Backed by a powerful story of redemption, Omaha’s Bekah Jerde is living a life of action, inspiring, impacting and fearlessly saying “yes.” “I learned through my program of recovery that fear is the biggest thing to keep me back. … I have fear of my own potential; I have fear of engaging others. I’m learning
Carol Obenauer, 57, gains motivation from it. Ann Herzinger, 64, uses it as a tool for enlightenment. Mel Kaup, 64, logs on to stay in the loop, nudged initially by the lure of exclusive family photos. “After our son Andy got married, the rest of our kids started talking about neat wedding pictures the very
Retired Omaha attorney Fred Coffman doesn’t spend his days in court – he spends them on it. Over the last couple of years, the active 77-year-old has developed quite a taste for pickleball, a fast-growing court sport that combines tennis, table tennis and badminton. “I like pickleball because you bend, you stretch. You’re moving frontward,
Kathy Biernbaum of Springfield, Nebraska, brings out her recipe for quality family time every holiday season – it involves copious amounts of flour and frosting. “My mom always did cookie cutouts with frosting,” she says. “I still have that Pillsbury cookbook; it’s from 1955.” For Kay and Mike Glynn of Hastings, Iowa, quality family time
Here’s a quick glimpse into the psyche of Elkhorn’s Phil Brown: After he completed his 30 hours of training to become a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children, he volunteered to take on five cases. “They still joke about that. Nobody has five cases,” Brown says. One is typical. Brown and his
Carolyn Petersen discovered years ago that a listening ear and a steady, compassionate voice can save a life. “I had a young mother call me,” recalls Petersen, of Valentine, Nebraska. “She had gathered some pills, and she was going to kill herself.” An emergency services dispatcher in New York at the time, Petersen did what
Odds are you’ve encountered the bully or know someone who has. Incorrigible and unrelenting, it pummels without prejudice, hovering over its marks with that snarling taunt: “Have you had enough yet?” Omaha’s Karen Crawford has had enough. “We want to find a cure for this disease. It’s a horrible disease,” she says. “One in eight
Larry Newill is actively working to keep his Type 2 diabetes in check. Aletheir Evans is now in the habit of monitoring her own blood pressure. Both say their quality of life is improving – and the “why” can be traced back to the Y. Throughout the state, older Nebraskans are taking control of their
Daniel Mastrobuono has to put the brakes on our interview. Another rush of Hastings College schoolmates just walked into the Bronco Bikes shop on campus, and the senior business major needs to get them rolling. “I got through 40 bikes in the first two pickups and then about 35 in the last two days,” he
It looks like a small home gym, complete with a weight bench and an elliptical machine, but to Clint Baker, this is his “House of Pain,” a designation stenciled on the wall in big, black letters. “Every morning, it’s a mental fight to go into the House of Pain,” he says. And yet, he does
