, Elkhorn, NE 68022 and designating its registered agent as Erickson & Sederstrom P.C. a limited liability organization with its registered office at 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF KAIZEN MEDICAL SOLUTIONS, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Kaizen Medical Solutions, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the limited liability company is 18758 Sahler Street, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The limited liability company commenced business on May 29, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

17

KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF THORNTON PROPERTY GROUP, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Thornton Property Group, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the limited liability company is 2285 South 67th Street #250, Omaha, Nebraska 68106. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Todd Swirczek, 2285 South 67th Street #250, Omaha, Nebraska 68106. The limited liability company commenced business on June 17, 2019.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF 3842, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that 3842, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the limited liability company is 12256 County Road 40, Bennington, Nebraska 68007. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The limited liability company commenced business on June 12, 2019.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF CARRIE STROVERS LAW, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Carrie Strovers Law, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska to conduct the practice of law. The designated office of the limited liability company is 2381 South 87th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The limited liability company commenced business on June 13, 2019.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF HILAREBA, LLC The name of the Company is Hilareba, LLC. The Designated Office of the Company is: 6610 Davenport Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68132. The Registered Agent and Office of the Company is: Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. This limited liability company commenced business on June 17, 2019.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019

KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF 645 BALD EAGLE, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that 645 Bald Eagle, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the limited liability company is 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The limited liability company commenced business on May 30, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

WAYNE S. RASMUSSEN, Attorney SMITH SLUSKY POHREN & ROGERS LLP 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 400 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ENGELKEMIER FARMS, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on June 13, 2019, Engelkemier Farms, LLC was organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, with a designated office at 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 400, Omaha, Nebraska 68114 The Company’s initial agent for service of process is Wayne S. Rasmussen, 8712 West Dodge Rd., Suite 400, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Name: EC CONCRETE TRANSPORT, LLC Date of Organization: May 31, 2019 State of Organization: Nebraska Registered Agent: Esteban Chavez Registered Office: 3023 Marcy Street, Omaha, NE 68105 Duration:Perpetual Capital Contribution: $5,000.00 First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

MICHAEL D. McCLELLAN, Attorney MCCLELLAN LAW OFFICE, LLC 12020 Shamrock Plaza, #333 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION of Community Homes Investment, LLC a Nebraska Limited Liability Company.

Notice is hereby given that Community Homes Investment, LLC, Nebraska Limited Liability Company, has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with its initial designated office at 3735 North 39th Street, Omaha, NE 68111, and its registered agent is Michael D. McClellan with a registered office at 12020 Shamrock Plaza, Suite 333, Omaha, NE 68154. The general nature of its business is to engage in and to do any lawful act concerning any and all lawful business, other than banking or insurance, for which a limited liability company may be organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The company was organized and commenced on May 17, 2019.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019

RICHARD A. DEWITT, Attorney C R O K E R , H U C K , K A S H E R , D e W I T T, A N D E R S O N & GONDERINGER, L.L.C. 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1200 Omaha, Nebraska 68124 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF IVY PROPERTIES, INC. Ivy Properties, Inc. has been incorporated under the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on May 24, 2019. The street address of the corporation's registered office is 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1200, Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, and the name of the initial registered agent at that office is Martin P. Pelster. The corporation is authorized to issue 10,000 shares of common stock.

Martin P. Pelster, Incorporator 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1200 Omaha, Nebraska 68124 First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF A&K GOLDMAN PROPERTIES, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that A&K Goldman Properties, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the limited liability company is 2316 North 177th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68116. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The limited liability company commenced business on June 13, 2019.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019

18

• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

LEGAL NOTICES GROSS & WELCH, P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 2120 South 72 Street, Suite 1500 Omaha, Nebraska 68124 NOTICE OF ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF NATURE HILLS NURSERY, INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Nature Hills Nursery, Inc., a Nebraska corporation, was organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska on May 23, 2019. Its designated office is located at 2336 South 156th Circle, Omaha, Nebraska 68152. Its initial registered agent for service of process is CorporAgent, Inc. with an address at 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1500, Omaha, Nebraska 68124.

Ronald L. Eggers, Organizer First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF WG FULL SERVICE SALON SUITES, LLC The name of the Company is WG Full Service Salon Suites, LLC. The Designated Office of the Company is: 4605 North 172nd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68116. The Registered Agent and Office of the Company is: Eric Renner, 4605 North 172nd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68116. This limited liability company commenced business on June 5, 2019.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF EPPLEY PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL 4573, A NEBRASKA NONPROFIT CORPORATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned have formed a corporation under the Nebraska Nonprofit Corporation Act. The name of the corporation is EPPLEY PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL 4573, A NEBRASKA NONPROFIT CORPORATION, with a registered office at 5111 Boeing Ct., Omaha, Nebraska 68110, and the registered agent is NICHOLAS HOWE. The general nature of the business is a public benefit corporation and shall have for its additional purpose providing for managing any benevolent, charitable, civic, educational, fraternal, athletic, patriotic, social and labor organization or society, as well as the making of donations to the public welfare or for charitable or educational purposes, and to perform services of every kind and nature whatsoever, which are not inconsistent with law. The corporation commenced May 3, 2019, and shall have perpetual existence. The corporation will have members.

ANTHONY L. GROSS, Incorporator CATHERINE L. WHITE, Incorporator 3018 South 87th Street, Omaha, NE 68124 First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that GCP II East Park, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, filed its Statement of Dissolution with the Nebraska Secretary of State on May 17, 2019, and the company is in the process of voluntary dissolution. The terms and conditions of such dissolution are, in general, that all debts and obligations of the company are to be fully paid and satisfied or adequate provision is to be made therefore, and that the balance of any remaining assets are to be distributed to its Members. Zach Wiegert will wind up and liquidate the company’s business and affairs. If you have a claim against the company, please provide the following information with respect to your claim: 1) your name or the name of your entity; 2) the nature of your claim; 3) the amount of your claim; and 4) the date your claim arose. All claims shall be mailed to GCP II East Park, LLC, 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, NE 68122. A claim against the company is barred unless an action to enforce the claim is commenced within five (5) years after the publication date of the third required notice.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 GNUSE & GREEN LAW OFFICES, P.C., Attorneys 11311 Chicago Circle Omaha, Nebraska 68154 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF PHAM TRAN, INC. Registered Office: 11311 Chicago Circle, Omaha, Nebraska, 68154 The Corporation shall engage in any lawful business for which a corporation may be formed under the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act. Authorized capital stock is $10,000 to be fully paid and non-assessable on issue. Perpetual existence commenced June 5, 2019, when articles were filed with the Secretary of State. Affairs are to be conducted by the Board of Directors and Officers authorized by the Bylaws and the Board.

Rodney G. Gnuse, Incorporator First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 GROSS & WELCH, P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 2120 South 72 Street, Suite 1500 Omaha, Nebraska 68124 NOTICE OF ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF K9 CUISINE, INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that K9 Cuisine, Inc., a Nebraska corporation, was organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska on May 23, 2019. Its designated office is located at 2336 South 156th Circle, Omaha, Nebraska 68152. Its initial registered agent for service of process is CorporAgent, Inc. with an address at 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1500, Omaha, Nebraska 68124.

Ronald L. Eggers, Organizer First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019

NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF BIDMYBEATS.COM, INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that BIDMYBEATS.COM, INC., is incorporated under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with a registered office at 17273 Adams Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68135. The registered agent is ADRIAN A. THOMPSON. The general nature of the business is to operate a general e-commerce business, to own, operate and perform services of every kind and nature whatsoever, which are not inconsistent with law, which are necessary, suitable, proper, convenient or expedient to the operation of a general e-commerce business. The authorized capital stock is $10,000.00, consisting of 10,000 shares of stock having a par value of $1.00 each, which stock shall be paid for wholly or partly by cash, by labor, by personal property and by real property. The corporation became a corporate body on March 1, 2019, and shall have perpetual existence. The affairs of the corporation are to be conducted by a Board of Directors, the number of directors to be provided in the By-Laws, and the officers shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and such other officers as shall be designated in the By-Laws.

ANTHONY L. GROSS, Incorporator CATHERINE L. WHITE, Incorporator 3018 South 87th Street, Omaha, NE 68124 First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF 605 GROUP LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that 605 Group LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the limited liability company is 605 North 65th Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska 68132. The registered agent and office of the limited liability company is Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O., 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, Omaha, Nebraska 68124.

The limited liability company commenced business on June 6, 2019.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF 4310 N. 24TH STREET, L.L.C. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that 4310 N. 24TH STREET, L.L.C., is organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with a designated and regis¬tered office at 2821 Caldwell Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131. The affairs of the company are to be conducted by the manager and registered officer, JUSTIN MOORE. The Limited Liability Company is organized to transact any and all business, and perform services of every kind and nature whatsoever, which are not inconsistent with law. The Limited Liability Company commenced on April 27, 2019, and shall have perpetual existence.

JUSTIN MOORE, Organizational Member 2821 Caldwell Street, Omaha, NE 68131 First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF ANTHONY EVANS CLINICAL, INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that ANTHONY EVANS CLINICAL, INC., is incorporated under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with a registered office at 15468 Harney Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68154. The registered agent is ANTHONY W. EVANS. The general nature of the business is to operate a general clinical specialist business, to own, operate and perform services of every kind and nature whatsoever, which are not inconsistent with law, which are necessary, suitable, proper, convenient or expedient to the operation of a general clinical specialist business. The authorized capital stock is $10,000.00, consisting of 10,000 shares of stock having a par value of $1.00 each, which stock shall be paid for wholly or partly by cash, by labor, by personal property and by real property. The corporation became a corporate body on April 29, 2019, and shall have perpetual existence. The affairs of the corporation are to be conducted by a Board of Directors, the number of directors to be provided in the By-Laws, and the officers shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and such other officers as shall be designated in the By-Laws.

ANTHONY L. GROSS, Incorporator CATHERINE L. WHITE, Incorporator 3018 South 87th Street, Omaha, NE 68124 First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ETC CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, L.L.C. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that ETC CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, L.L.C., is organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with a designated and regis¬tered office at 3454 South 82nd Street, #3, Omaha, Nebraska 68124. The affairs of the company are to be conducted by the manager and registered officer, ELIJAH T. CHILDERS. The Limited Liability Company is organized to transact any and all business, and perform services of every kind and nature whatsoever, which are not inconsistent with law. The Limited Liability Company commenced on April 30, 2019, and shall have perpetual existence.

ELIJAH T. CHILDERS, Organizational Member 3454 South 82nd Street, #3, Omaha, NE 68124 First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 SMITH SLUSKY POHREN & ROGERS LLP 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 400 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF R & C WEISS, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on May 8, 2019, R & C WEISS, LLC was organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, with a designated office at 14121 Jaynes Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68164 The Company’s initial agent for service of process is Christine Weiss, 14121 Jaynes Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68164.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019

DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: KALVIN J PAGE, 8920 Read St, Omaha NE 68122, you are hereby notified that on March 25, 2019, SHELTER MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-6690, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $29,860.61, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 5th day of August, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 14, 2019, final July 5, 2019 ERICKSON l SEDERSTROM, P.C., Attorneys 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION Corporate Name: KWDDSSDC, P.C. Registered Agent: Erickson & Sederstrom, P.C., a limited liability organization Registered Office: 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114 Authorized Number of Shares: 1,000 Incorporator: Karry Whitten, 1111 N. 102nd Ct., Suite 214, Omaha, NE 68114 First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 BARBARA MEDBERY-PRCHAL, P.C., L.L.O., Attorney 10305 Joseph Circle La Vista, Nebraska 68128 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF MALOLEY MARKETING AND CONSULTING, LLC Notice is hereby given that a limited liability company has been formed under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and that the name of the company is Maloley Marketing and Consulting, LLC The name and street address of the company’s initial registered agent is Law Offices of Barbara Medbery-Prchal, P.C., L.L.O., 10305 Joseph Circle, La Vista, NE 68128.

The designated office is located at 1004 S. 211st Street, Elkhorn, NE 68118.

Ann Maloley, Member First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 AMANDA M. FORKER, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OFAMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE OF ORGANIZATION OF 5505 SEMINARY RD 919N, LLC Notice is hereby given of an Amendment to the Certificate of Organization of 5505 Seminary RD 919N, LLC under the laws of the State of Nebraska as follows: Section First of the Certificate of Organization of the Company is hereby amended so that, as amended, said Article shall provide that the name of the Company shall be 6152 Military Ave, LLC. The Amended Certificate of Organization was filed with the Secretary of State of Nebraska on June 17, 2019. In all other respects, the Certificate of Organization remain unchanged.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Luna Insurance Services Notice is hereby given that Luna Insurance Services, a Nebraska Limited Liability Company, has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with its initial agent for service of process as Michael Luna, and with its initial designated office at 810 Janesview Street, #18, Papillion, NE 68046.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 ERICKSON l SEDERSTROM, P.C., Attorneys 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF FOLEYSHALD ENGINEERING, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that FoleyShald Engineering, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company (the “Company”), has been duly organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, with its designated office located at 8790 F Street, Suite 108, Omaha, Nebraska 68127 and designating its registered agent as Erickson & Sederstrom P.C. a limited liability organization with its registered office at 10330 Regency Parkway Drive, Suite 100, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 AMANDA M. BARRON, Attorney P.O. Box 597 Fremont, Nebraska 68026 LEGAL NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT(s), DEWAYNE A WEAVER You are hereby notified that Credit Bureau Services, Inc., a corporation, filed its complaint in the County Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska on 03/13/2019 on Case Number CI19-6464, the object and prayer of which is to recover the sum of $150.00, plus interest, attorney fees and court costs.

You are required to answer the complaint of the Plaintiff on or before 08/05/2019 or the allegations in said complaint will be taken as true and judgment entered accordingly.

CREDIT BUREAU SERVICES, INC., A CORPORATION First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 • LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF ONE RED SOCK LLC Notice is hereby given that One Red Sock LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under Nebraska laws. The sole member and registered agent is Mary Shugrue with designated address at 1320 S. 55th St. Omaha, NE 68106. The company commenced business on June 4, 2019.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF OFF BALANCE LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that OFF BALANCE; LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 9819 S. 168th Ave., Suite 6A, Omaha, Nebraska 68136. The Registered Agent of the Co., OFF BALANCE 9819 S. 168th Ave., Suite 6A, Omaha, Nebraska 68136.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 BENJAMIN J. PICK, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF UNITED TITLE AND ESCROW SERVICES, LLC Notice is hereby given of the organization of United Title and Escrow Services, LLC. 1. The name of the limited liability company is United Title and Escrow Services, LLC. 2. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114, and the name and street address of the initial agent for service of process is 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 21, 2019, final July 5, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF GCP II KC-UPTOWN, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that GCP II KC-Uptown, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska.

The Designated Office Address of the Company is 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68122. The Registered Agent of the Company is Zach Wiegert, 10340 North 84th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68122.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT OF SCM LONGVIEW OMAHA 1303, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Certificate of Organization of SCM Longview Omaha 1303, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, has been amended to change the name of the company to SCM FFA 1303, LLC. The Amended Certificate of Organization was filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State on June 17, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT OF SCM LONGVIEW OMAHA 5110, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Certificate of Organization of SCM Longview Omaha 5110, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, has been amended to change the name of the company to SCM FFA 5110, LLC. The Amended Certificate of Organization was filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State on June 17, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT OF SCM LONGVIEW MANAGERS, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Certificate of Organization of SCM Longview Managers, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, has been amended to change the name of the company to SCM FFA Managers, LLC. The Amended Certificate of Organization was filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State on June 17, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 JAMES D. BUSER, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF SMK NE INVESTMENTS, LLC Notice is hereby given of the organization of SMK NE Investments, LLC: 1. The name of the limited liability company is SMK NE Investments, LLC; and 2. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114, and the name and street address of the initial agent for service of process is James D. Buser, 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

DVORAK LAW GROUP LLC 9500 West Dodge Road, Suite 100 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT OF THE ATHLETIC CLUBS BY TRUFIT INVESTMENTS, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Certificate of Organization of The Athletic Clubs by TruFit Investments, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company, has been amended to change the name of the company to The Athletic Clubs by TruFit Midtown, LLC. The Amended Certificate of Organization was filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State on June 18, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION of Fitzpatrick Financial, LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on June 19, 2019, Fitzpatrick Financial, LLC was organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, with a designated office at 11840 Nicholas Street, #205, Omaha, NE 68154. The Company’s initial agent for service of process is Brian Fitzpatrick, whose address is 11840 Nicholas Street, #205, Omaha, NE 68154.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 MYRON J. KAPLAN, Attorney McGILL, GOTSDINER, WORKMAN & LEPP, P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 11404 West Dodge Road, Suite 500, First National Plaza Omaha, Nebraska 68154-2584 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF DR. PATRICIA RYAN, P.C. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Dr. Patricia Ryan, P.C. is incorporated under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The aggregate number of shares the corporation is authorized to issue is 10,000 shares. The initial registered office is 11404 West Dodge Road, Suite 500, Omaha, Nebraska 68154, and the initial registered agent is Myron J. Kaplan. The name and street address of the incorporator is Patricia Ryan, M.D., 19803 Blondo Parkway, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022 Patricia Ryan, M.D., Incorporator First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF AMENDMENT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Certificate of Organization of ABQ Opportunity Zone, LLC, a Nebraska limited liability company (the “Company”), have been amended and restated as follows: The name of the Company is NM OZ Fund, LLC The Designated Office of the Company is 17007 Marcy Street, Suite 2, Omaha, Nebraska 68118. The Registered Agent and Office of the Company is Andrew A. Snyder, 17007 Marcy Street, Suite 2, Omaha, Nebraska 68118. The purpose is to invest in qualified opportunity zone property by acquiring qualified opportunity zone partnership interests or qualified opportunity zone stock in one or more first-tier subsidiaries or by directly acquiring qualified opportunity zone business property and to engage in other activities incidental or related thereto. The Company intends to be a qualified opportunity fund and cause any first-tier subsidiaries it invests in to meet the requirements for a qualified opportunity zone business.

The Amended and Restated Certificate of Organization was filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State on June 21, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 WESLEY E. HAUPTMAN, Attorney 17826 Monroe Street Omaha, Nebraska 68135 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF SOLEIL NAIL SALON AND SPA, INC. NOTICE is hereby given that the undersigned has formed a corporation under the laws of the State of Nebraska as follows: 1. The name of the corporation is SOLEIL NAIL SALON AND SPA, INC. 2. The address of the initial registered office is 9815 Giles Road, LaVista, NE 68128 and the initial registered agent at that address is Khien Pham.

3. The general nature of the business is to engage in the business providing nail services, and any other lawful activity allowable under the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act. 4. The corporation shall consist of duly elected members and shall hold an annual meeting to transact the corporate business.

5. The corporation commenced existence on the 17th day of June, 2019 and shall have perpetual existence.

6. The affairs of the corporation shall be conducted by a Board of Directors, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and subordinate officers and agents as may be prescribed by the Bylaws, or appointed by the Board of Directors.

WESLEY E. HAUPTMAN, Incorporator First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 BARBARA MEDBERY-PRCHAL, P.C., L.L.O., Attorney 10305 Joseph Circle La Vista, Nebraska 68128 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF B&H ATHLETICS, LLC Notice is hereby given that a professional limited liability company has been formed under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and that the name of the company is B&H Athletics, LLC The name and street address of the company’s initial registered agent is Law Offices of Barbara MedberyPrchal, P.C., L.L.O., 10305 Joseph Circle, La Vista, NE 68128. The designated office is located at 21218 Shiloh Drive, Gretna, Nebraska 68028.

Alaina Phelps, Members First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

19

KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 NOTICE OF ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT TO THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF NEBRASKA FOR ELEPHANTS, INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Articles of Incorporation of Nebraska For Elephants, Inc., a Nebraska corporation, have been amended to change the name of the corporation to: “For Elephants, Inc.”. The Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation was filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State on May 30, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: ROBERT BLAKE HILLARD, 2226 R Street, Lincoln NE 68503, you are hereby notified that on January 16, 2019, State Farm Fire & Casualty filed a suit against you in the Lancaster District Court at docket CI19-175, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $155,481.26, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Lancaster County Court on or before the the 19th day of August, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 19, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that 5404 Poppleton, LLC (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The address of the Company’s designated office is 2214 S 86th Ave, Omaha, NE 68124, and the name of the registered agent at such address is Yuri Paskar. The general nature of the business is any legal and lawful activity allowed pursuant to the Nebraska Limited Liability Company Act and the laws of the State of Nebraska and elsewhere. The Company commenced business on 6/20/2019 and shall have perpetual existence. The affairs of the Company are to be managed by its managers.

Yuri Paskar, Member First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 WHITMORE LAW OFFICE LLC 7602 Pacific Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION Notice is hereby given of the dissolution of PARTY PICS TO GO, INC., as of June 19, 2019. The affairs of the corporation will be wrapped up by Diane Kolvek, Shareholder & Director. All creditors have been paid, and remaining assets have been distributed. Total assets: $0.00. Total liabilities: $0.00.

Diane Kolvek, Shareholder & Director First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 WHITMORE LAW OFFICE LLC 7602 Pacific Street, Suite 200 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that Too Many Leads, L.L.C. (the “Company”) has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska. The designated office of the Company is 16930 Pasadena Court, Omaha, Nebraska 68130.

The registered agent of the Company is Chris Driscoll, 16930 Pasadena Court, Omaha, Nebraska 68130. The Company was formed on June 19, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 STEVEN G. RANUM, Attorney C R O K E R , H U C K , K A S H E R , D E W I T T, A N D E R S O N & GONDERINGER, L.L.C. 2120 S. 72nd Street, Suite 1200 Omaha, Nebraska 68124 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF JK HOUSING, LLC The name of the limited liability company is JK Housing, LLC. The address of the initial designated office is 7842 North 151st Street, Bennington, NE 68007. The name and address of the initial agent for service of process is Steven G. Ranum, 2120 South 72nd Street, Suite 1200, Omaha, NE 68124.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 LAW OFFICES OF EVELYN N. BABCOCK 3240 North 159th Avenue Omaha, Nebraska 68135 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Bogard Aviation, LLC has been organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska on November 7, 2017.

The street and mailing address for the initial designated office is 9609 North 29th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68112. The street and mailing address for the initial agent for service of process is 16264 Rolling Ridge Road, Omaha, Nebraska 68135. The name of the initial agent for service of process is George T. Babcock. The general nature of the business is any and all business which is lawful under the Uniform Limited Liability Act of the State of Nebraska. The business of limited liability company will be conducted by its Members.

George T. Babcock, Organizer First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

20

• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF HUSKER HOUNDS LLC Husker Hounds LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office is 3570 S 203rd Cir, Omaha, Nebraska 68130. The name, street and mailing address of the initial agent for service of process is Amen Business Law, L.L.C., 3420 Cape Charles Rd W, Lincoln, NE 68516.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION Notice is hereby given that Global Claims, LLC, a Nebraska Limited Liability Company, has been organized under the laws of the state of Nebraska, with its initial designated office at 19258 Spencer Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68022. The initial agent for service of process is Kyle Maring, 19258 Spencer Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68022.

First publication June 14, 2019, final June 28, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: GARY R. SAUL, 3612 Gayle Ave Apt 5, Bellevue NE 68125, you are hereby notified that on March 26, 2019, Credit Acceptance Corporation filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-6807, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $10,099.20, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 19th day of August, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 19, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: ANDREW M. WARD, 5907 N 33rd Ave, Omaha NE 68111, you are hereby notified that on May 29, 2019, AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INS. Co., S.I. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-11753, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $7,147.23, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 19th day of August, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 19, 2019 MARY E. VANDENACK, Attorney VANDENACK WEAVER LLC 17007 Marcy Street, Suite 3 Omaha, Nebraska 68118 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF TORNADO WASH LINCOLN LLC Notice is hereby given that TORNADO WASH LINCOLN LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The address of the initial designated office of the company is 18520 Van Camp Drive, Omaha, NE 68130. The agent for service of process for the Company is VW Agents, LLC located at 17007 Marcy Street, Suite 3, Omaha, NE 68118-3122.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DENNIS P. LEE, Attorney LEE LAW OFFICE 2433 South 130th Circle, Suite 300 P.O. Box 45947 Omaha, Nebraska 68145 NOTICE OF SUIT TO: SUSAN HANSEN, 5506 S 94th ST, Omaha NE 68127, you are hereby notified that on March 27, 2019, AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INS. Co., S.I. filed a suit against you in the Douglas County Court at docket CI19-6964, the object in prayer of which was to secure a judgment against you in the amount of $6,159.70, together with court costs, interest and attorney's fees as allowed by law. Unless you file your Answer with the Douglas County Court on or before the 19th day of August, 2019, the Petition against you will be considered as true and judgment will be entered against you accordingly.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 19, 2019 AMANDA M. BARRON, Attorney P.O. Box 597 Fremont, Nebraska 68026 LEGAL NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT(s), MATTHEW BRIGGS You are hereby notified that Credit Bureau Services, Inc., a corporation, filed its complaint in the County Court of DOUGLAS County, Nebraska on 03/26/2019 on Case Number CI19-7146, the object and prayer of which is to recover the sum of $363.00, plus interest, attorney fees and court costs.

You are required to answer the complaint of the Plaintiff on or before 08/12/2019 or the allegations in said complaint will be taken as true and judgment entered accordingly.

CREDIT BUREAU SERVICES, INC., A CORPORATION First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

MATTHEW T. PAYNE, Attorney PANSING HOGAN ERNST & BACHMAN LLP 10250 Regency Circle, Suite 300 Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3728 NOTICE OF ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF DLT ENTERPRISES, INC. Notice is hereby given of Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of DLT Enterprises, Inc. as follows: Article I of the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation is hereby amended so that, as amended, said Article shall provide that the name of the Corporation shall be Clear, Inc. The Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State of Nebraska on June 25, 2019. In all other respects, the Articles of Incorporation remain unchanged.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DANIEL J. WATERS, Attorney LAMSON, DUGAN and MURRAY, LLP 10306 Regency Parkway Drive Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3743 NOTICE OF THE ORGANIZATION OF JSM GROUP, LLC Notice is hereby given of the formation of a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and that the name of the limited liability company is JSM Group, LLC. The name and address of the registered agent and office is LDM Business Services, Inc, 10306 Regency Parkway Drive, Omaha, Nebraska 68114. The general nature of the business to be transacted is all lawful business. The company commenced existence on June 24, 2019 and shall have perpetual duration. The affairs of the company shall be conducted by the Members, as prescribed by the Operating Agreement.

LDM Business Services, Inc., Organizer First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 SMITH SLUSKY POHREN & ROGERS LLP 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 400 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION OF KAMO, INC. Notice is hereby given that Kamo, Inc. was incorporated under the Nebraska Nonprofit Corporation Act effective May 8, 2019, with its initial registered office at 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 400, Omaha, Nebraska 68114. The initial registered agent and sole incorporator at that address is Clay M. Rogers. The corporation is a public benefit corporation, has no members and shall have perpetual duration.

Clay M. Rogers, Incorporator First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 SMITH SLUSKY POHREN & ROGERS LLP 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 400 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION Ultimate Drain, Inc. has been incorporated under the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act. The street address of the corporation’s initial registered office is 8712 West Dodge Road, #400, Omaha, Nebraska 68114, and the name of the initial registered agent at that office is Clay M. Rogers.

The corporation is authorized to issue 10,000 shares of common stock. The name and street address of the incorporator of the corporation is Clay M. Rogers, 8712 West Dodge Road, #400, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 SMITH SLUSKY POHREN & ROGERS LLP 8712 West Dodge Road, Suite 400 Omaha, Nebraska 68114 NOTICE OF INCORPORATION New Beginnings Recovery, Inc. has been incorporated under the Nebraska Model Business Corporation Act. The street address of the corporation’s initial registered office is 8712 West Dodge Road, #400, Omaha, Nebraska 68114, and the name of the initial registered agent at that office is Clay M. Rogers. The corporation is authorized to issue 10,000 shares of common stock. The name and street address of the incorporator of the corporation is Clay M. Rogers, 8712 West Dodge Road, #400, Omaha, Nebraska 68114.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 DAVID M. HOHMAN, Attorney FITZGERALD, SCHORR, BARMETTLER & BRENNAN, P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 10050 Regency Circle, 200 Regency One Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3794 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION MINKSTERS LLC has been organized as a limited liability company under the Nebraska Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The street and mailing address of the initial designated office of the Company is 115 S. 204th St., Elkhorn, NE 68022. The name, street address and mailing address of the initial agent for service of process of the Company are David M. Hohman, 10050 Regency Cir., Suite 200, Omaha, NE 68114.

Dated this 26th day of June, 2019.

First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019 ALLAN M. ZIEBARTH, Attorney 1702 South 10 Street, Suite 2 Omaha, Nebraska 68108 NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF MIDWEST HEMP FIVERS, LLC Designated Office: 1702 S. 10 St., Suite 2, Omaha, NE 68108 Initial Agent/Address For Service: Allan M. Ziebarth/1702 S. 10 St., Suite 2, Omaha, NE 68108 First publication June 28, 2019, final July 12, 2019

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF TRADE NAME Trade Name to be registered is: HydroDog of Nebraska Name of Applicant: Hudson Hounds LLC Address: 3570 S 203rd Cir Omaha NE 68130 Applicant is a Limited Liability Company If other than an Individual, state under whose laws entity was formed: Nebraska Date of first use of name in Nebraska: June 11, 2019 General nature of business: support animal rescue and bring communities together through the love of animals and mobile grooming services VICKY L. AMEN Signature of Applicant or Legal Representative June 28, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF TRADE NAME Trade Name to be registered is: SOLID ROOFING AND EXTERIORS Name of Applicant: SOLID EXTERIORS LLC Address: 503 SOUTH 36TH STREET OMAHA NE 68105 Applicant is a Limited Liability Company If other than an Individual, state under whose laws entity was formed: Nebraska Date of first use of name in Nebraska: JUNE 24, 2019 General nature of business: ROOFING, SIDING, GUTTERS, WINDOWS MATTHEW J. SPEIKER Signature of Applicant or Legal Representative June 28, 2019 KOLEY JESSEN P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 1125 South 103rd Street, Suite 800, One Pacific Place Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1079 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF TRADE NAME Trade Name to be registered is: ORANGE PROPERTY MAINTENANCE Name of Applicant: SCHLICK CONSTRUCTION L.L.C. Address: 503 SOUTH 36TH STREET OMAHA NE 68105 Applicant is a Limited Liability Company If other than an Individual, state under whose laws entity was formed: Nebraska Date of first use of name in Nebraska: JUNE 24, 2019 General nature of business: PROPERTY MAINTENANCE MATTHEW J. SPEIKER Signature of Applicant or Legal Representative June 28, 2019 DAVID M. HOHMAN, Attorney FITZGERALD, SCHORR, BARMETTLER & BRENNAN, P.C., L.L.O., Attorneys 10050 Regency Circle, 200 Regency One Omaha, Nebraska 68114-3794 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF TRADE NAME Trade Name to be registered is: TreeRush Adventures Name of Applicant: TreePlay Adventures #1, LLC Address: 1277 Hebden Cove Virginia Beach, VA 23452 Applicant is a Limited Liability Company If other than an Individual, state under whose laws entity was formed: Nebraska Date of first use of name in Nebraska: May 1, 2019 General nature of business: Outdoor Aerial Adventure Park SCOTT TOMPKINS Signature of Applicant or Legal Representative June 28, 2019

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

21

Don’t do your boss any favors buying gift cards — it’s likely a scam

by Susan Tompor

We’ve had the “one ring” phone scam, the fake IRS phone calls, the scam that tricks you into thinking that your Social Security number has been connected to some car in Texas that was involved with running drugs across the border.

And now we have the “Can you do me a favor?” scam.

Cyberscams Sure, you’re thinking “Hey, I know quite a few folks who ask for favors and run that scam everyday.”

But trust us, this one has a new twist.

“Usually, it starts with an email,” said Amy Nofziger, AARP fraud expert.

The email could look like it’s from your boss, maybe your minister or pastor, maybe the principal of your school.

A 31-year-old woman who had just started a job in April didn’t think twice when she got an email from her boss asking for help

in early May. “My boss was on vacation but he said he was going to be working remote,” said the Florida woman, who asked that her name not be used because she didn’t want more emails from scammers.

She works at a company that sells highend appliances and her job often involves handling different projects for her boss.

So she wasn’t taken aback when he sent an email and asked her to buy four $500 gift cards to be used as prizes for employees. And she received other emails supposedly from her boss during the process.

“He kept asking: ‘Where are we on this?’” she said.

In the end, she bought two Best Buy gift cards and two Target gift cards.

She lost $2,000 in total after she charged the gift cards on her credit card.

At some point, she started thinking something was off once the boss asked for more

gift cards. And then somehow, she checked on the balances on the four cards she already had bought and discovered they were all at $0.

She had sent her “boss” the codes off the gift cards and the crooks were able to access the money. She later googled scams and discovered a warning about crooks sending fake emails pretending to be your boss.

Her advice now: “As soon as you get an email like that, call your boss. Just make sure it’s him or her.”

The requests appear to be sincere Consumers are warned that these sorts of scams can start innocently enough.

The message in the initial email might be something like: “Jane, could you please email me back? I need a favor.”

Or “Sally, are you available at the moment? I need you to handle a project. Very busy at the moment. Can’t talk. Just send an email when you receive this. Thanks.”

And remember, the phishing email is

“While the current economic expansion is on track to set a record for duration, there will be a downturn at some point,” he said.

“We just don’t know when.”

Methodology Bankrate commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct the survey. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,740 adults, including 2,315

who were 18 or older when the recession began born before 1990. Fieldwork was undertaken on May 15-17, 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18+). ©2019 Bankrate.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

crafted to appear legitimate, often signed by someone we know. So, sure, we want to help. The email address is even similar to your supervisor’s email, too. So many of us don’t think twice.

“We want to please people and we certainly want to please people that are in a position of authority,” Nofziger said.

Liking to please people, of course, makes you a good target for scammers.

Once we respond to the first email, we’re going to get another email.

The note could say something like: “Good to hear from you. I need to get three iTunes gift cards for my niece. It’s her birthday but I can’t do this now because I’m currently traveling. Can you get them for me from any store around you? I’ll pay back next week when I get back home.”

Or the email might say: “I need you to pick up three Home Depot gift cards for our project.”

Gail Engel, 63, got a text out of the blue from Pastor Joseph saying that a friend of his has cancer and he asked her to help him buy some gift cards as a get well gift. He was at the hospital right now.

Engel, who lives in Loveland, Colo., said she works with Father Joseph but a Pastor Joseph? The wording sounded odd.

The timing of the text worked against the scammers too.

Engel — who is retired but heads a nonContinued on next page.

by Juliana Feliciano Reyes

employees to keep “proprietary information” private, such as customer pricing or anything else that could be considered a trade secret.

There are other activities that are not protected: Employees can’t, for example, defame their employers or threaten them.

One catch: The NLRA applies to employees, not independent contractors. So, if you’re an Uber driver or a videographer working on a contract, sharing your salary publicly is a riskier move, Walters said.

(Though, as the on-demand gig economy has grown, the definition of “independent contractor” is being debated in courts and governments across the country.) The NLRA also doesn’t cover public-sector employees, though many are protected through a union collective bargaining agreement.

So, are you safe?

If you’re not part of a union and protected by a collective bargaining agreement, you

can still get fired for pretty much anything.

It’s called “at-will” employment.

So, even if your employer can’t fire you because you shared your salary with others, the company could say it was because you’ve been coming to work late or missing deadlines. (It’s hard to prove these things, and it can involve a drawn-out legal process to try and fight a firing.)

Last summer, for example, a group of parking-lot attendants said they got fired after trying to form a union — which is protected concerted activity. They got their jobs back a few months later. After that, the union they’re working with lobbied City Council to pass a first-of-its-kind “just-cause” law for parking lot workers that makes it illegal to fire someone without a valid reason. ©2019 The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

American adults are worse off now than before the Great Recession Continued from page 15. perception that other people are faring very well, and you’re not faring as well,” Burtless said. Median household income reached $61,372 in 2017, the third-straight annual increase, which brought it to a pre-crisis level, the Census Bureau reported on Sept. 12. But still, questions remain, he adds.

“The economic expansion began 10 years ago. Certainly in the last five years, workers have seen their pay increase, and the pay increases have more than offset for most wage ranges in our economy all of the losses associated with the Great Recession,” Burtless said. “But of course, the economy is considerably bigger than it was at the end of the last expansion. Why aren’t wages even higher than they are right now?”

Lessons from the Great Recession: Pay off debt, save for emergencies But despite the uneven recovery, the Great Recession has caused many Americans to try and put one-foot forward. Only 29% say they have not changed their financial habits as a “direct result” of the downturn.

Among those who did make changes directly because of the recession, 29% say they have placed a priority on paying down debt. About a quarter (23%) are now saving more for emergencies, and 18% are saving more for retirement.

These are important steps that Americans should be taking now, in preparation for the next downturn, Hamrick said.

“It is critically important for Americans to try to save now for emergencies and for retirement while paying down or paying off debt,” Hamrick said. “Don’t wait to prepare until after it is too late when a financial storm has already arrived.”

Twelve percent of respondents also reported that the recession led them to look for a better job, and another 12% now have a more affordable home or mortgage. Ten percent invest less in the stock market, and 9% no longer want to own a home because of the recession.

Though some groups had warned about a housing bubble, both the downturn and its severity proved itself to be largely unexpected. Most economists say it’s unlikely that the next downturn will be as severe as this one, but busts following booms are still an inevitable part of the business cycle, Hamrick said.

Can you get fired for sharing your salary publicly?

In an effort to increase transparency in the art world, more than 2,500 museum workers across the globe have anonymously shared their salaries on a spreadsheet.

Could you get fired for adding your salary to the list?

The short answer is: Yes, you could, but it would be illegal.

Workplace We called two labor lawyers, one who represents unions and workers — Jonathan Walters of Markowitz and Richmond — and another who represents employers — Rick Grimaldi of Fisher Phillips — to get their take.

Under a federal law called the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), private-sector employees are allowed to talk about their salaries and other aspects of their experience at work. The law classifies that as a “protected concerted activity,” meaning employers can’t retaliate against their workers for trying to improve their working conditions. (How to define “concerted?” “You and I talk, it’s concerted,” Grimaldi said.)

Contributing to a spreadsheet such as the one created for museum workers is absolutely protected activity, Walters said. You do not have to be part of a union or trying to form a union in order to be covered under the NLRA. What if you’re just an individual posting on Twitter or Facebook about your salary?

That’s protected, too, the attorneys said, because it’s considered communication with others.

Grimaldi said he reminds his clients, who are employers, that they cannot prohibit employees from discussing their salaries — “a big no-no,” he said.

Companies can, however, require their

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Aureon eyes software-defined wide area network tech for Nebraska growth plans Continued from page 1. come from retaining clients and within the next 12 months we want to double that customer base,” he said.

The firm’s Omaha location is in 1,600 square feet at 11204 Davenport St., Suite 300.

Aureon, a publicly-traded company, is headquartered in Des Moines. In addition to Omaha, the firm serves clients in 48 states with an additional location in Kansas City.

Bally said a simplistic description of Aureon’s work is moving businesses forward with the use of the latest technology.

Recently, Aureon installed Scott Behn as its new CEO, replacing seven-year veteran Ron Keller who retired.

“Today’s technology landscape is evolving quickly and we have an exciting opportunity to work together to deliver the next generation of business solutions to our clients,” Behn said. “Our diverse line of offerings positions us well for growth.”

Specific to Nebraska and western Iowa, Bally said the banking and financial services sector constitutes about 25% of the customer

base, followed by manufacturing and retail stores, second and third, respectively.

Bally, a 1989 political science graduate of University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said each of those sectors offer tremendous growth opportunities for Aureon, although he’s also finding sectors such as K-12 education, medical, and law firms have contributed to the Omaha location’s growing list of projects.

In terms of competitive activity growth and market share, Bally believes the Omaha Aureon location is among the area’s three largest such providers.

“Cloud suite of services and the advent of software defined wide-area network is technology that has changed the networking infrastructure and helped differentiate us with a competitive niche,” Bally said.

“We can network on the enterprise level to make a customer more efficient but do it with the hardware and aging infrastructure they are using.”

In Nebraska, a major project involving information technology services was completed over three years for the Seward-based

Tri-County Bank, which has branch locations in Atkinson, O’Neill and Bassett.

Bally said much of the work involved “proactive care,” which was refined to a complete information technology environment with emphasis on account-management support.

“Needs change and as they do we tell our clients we can position them to get ahead of the challenge,” he added.

Bally said one of the greatest challenges in client service can be servicing the auditing practices and management of a business. One example was work done for an Omaha-based debt-collection agency.

“We can meet their thresholds out of the gate and exceed their expectations,” he said.

Examples include the familiarity of Aureon technology professionals with state and federal regulations specific to an industry.

Cloud services were important to Aureon’s work with a Wahoo-based manufacturer, which sought to design and create an infrastructure project. With much of the firm’s workforce not centralized at any one

Don’t do your boss any favors buying gift cards — it’s likely a scam Continued from preceding page. profit for grandparents raising their grandchildren — was attending a meeting of that group at a church building. The speaker was from the AARP and discussing scams.

So Engel did text back saying: “No, I can’t help you but call this number and they might be able to help you.” She texted a number for the AARP fraud hotline.

How do the scammers even know the name of your boss?

Organizations are targeted Consumer watchdogs say the fraudsters could be using some sort of organizational chart that is easily found online. Look up a school, you’re going to have easy access to finding the emails for teachers, as well as the name of the principal. The same’s true for some online church directories or online information for a company’s staff.

“Scammers are using technology and the amount of personal information we put online to exploit us,” Nofziger said.

“It’s so creative — let’s give them some credit,” she said. “It’s creative in the way

they’re social engineering you.”

“It does seem to be targeting an audience that is working or is involved in a social group,” Nofziger said.

Once the gift cards are bought, the impersonators will ask you to take photos of the numbers on the back of the gift cards and text them the photos.

Often, the person in authority says the photo is needed as a record so you can be reimbursed. But once you send those photos, you’re never, ever going to get your money back.

Crooks are able to use the numbers to download the value quickly and you’re stuck holding the bag. The money is gone and almost impossible to trace.

The scammers in the case with the four $500 gift cards somehow seemed to know that the young woman’s boss was on vacation or maybe that she was even new on the job.

In retrospect, the woman said she realizes that if her company wanted her to spend that kind of money, they probably would have given her a credit card to do so.

“It was just too weird,” said the young

woman, who has toddler and a baby on the way.

She joked that she told her husband that she knew he’d be upset about her being scammed but says she reminded him that she was pregnant, so don’t get too upset.

The couple worked it out and her husband helped her deal with the added expense.

Consumer watchdogs say some gift cards requested in scams include: Home Depot, Best Buy, Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Steam, MoneyPak and oddly enough even Sephora, a retailer specializing in cosmetics, skincare and fragrances.

Some consumers lose $500 and some lose as much as $5,000.

The Federal Trade Commission has warned that more scammers are demanding payment on gift cards than ever before.

The AARP Fraud Network said it is seeing an uptick of phishing emails supposedly from your boss, your minister, the principal of your school, all asking for a favor.

No, the scam isn’t as widespread as one where someone pretends to be your grandson or son who is in desperate need of help.

(Maybe they just got into an auto accident and they’re requesting Home Depot gift cards. Why Home Depot? The police officer needs to go out and buy tools to fix the light pole that was knocked over in the accident.)

And no, the do-me-a-favor scam isn’t as constant as the latest Social Security scam where someone needs to confirm your Social Security number so you can clear your name and prove you weren’t laundering money or hauling drugs.

But Nofziger said the scam is growing and consumers need to be made more aware of it before it hits an epidemic level. Consumers can report scams or get more information at www.aarp.org/FraudWatchNetwork or call the AARP Fraud Watch Network helpline at 877-908-3360.

So do yourself a big favor, don’t immediately respond to emails asking for a favor.

Maybe pick up the phone first, call the person and ask if they really need any extra help. ©2019 Detroit Free Press Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

place, Aureon’s plan was to “virtualize” the workforce. That plan helped greatly when flooding earlier this year threatened much of a multi-county eastern Nebraska area.

“Their employees weren’t impacted by the flooding and by looking at their return on investment and with a cost-benefit analysis the technology environment we set up for them enables their employees to work any-

Aureon Phone: 402-431-5430 Address: 11204 Davenport St., Suite 300, Omaha 68154 Services: business support, with focus on technology-based solutions Founded: 1989 in Des Moines as Iowa Network Services Employees: 10 in Omaha location; about 1,000 companywide One-year goal: Double client base in Omaha.

Industry outlook: The development of software-defined wide area network has the infrastructure and offers multiple growth opportunities.

Website: Aureon.com

where where there’s internet availability,” Bally said.

Another project was for the Greater Des Moines YMCA after the first round of flooding earlier this decade. It involved the development of an on-site disaster plan, that enables a client to be up and running with at minimum, limited data transmission services within three to four hours. In such case, the emphasis is on data backup that provides both a local delivery device as well as cloud backup to ensure efficient client-customer operations.

Bally said Aureon offers a virtual meeting quarterly between chief information officers of client companies and up to 12 decision-makers from a client firm can be present when specific topics or strategic long-term goals are discussed.

“We basically plan together with clients so that there won’t be economic challenges or surprises down the road,” he said.

For example, a topic might be protected network security infrastructure. While an initial meeting might center around a firewall, additional meetings might get into the possibility of layered multi-site networking with different methods of interaction between it.

“We want to give them the best protection possible and we will listen to them explain what’s required by their industry so that we can suggest the best protection possible when dealing with HIPAA and Service Organization Control rules,” Bally said.

Bally, who credits high school debate offered at Ralston High with helping him shed much of his shyness as a teen, takes a somewhat philosophical approach to his chosen career.

“I view it from a holistic approach that we help a variety of business clients succeed and that we’re part of other peoples’ success,” he said.

However, he said too much confidence not backed by understanding and knowledge can become a factor in bringing a business down.

The 53-year-old said technology has enabled work to be done with great mobility.

“It has been a huge game changer,” he said.

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

Work-Related Injuries

A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

Topics may include:

23

Accounting Profession A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

Topics may include:

Work-Related Injuries overview • Workers’ compensation Physical therapy/rehab services • Implementing effective policies Workplace ergonomics • Investing in training/safety programs

Accounting profession overview • Education • Hiring/career outlook • Growing niches Consulting and advisory services on the increase • Technology in accounting How accountants partner with entrepreneurs • Tax planning update/trends International opportunities • Identity theft • Payroll services

Issue Date: July 5 • Ad Deadline: June 27

Issue Date: July 5 • Ad Deadline: June 27

Nonprofits

LINCOLN GROWTH A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

Report

A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

Topics may include:

Nonprofits overview • Starting a nonprofit • Donor management/fundraising Social media/branding tactics • Recruiting and managing volunteers Nonprofit partnership • All about grants • Engaging supporters Issue Date: July 12 • Ad Deadline: July 3

Topics may include:

Economic outlook • Lincoln thriving with major projects Shopping in Lincoln • Commercial/Office/Industrial Real Estate • Residential Banking & Financial Services • Health care • Activities and tourism Issue Date: July 19 • Ad Deadline: July 11

To advertise your company’s products or services in one of our upcoming sections, contact one of our MBJ advertising representatives at (402) 330-1760 or at the email addresses below.

Julie Whitehead - Julie@mbj.com • Catie Kirby - Catie@mbj.com

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

Edgerton

Vytlas

Wilson

Schaecher

Centris promotes Edgerton, Vytlas and Wilson, adds Schaecher Centris Federal Credit Union has promoted Steve Edgerton to senior vice president, corporate operations; Brandi Vytlas to vice president, retail financial services; Kasha Wilson to assistant vice president, retail financial services; and hired Tera Schaecher as vice president, credit administration for Centris’ management team.

Edgerton has worked at Centris for 22 years and is currently leading the core system conversion. He most recently led the online and mobile banking conversions as well as implemented instant issue debit cards and significant changes to Centris’ credit card program in 2016. Edgerton was the recipient of the L.A. “Tex” Gunzelman Professional Distinguished Service Award at the 2018 Nebraska Credit Union League’s annual convention. He has been active with the Nebraska Credit Union League as a past director and current member of the Advocacy Committee, which meets with elected state and national officials advocating for favorable credit union legislation that enhances service to credit union members.

Vytlas began her career at Centris in 2001 as a teller. Through her 17

years of service to the credit union, she has served in a variety of roles helping Centris members; employees and growing relationships. She most recently served as AVP, retail financial services. In her new role, Vytlas will manage Centris’ consumer retail banking division, which includes 14 branch locations.

Wilson began her banking career as a teller at Centris in 2001. Since then, she has worked in several roles including financial sales manager for four branches including two in Council Bluffs. In her new role, Wilson will provide support to all Centris branches, including the electronic branch. She is a graduate of Leadership Council Bluffs Class 28, serves as a committee member for Celebrate CB and as secretary of the board of directors for New Visions, a homeless shelter.

Schaecher has 23 years of banking experience, most recently serving as senior vice president, consumer real estate operations manager for Bank of the West. Schaecher brings a strong project and process management background to Centris and will build and maintain efficient and effective loan processes and portfolio credit analytics to her new role.

Nox-Crete Products Group promotes Reid to president

Meduna

Moylan

Great Plains State Bank joins market with Meduna, Moylan

Great Plains State Bank has entered the Omaha market with the hire of Matt Meduna as market president and Sigrid Moylan as vice president of treasury operations.

The hiring of Meduna is part of a multi-tiered approach to building the bank’s presence in the Greater Omaha community. Meduna attended the University of Dallas, Texas were he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and later his MBA in Corporate Finance. For the past 11 years he has served as vice president of Union Bank & Trust.

Moylan, too, has 20 plus years of banking expertise. She is a graduate of Kansas State University and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. She has previous treasury services experience at both regional and national financial institutions.

Nox-Crete Products Group, Inc., has promoted Lori Reid to president, a promotion that comes three years after she joined the team as chief financial officer in 2015.

In her former CFO role with NoxCrete, Reid focused on key metrics, development of financial and operations strategy, asset presReid ervation and financial reporting. She has also played a key role in the company’s transition from a privately owned, family business to an employee-owned company in 2015. In her new role as president, Reid’s focus will shift to developing and implementing the company’s strategic vision, adapting as the industry and customers’ needs continue to evolve. Prior to joining NoxCrete, Reid served as financial controller for Advanta US, vice president of business development and administration for American Star Energy & Minerals and accounting manager for McCleskey Harriger Brazill & Graf.

Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 28, 2019 •

Medical Solutions selects Shedivy for CFO position

Clites

Goscha

Taylor

Carlson

Lutz in Omaha adds Clites, Goscha, Taylor and Carlson Lutz, a Nebraska-based business solutions firm, has hired Michiko Clites, Hannah Goscha, Steven Taylor and Joe Carlson to the Omaha office.

Clites joins the client accounting services department as a staff accountant. She is responsible for providing outsourced accounting services to clients including QuickBooks and payroll assistance. Clites received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and her Bachelor of Science degree from Upper Iowa University.

Joining the team as a staff accountant, Goscha works in the tax and client accounting services departments. She is responsible for preparing individual and business income tax returns, and providing general accounting assistance. She previously interned with Lutz during tax season in 2018, and was an on-going CAS/tax intern from June of

2018 to May of 2019. Goscha graduated from UNO with a master’s degree in accounting.

Taylor joins the firm as a staff accountant in the tax and client accounting services departments. He provides accounting services, payroll assistance, and prepares tax compliance reports for clients in a variety of industries. Taylor previously interned with Lutz during tax season in 2018, and was an on-going CAS/tax intern from June of 2018 to May of 2019. He graduated from UNO with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Carlson joins Lutz Financial as a financial planner. He is responsible for assisting Lutz Financials’ advisers in the preparation of financial plans, as well as managing daily service requests from clients. Carlson received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus in finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Medical Solutions, a health care staffing company, has appointed Dan Shedivy to chief financial officer.

Shedivy will lead the company’s financial operations and strategic growth planning processes across its current seven locations from the company’s headquarters in Omaha. He most recently served as CFO for Select RehabilitaShedivy tion in Chicago. He’s previously held roles of managing director with William Blair’s Healthcare Investment Banking Group, portfolio manager with JPMorgan Chase, and as engagement manager with McKinsey & Co. in New York. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and his MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he continues to teach as part of the Kapnick Center for Business Institutions.

25

Windstream selects Fellers for VP, government affairs division

Windstream has named Trent Fellers to serve as its vice president for gove r n m e n t a l a ff a i r s for Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri and Minnesota.

He was elected to the Lincoln City Council and served from 2013 to 2017, including a stint as council chairman from 2015 to 2016.

He recently worked Fellers in business development for a software company, Don’t Panic Labs. He has been a deputy director for the Nebraska State Energy Office, a campaign manager for U.S. Senate candidate Jon Bruning, and chief of staff to former state Treasurer Shane Osborn. Fellers served the United States Marine Corps reserves from 2000 to 2006. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Doane University.

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal

TRANSPORTATION, DISTRIBUTION & WAREHOUSING A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal

June 28, 2019

Transportation partnerships seize opportunities for development

by Michelle Leach

Traction and resistance alike are represented by public-private partnerships and tariffs.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is also bringing what Nebraska Trucking Association President Kent Grisham called “desperate infrastructure needs” to Congress, while taking a hard look at the regulatory environment; notably, Grisham said the intention behind “hours of service” (driving vs. resting hours) is good (“you don’t want tired and fatigued drivers on the road”). But Grisham said regulations are difficult to meet with mandatory electronic logging.

“As soon as you’ve gone a matter of seconds over, it will kick out a violation notice,” he said, noting traffic jam- or bad weather-related delays aren’t accounted for, all this when member-companies are challenged to recruit new drivers who

are required to have more classroom time before they can take a test.

Grisham is optimistic about a federal government pilot program for younger drivers that may have experience driving large military equipment, yet regulations dictate they can’t cross state lines. Companies end up trying to catch mid-20-somethings when they’re in other careers, versus offering the prospect of a bright career early. Additional classrooms, instructors, trucking equipment, and testers are also required.

Overall, Grisham’s encouraged by the state’s active, supportive industry.

“We have an environment of cooperation and collaboration, not just in the trucking industry, and it comes from our deep roots in ag,” he said.

During recent floods, Grisham said mem-

Branch Owner - Omaha Terry McMullen of AIT Worldwide. bers donated time and fuel to haul emergency Web-based e-Builder has helped track prorepair, relief and ag supplies. gram financials and other functions for these HDR’s Matt Selinger said the Dual, Divided projects since 2014.

Freeway program within the Iowa Department “Drivers should pay attention to signs as of Transportation’s Transportation Improvement traffic shifts will occur more frequently,” he said.

Program project, the Council Bluffs Interstate The Council Bluffs Airport Authority is System improvements, strategically focusing opened this spring on development opporamid flooding. tunities, as Executive The DDF creates Director Andy Biller Interstate 80 express noted there is room to and I-80/I-29 local include businesses that lanes. A first for Iowa don’t necessarily need and the region, the to be on the airport or DDF opening includaccess taxiways. ed complex overnight “It’s not uncomclosures (to install mon for airports to signs, shift traffic), and have businesses of a Grisham Selinger signs with emergency ‘business park’ nature,” flood response messages were used as planned he said; for instance, Chicago Rockford Interdetour routes were flooded. Iowa DOT dis- national Airport secured a large employer due trict and contractor teams worked together to its onsite property, and Biller noted interest to keep the program on schedule and lead from an out-of-state manufacturing company. recovery efforts.

It’s leveraging the airport’s relationship with “Construction crews are expected to open Iowa Western Community College (its aviation another eastbound portion in late summer, maintenance training program has a physical depending on weather and field conditions,” presence at the airport) and the University he said. of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute (to Other milestone CBIS projects include develop professionals in face of the industry’s reconstruction of the Nebraska Avenue Inter- labor shortage). change set for this fall and the completion of “Employers in close proximity to aviation I-29/I-480/West Broadway Interchange Right maintenance training programs have a more Continued on next page. of Way acquisition and final design.

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Trucking industry less robust in 2019, but looks optimistic

by Gabby Christensen

Trucking professionals across the metro agree that the industry outlook for 2019 looks promising, but likely not as strong as more recent years.

Rob Cygan, president at Truck Center Companies, said the truck sales market is beginning to soften a little going into the second half of 2019.

“While the market is still very good, it’s not as strong as 2018,” he said.

Cygan Cygan said economic stability in the United States, as well as trade tariff impacts and over capacity of trucks vs. demand are all factors that have affected the industry this year.

“Parts and service activity remain strong,” he said. “In regards to truck sales, the majority

Transportation Continued from preceding page. ready source of manpower,” he said. “It’s important airports in and of themselves offer a niche to those that have a need for aviation services.”

On the Iowa side of the Nebraska-Iowa border, Biller noted taxes as a differentiator for those who choose the airport, and it’s worked hard to modernize the likes of fuel storage and delivery.

“Like a lot of airports, we had an aging underground system,” he said. “We completed installation of a modern system that’s aboveground. Now, airplanes can be fueled direct from this system. It gives us the ability to manage and maintain quality better.”

The 37-year-old legacy system’s replacement has built-in containment and leak detection, and better functionality and cost savings for those who want self-service.

AIT Worldwide Logistics’ Omaha team has played a “small but important role,” said Branch Owner - Omaha Terry McMullen, in inbound/ outbound flow of material and equipment for the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders event for the past 16 years. An onsite event shipping booth allows shareholders to ship Berkshire packages they don’t want to (or can’t) ship back on planes — from Tony Lama boots to Ginsu Knives.

With a 250,000-square-foot facility on 17 acres, AIT-Omaha can receive swimming pools and all major equipment weeks in advance of the USA Swim Trials, McMullen said, as a primary logistics provider of the Omaha Sports Commission since 2008.

“We can support the local hauling to CHI Health Center Omaha, the immediate extraction of that equipment when the event is over, sending the pools off to their new homes and getting all the equipment back to other companies involved with the event production,” he said.

Industrywide, McMullen underscored the push this spring to bring product into the U.S. before full tariffs on imports from China go into effect; the brisk auto manufacturing sector and stateside craft brewing industry; and booming ecommerce with the proliferation of retailers selling through Amazon.

of manufacturers have been sold out of trucks for 2019 since the middle of the first quarter.

We are starting to see some cancellations, which is making truck slots become available.

On a positive note, this availability has allowed us to pursue customers who did not get truck orders placed earlier in the year.”

Becki Cloyed, owner at JJT Transportation & Logistics, said this year’s industry outlook is a little uncertain right now.

Cloyed “I truly believe nobody, industrywide, knows for certain what’s going to happen,” Cloyed said. “With many mixed signals, some say the industry is on a Continued on next page.

Ashley Jankowski, general manager at BAT Logistics.

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Stable economy, technology take air travel to new height

by Jasmine Heimgartner

Whether one loves it, hates it or is somewhere in between, air travel continues to be an integral part of the modern world. While the industry has had its ups and downs, the future looks bright for both those in the industry and the people it serves.

“In 2018, a record 5-plus million passengers flew through Eppley Airfield, making it the busiest year in the airport’s history.

That growth in activity was 9.4% higher than 2017 and can be attributed to capacity increases by all of the airlines in Omaha last year in the form of new routes, more departures Walker and larger aircraft,” said Steve McCoy, director of air service and business development at Omaha Airport Authority. “Through May of 2019, passenger traffic has risen another 2.8% year-to-date. This growth has been good news for both business and leisure travelers in Omaha as these gains are a reflection of the air service demand in this community.”

The growth in air travel is often associated with how well the economy as a whole is doing.

“The ups and downs of our industry parallel the ups and downs of the economy,” said Jamie Walker, CEO and president of Jet Linx. “If you look at flight hours for our industry for private jet, they almost mirror it. You see flight hours up when the market is up and see it going down when it is bad. Right now, we are doing well and continue to climb in growth. The industry is growing and improving.”

Ensuring a flying experience is a positive one is being made easier with technology. At Eppley, technology-based initiatives have included a new website and smartphone app, flyOMA, as well as live GPS-based shuttle bus tracking,

Lisa LaMantia, president of Advanced Air. an automated parking guidance system in the For businesses or professionals able to use parking garages, increased electronic device private jet services, new tech services also are charging stations, security checkpoint wait time available. displays and an improved Wi-Fi experience for “We have spent and invested time and recustomers. sources in the development of an app that allows

our clients to do real-time booking,” Walker said “Through it they can book say a flight from Omaha to New York. Once they book, they can update it if they can do any manifest changes they need through it. They can also do quoting.

If they want to know the difference between a light or heavy jet, they can look at the cost difference and do that in the app.”

Smaller airports in the area continue to be a potential cost-effective option, especially when traveling with only one or two people within the state or neighboring areas.

“If someone needs to say go out to Valentine and was going to rent a car with a paralegal to do a deposition, they likely won’t want to drive back. That means they have to pay for time, a hotel stay, etc. Instead, they can fly there and be back in a day,” said Lisa LaMantia, president of Advanced Air. “There are also more places that we can go. There are around 600 commercial airports, but there are around 6,000 general aviation ones. Sometimes people are surprised on how many options they have to land at whether for business or leisure. Many of these smaller places also have courtesy vehicles, so you don’t have to worry about renting a car for a couple hours.”

While general aviation and private jet services offer more destinations, the bigger airports continue to see more flight options. In Continued on next page.

Trucking industry less robust in 2019, but looks optimistic

Continued from preceding page. downward slope, while others are saying it’s going to pick back up. As for me, I’m on the optimistic side of things. With 2019 came a lot of change, probably more so than we’ve seen in recent years. As always, with change comes many obstacles. Companies across the industry are having to go back to the drawing board, re-evaluate, and change their processes.

Companies that don’t adapt well to change will most likely fall behind.”

Coming off a booming year in 2018 for the industry, Cloyed said companies were doing well, had extra money to spend, and used this as an opportunity to grow and add tractors and equipment.

Ashley Jankowski, general manager at BAT Logistics, said the trucking industry should see growth this year, but definitely not at the rate of most recent years.

“Markets are turning to a sustainable level for shipper demand, and that is creating a bal-

ance for suppliers,” Jankowski said.

She said the industry has experienced an increase of freight moving throughout the country since mid-2017 and the high demand and low supply in the industry created a whirlwind of a year in 2018.

“This year is showing for things to even out a little bit, and proving to settle after the storm,” Jankowski said. “There have been a number of trucks/ drivers added to the market and productivity has leveled out after carriers began to fully understand operations Leathers following the ELD mandate. Couple those items with the leveling economy and the trucking industry is experiencing what I would describe as a little breather.”

Derek Leathers, president/CEO of Werner Enterprises, said the long, cold and wet winter has caused a tremendous amount of delayed shipments, which have been pushed back by four to six weeks across the nation.

He said there has also been a significant shortage of drivers nationwide, as carriers continue to raise standards.

“One of the recent regulations in the industry is the allowance of hair follicle testing, which ensures people with drug usage in the last six months aren’t able to enter the fleet,” he said.

“It’s getting harder to find applicants, especially in a 50-year low unemployment market.”

Additionally, there has been much dialogue in the industry about autonomous trucks.

“Although there is some capabilities today with driver assist technology, the idea of truly operating autonomous is 10 years or greater away,” he said. “The net effect is that there’s going to be more drivers needed post implementation because of freight growth over that time. Which means it’s our job to make the job even more attractive to potential applicants.”

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Warehouse/industrial market remains strong with opportunities for growth

by David Kubicek

trial land because alternative use clients like large data centers are aggressively pursuing land once planned for industrial use.

Over the past two and half years industrial rents have increased by $1.00 to $1.50

Although pockets of warehouse and industrial space are available across the city, Omaha’s hottest areas of development are in western Sarpy County and west Omaha.

Availability this year is 3.3%, down from 3.4% in 2018, according to Charles McNeil, senior associate in Omaha at Colliers International.

“It’s a tight market,” he said. “I’m currently working with some outside users who don’t know this market very well. They’re

Air travel to new height Continued from preceding page.

June, Southwest Airlines launched a new daily nonstop from Omaha to San Diego and seasonal Sunday-only service to Nashville. Allegiant Air now offers a three-times-weekly nonstop service to Destin/Ft. Walton Beach in Florida, and Delta Air Lines will begin daily nonstop flights to Los Angeles Nov. 10.

“The increase in number of nonstop destinations is a testament to the strong local economy around Omaha that is supporting increased air service demand,” McCoy said.

Regardless of which flight option works best for an individual or business, flying out of or around Omaha offers a personal touch not always found in larger cities.

“Our tagline is ‘your personal jet company,’ the reason being is because we take a local approach with having local pilots, team members, etc.,” Walker said. “While we embrace technology, like with our app, we have a counter balance in how we are interfacing with our customers.

We have spent a lot of time on new training for the customer service experience, striving to make it more enjoyable.”

NAI NP Dodge Associate Grant Kobes at 6995 S. 109th St., a building with 18,000 square feet of industrial/flex space for lease. struggling to get their head around how options should make a move because they really tight it is.” could get exactly what they want.”

Due to lack of inventory, Omaha is “We’ve seen a surge in industrial and seeing many build-to-suits from the ground warehousing construction in Sarpy County, up, which will decrease the vacancy rate specifically along I-80 near highways 370, because not much extra space hitting the 50 and 31,” said Jay Matz, a principal at market.

Darland Construction. “Ten or 15 years ago, “We do have some developers who are Gretna seemed too far west for industrial building a little extra, which will help with development, but not anymore. In Douglas the vacancy, but Omaha still lacks some County, the areas with the most potential for decent size move-in ready spaces,” McNeil industrial development seem to be northwest said. “This is a great time to be an industrial of Omaha from Irvington to Valley and into broker. With the rents people are getting Dodge County.” now, any users looking for build-to-suit There is a limited availability of indus-

McNeil Matz per square foot.

Grant Kobes, an associate with NAI NP Dodge, said rents are increasing at a slower rate than over the past three years.

“The reason rents are climbing a little slower is that there’s a bit more space on the market this year than last year, and just slightly more available space is enough to keep landlords from increasing rent too much,” Kobes said. “A lot of the availability we’re seeing is companies moving to large new buildings. Some large users are moving from their existing locations and leaving big vacancies.”

The west Sarpy County submarket is still the driving factor of the newest build space. There’s also more growth on the north corridor of I-680, which Kobes believes will show positive long-term growth for Omaha and Douglas County. There are some areas Continued on next page.

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• JUNE 28, 2019 • Midlands Business Journal • Transportation, Distribution & Warehousing

Warehouse/industrial Tech updates changing the way logistics industry operates Continued from preceding page. near the Irvington exits and off 48th and 30th streets that are starting to fill in a little and are some good opportunities for companies that want to be in Omaha and still have easy interstate access.

Compared to last year, the entire market has increased in size due to the completion of several large construction projects, according to Matt Edney, executive vice president at OMNE Partners.

“The vacancy rate Edney has increased over the past year due to the completion/delivery of new speculative buildings and a few large tenants moving out,” he said. “The largest tenant move-out was Shopko, which vacated their 535,000-square-foot Omaha distribution facility.”

The Sarpy west submarket has been the main hotspot recently, adding several large companies including Omaha Box, Oxbow Animal Health, Thrasher, Facebook and Google.

“Asking lease rates were on the rise over the past year, which came to a halt in the first quarter of 2019,” Edney said. “With the amount of speculative space delivered, asking rates have dropped $.20 per square foot in the industrial market. We anticipate this trend will stay flat until more of the speculative space is leased. Owner-user industrial buildings for purchase remain very limited at this time.”

by Gabby Christensen

Logistics service providers say new technology is swiftly transforming the industry for the better.

Ryan Skarin, solutions architect at Aviture, said modernization is for sure a big push in the logistics space right now.

“Companies are usually fairly mature and have made significant investments in technology in the past that are coming up for refreshment at about the same time that some very transformative technologies are becoming readily available in the cloud space,” Skarin said. “This confluence of need and opportunity has been really exciting to see and take part in, as it leads to some amazing opportunities for our customers.”

Skarin said the biggest trend he’s seeing now is the addition of cloud technology to applications.

“In years past, the cloud was just another place to put your servers,” he said. “Today, with technologies like Stream Analytics and Cognitive Services, we are able to help our customers create solutions that leverage techniques that we had only dreamed about even a few years ago, and are able to implement very economically today. We are helping our customers use these new technologies to optimize the scheduling of jobs to maximize freight revenue and assure that all the correct assets are arriving to the proper locations on schedule. The return on investment in the cloud native application development space is really becoming something our customers can’t ignore because it unlocks a level of scalability and reach that they just can’t achieve on their own.”

Furthermore, Skarin said this is allowing customers to process a greater volume of assets and customer data at exceptional speeds enabling them to react to changing situations and anomalous activity in real-time.

Tylor Vose, brokerage team lead at GIX Logistics, said high visibility matched with competitive pricing is in demand right now.

“Those two factors are key drivers in the industry,” Vose said. “Customers want

Skarin Vose to be able to track their freight and know where it is throughout the duration of the load and they want it at a low price. Right now, the market is saturated with capacity or trucks to haul loads. The excess supply of capacity has driven rates down to far below where they were for the previous several years. There were lots of new entrants to the trucking industry over the past couple years while the market was favorable and freight volumes were high, so their lingering presence after freight volumes dropped has driven rates to the floor.”

Additionally, he said technology has proven to be a large disrupter, as well.

“We’re leveraging a new smartphone app that provides GPS tracking as well as other features for the driver,” he said. “This reduces the number of check calls needed — which can be annoying at times to drivers who are trying to do their job — and it’s provided GIX with the ability to provide 24/7 GPS tracking on the loads that utilize this.”

William Bo Gratton, owner of Gratton Warehouse Co., said most of what he’s commonly seeing is on demand warehousing.

“Having the flexibility to provide short-term storage for these operations is a growing service need in the marketplace,” Gratton said. “What we love is long term distribution of cusGratton tomer goods so they can grow faster.”

Gratton said system integration and cloud based platforms is a big trend currently.

“Having the ability to provide a system that can either integrate with other platforms or provide accessibility from any location is a common ask from our customers or potential customers,” he said. “Also, being ready at a moment’s notice to solve their storage needs and distribution of the finished or raw goods for their product. We’re noticing that companies are wanting us to do storage so they can focus on what they do best to grow their company.”

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Floods aside, transportation infrastructure in Nebraska bests other states

by Dwain Hebda

Aside from the devastating floodwaters wreaking havoc on hundreds of miles of highway and roads this year, Nebraska’s transportation infrastructure is faring much better than other states.

“State roads and bridges, I think we’re not in too bad of shape,” said State Senator Curt Friesen of Henderson, chairman of the Unicameral’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee.

“I’d probably give them a B-plus and I tend to grade low.

There’s always some highway I find that could use resurfacFriesen ing, that is getting a little rough. But I’ve driven quite a few miles and I’m pretty impressed with most of the infrastructure that’s out there.

“Now on the county level that might be a little different. But from the state highway perspective I think we’re not doing too bad.”

Friesen gave the state Department of Transportation high marks for its work in the flood’s aftermath.

“This [flooding] is unprecedented for Nebraska. From my perspective and from what I’ve been hearing, everyone is pretty happy with the way DOT handled themselves in trying to get roads open and passable again,” he said.

“They’ve gone from 3,000 miles closed down to probably around 10 in a pretty short amount of time. I’m sure there’s still some areas that are suffering, but as far as state roads I think [DOT] has done a pretty good job getting things moving.”

The emergency work has had ripple effects for transportation firms already taxed by labor shortages and escalating costs.

“Over the last few years, we have seen pretty steady increases in construction costs,” said Kyle Anderson, executive vice

president of Fellsburg, Holt, Ullevig. “We are definitely hearing about construction materials in short supply and the shortage of labor has gotten worse.

“In some cases, a company has been able to shift workers from another project.

For example, if a contractor was already working for the DOT, the DOT could say

Anderson Dreessen quit working on that job and come fix this.

In many cases, the counties were really hit hard. It’s certainly had an impact on delaying some projects and driving up the costs of others.”

Anderson said one non-flood trend is communities re-imagining their transportation systems.

“There’s really been a strong push to think about mobility differently, talking about how people get from Point A to Point B, how reliable are the transportation systems, how is technology solving that first and last mile gap,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work with the Blackstone District in Omaha helping the city convert one-way to two-way and incorporating bike lanes.

“Some places it makes perfect sense; in fact it’s even easy to do. In other places it’s pretty complex and you have to look at the ramifications of making those decisions.

It’s like squeezing a water balloon — you squeeze it tight and it explodes all over somewhere else.”

Doug Dreessen of Thompson, Dreessen & Dorner also said municipalities are paying more attention to the appearance of infrastructural projects, which has forced

the industry to keep up via new products.

“Infrastructure has evolved,” Dreessen said. “We are using dyed concrete, imprinted concrete and other items to improve quality of place. And, new amenities add complexity to the design process by increasing the number and types of vehicles to be designed around.”

Transportation firms have come to rely

on technology to keep pace with client demands, he said.

“Technology has increased efficiency in some areas and merely changed the mode of operation in others,” he said. “The future will bring many new technologies and change the types of jobs in the industry, such as drones for land surveying, as an example.”

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