PERSONNEL NEWS Pinnacle Bank Names Ryan Major AVP Pinnacle Bank recently promoted Ryan Major to Assistant Vice President of Commercial Lending. Major works from the 180th and Dodge branch. Major, who has six years of banking experience, is responsible for managing an existing commercial loan portfolio and developing new business relationships. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Family-owned since 1938, Nebraska-based Pinnacle Bancorp, Inc., is a $9.7 billion financial holding company operating 140 community banks in seven states including 61 locations in Nebraska. For more information, visit pinnbank.com.
Mark Walz Honorary Chairman of State Games, Tom Kropp Named Parade Marshal The Nebraska Sports Council (NSC) has announced that Farmers Mutual of Nebraska CEO Mark Walz has been named the Honorary Chairman of the 2017 Cornhusker State Games. In addition, Hall of Fame Kearney State basketball player and 25-year UNK Head Coach Tom Kropp has been named the Honorary Parade Marshal of the Opening Ceremonies. The title of Honorary Chairman is generally reserved for the leader of a longtime sponsor Mark Walz of the Games. Farmers Mutual of Nebraska supports the Games at the highest level (Platinum) and has been a sponsor since 1987. Two of Walz’s predecessors at Farmers Mutual, Larry Frazier and Byron Boslau, served as honorary chairmen in previous decades. Farmers Mutual (FMNE.com), founded in 1891, is the leading insurer of farms in both Nebraska and South Dakota, and is the largest Nebraska-based insurer of homes, farms and automobiles in Nebraska. Walz, a Lincoln native and Lincoln East graduate, has participated in both swimming and triathlon in Tom Kropp the Cornhusker State Games. Kropp, a native of Aurora, is a member of four Halls of Fame, including the University of Nebraska-Kearney, NAIA, Nebraska Football and Nebraska High School Sports. While he is best known for his stellar basketball career, Kropp starred in four sports for Aurora High School from 1967-71, earning all-state in both football and basketball and the title of Nebraska Athlete of the Year as a senior in 1971. He contributed to six state high school team championships in three different sports, threw a no-hitter in the state Legion baseball tournament, won the shot put at state with a toss of 56’ 6 ¾” and rushed for 1,015 yards his senior season in football. He also played football at Kearney State and was a twotime Nebraska State College Athlete of the Year. After college, he was drafted by the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, the ABA’s Denver Nuggets, and the NBA’s Washington Bullets. He signed with the Bullets and was traded to the Chicago Bulls. Later he played professional basketball in Belgium from 1979-1983. Sports Illustrated named him one of Nebraska’s 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century. As the head coach at UNK from 1990 to 2015, Kropp’s teams went 482-245 from 1990 to 2015. The 2017 Cornhusker State Games take place July 21-30 with competition in more than 60 sports at venues in Lincoln, Omaha and surrounding communities. Register or find more information about the Cornhusker State Games at CornhuskerStateGames.com.
Rory Berry Joins Berry Law Firm as COO
Berry Law Firm is proud to announce the addition of Rory Berry, who will serve as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). Tasked with overseeing the daily operations of the firm, Rory Berry will act as a source of both guidance and support for staff and attorneys. Rory was raised in Lincoln and has returned home to take the COO position following work as a Management Consultant and a Vice President of Product Development. He originally left Lincoln, Nebraska to attend Stanford University in California, where he earned B.S. in Symbolic Systems with a focus in Neuroscience. Mr. Berry would later commission into the United States Navy through the University of California Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program. He earned his Surface Warfare Officer pin while on deployment to the Middle East aboard the USS Germantown and later served as an Operations Officer and Detachment Officer-in-Charge for the Navy’s Expeditionary Logistics Support Group in Kuwait, with additional duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lieutenant Commander Berry remains in the US Navy Selected Reserves where he has served on the Reserve Headquarter staffs of the Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Korea, and the Commander of U.S. Third Fleet. Mr. Berry also earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from UCLA, and served in several business roles in Southern California at both small startups and large firms including Toyota and Kashi. For more information about Berry Law Firm and its new Chief Operating Officer, Rory Berry, inquiring parties can visit the firm’s website (www.jsberrylaw.com).
NAM Welcomes New Leadership The Nonprofit Association of the Midlands (NAM) voted the following individuals to the NAM Board of Directors. These individuals were announced at NAM’s annual meeting on April 27, 2017. John Levy, Omaha Community Foundation, was elected president of the NAM board, succeeding Anne Meysenburg; she concluded her term as president after serving on the NAM board for six years. Emiliano Lerda, Justice for our NeighborsNebraska, was named president-elect and John Levy secretary, and Jeff Moran, Omaha Home for Boys, will serve another term as board treasurer. Jennifer Skala, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, is the newest member to be elected to the NAM board. Skala secures funding and promotes community solutions so that children in Nebraska have the resources and support they need to reach their full potential. Anne Herman, United Way of the Midlands; Carolina Padilla, Intercultural Senior Center; and Julia Parker, Omaha Small Business Jennifer Skala Network, were renewed for a second term on the NAM board. Becky Gould, Nebraska Appleseed, was renewed for a third term. Other members include Wendy Bower, Peter Kiewit Foundation; John Jeanetta, Heartland Family Service; Ralph Kellogg, Centris Federal Credit Union; Susan Ogborn, Food Bank for the Heartland; and Kerri Peterson, The Sherwood Foundation. Nonprofit Association of the Midlands (NAM) strengthens the collective voice, leadership, and capacity of nonprofits to enrich the quality of community life throughout Nebraska and Western Iowa. Find out more about the organization at www.nonprofitam.org. JUNE 2017 Strictly Business 25