B2B October/November 2021 by Omaha Magazine

OCTOBER · NOVEMBER 2021 | U.S. $3.25

EVENT PLANNING & VENUES SPONSORED CONTENT

Y2K TO THE 2020 PANDEMIC

FINDING SECURITY IN SILICON PRAIRIE

SPINNING GEARS

TERRY PETERSON’S 1968 JAGUAR XKE

MAKING ITTHREE WORK LOCAL BUSINESSES THRIVE

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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 01

TABLE OF CONTENTS MAIN FEATURE

24 Y2K TO 2020

SILICON PRAIRIE TECH COMPANIES HIT MILESTONE FEATURES

SECURITY SECTOR

NEW CENTER IN OMAHA

MAKING IT WORK

NEW LOCAL BUSINESSES THRIVE

BOOK IT!

EVENT PLANNERS HOPE FOR ELEVATED DEMAND

DEPARTMENTS

04 BIZ + GIVING

08 HOW I ROLL

14 IN THE OFFICE

06 omAHA!

12 ON THE RISE

18 ROUNDTABLE

PHYSICIANS MUTUAL

GEOKEY

COLUMNS

TERRY PETERSON’S 1968 JAGUAR XKE TIFFANY SESSIONS

CARSON GROUP

FINDING TALENT THROUGH TECH

SPECIAL SECTIONS OCTOBER · NOVEMBER 2021 |

03 FROM THE EDITOR TECH-FORWARD AND READY TO PARTY

40 OMAHA CVB

HOW WE MARKET OMAHA

40 OMAHA CHAMBER HOW WE DO THAT

20 SPONSORED CONTENT

EVENT PLANNING AND VENUES

EVENT PLANNING & VENUES SPONSORED CONTENT

Y2K TO THE 2020 PANDEMIC

FINDING SECURITY IN SILICON PRAIRIE

SPINNING GEARS

TERRY PETERSON’S 1968 JAGUAR XKE

ABOUT THE COVER

U.S. $3.25

MAKING ITTHREE WORK LOCAL BUSINESSES THRIVE

DaRonn Washington has been in the book business since 2017, but opened a brick and mortar store in 2020. His story, and that of two other local businesses, is on page 32.

02 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2021

VOLUME 21 · ISSUE 5

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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 03

FROM THE EDITOR

TECH-FORWARD & READY TO PARTY T

he Silicon Prairie has been around for 20 years. Dusty Davidson started the official Silicon Prairie News in 2008, but technology industries had been looking at Omaha and the surrounding area as a potential new business hub for several years before that. The main article in this issue of B2B looks at two companies that have been around for more than 20 years, and gets their take on how they have stayed afloat in the ever-changing world of technology. The technology world continues to grow in Omaha, and many in the United States have taken notice of our city. One year ago, the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center officially launched. What this new program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha has brought to our city is the subject of another tech-minded article. While most of us live by our mobile devices and other forms of technology, I admit that my favorite old-school form of entertainment is a great book, printed on paper. Omaha had two independent bookstores open during 2020. And when people did not feel like going out to get a haircut, one innovative business decided to take their barbershop on the road, in the form of a mobile unit. Readers will learn why in this issue.

HONORED TO SUPPORT BUSINESS, BIG AND SMALL. At FNBO, we’re here for your business. Thank you for naming us a B2B Best Bank in Omaha and one of Forbes Best Banks in America. It’s an honor to be recognized for our dedication, integrity, and service by the businesses we proudly support. It’s what you can expect from the great big, small bank.

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After a year without many holiday festivities, many offices are fully reopened and ready to celebrate, but what is the holiday season 2021 going to look like? In another feature this issue, B2B spoke to two different event planning firms and got their take on what is up and coming in their world.

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There are many good reads in this edition. I hope you enjoy them all. B2B

Daisy Hutzell-Rodman is the managing editor of Omaha Publications. She can be reached at daisy@ omahapublications.com

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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 05

BIZ + GIVING | STORY BY DAWN GONZALES | PHOTO BY SARAH LEMKE

UNITED IN GIVING

PHYSICIANS MUTUAL EMPLOYEES POST RECORD-BREAKING DONATION

uman kindness and the spirit of giving were not canceled during the 2020 pandemic. In a year that forced so many nonprofits to pivot and fundraise virtually, corporations who raise money for organizations like United Way were also put in a position to regroup and figure out how they could meet their corporate giving goals and commitments. Physicians Mutual employees have raised money every year for United Way for the past 23 years, and 2020 was no different. “It is a solid cultural experience, an integral part of our culture of giving and volunteering back to the community,” said Bob Gunia, senior vice president, Public Affairs Group. “We have very generous employees at Physicians Mutual. They take their involvement very seriously,” he said. “It doesn’t take much when you have been committed for so long.” However, when you add a pandemic into the mix of activities, everything changes in how a company goes about raising funds to support their charities. Physician Mutual employees still raised $264,113.

“OUR 2020 DOLLARS, JUST IN EMPLOYEE GIVING, GREW BY ABOUT 3.5%, MAKING IT A RECORDBREAKING YEAR FOR US.” -KARI WEBBER

Kari Webber, director, Corporate Communications and Public Relations for Physicians Mutual, said that the company began their fundraising efforts for United Way in June. Their goal for employee giving was $220,000 she said. “Our 2020 dollars, just in employee giving, grew by about 3.5%, making it a record-breaking year for us. This is incredible considering our largely remote environment last year,” Webber said. It was not just employees who increased their giving. “We are also very proud of our 2020 giving by our company leaders, which grew 6% from 2019,” she said.

ALTHOUGH MANY EMPLOYEES WORKED FROM HOME AND SAT BEHIND COMPUTER SCREENS (POSSIBLY WEARING YOGA PANTS AND/OR SLIPPERS) THE 2020 EVENT RAISED MORE THAN $6,000 EACH MONTH. One annual fundraiser that took the executive team by surprise in 2020 was “Jeans and Shorts for a Month,” in which employees are allowed to wear jeans or shorts to work by paying $20 each in July, August, and September. Gunia said that this activity usually raises $11,000 to $12,000. Although many employees worked from home and sat behind computer screens (possibly wearing yoga pants and/or slippers) the 2020 event raised more than $6,000 each month.

drive-thru car wash where the officers of Physicians Mutual washed cars,” Webber said. Another activity in August was an Eileen’s Cookies’ dough fundraiser with a drive-thru pick-up for those who participated. The team at Physicians Mutual also took part in creating four designs for branded socks. Employees then voted for, and were able to purchase, socks featuring the two winning designs. “We sold the socks for $10 a pair,” Webber said. “We sold more than 325 pairs of socks, and (after expenses) raised a total of $2,750 from this effort.” Employees are also encouraged to pledge an amount they can give with each paycheck. The pledge campaign ran throughout the month of October. The giving goal was achieved because many people found while they worked from home, their expenses were fewer, so their financial position was stronger. Gunia explained, “If you could weather the storm financially, people knew they could do their part to help agencies do their part through United Way donations.” Gunia knows and understands both sides of the fundraising equation as he is now serving his second three-year term on the board of directors for the United Way of the Midlands. He said the need for assistance continues. Physicians Mutual employees are ready to help.

In August, employees held a United Way Golf Tournament so people could be outside together and still socially distance. “We got creative with our fundraising and events with a company

Visit physiciansmutual.com for more information. B2B

06 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2021

VOLUME 21 · ISSUE 5

omAHA! | STORY BY DWAIN HEBDA | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN

LOCKING UP A GROWING SHARE OF THE SECURITY MARKET

FREMONT-BASED COMPANY FINDS A KEY

remont-based Geokey is looking to change the way business owners and their tenants control access to their buildings, one smartphone at a time. Brandon Peterson, chief executive officer, co-founded the three-year-old company as a new security solution. “I’ve always been interested in new technology,” he said. “I’m big on efficiencies with new innovation.” Peterson, a serial entrepreneur whose personal and family business interests include fitness centers, has been frustrated by the limits of current locks, whether plastic fobs or metal padlocks and keys. That drove his interest in security, where he found even app-based solutions had their limitations. “What’s the one thing we always carry with us? Our phone,” he said. “I’ll lose my car before I lose my phone. I looked into it and there’s a couple of other companies doing this, but I felt they were missing the mark, because they were creating their own controller hardware. They create the hardware piece and they put a little app on top.” Geokey, conversely, was launched as a software-asa-service company that integrates with hardware. The company maintains partnerships with manufacturers that build a variety of products— from front door latches to padlocks—to meet the end user’s needs, all of which operate off the Geokey platform. Once the hardware, such as a padlock, is installed, access is controlled via an app.

“YOU CAN DISABLE THEIR ACCESS ON YOUR PHONE AND NOT WORRY THEY’RE GOING TO THE FACILITY AND BE ABLE TO UNLOCK IT.” -CHAD YOST Gyms were the first industry to adopt the technology, Peterson said, as it allowed management to send a temporary key to a prospective member, control access doors during different periods of the night or day, or suspend delinquent members’ access altogether. Chad Yost, owner of Yost Network Solutions in Lincoln, has been a reseller/installer for six months. He said in addition to the flexibility of hardware available and ease of use, Geokey also provides other advantages for the commercial user. “One key fob is not super expensive, but if we’re dealing with a gym and you’ve got a lot of turnover, that replacement cost now gets pretty expensive,” he said. “If an employee leaves a company on bad terms, they’re probably not coming back to give you a key fob. You can disable their access on your phone and not worry they’re going to the facility and be able to unlock it.” Yost continued, “There are lots of use cases where you need logging or tag-out situations where only certain people can have access. That’s something I really like about this; you can always go to the online records and see, ‘OK, Joe Smith accessed this at 3 o’clock.’ That’s a huge feature.”

The company is targeting the commercial market to start. “With our hybrid padlock/door locks, we’ve gotten into utility companies, government agencies,” Peterson said. “Then we got into apartment complexes, so now you don’t need any more communication systems on the door. The tenant can let in friends or Grubhub from their apartment. “And, we have all these different solutions you can use from just one app, whereas with other companies, you use different apps for each door. I don’t know about you, but my phone is cluttered enough with different apps as it is.” Ease of use and affordability (small business users pay a base price of around $22 per door per month), not to mention the desire for distancing during the pandemic, has driven sales sharply. The company has sales in five countries and about 20 states and has grown its customer base more than 500% in 2021, Peterson said. He noted several heavy hitter clients were likely to come on yet this year but declined to name anyone due to ongoing sales negotiations. He said the company is just targeting the commercial market for now, but the future holds plenty of growth possibilities in the residential market as well. Visit geokeyaccess.com for more information. B2B

THE COMPANY HAS SALES IN FIVE COUNTRIES AND ABOUT 20 STATES AND HAS GROWN ITS CUSTOMER BASE MORE THAN 500% IN 2021.

Brandon Peterson

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 09

HOW I ROLL | STORY BY CHRIS HATCH PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN

SPINNING GEARS

TERRY PETERSON’S 1968 JAGUAR XKE

o listen to Terry Peterson tell it, the immaculate English auto tucked away in his garage isn’t merely a car. Like the eight other vehicles next to it, equally stunning in their own right, this is a four-wheeled, two-seated dot on his own personal timeline. “Every car that I have in this collection, I have a connection to, from when I was a kid,” he said, staring fondly out on his pristine collection. “The first car I ever drove in high school was a red Impala. The first car I ever bought was an SS 396 Chevelle, just like that.” He gestures at each one in turn, slowly turning in a semicircle. Eventually he lands on it: the 1968 Jaguar XKE. “I’m kind of a muscle car guy, so everything I’ve got other than the Jag is a Chevy,” he said, gently popping the hood of his most recently restored piece of motor-powered art. “See, I had a ’68 Jag as a kid.” Peterson, a longtime Omaha resident and owner of Omaha Track—a railroad service and supply company—has an encyclopedic knowledge that weaves between anecdotes about his days riding along in drag racing cars as a teen to his interactions with expert craftsmen throughout the U.S. who have helped him build his collection.

“WHEN THEY SHOT THE MOVIE ELECTION HERE…IT WAS IN THAT MOVIE.” -TERRY PETERSON He runs through the impressive list of features for the XKE like a chef putting together ingredients for a feast. “They were two frame chasse cars with all-wheel disc brakes, independent inboard disks on the rear. Way ahead of their time for the 1960s. Plus, they’re beautiful cars. Enzo Ferrari said that the Jaguar XKE was the most beautiful car ever built. They just have beautiful lines.” “It’s got a Monocoque design, which is quite unique,” said Jim Vakoc, one of his partners in the lengthy restorative process, fellow Jaguar expert, and president of the former Maplewood Motors in Omaha. That design refers to the frame and body being built as a single, integrated structure. “It does make it a little different to restore—unlike a lot of those other older cars that have the full frame and separate bodies.” Peterson traded for the XKE somewhere back in 1985. Since then it’s seen a few miles and a few makeovers, and even a cameo in local cinematic lore. “One interesting thing about the car…when they shot the movie Election here…it was in that movie,” Peterson said, referring to Alexander Payne’s 1999 film. Fans can view Matthew Broderick at the wheel of Peterson’s vehicle a little under an hour into the movie. CONT. TO PAGE 11

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OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 11

“AT THE TIME, WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS A PRETTY STANDUP CAR. WHEN WE WENT IN TO START TO RESTORE IT, WE FOUND OUT THAT IT HAD KIND OF BEEN COSMETICALLY ENHANCED AT SOME POINT AND IT REALLY HAD SOME ISSUES I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT.” -TERRY PETERSON FROM PAGE 09 He recently finished his most extensive overhaul of the vehicle, a multi-year odyssey that is part artwork, part plastic surgery, and all love. “At the time, when I bought the car, I was under the impression that it was a pretty standup car. When we went in to start to restore it, we found out that it had kind of been cosmetically enhanced at some point and it really had some issues I didn’t know about.” Peterson continued, “It was a journey. All in all, it was about two years in the shop, doing a complete rotisserie restoration. But the car is probably better than new now.” “He really does love that car,” Vakoc said. “He kind of saved that car. I got to do all the fun stuff, tinkering with the interior.” Peterson plans to have it out of the garage and in the streets of Omaha soon. “My philosophy about these cars: you drive them, you enjoy them. Really, I drive everything I have now. I like to drive them, get them out,” he said. Visit omahatrack.com for more information about Peterson’s business. B2B

12 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2021

VOLUME 21 · ISSUE 5

ON THE RISE | STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN

NATURALLY CURIOUS

TIFFANY SESSIONS BRINGS STEM TO YOUTH

iffany Sessions has introduced students to a pulsating, three-dimensional human heart using virtual reality technology. She’s helped girls design T-shirts with twinkling lights. She’s created curriculum shared by a collaborative that includes NASA to students all over the country. It’s all part of being a STEM Educator for Nebraska Extension in DouglasSarpy Counties. “I get to be a kid every day, and I get to work with these wonderful professionals to create amazing programs. I get to be the first ‘kid’ to try them and get [programming] out into the community,” Sessions said. “If you’re a naturally curious human being, you can learn right alongside the kids.” Sessions didn’t come into her position with a STEM background. She has a bachelor’s degree in organizational sociology and a master’s degree in sociology with an emphasis on urban education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She was nearing the end of her studies and serving as a graduate assistant for the UNO Service Learning Academy in 2015 when she applied for a project manager position at a new, national initiative called Imagine Science. The program is a partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, National 4-H Council, Girls Inc., and YMCA; and Omaha was a pilot site.

“IT WASN’T MY STEM BACKGROUND THAT GOT ME THE IMAGINE SCIENCE POSITION, IT WAS THE FACT THAT I HAD MANAGED MANY PROJECTS.” -TIFFANY SESSIONS

“I had managed a lot of really cool service-learning projects with community partners, K-12 educators, and professors at the university to create great learning experiences for their youth,” Sessions said. “It wasn’t my STEM background that got me the Imagine Science position, it was the fact that I had managed many projects.” The Imagine Science position began the same month she graduated. “I had to hit the ground running. I quickly learned I needed more than just my abilities to project manage. So I learned how to select and develop curriculum, facilitating, training front-line staff— pretty much every aspect of the program,” she said. “I have been running with it ever since.” Sessions’ work has shifted several times since 2015, landing her with Nebraska Extension in 2018 as a 4-H assistant. “I was doing a lot more school enrichment where we go out and provide research-based STEM learning opportunities as a supplement to what the teacher is teaching in the classroom,” she explained. “In August of 2019, I was promoted to educator.” In her current role, Sessions works to ensure that all youth in Douglas and Sarpy counties are provided with quality STEM learning opportunities in an informal environment, which includes after-school and summer programming, along with classroom enrichment. She has a special focus in serving diverse and underserved youth, and expanding the traditionally rural 4-H brand to reach more urban students. She’s created partnerships with organizations from local school districts and other nonprofits to the University of Nebraska Medical Center and NASA.

“I know that if I partner with the right people I can enhance and take my ideas to a whole new level to give kids amazing opportunities,” she said. Sessions is also a board member for Keep Omaha Beautiful and is on the development committee for Greater Omaha Chamber Young Professionals, further supporting her goal to give back to the community professionally and personally. “I like to be a bridge builder, so if I can be a resource, if I can help in some way, if I can give a young person hope or spark something in them, I’m going to do it,” she said. “Because I remember what it was like to be a child and I wouldn’t be where I was if there wasn’t someone there saying I could do it, or to expose me to new things.” Visit extension.unl.edu/statewide/douglas-sarpy/ tiffany-sessions for more information. B2B

“I KNOW THAT IF I PARTNER WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE I CAN ENHANCE AND TAKE MY IDEAS TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL TO GIVE KIDS AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES.” -TIFFANY SESSIONS

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VOLUME 21 · ISSUE 5

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 15

IN THE OFFICE | STORY BY LISA LUKECART PHOTOS BY SARAH LEMKE

CARSON GROUP KNOCKS DOWN WALLS OF TRADITION FINANCIAL COMPANY REACHES ITS PEAK AT HEARTWOOD PRESERVE

nyone who watched the 1999 movie Office Space might recall the scene where Peter Gibbons (played by actor Ron Livingston) took a drill to the walls of his cubicle so he could work while looking out a window. That scene symbolized the destruction of office spaces of yore when employees sat hunkered in cubicles completing meaningless “TPS reports.” Modern buildings, such as the one housing the financial services business Carson Group, showcase a more open-concept design trend. The $50 million-dollar innovation erected at Heartwood Preserve even features vista views. The first “tower” that Carson calls home stretches its six stories of windowed glory next to 144th Street and West Dodge Road. The second tower, an added $30 million, includes space leased to JE Dunn Construction, who built both buildings. The 120,000-square-foot Carson Group doors open to an impressive stairway to the left. It is the centerpiece, an homage to the company’s roots, with its walnut “sit space” incorporated into the design of the staircase. It is an ideal place to host a bigger meeting for its 220 employees. It faces a huge screen that allows stakeholders to watch a speaker or even fun events like the Olympics. Linear lights illuminate the subtle blues of the Carson brand in the entrance.

Another big draw is the smart glass windows. The glass is computer-programmed to shade based on the position of the sun, allowing for regulation of temperature. Stakeholders, as Carson fondly calls its employees, no longer have to feel enclosed in a cubicle world. “The modern-day workforce is looking for natural sunlight,” explained Joe Steuter, vice president of marketing communications. Chief of Staff Kelsey Ruwe mentioned research suggests sunlight elevates productivity, decreases absenteeism, and increases overall health. The heart of the building is its focus on the mental and physical well-being of its stakeholders. Stakeholders can venture down to the 5,000-square-foot health center to take advantage of the equipment, classes, or a personal trainer. The trainer is an additional cost, but the center is still fully stocked with showers and a sauna. CONT. TO PAGE 17

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER OCTOBER · · NOVEMBER NOVEMBER | 17

FROM PAGE 15 Or, after a long call, one could take advantage of the Carson Commons for coffee or food. One stakeholder enjoyed the breeze outside on the deck while scrolling through her phone; another sat in a comfortable chair inside tapping on her computer. Big-screen televisions and lounge furniture give it a café feeling. A wooden bench sits outside one of the state-ofthe-art conference rooms. The oak was refurbished using the trees from Heartwood Preserve, formerly known as West Farm, to honor the land. The office spaces include sound-absorbent cubicle walls that are partials so they are private, yet open. Desks are height-adjustable. The ceiling remains unfinished with a white coat of paint for a sleek and clean look. Carson plans to collaborate further with architects at Leo A Daly for interior additions such as greenery and local artwork. The sixth floor executive space offers throwbacks to Carson Wealth, with its wood and leather tones. The Skyline conference room claims to have the highest elevation point in Douglas County—attendees can see downtown Omaha on clear days. CEO and Founder Ron Carson’s dog Nelly is an integral part of the team and even has her own section of the building. The doors to Nelly’s area, etched with the silhouette of the black Labrador, open to a Copacabana-style lounge. The bar is stocked and ready for corporate celebrations, including Brickway brews on tap. Accordion-style doors lead into a patio. Even though it was early afternoon, Nelly had already left work for the day leaving behind some chewed stuffed animals on her bed that resides in Carson’s office. Stakeholders can also bring their dogs to work. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, but the hope is that employees feel at home. Visit carsongroup.com for more information. B2B

“THE MODERN-DAY WORKFORCE IS LOOKING FOR NATURAL SUNLIGHT.” -JOE STEUTER

18 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2021

VOLUME 21 · ISSUE 5

ROUNDTABLE | STORY BY SARA LOCKE | PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

TECHNICALLY ADVANCED

FINDING TOP TALENT THROUGH VARIOUS PLATFORMS

his month, B2B spoke with Five Nines Director of Human Resources Taleena Stanbrough and T1 Technologies Solutions Consultant Rachael Jaffe about finding, retaining, and rewarding the top talent in Omaha’s IT field. B2B: What has been your business’s most reliable way to find employees in this market? TS: Top talent wants to work with top talent. Because of this, our current staff has always been incredible at identifying talent to elevate our service and connecting them to our recruiting team. Referrals take the guesswork out of [the] recruiting process when it comes to the nonnegotiables like integrity, work ethic, and good character. In addition, our internship program has developed into an excellent experience for the up-and-coming IT professionals and Five Nines. We’ve been able to connect with incredible talent from our college and university partners. It’s been a win/win for everyone. Our hiring philosophy aligns with our Five Nines Fundamentals. By hiring the right mindset with the capacity to learn IT, we will continue to be successful in building a great team.

RJ: We’ve found good candidates, equally, through job board platforms and contract-to-hire agencies. I was surprised that social media didn’t turn up the candidates I’d hoped to see. I wonder if the medium that is most common to job descriptions is at odds with that which is appealing and enticing on social media platforms? B2B: How do you set yourself apart to retain that talent? TS: First and foremost, we care. Our CEO/founder, James Bowen, and our president, Joel Friesen, recognize the great minds we have on the team and value their input. In 2020, we established an employee-elected board of advisers. This group is an integral part of many of the business decisions that ultimately will have an impact on the team. It’s been a great way to make sure voices are heard and the best decisions are made for Five Nines. RJ: We’re very concerned with having the right cultural fit when bringing new people to the team, and we talk about that extensively during the hiring process. We have 15 fundamental behaviors that are essential to what T1 is, and communicate that to candidates right up front. Due to the size of our organization, we can paint a very clear picture of growth opportunity paths for candidates. Ideally, we hope to find a candidate who has a good bit of experience, but not all the experience we need.

B2B: What can applicants do to stand out among their competitors? TS: Be honest and genuine. You owe it to yourself to be 100% “you” in the interview process. You want to find the right company and role for yourself just as much as the company seeks to find the right individual to fill their openings. Five Nines looks for job seekers who have a growth mindset, take pride in their work, genuinely care about other people, and have a passion for their profession. RJ: First, Submit a cover letter. I’m old school, I still love a cover letter submitted with a resume, and I almost always read those resumes first. Job sites, like Indeed, still have the ability to send them. Second, ask good questions about the job responsibilities and the qualities of the right candidate. A candidate who asks questions about her possible role and responsibilities tells me the candidate is really trying to picture herself in the job. B2B

Taleena Stanbrough

Rachael Jaffe

Caption

20 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2021

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SCOTT CONFERENCE CENTER The Scott Conference Center is booking a lot of wedding receptions lately, as couples are rescheduling events originally planned for 2020, Conference Center Director Amanda Glazebrook said. The facility, which accommodates events for up to 500 people, is perfect for wedding receptions with its eight flexible spaces, customizable food and beverage offerings backed by a skilled culinary team, and top-notch audiovisual services and support. Those elements also make the facility ideal for an array of other events, from small meetings in its executive board room to moderate gatherings separated by moveable walls and soundbuffering hallways to full-scale business conferences encompassing the entire central ballroom space. The facility, located on the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Scott Campus south of the main campus and adjacent to Aksarben Village, opened 20 years ago. In 2018 it underwent an expansion and renovation, resulting in a total of 12,000plus square feet of flexible space, Glazebrook said. In response to social distancing requirements last year, the Scott Conference Center created a new

hybrid meeting option that integrates interactive livestreaming for a mixed audience of virtual and in-person participants. “Based on what we’re seeing, people did enjoy the flexibility and I believe that we will have that comprehensive package beyond the pandemic,” Glazebrook said. The center’s mission is “to be the best-in-class provider of conferences and events services through unique understanding of events and our strong commitment to our customers and their guests.” The Scott team hosts formal and casual events, providing an extensive selection of tables and seating; cocktail, registration, and buffet tables; dishes, flatware, and linen; adjustable staging; and even an optional dance floor. There’s also a secure outdoor space with a fireplace for fair-weather events. The Scott staff also offers personalized event planning services that are all-encompassing for event novices or in collaboration with an organization’s internal team. Hosts and guests can count on an onsite banquet manager to ensure flawless execution of food and beverage, and audiovisual techs to support presentations and livestreaming.

Guests enjoy the convenient central location and ample parking along with the facility’s many amenities. Several hotels are located nearby for out-of-town guests. Scott Conference Center is a Best of B2B winner in the meeting/conference venue category many times over and has also been recognized year after year as a top wedding reception venue by The Knot. The website features floorplans and a photo gallery of its various spaces, and event planners are invited to explore the facility via a virtual tour. Scott Conference Center is associated with UNO, but Glazebrook emphasized that booking is open to the community. The staff is ready to plan ahead, she added. “We can book out through 2023 and 2024,” she said. “If you are interested in booking in advance, let us know and we can get you squared away.” 6450 PINE ST. OMAHA, NE 68106 402.778.6313 SCOTTCENTER.COM

“ONE OF OUR CORE VALUES IS ‘ALWAYS EVOLVING.’ IT’S NOT ABOUT CHANGE; THE WORD ‘CHANGE’ SCARES PEOPLE AND IT’S NOT ALWAYS GOOD.” -JAMES FOXALL

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 25

FEATURE | STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN

Y2K TO THE 2020 PANDEMIC TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES FIND SECURITY IN SILICON PRAIRIE

echnologically, 2001 seems much further away than 20 years ago. A Y2K global shutdown was prevented only a year before, ushering in a new focus on computer security. Most people accessed the internet using dial-up service through a landline, which more than 90% of households had at the time. New technologies at the turn of the millennium included camera phones, USB flash drives, and wireless capability via Bluetooth. Businesses that used computers invested in bulky desktop setups. And several Omaha technology companies were emerging. When former Air Force and Union Pacific computer systems engineer Dave Foxall founded Tigerpaw Software as Information Management Consultants, his son James was a teenager who helped with the business part-time. “My dad had enough of corporate life, so he decided to start out on his own. He started as a computer consultant, which was pretty novel in 1984. He did a lot of custom programming for people and added staff, and he ended up having a number of different products in a number of different industries,” said James, who became Tigerpaw’s president and CEO in 2010. “What really changed for us is that my dad’s friend Don Leath, who owned Executone Telephone here in Omaha at the time, needed a system to manage his company—all his inventory in particular, all the phone systems he was selling and the parts he was ordering. So my dad set out with his small team to build a solution for that, and that product ended up becoming the kernel for everything we do today.”

Tigerpaw today is a commercial software company that builds total business automation software for technology providers. The 1990 name change reflected the founder’s affinity for tigers and the species’ solidarity and tenacity. “One of our core values is ‘always evolving.’ It’s not about change; the word ‘change’ scares people and it’s not always good,” Foxall said. “It’s not change for change’s sake, but it is evolution. You have to be able to learn new things and do things different.” Jelecos President and CEO Leon Thomas, who co-founded his company in 2000, also believes the ability to adapt is a major factor in the success of tech companies of any size, both locally and globally. “It’s evolved considerably. We started as an application company largely focused on building ecommerce websites for organizations. I was an independent contractor and ended up starting the business with a partner, and we’ve over time evolved as the technology and market has driven us,” he said. It’s become easier in recent years to explain what the company does today now that the term “cloud computing” has become more familiar to the average consumer, Thomas added. CONT. PAGE 26

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The Greater Omaha Chamber believes the local tech sector has fared well over the past two decades, according to President and CEO David Brown, who came to Omaha in 2003. “It’s grown tremendously in the last 20 years,” Brown said. “Now that everything has a computer attached to it, it has broadened substantially…It’s improved our productivity and it’s clearly improved our quality of life. I think places like Omaha that have a pretty redundant and substantial tech infrastructure that’s been put in the ground over the decades has contributed to that; there are places that don’t have what we have. It has made it easier for companies in all of those different tech spaces to start up or to grow or to acquire others, and to really be as productive and cutting-edge as they need to be.”

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The value of strong technology became especially evident to individual citizens and businesses alike in the last year and a half, Brown added. “The ability to function during the COVID challenge was dependent on tech.”

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“I normally say, ‘Jelecos is a technology consulting and services firm that helps businesses use cloud computing,’” he said. “We always tell people that we’re not doing the same things we were doing five years ago and we probably won’t be doing the same things in five years that we’re doing now, largely because the way you add value changes as technology evolves.”

Tech sector and company growth has brought both challenges and triumphs over the years, Foxall said.

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“I think my dad and his small team really adapted well to the Y2K challenge. It gave the company an opportunity to generate a bit of revenue, taking care of all the Y2K issues and navigating that whole labyrinth and not letting it sink us. We’ve also had a couple of points in time where we’ve had to change technology,” he said. “It’s really hard when you have to abandon a technology that you’re deeply rooted in or you have to adopt a new technology that’s a little bit unknown.” Nevertheless, the Tigerpaw team has always found a way to keep up.

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“We’ve been able to navigate our product, if not on necessarily the most current technology, but we’ve been able to migrate the different pieces and components and back end over time to stay relevant and make sure we’re not obsoleted,” Foxall said. “In the world of Windows software, if you’re not careful you can find yourself a Windows update away from everything [being] broken. So we’re really proud of navigating the technological landscape.” Thomas said the goals and measures of success for the Jelecos team have been revised somewhat as the business matured. “In the early days it was an accomplishment to be listed on Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing private companies list. We were on that list several years,” he said. “More recently, [it was] making a significant pivot to focus exclusively on public cloud computing. In the last five years, that’s been a pretty significant shift for us.” Becoming an Amazon Web Services Advanced Tier Consulting Partner is another meaningful accomplishment for a company of Jelecos’ size, around 30 employees, Thomas added. “And more recently, we went through a recapitalization and took on a growth investment from a private equity firm in Denver.” Foxall cited several recent accomplishments for Tigerpaw. “From a business perspective there have been a couple of big ones in the last three or four years. We’ve adopted Traction; it’s technically an entrepreneurial operating system, but it’s a framework for how to run a company,” he said. “Another thing we did about three years ago is that we moved all of our customers to subscription,” he said. “We managed to get all of our clients off of their perpetual licensing.” The transition to second-generation leadership has been another big achievement, said Foxall, who worked his way through the ranks in various departments at Tigerpaw and earned several college degrees along the way to prepare for the top position. “It was not easy for us. My dad and I will both tell you there’s a lot of things we would do differently if we had hindsight, but we’re pretty proud of the fact that we navigated those waters,” he said. “I have managed to take the company in a new direction, which was what he wanted me to do.”

Thomas said he sees multiple reasons for Jelecos’ success in the competitive and continuously changing tech sector. “I think a lot of technology companies focus on the tech…but the ultimate goal is to help customers improve processes and increase revenue and decrease risk and increase profitability—all the business drivers that are ultimately what they’re paying you to accomplish. We focus on business outcomes and adding value, and less on specific types of technology. We have the business acumen to be able to relate to what the customer’s needs are and to understand their business before we make specific recommendations,” he said. “The other thing, without question, that’s a factor is our people. We’ve been able to build some deep domain expertise and we’ve been able to retain very highquality people for long periods of time, which is a very difficult thing to do in the technology world.” Looking ahead, the biggest challenge for the tech sector is that the demand for talent continues to exceed the availability, Brown said. “If we can be even more aggressive about building our own talent, we won’t be as dependent on trying to attract new talent from the outside.” A chamber collaborative for tech startups has focused on creating a supportive local ecosystem. “I think that’s paid huge dividends, literally a couple of hundred companies have started up in the last 10 or 15 years in the tech space. Our goal was to see 50 a year get created as we evolved this incubator process and accelerator process forward,” Brown explained. “We have a goal of 10,000 more tech workers in this market by the end of 2024. Those goals started in 2019, so we have really only a few years left to try to figure out a way to continue to add more and more tech workers, because we’ve seen the tech market growing here substantially.” The business community and the education sector are working together to find solutions, Foxall said. But there are still some deficits in creating turnkey programs that prepare workers for the local market. “There’s a misconception from a lot of people that you need a four-year degree level of education,” he said. “And understanding the languages they need and training people for those languages, I just don’t feel like we’ve gotten there yet…We have a lot of great jobs, and we need to figure out how to close that gap. We need talent.”

“[Educational institutions] have done a good job of soliciting input, and a good job, in my opinion, of recognizing that there is a talent shortage in STEM in general in the Midwest,” Thomas said. “They could do a better job of making sure the core technologies they’re incorporating into their curriculum is relevant, because it changes so fast, and curriculum is generally slow to turn. Oftentimes, we’ll see new grads that haven’t been exposed to some of the more innovative concepts.” The positive is that, as new tech-forward initiatives are implemented, and more tech companies come to the area, more graduates stay or return to the state. “I think we’re starting to turn the corner on ‘brain drain,’ if you look at the numbers from 2011 to 2015 and then look at the numbers from 2015 to 2019,” Brown said. “It isn’t where we want it to be, but we’re now on the plus side on virtually every category, with the exception of 18- to 24-yearolds—and that, frankly, is mostly kids going away to college. So the question is, how do we get them back here after they go through that college cycle? So far, at least, the ’15 to ’19 numbers show that we’ve been able to do that. But we need to do a lot better job of it.” Brown, Thomas, and Foxall named partners like the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Peter Kiewit Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Raikes School, AIM Institute, Metropolitan Community College, Nebraska Tech Collaborative, and local school districts as instrumental in ensuring future career pathways and talent pools. Amazing things are ahead for the next 20 years, Brown said. “I think we’re going to continue to see growth in the tech space. Every time I see new products or services I kind of shake my head and wonder how they came up with that one,” Brown said. “I think we will see a larger percentage of our employment dictated by startups, particularly tech startups, in the future, so I think it’s important that we stay involved in that market.” Visit jelecos.com, omahachamber.org, and tigerpaw. com for more information. B2B

Gina Ligon

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 29

FEATURE | STORY BY CHARLIE LITTON | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN

SECURITY SECTOR

NEW CENTER PROMOTES DEEPER ROOTS IN METRO

he first ripples of impact from the oneyear-old international counterterrorism consortium at the University of Nebraska at Omaha hint at larger waves in the future. Waves big enough to boost the local economy; entrench the metro’s national security industry as a major player; and establish Omaha and UNO as crown jewels in the national security apparatus. The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center officially launched in July 2020 after winning an intensely competitive grant. The $36.5 million award is believed to be the single-largest federal grant ever secured in the University of Nebraska system. The grant places UNO in the center of an international coalition of 17 additional universities and research institutions. An important part of the coalition is translating the resulting research and data into real-world innovations and applications: The kind of innovation that can become products or the basis of new startup companies that produce high-growth, high-paying jobs.

“PROJECTIONS SHOW THAT IN OMAHA ALONE, THE DEMAND FOR INFORMATION SECURITY POSITIONS COULD INCREASE BY 40 PERCENT.” -PETE THOMPSON

“Projections show that in Omaha alone, the demand for information security positions could increase by 40 percent,” Pete Thompson, chief operating officer of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce said, via email. “These are the kind of high-skill, high-wage jobs that the region is looking to add to the workforce.” The center could further stimulate that growth in producing graduates who are highly trained or experts in national security fields. “A program focused on advancing the knowledge and skills necessary to work in the industry is positive for greater Omaha,” Thompson said. “The more of these skilled professionals we’re able to catalyze here, the deeper and more attractive our available workforce becomes.” Gina Ligon, the founding director of NCITE, has big ideas about the potential impact her consortium could create within the next 10 years. That includes adding to UNO’s burgeoning prestige with a center that evolves into the national security equivalent of something like the Mayo Clinic. “Why can’t we be the counterterrorism school?” Ligon said. “Why can’t we be known for that nationally? That’s the end goal: Build an academic program that, when you think of where you go to get this kind of training, you think of Omaha.” The paint is barely dry on their new facility within the Rod Rhoden Business Innovation Center at Mammel Hall on UNO’s Aksarben campus, and NCITE is already filled to capacity. Seven new fulltime faculty, including five tenure-track positions, have been filled. Each of those researchers are expected to secure additional funding to further their own research.

THE PAINT IS BARELY DRY ON THEIR NEW FACILITY WITHIN THE ROD RHODEN BUSINESS INNOVATION CENTER AT MAMMEL HALL ON UNO’S AKSARBEN CAMPUS, AND NCITE IS ALREADY FILLED TO CAPACITY. “We got to recruit the best of the best to come here to build this center in the middle of the country,” Ligon said. “We will legitimately have the largest number of Ph.D.s who study terrorism in the country because of this.” That could amount to additional funding pouring into the university system and creating more opportunities for students and locals alike. Already, about 114 students in the consortium benefit from the program with some form of financial support. “I think what’s interesting is the number of jobs it’s already created and student scholarships it’s created, and then the exponential number it will create as a result of that,” Ligon said. Right now, the educational opportunities for national security-minded UNO students amounts to a certification they can add to their major field of study. But Ligon expects several major fields of study and graduate programs in national security areas will soon be added to the UNO curriculum. “The students that we have been attracting to work with us are coming for the mission, and to be a part of something bigger,” Ligon said. CONT. PAGE 30

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FROM PAGE 29 She added that the low cost of living and exemplary work ethic make Omaha an ideal location for the work. “The students here are so much more eager to be involved in this kind of work than anyplace that I’ve been,” Ligon said. While increasing knowledge and understanding of the myriad elements related to combating and preventing terrorism, the commercialization aspect is a more tangible impact. Researchers within the NCITE program have already submitted two new inventions to UNO’s technology transfer and commercialization office, UNeMed. UNeMed works with inventors and innovators at UNO and the University of Nebraska Medical Center to secure intellectual property rights, such as U.S. patents, and additional support to further develop ideas and inventions into products on the marketplace. “The research at NCITE has many real world applications,” Michael Dixon, president and CEO at UNeMed, said, “and we’re excited to work with the team to help make sure those innovations are developed into tools that help make the world a better and safer place.” NCITE innovations range from information sharing systems that could help prevent school violence to artificial intelligence applications that predict what kind of social media sentiment precedes violence in a given geographic area. Perhaps the most immediate impact to the area, will be NCITE’s ability to attract national security experts and business people to the city for regular meetings and seminars. Included in that are planned annual conferences that could bring about 200 people to city hotel rooms, restaurants, and other local service providers.

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“IT BECAME MORE AND MORE APPARENT THAT THIS MIGHT BE ACTUALLY THE TIME TO TRY SOMETHING REALLY CRAZY LIKE THIS.” -BRANDA BLUNDELL From left: Brittny Escamilla and DaRonn Washington

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 33

FEATURE | STORY BY RYAN BORCHERS | PHOTOS BY BILL SITZMANN

MAKING IT WORK

THREE LOCAL BUSINESSES THRIVE

any small businesses in the Omaha metro area have gotten creative over the last year and a half. Some of these ventures discovered their new modes of industry enabled them to thrive. Keighley Harrison and Branda Blundell are hair stylists and best friends who own and operate Good Life Grooming, a mobile hair salon for men they run out of a renovated camper. The two worked in traditional salons after graduating from beauty school, but like so many others, the pandemic paused their work. “We had some cocktails when we were shut down over COVID, and we kind of, were just, tossing around ideas,” Blundell said. They had seen videos about out-of-state mobile businesses, and the more they talked about it, the more serious they became about the idea of opening a mobile hair salon together. “It became more and more apparent that this might be actually the time to try something really crazy like this.” Harrison and Blundell opened for business in December 2020, but doing so required a major leap of faith, especially in a time when haircuts were often held up as an example of nonessential services. “We just didn’t know, are people going to come back and get their hair cut, how soon is that going to happen, are people afraid, are they over it?” Harrison said. “All that was just a big unknown.” The demand has been there. Larger groups, Harrison and Blundell said, are surprised at how spacious the camper is. Services such as beard grooming, and nose and eyebrow waxing, are especially popular.

The duo has put together a brand across various stops in the metro area. “They come in and they’ve just been rooting for us, since the beginning,” Blundell said. “All of those small businesses that just saw us randomly here and there, and they want to come in because they’re a small business owner, too. I feel like it’s really cool to connect to this other side of the community that we didn’t really know before.” Community support also is key to the success of Dundee Book Co., for which husband-and-wife team Ted and Nicole Wheeler opened a physical location in the Dundee neighborhood last March. The company started in 2017 as a pop-up book cart the Wheelers brought to various events around Omaha, such as pub quizzes, authors’ readings, and theater productions. That experience, Ted said, showed them the appeal of displaying a smaller number of books. That strategy has been carried over to the new store, which features a limited selection of curated books.

“WHEN YOU HAVE THAT PERSONAL TOUCH AND YOU CAN EXPLAIN WHY A BOOK IS GOOD, AND ESPECIALLY BOOKS THAT PEOPLE HAVEN’T EVER HEARD OF BEFORE AND WHY THEY MIGHT LIKE IT, THAT’S WHAT GIVES US OUR ADVANTAGE.” -TED WHEELER

“When you have that personal touch and you can explain why a book is good, and especially books that people haven’t ever heard of before and why they might like it, that’s what gives us our advantage,” he said. Opening a brick-and-mortar bookstore made sense in 2020 because, Nicole said, for much of the year there were no public events where they could sell books. “E-commerce couldn’t really be a significant part of the business because we weren’t warehousing a bunch of books in our living room,” Nicole said. The store is itself a house and looks like one on the outside. Part of the appeal of the book cart, which now lives in the store as a shelf for merchandise, was finding books in unexpected places. Curiosity draws many customers inside, as does the simple fact people enjoy seeing a bookstore in the neighborhood and want to support it. The Wheelers also host a popular monthly Backyard Reading Series in the store’s backyard for patrons enrolled in Dundee Book Co.’s membership program. “We’re able to partner with businesses in the neighborhood and to get people discounts on things,” Nicole said, such as wine from Mark’s Pantry & Bottle Shop. “It’s nice where everybody feels like, ‘Oh, this is a thing that’s happening with everybody in Dundee.’ ” CONT. PAGE 34

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FROM PAGE 33 “Before this year, I never would have dreamt that it would be a problem that too many people wanted to come to the poetry reading,” Ted said.

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Capitalizing on community support is also the goal for the Book Nook in Papillion. Owner DaRonn Washington refers to his store, which opened its Papillion location in October 2020, as a “social project” in the community. “For any small business, local business, it can’t just be to sell things to people,” Washington said. “It also has to be something that…brings benefit to the community, and the community has to adopt it.”

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Washington has sold books online for about nine years, though he and his girlfriend, Brittny Escamilla, always intended to open a brick-andmortar location. “I like to call it 600-square-feet of fun,” Washington said. The store is, in fact, 600 square feet in area and contains about 7,000 units of merchandise, including items such as Funko Pops, board games, and collectibles. Washington and Escamilla also still sell online, warehousing over 25,000 items. Washington attributes the Book Nook’s success in part to their prior experience selling books, but that’s not the only reason. “I like to say that we are good at what we do, but we’re not that good,” he said. “We just happen to be lucky to enter into a really good community. The Papillion community is incredible.” Local residents have embraced the store. Anyone can readily buy books online, Washington said, but creating a “neighborhood bookstore” and building relationships with customers is what makes the venture special. “I really think that during this time, with the pandemic, that there are a lot of good businesses out there, mom-and-pop businesses, independent businesses,” he said. Visit booknookbookstores.com, dundee-book-company. square.site, and goodlifegroomingformen.com for more information. B2B

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FEATURE | STORY BY SCOTT STEWART | PHOTO BY BILL SITZMANN

BOOK IT!

LOCAL EVENT PLANNERS EXPECT ELEVATED DEMAND THROUGHOUT 2022

he hand sanitizer is here to stay. Event planners agree the pandemic will have a lingering effect on their industry. Unfortunately, the threat of variants of the coronavirus means uncertainty will persist, too. This past summer brought more business than some firms could handle, as pent-up demand boiled over and vaccines facilitated the loosening of masking and other safety precautions. “Everyone and their mom wanted to get married and have an event in the year 2021,” said Steven Finkle, CEO and events director for 402 Events, a full-service event planning company. Since Jan. 1 hit this year, events started picking up, Finkle said, and they only got bigger as the mercury started rising. By midyear, Finkle said his firm surpassed 2020’s tally and was on track to exceed the 181 events they did in 2019. This summer he was optimistic that trend would continue. “We are seeing dates get fully booked out that are over 18 months in advance, and that’s just insane for us,” Finkle said. In September, he noted that people were again becoming cautious. “We’re still executing some corporate events, but there are definitely some that are downscaling or putting more COVID precautions in place,” he said. “Some are still rescheduling, but it’s few and far between for those.” Ashley Curzon, event production director at Planit Inc., said some gatherings are still taking a hybrid approach that offers in-person sessions that can also be attended virtually.

“THEY’RE ABLE TO ATTRACT A LOT MORE AUDIENCE, BUT THEN WE’RE ALSO SEEING THE ATTENDEES ENJOY HAVING THE VIRTUAL OPTION BECAUSE IT’S LESS TIME AWAY FROM THEIR DESK AND IT’S MORE BUDGET-FRIENDLY.” -ASHLEY CURZON “The hybrid aspect is definitely here to stay for quite some time,” Curzon said. “They’re able to attract a lot more audience, but then we’re also seeing the attendees enjoy having the virtual option because it’s less time away from their desk and it’s more budget-friendly.” However, hybrid events also mean fewer opportunities for networking and a substantially different experience. There are additional costs for event organizers, too, largely associated with the audiovisual requirements to livestream proceedings, which can be offset with sponsorship opportunities. “That’s kind of a concern for clients,” Curzon said. “We have longstanding partnerships with our AV companies, so that really helps for us to keep costs lower for our clients.” Some clients prefer to record their event or offer a livestream, Finkle said, but will fall short of producing a full-fledge virtual option.

For those attending in person, an abundance of hand sanitizing stations should be expected. Events are more likely to have medical staff on site. Floor plans are designed to avoid attendee congestion to allow for social distancing. Finkle said he expects buffet stations will continue having attendants. But he doesn’t expect Plexiglass dividers or similarly overt measures to return anytime soon. Instead, event technology has been embraced to help keep people safe, such as using a mobile app for conferences and having a fully touch-free check-in experience using QR codes. “We’re seeing a desire to host events outdoors,” Curzon said. “Whether it’s a lunch, or a wellness activity, or a reception, that’s pretty popular.” Event planners are also including pandemic clauses in contracts, allowing for rescheduling in the event of lockdowns. With those assurances, many event organizers are planning more lavish soirees, making sure they wow their guests—especially if it’s been a while. CONT. PAGE 38

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“THAT NUMBER HAS NOW GONE DOWN TO 10% OR UNDER. EVERYONE IS JUST LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO GET OUT AND HAVE SOME FUN.”

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-STEVEN FINKLE FROM PAGE 37 Finkle expects larger, more elaborate events to continue into 2023 for sure, along with elevated guest counts. A typical wedding, for example, has about 20% of the guest count either not respond or RSVP they can’t attend.

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“That number has now gone down to 10% or under,” Finkle said. “Everyone is just looking for an excuse to get out and have some fun.” As some corporations move away from a traditional office, Finkle predicts some monthly or quarterly events will be discontinued in favor of bigger annual events. Corporate holiday parties had been falling out of vogue, but they could get a shot in the arm as pandemic worries wane.

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“We are seeing a lot more people put in the extra effort and spend the extra money to make the guest experience 10 times better,” Finkle said. Improvement to guest experiences can include live-action stations and buffets, where food is made in front of guests. Finkle said one station that’s popular features a frozen board where rolled ice cream is prepared fresh, instead of distributing little cups on a table. Circus themes are a popular way to bring in live performers such as aerialists, Finkle said. Events are also being held in larger areas, with high-end leather lounge areas and other more intimate gathering spaces that allow for in-depth conversation.

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“It’s an excuse for people to sit down and chat with each other, which is something that specifically a lot of corporate functions are wanting—which is for everyone to socialize,” Finkle said. Looking forward to 2022, Curzon expects businessto-business events to keep getting bigger. “People are definitely still doing hybrid events, but it’s that in-person, live event aspect that is really coming back,” Curzon said. “Going into next year, we’re going to start seeing larger events.”

OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM OCTOBER · NOVEMBER | 39

Curzon said that 700-person conferences have already been booked, and major events continue to provide insights into how to craft safety protocols to keep attendees safe. Those who have held in-person events haven’t had to put much effort into marketing them. “We’ve found that businesses haven’t really needed to generate a lot of buzz through internal efforts,” Curzon said. “I think it’s happening a little bit more organically because people are so eager to participate in live meetings and events again. People want to meet face-to-face.” People are actively seeking events to attend, which Curzon said is bolstered by communicating safety protocols in advance via emails and at the event through signage and mobile apps.

2021 Winner

Gathering a crowd is often as simple as telling people there’s an event with free food or drinks. “That’s literally the only excuse people need,” Finkle said. As a result, though, Finkle said alcohol and food orders are substantially higher compared to two years ago. Working with a professional can help make sure the right orders are placed. “We’re anxious to help our clients get back to events and help accomplish their goals,” Curzon said. “It is important to be proactive in getting your contract signed. You also need to be flexible.” The pent-up demand for events means industry employees are stretched thin. That is on top of the supply-chain disruption and labor shortages seen throughout the broader economy. Shortages can make holding that perfect event that much more challenging, so Finkle said it’s critical to book early. “Try to elevate the guest experience,” Finkle said. “You want an event that they will remember.” Visit 402eventservices.com or planitincevents.com for more information. Note: Ashley Curzon took a position at another company after the deadline for this issue.

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40 | B2B MAGAZINE · 2021

VOLUME 21 · ISSUE 5

OMAHA CVB BY DEBORAH WARD

HOW WE MARKET OMAHA Bring Meetings Home

Impress Your Colleagues

If you’re reading this magazine, chances are you’re affiliated with a professional organization in your field. When those groups plan national or regional meetings, have you ever thought of suggesting Omaha as the host city? If not, we have a few good reasons why you should.

Omaha is conveniently located in the center of the country, making travel easy for attendees. The downtown convention district is set up for ease with dining and entertainment options within walking distance of the convention center. More than 3,000 hotel rooms in the downtown area and 10,000 throughout the city offer a wide variety of meeting options. Add in world-class attractions, affordability, and more than $4.6 billion in development, and Omaha stacks up nicely to other cities.

Visitors Support The Local Economy Tourism, including meetings and professional conferences, brings more than 13 million visitors to Omaha every year, and those visitors spend $1.3 billion while they are here. That spending supports one in every 17 jobs in our community. In addition, the taxes generated by that spending offset taxes local residents pay. Yep, you save about $750 every year in taxes thanks to tourism.

Let Us Help If your organization has an upcoming meeting, convention or event, reach out to Visit Omaha. Our staff is happy to do the heavy lifting. We will ask you questions about your meeting needs and then help put a proposal together. The Visit Omaha Sales and Services teams are available to answer any questions you might have, or you can connect them directly to your organization’s meeting planner. With your help, we can bring even more meetings home and support our city through this recovery. B2B

GREATER OMAHA CHAMBER BY DAVID BROWN

HOW WE DO THAT H

ow do you do that?” I have the pleasure and privilege to speak in front of many groups throughout the year. At virtually every one of these events, someone asks the question, “How does the chamber do that?” That question always reminds me that what we do is very successful, and sometimes we’re the only organization in this region doing many of the things that we do. So, I shouldn’t be surprised when there is curiosity about how we go about our work. As an example: just how do we market the community for economic development? We measure our outcomes much like many businesses probably do…how much business did we get from the effort? For us, business is measured in two ways. The first is how many actual prospects have responded to our marketing effort. The second is how many impressions have we generated among people that might be able to influence a project in Omaha. So far this year, our economic development marketing has resulted in 148 prospects across four target industries. And this year, our targeted advertising has generated more than 700,000 impressions with audiences. In addition, through earned media (stories written about this market) we generated impressions with a potential reach of more than 176 million people.

Deborah Ward is the executive director

David Brown is president and

of Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau.

CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber.

The stories we catalyze are about successful client announcements and big happenings in the community. Think talent attraction, transportation, and policy. We pay close attention to the geography of coverage and pickups so we can target messages in our most important markets. In the good old days, the marketing would be carried primarily in print media. Today, we use digital platforms very aggressively. When we are traveling to conferences or trade shows, we can precede our participation with advertising in the region we will be visiting. That enables us to schedule visits with interested companies when we are in town. For the past year, we have not been traveling, for obvious reasons, but our marketing has generated visits by companies to this region, many of which will become the successes of tomorrow. In the end, we probably use strategies similar to many chambers when we are marketing and building image. But these strategies, combined with all of the other elements of Omaha’s placemaking and economic development, are what lead to results that make people say, “How’d you do that?” B2B

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