story Archives - Page 4 of 6

Kevin Heim

By Asha Timperley

When people meet Kevin Heim they quickly notice that he’s all about tennis.

From his Wilson-branded clothing to his light but permanent tan lines, Kevin knows tennis because he’s been playing or coaching for the better part of 30 years. He’s the current executive director at Woods Park Tennis Center, but he laughed about the fact that he never thought he’d be living in Lincoln.

When Kevin was in high school, he remembers hearing a professional tennis player say, “Tennis is like an education, it can write a ticket to just about anywhere…” and that thought stuck with Kevin as he navigated his life on and off the court.

As a kid, Kevin played any and every sport he could. He grew up in a cul-de-sac in Ralston, Nebraska, where he and his friends would spend hours playing games with whatever balls and bats they could find in their garages. Kevin said at one point he pulled out his dad’s old, wooden tennis racquet and used it in a game, but the racquet broke after just a few swings.

The summer after 5th grade is when Kevin really started to zero-in on tennis. He saw a flier at school for summer tennis lessons and he and his friends signed up. The classes were very casual, Kevin said, and while they learned a few key skills, the ‘lessons’ quickly diverged into a competition of who could hit the ball the furthest. However, he quickly saw that tennis was fun.

Over the next few years, Kevin and his friends rode their bikes to the local tennis courts to play for 3 hours at a time. Then, they’d ride home, order a pizza, watch the professionals play on TV and then go back out to try and hit some of the shots they’d seen on TV.

During his freshman year of high school, Kevin made the varsity tennis team. He didn’t have many expectations, but was excited to learn more and be on a team with experienced players.

When it came time for college, Kevin received a tennis scholarship to play at Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. He loved his time on the court and went to Nationals where he realized that tennis was so much bigger than just Nebraska or the U.S.

Kevin earned his education degree and then moved to Milwaukee where he taught at a high school and coached the tennis team. During the summers he worked at a tennis club where he grew the program from 60 kids to 600 adults and junior players over an 11-year period.

His summer work started out as a way to fill his time, but then it became about sharing his love of tennis with students. Kevin said tennis often gets labeled as a sport that’s reserved for country club members, but that was never the case for him. He loved that tennis helped him be a well-rounded kid and it was a fun way to spend his time.

Kevin was extremely successful as a high school coach and with his summer work, but he still felt like he wanted to do more. He heard about a job opening for the head tennis pro at Wood Tennis and he decided he’d try his hand at moving back to Nebraska.

But it wasn’t an ideal move. When Kevin came to Lincoln in 2009 he was in his early 30s and there wasn’t much to do in town. The situation he walked into at Woods Tennis wasn’t ideal either.

The facility was falling apart, they had staffing issues and their numbers were steadily decreasing. The place needed help, but that’s what attracted Kevin to the job.

Before he’d even landed the job, Kevin was dreaming up new facilities, programs and initiatives to help Woods Tennis grow. The center had a long and strong history and he knew he could help rebuild that – which is exactly what he’s done.

Kevin walked out the front doors of Woods Tennis and hung a right, walking toward a chain-length fence that zoned off a construction area.

“That’s it,” he said, pointing to a large plot of dirt.

Next spring, that dirt will be replaced by a new, indoor tennis facility, equipped with 6 courts. And those big white bubbles that currently house the indoor courts, they’ll be gone, a fact Kevin is more than happy about.

Since his move to Lincoln, Kevin has worked to rebuild the reputation of Woods Tennis. He’s restructured the classes, hired a new tennis pro, spearheaded a Capital Campaign and taken over as the executive director. Woods Tennis has become a place for everyone in the community – young, old and people of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Kevin said he’s also loved coaching a group of wheel chair athletes for the past eight years. Several of the adult chair players have participated in tournaments all over the country, with a handful of them winning their division at the US Open.

He’s seen the community at the Center grow and thrive despite its dated facilities. And while Kevin said he can’t wait for the new facility to be open in the spring, seeing adults and kids come early and stay late in less than ideal conditions has shown him that the culutre at Woods Tennis trumps the physical setting.

Kevin has also earned a reputation of his own. Sure, people around town know him as the guy who runs Wood Tennis, but he’s also the guy who found his own story through tennis.

He said the sport taught him a lot about himself. About discipline and determination, hard work and perseverance. It was through tennis that Kevin met his wife, developed a passion for the community and worked to make the sport fun and accessible to as many people as possible.

So much of Kevin’s story revolves around tennis. But there’s also so much of Lincoln’s tennis culture that’s connected to Woods Tennis and directly connected to Kevin Heim – and that’s a reputation he’s proud to have earned.

August 31, 2016

Love4

Alicia Reisinger

By Asha Timperley

There are at least three candles burning in Alicia Reisinger’s house at any given time. The smells vary from day to day, but today it smells like oranges, the holidays and fresh air all rolled into one.

It’s luxurious and inviting, homey and relaxing. And it’s exactly what you’d expect to experience when you walk into someone’s home who makes candles.

Alicia is the proud owner of Wax Buffalo Candle Company. A business she runs out of her kitchen with toddlers in tow, three assistants and a whole lot of yummy smells.

But to Alicia the smells are just part of her everyday life, they came out of necessity – she has babies and bulldogs – but they also came to life after a season of transition.

Alicia calls this season “the quiet season.”

She didn’t have a job and her days were spent caring for her baby and spending time with her feisty, 80-year-old grandmother, Ferne. This season was slow and simple, rich and meaningful. It was also hard and confusing because it was so different than what Alicia was used to.

The years prior to this season were anything but quiet. Alicia and her husband, Jonathan, were videographers who lived in Chicago – a city that perfectly matched their love of all things artistic and creative. Alicia describes it as the season when she and Jonathan became “them.” They lived in an apartment over a funky soap shop, worked hard, stayed up late and learned how to love each other.

But like all seasons, this one ended after Alicia found out her grandmother was battling her third bout of cancer. So, she and Jonathan packed their bags and moved to Nebraska to spend time with a woman who had shaped so much of Alicia’s life.

Making the transition to Nebraska was challenging, but it was also a new adventure for Alicia and Jonathan. They originally planned to stay for just a year, but as they grew their family and got more connected to the community it just made sense to stay.

When Alicia’s grandmother died in 2013 things felt quieter than they ever had. She’d lost her grandmother, but also one of her best friends, and she wasn’t sure what to do next.

As she grieved, Alicia started making candles, something she and her grandma would frequently do together and the first scent she poured was cinnamon – their favorite scent. She dug in deeper, researching the benefits of soy candles and buying the best oils to create clean and crisp smells.

Then Alicia started to think about how to associate smells with stories, starting with her grandma and then creating other scents that told the stories of different seasons in her own life.

She has a candle called Armitage Street, named after the street in Chicago where she and Jonathan lived after getting married.

As she developed her scents, Alicia slowly started giving away her candles as gifts to friends. Eventually, they asked her if she’d consider selling her candles in stores.

“No way!” she said. “I could never sell these! If no one buys them I’ll be embarrassed.”

Well, let’s just say, Alicia wasn’t embarrassed.

She made 12 candles to sell in a local shop in Lincoln and a few weeks later the shop called and asked for more – they’d run out. So, she poured 12 more.

Things went on like that for a while as Alicia slowly grew her company into what’s now a Midwest brand being sold in 35 stores across 11 states.

It’s astounding and overwhelming, Alicia said, because she never imagined that pouring candles in her kitchen would turn into a full-fledged business.

Some days, all of her countertops are filled with freshly poured candles and Alicia and her 5-year-old, Navy, and 3-year-old, Satchel, spend the day packing up boxes to be shipped to customers.

And while Wax Buffalo was started by Alicia, it’s really a family business.

Alicia said Jonathan really spoke into the brand and handles even the smallest details like packing up the car with candles before a big market trip.

“We’ve always been a team,” Alicia said. “We work better together… and a big part of who we are is being a part of the other person.”

The couple also still tackles video projects together, sometimes taking their kiddos with them to wherever their next adventure awaits.

But that’s really the core of Alicia’s story – learning to be ready for the next adventure, whether it’s a quiet season or a chaotic one.

That’s the thing about seasons, they change, and Alicia is getting ready for a whole new adventure. At the end of October, she’ll be having their third baby, just in time for the busy holiday season.

But she’s not too worried about it. There doesn’t seem to be much that slows Alicia down these days, and the baby, well, she said she’ll just strap him on and wear him around as she pours candles or sells them at the markets.

“Everything becomes this magical family adventure,” she said. “It’s better that way.”

August 24, 2016

Love3

Andrea Faas

By Asha Timperley

These days, Andrea Faas doesn’t get out of the office much. She has emails to answer, phone calls to make, programs to coordinate and a whole stack of paperwork she needs to tackle.

It’s funny, she said, because her work is to encourage people to do the exact opposite of what she does all day.

But when she does get a chance to escape her work, Andrea leaves her office and walks.

Her office is located on a wildlife preserve that’s surrounded by native grasses, nearly 9 miles of trails, Nebraska wildlife and a pond.

It’s in this kind of setting where Andrea said she can breathe deepest and just be. Nature has always been a place where she’s found comfort, freedom and strength – it’s personal for Andrea and has been a strong theme in her story for as long as she can remember.

As a kid, Andrea was digging in her backyard, poking at bugs and splashing around in the creek behind her house. Her childhood was about discovery and adventure, and so much of that shaped her desire to learn more.

When she was 12 years old, she and a friend biked across the state of Iowa. It was exhilarating and challenging, and she remembers thinking, “I did that?! I can do anything!”

It was an empowering moment for a young girl, and Andrea said she knew then that she could take on new challenges, have adventures and survive to tell about them.

In high school, a school counselor encouraged Andrea to do some volunteer work. Andrea saw an opportunity at Fontenelle Forest in Omaha where she was tasked with caring for mice. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was her first step toward a career.

Andrea moved up from caring for mice to feeding them to snakes and then helping out with summer camps. When it came time for college she tried out UNL and UNO before transferring to the University of Minnesota.

During school Andrea chose to study abroad in Ecuador for a year, adding yet another level of adventure to her experiences. She lived with a host family, worked at a biological research station, learned with researchers from around the world and worked with local farmers.

Andrea said she remembers trying to soak up as much information as she could about the culture and the natural resources in her new home.

When she returned to school after studying abroad, Andrea knew she needed a hands-on job after she graduated. She was offered a position at Fontenelle Forest and eagerly jumped in to work.

But Andrea was always on the lookout for her next adventure. After a few years in Omaha she packed her bags and drove out to California to work at a few schools in and around Yosemite. It was an amazing opportunity with gorgeous scenery and so much to learn and teach.

People would often ask where she was from and when she said Nebraska they’d say, “What’s in Nebraska?!??!”

Sure, Andrea thought, Nebraska didn’t have the ocean or mountains, but there was something about the expansive plains and awe-inspiring Nebraska sunsets that she missed in California. Plus, she missed her family, so after a two years she made the trek back home.

Andrea took a job with Nebraska Game and Parks and logged thousands of miles across the state. She saw places and people, natural sites and one-of-a-kind species that all contributed to the beauty of Nebraska.

She also put down some roots of her own, getting married and then having two children. Her family moved to Lincoln when she heard about a job opening at the Pioneers Park Nature Center, and a few years later she was named the Center’s Coordinator.

This has been Andrea’s first ‘office’ job. It’s different than working in the field, and yet, it’s her position that encourages people to get out and explore. It’s a job that’s less about the building she’s in and more about the land and environment that surrounds her building, and that’s what she loves.

Andrea said a lot of kids love the outdoors, but they often grow out of it as adults. For her, it just stuck. It’s been a consistent and familiar theme in her life, and it’s also an appreciation she hopes to instill in her children and anyone who visits the Nature Center.

“You don’t have to understand everything you see here,” she said. “You just have to get out and experience it.”

That’s why Andrea gets out of the office whenever she can to walk. Whether it’s a 30-minute hike or just a few minutes taking deep breathes, nature is where Andrea feels the most like herself. It’s her therapy, her friend and her story – and now, it’s what she shares with her community.

August 10, 2016

Love1

Rebecca Ankenbrand

By Asha Timperley

Like lots of American kids, Rebecca Ankenbrand grew up eating and making her fair share of chocolate chip cookies.

There was just something so warm and comforting about the melted chocolate chips, and Rebecca figured out early on that she was a young chocolate-addict.

These days, Rebecca’s love of chocolate has only intensified. But this time when she reaches for a bag of chocolate, it’s not the store-bought variety – it’s her own concoction.

Over the past few years Rebecca has trained herself in the art of bean-to-bar chocolate making. She buys her own cacao beans, roasts them, grinds the cacao and mixes up her own form of chocolate magic.

As the chocolate maker at Sweet Minou, located inside of Cultiva Labs on 25th and Randolph streets, Rebecca’s days are filled with the noise of grinding beans, spinning bowls of tempered chocolate and the rich aroma of chocolate.

But Rebecca doesn’t just love the taste of chocolate, she’s fascinated by the wide variety of cacao beans from around the world.

During high school, Rebecca said she transitioned from her beloved milk chocolate to dark chocolate. She started reading articles about the health benefits of dark chocolate, researching how it’s grown and processed and how beans from different countries vary in flavor.

Some cacao beans have an almost fruity taste, and others are more fermented and earthy. While it didn’t take much, if any, training for Rebecca to love chocolate, she has since trained her palette to know where the cacao beans are grown when she tastes chocolate.

Her research opened up a whole new world of chocolate. Soon, she was buying the most unique chocolate wherever she could – online, on family trips or at speciality stores. When her mom asked her what she wanted for Christmas one year, Rebecca sent her to an online chocolate retailer.

Over time chocolate became Rebecca’s hobby instead of just her favorite treat.

In college, Rebecca studied English and French before studying abroad in France. She was shocked to see that every small town she visited in France had its own chocolate shop and chocolate culture. Rebecca took specific side trips to various regions where she could learn more about chocolate making and taste confections from around the world.

When she got back from her trip she worked toward her Master’s degree in French, but also started experimenting with chocolate on the side. She’d bring in treats to her classmates and family members and they all said the same thing – “Learning French is great, but maybe you should make a career out of chocolate…”

She tucked that thought away while she finished her Master’s degree and tried to figure out what she wanted to do next. Rebecca knew she wasn’t interested in teaching and she wasn’t ready to get a PhD, so she decided some kitchen experience might help her with chocolate making.

She started working at Cultiva, chopping and prepping food for its high volume of customers and she really enjoyed the experience. Eventually the owners of Cultiva found out that Rebecca was making chocolate in her spare time and asked her if there was some way they could incorporate her chocolate into the shop. So, in December 2015, Rebecca and the Cultiva owners officially launched Sweet Minou.

It’s been a great collaboration, Rebecca said, because Cultiva is obsessed with great coffee in the same way that she’s obsessed with chocolate. She said it feels pretty great to call herself a full-time chocolate maker, and her hope is that this is just the beginning.

Rebecca laughed a little when she thought about her high school self being obsessed with buying and tasting chocolate. It seems a little silly, she said, and yet also completely normal.

Rebecca makes chocolate because in some way she feels like that’s what she’s supposed to be doing. It’s her way of supporting ethically sourced materials, creating a unique product and establishing her own chocolate culture in Lincoln, Nebraska.

When she tells people she’s a bean-to-bar chocolate maker they often give her a funny look because it’s not a ‘typical’ job, but that’s yet another thing Rebecca loves about her work.

Her story is about moving toward her passion, learning and taking risks. She has carved out a place for herself in the world of chocolate and she’s determined stay in her sweet spot.

July 27, 2016

Love6

Glen Parks

By Asha Timperley

Glen Parks sat down in the cafeteria at the Nebraska State Capitol and folded his hands on the table in front of him.

“Well, where should I start?” he said.

Glen’s story is complicated. It involves a lot of countries, a lot of jobs and a lot of moving. But it’s a story that’s landed him and his family back in Lincoln – a place they didn’t really imagine their story playing out.

Glen’s parents were missionaries who were based out of Nebraska, but lived internationally in places like the Philippines for much of his childhood.

Living abroad was a natural part of Glen’s life and it was a common denominator when he met his wife, Bec, during college. The couple loved exploring new cultures together and imagined their life would eventually take them abroad.

Glen said shortly after they were married he vividly remembers sitting in a coffee shop with Bec and another young couple dreaming about their futures. The four of them decided they wanted to do something big, something that involved working to end sex trafficking in countries like India and Nepal. So right then and there they made a pact to make their dreams more than just words.

It was an exciting and sobering moment, Glen said. It felt like their lives had just changed, and in many ways they had.

The two couples went their separate ways but met up once a year for the next four years to continue planning.

At this point, Glen was finishing up law school at UNL while their friends were based in India working with the International Justice Mission (IJM) doing human trafficking work.

It was a strange period of waiting, Glen said, because while they were excited about possibility of moving and working in another country, their family was starting to settle in Lincoln.

But in 2006 the right time finally came for Glen and Bec to move their family to India, and they were relieved to do the work they’d dreamed of in that coffee shop.

It was a difficult transition. They uprooted their lives, Glen left a great job, and they moved – but they knew the timing and the purpose was right for their family.

Over the next four years Glen watched as their dream turned into a reality. He headed up the legal department of their new firm and slowly built relationships that allowed their team to rescue girls from sex trafficking and prosecute brothel owners.

It was satisfying work that engaged Glen’s legal skills, critical thinking and passion, but he was also in awe of what he was seeing happen to his family.

Glen watched his children love and embrace another culture, he watched his wife encourage women who had lived through horrific situations and he watched his family grow together.

That’s the thing about traveling abroad, Glen said, family is your constant.

In 2010, Glen made the difficult decision to step down from his role at the anti-trafficking firm he’d started. He and his friend had different visions for the firm and Glen decided he’d walk away instead of ruin a friendship.

But his family didn’t leave India. They stayed rooted in their community and Glen taught law classes at a local university. Their plan was to stay in India long-term, but during an 8-week family trip to the U.S. in July 2015 Glen’s visa was suddenly cancelled and his visa application was denied. Bec and the kids returned to India to pack up without Glen and a letter arrived in December telling the family they had one week to leave the country.

So, they came back to Lincoln. Glen took a job at the Capitol working as a term-clerk for a Supreme Court Justice. It was work he was excited to take on, but the job had an expiration date – August 1, 2016.

So, once again, they were in adjustment mode.

Now what?

An uncertain future has been a consistent theme in Glen’s story. It’s not a surprise, and he’s used to doing his part and then trusting that all the pieces will come together.

But even though it’s not new territory, it’s still uncomfortable. Glen’s children are now 17, 16, 14 and 12 and they recently adopted a 11-year-old boy.

And yet Glen knows that another strong theme in his story has been sufficiency and grace. He’s seen situations turn around in ways he’s never imagined, he’s been offered jobs that are a perfect fit for his skills and he’s lived in places where his family has thrived despite immense difficulties.

Glen’s story has been about learning when to wait, go and stop. It’s been one with unplanned adventures and lots of growing, but all of it has taught Glen to be present in his current situation.

Right now, being present means leaning in to Lincoln. It’s not where he expected to be, and yet, he knows it’s where he and his family need to be.

July 20, 2016

Love7

Amy Barrett

By Asha Timperley

Amy Barrett has lived in the same house in Lincoln for 23 years.

She’s watched the neighborhood kids grow up, go to college and start families. She’s seen the trees in her backyard transform from small saplings into massive leaf monsters. And she’s seen herself change too.

When she moved into her house, Amy was far from home. Now, no place feels more like home than Lincoln, Nebraska.

Amy was born nearly 8,000 miles away from Lincoln in Manila, Philippines. She was one of eight children and grew up in a very traditional Filipino family.

When Amy was 17 she met and married her husband, Wayne, a native of Houston, Texas. It was a big deal that Amy dated and married a foreigner. Her parents were strict, and while Amy respected their wishes, she also liked to push the boundaries. She had a secret job, dated without her parents knowing and dreamed of someday leaving the Philippines.

After Amy and Wayne got married, they moved to Singapore for Wayne’s job in the oil industry. It was just the kind of excitement Amy had dreamed of experiencing.

Singapore was a city with lots of energy and diversity. Amy quickly made new friends with people from all over the world. She learned how to cook all types of ethnic food and was a sponge for information about her friends’ various cultures and traditions. It felt like Singapore was Amy’s new home.

But after having two children and being frequently on the move with Wayne’s job, they decided to move their family to Lincoln, Nebraska.

They landed in Lincoln during December of 1993 with no winter clothing, but they were anxious for a quieter and more stable place to raise their children. Amy plugged the boys into school and went to work making their new house into their permanent home.

It was a major adjustment. The boys missed their friends and it was a huge culture shift to move from a busy city like Singapore to the east side of Lincoln. But in a way only Amy could, she quickly went to work making new friends and carving out a place for her family in the community.

She found the people of Lincoln to be friendly and open, willing to share advice and connect with her family. It was refreshing despite all of the transitions her family had faced. Lincoln started to feel more like home.

Shortly before Amy’s 40th birthday, Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer. He battled the disease for three months and then passed away suddenly.

Amy was shocked. The man who’d given her so much and loved her family well for more than half of her life was gone.

But Amy also isn’t one to give up. She was heartbroken by the loss of her husband, but she also had an amazing support group of friends that she’d built while they’d lived in Lincoln.

“It was hard, but it makes you stronger,” she said. “You survive.”

And that’s what Amy has done. A few years before Wayne died, Amy took classes to become a nail technician. Growing up with six sisters had taught Amy a thing or two about doing nails and the rest came naturally. She worked at a salon in town to make some extra money and loved the way it allowed her to socialize and do something she enjoyed.

After Wayne died, Amy continued working to support herself and her sons. She quickly built up a steady flow of clients who appreciated her meticulous work and friendly personality. Amy said she’s had a few of the same clients for nearly 15 years.

That’s the thing, Amy is just one of those people who others can’t help but enjoy being around. She’s an outgoing and warm lady who likes hosting big dinner parties with lots of home-cooked food for all of her guests. These big meals remind her of her mother who would make enough food for the whole neighborhood, because, as her mother would say, ‘You never know who’ll stop by for dinner.’

Amy operates a lot like her mom in that way. She’s hospitable and easy-going, but she’s also not afraid of hard work. Her story has been about adventure and exploration, but also heartache and resilience.

The difficult parts of her story just make her more thankful for the good things she’s experienced. Things like meeting and marrying her second husband, Don, being a grandmother and even simple pleasures like gardening or catching up over drinks with a nail client.

Amy’s story starts with an adventurous girl who dreamed of leaving home. Now, her idea of home isn’t some exotic city, but a house in east Lincoln with her husband, her dogs and a whole lot of friends – and that’s just fine by Amy.

July 6, 2016

Love5

Pat Leach

By Asha Timperley

Some days, Pat Leach wishes she could just call in ‘sick.’ Not because she doesn’t like her job, but because she wants to finish the latest book that’s grabbed her attention.

It’s funny, she said, the thing that keeps her from reading most often is her job to help others read. Pat is the Director of Lincoln City Libraries.

She’s worked at the Bennett Martin Public Library for most of the past 40 years, and it’s hard for her to imagine having a different job.

Her job at the library is to engage the community, encouraging reading, literacy and education and inviting everyone into the libraries across the city. It’s a job that fits Pat, because of her deep love of reading and her passion for sharing that love with others.

But it’s also a job that nearly 10 years ago, she wasn’t sure she wanted anymore.

Here’s why.

After almost 30 years of working in the library, Pat had a thought one day, ‘Maybe I should be doing something different…’

It wasn’t that she didn’t like her job, or it didn’t fit her skills, actually, it did both. Pat just wanted to be sure she was in the right career, so, she called a career counselor.

Up to that point, the Bennett Martin Public Library had been Pat’s place. It was where she worked during college, the place she met her late husband and how she interacted with people from the community. She’d worked in various areas of the library system and had seen the library grow and change over the years.

But a question still lingered in her head, “Was there something else out there I should do?”

When Pat met with the career counselor, they talked about her strengths and weaknesses, her likes and dislikes, and worked to determine what career field might fit her best. At the end of the evaluation it came time to look at the list of potential career options.

Pat held her breath and looked at the list – at the top was ‘librarian.’

Go figure.

If she hadn’t been sure before, she was then, working in the library was the right place for Pat. She remembers the career counselor making a comment like, ‘Well, it looks like you landed in the right place from the start…’

It was true. Pat’s life wasn’t consumed with the library, but so much of her personal and careers passions worked perfectly together.

After meeting with the career counselor she felt confident that her job at the library wasn’t just an easy fit, it was the right fit. Since then, Pat has leaned in more and more to her role at the library.

In 2008, she became the Library Director, a job that oversees the workings of all the public libraries in Lincoln. She also hosts a weekly radio show on NET called ‘All About Books’ and frequently speaks at events and to students about the importance of reading and literature.

She lived a pretty “charmed” life, up until three years ago when her beloved husband, Jerry Johnston, was diagnosed with cancer. He died just seven weeks after the diagnosis.

Pat remembers people telling her how strong she was, saying they could never go through losing a spouse, but Pat didn’t think of herself as extraordinarily strong – she just did what she had to do. Something many people do every day in difficult circumstances.

She made it through the deep sadness and loss, and she values life more because of losing her husband. Pat doesn’t immediately talk about the loss of her husband because she doesn’t want that one moment to define her story.

To be honest, Pat said she isn’t sure what moment does define her story. Things like her childhood, her job at the library or even her husband are all part of it, but none of them seem to sum it all up. Maybe that’s just it.

Sometimes the best stories aren’t flashy or overly dramatic, they’re consistent and real.

Pat is kind and focused, determined and open-minded. Her story is about doing the next thing, being herself and enjoying each moment, no matter how big or small they may seem.

May 25, 2016

Love7

Nancy Teague

By Asha Timperley

When Nancy Teague paints she comes to life. Her hand moves quickly, then slowly, intentionally and then spontaneously.

She smiles, steps back to get a better view and then moves back toward her painting.

Nancy is an abstract artist. She describes her work as emotional and free but also ordered and on-purpose.

But Nancy’s expressive abstracts are somewhat new to her – she’s only been painting in this style for three years – and yet her career as an artist started long before she ever painted an abstract.

Nancy’s style shifted to accommodate her physical and emotional changes over the past few years, and it’s a shift that’s impacted more than just her art.

Nancy said she never dreamed of being a ‘professional’ artist. Sure, she was an artistic kid who loved sketching, building and tinkering, but how could that ever be a career, she thought.

In college, Nancy graduated with a degree in education and found a job in Lincoln as an art teacher. She loved watching her students learn and create, it was the perfect fit for her.

But it was only after she quit teaching, due to budget cuts, that Nancy started to pursue her own art. She used her colors and technique to bring photographed images to life with light and texture. As a realism artist her paintings were exact, every stroke had a place and there was little room for error.

Nancy would often drive to small towns and then walk around with her camera in-hand, looking for objects to photograph and then paint in her studio. She loved the way she could bring a painting to life with shading, layers and shadows, this was her art and she was proud of it.

Over time Nancy competed in nationally ranked art fairs. She won a few notable awards and her career seemed to be off and running.

But in the late ‘90s Nancy developed a tremor in her left hand – the hand she paints with. She could no longer write her name and even something as simple as drinking water became an annoyance. Her work as a realist painter was intricate, and working with a tremor was impossible.

So, she closed up shop. She sold her materials, packed up her canvases and gave up painting.

The next ten years of Nancy’s life were quiet but impactful. They were full of thinking and evaluating, figuring out what she believed, and why her beliefs mattered. It was also frustrating. Nancy taught herself how to write with her right hand and she felt like a first-grader as she practiced rows and rows of single letters. It was hard, but Nancy was managing.

In 2008 an artist friend encouraged Nancy to explore painting again. They discussed making prints of Nancy’s former work and that got Nancy thinking… ‘I wonder if I can paint at all…’

Late one night she picked up a paintbrush and started in – she was doing it. Her tremor was there but she was painting like she used to, and to her surprise she was noticing finer details than before.

For the next five years, Nancy delighted in her realism painting and began to slowly experiment with painting styles beyond realism.

She said she felt like a child again, playing with paint, enjoying the fluid movement and testing out new methods. She found that she could paint with her left hand and right hand together, it didn’t matter, because there was so much less structure.

But something else was happening too. As Nancy shifted her art from realism to abstract, a similar shift happened inside of her, she said.

She found joy, a deep, deep inner joy that suddenly spilled out onto her canvas.

It’s a joy that came from her long-time faith in God, and a new realization of different truths about God and her own identity and purpose. Nancy said it was this inner freedom that propelled her shift to abstract painting.

“It’s hard to not do something that brings you joy,” she said.

So that’s what she’s done.

Not many artists can switch from one style to another, but to Nancy, her shift was unexpected but intentional. It was an outpouring of what she longed to experience, while still factoring in her limitations.

Nancy’s story is about learning from her doing, and growing from her learning. It’s about finding joy in a place that seemed unwanted and but turned out to be more rewarding than she could have imagined.

Her story is about realizing that there’s more to her story than she ever expected, and that was the real surprise.

May 18, 2016

Love2

Lawrence De Villiers

By Asha Timperley

The son of a notable French politician, a member of the aristocratic De Villiers family, a comedian and a chef – Laurent De Villiers has been all of these things, and now he’s a Nebraskan.

These days Laurent goes by Lawrence, but that doesn’t mean he’s forsaken his heritage. He’s French through and through. You can tell by his accent, his general mannerisms and the fact that he owns The Normandy, a local French bistro.

His story is complicated. It spans continents and is marked by periods of rebellion, confusion, joy and renewal.

But Lawrence says his story really started went he met his wife, Renee.

The two met when Lawrence was doing volunteer work with a Catholic Franciscan order in the Bronx. Renee was working at a local shelter and the two quickly became friends. They were from very different backgrounds – Lawrence grew up in a high-brow, political family, Renee grew up in the small, laid-back town of McCool Junction.

After they started dating, Lawrence and Renee moved to Paris for a year before coming back to Nebraska and settling in Lincoln.

It was around this time that Lawrence noticed the lack of French cuisine in Lincoln. He craved it and realized the only place he could find it was in his own kitchen. So, he started small. He opened up a booth at the farmer’s market where he sold crepes and pastries and then started catering authentic French meals to his more eager customers.

Lawrence knew that he needed a full-scale restaurant, and Renee encouraged him to keep exploring this idea.

So, after a short stint in the Railyard’s Public Market, Lawrence bought a former bar and grill at the corner of 17th and Van Dorn streets and transformed it into his French bistro.

“It looked nothing like this when we moved in,” Lawrence said, looking around at his manicured dining room. “But it also took time.”

He was patient when it came to growing his business. He started with authentically French food that he catered to the palettes of Nebraskans and his atmosphere followed suite. In France, he said, you find a lot of small mom and pop shops that serve amazing food and that’s what he wanted to create in Lincoln.

He knew it didn’t need to be complicated, but it needed to be done right and that’s what he did.

Having a local restaurant in Lincoln is hard, it takes time, resources and lots of patience, but Lawrence does it for his family. He and his wife now have three daughters, and carving out a place for his restaurant and his family have become a major part of his story.

It’s a story he didn’t anticipate being his own, mostly, because it’s the opposite of so much of his early life.

Lawrence’s childhood was full of expectations. His family was wealthy and well-known and they hope he’d follow the same path, but early on Lawrence knew that wasn’t what he wanted.

He wanted to start something, run his own business, make and earn his own money – he wanted to be free of his family’s expectations. This search for freedom, along with marrying his wife are what led Lawrence to Lincoln.

It’s a place that’s vastly different from France, but also so different from his elite childhood. Lincoln has quickly become his home, and a chapter in his story that he’s proud to share with his customers.

“We’re not rich, but we’re making it,” he said. “I couldn’t find a better place to raise my children, for my marriage, for my relationships with people – we’re very blessed here.”

May 4, 2016

Love3

Dan Sloan

By Asha Timperley

Dan Sloan’s world revolves around coffee, but he’s not an addict or snob.

He has a Milano in the morning and maybe another in the afternoon, but that’s about it. If he happens to have a cup of coffee that’s not great when he is traveling, it’s no big deal. Actually, it’s kind of a good thing, he said, it just reaffirms that what his team is doing at The Mill is as good as he thinks.

Dan has been part of The Mill since his early 20s. He’s gone from doing the books, to roasting the coffee and managing the staff to being an owner. He’s seen the coffee shop expand from a coffee corner to two full-scale shops.

A lot of his story has been shaped by the growth and expansion of The Mill, but Dan’s story has also shaped the organic and eclectic feel that’s present at The Mill today.

Let’s start at the beginning.

It was the late ‘70s and Dan was finishing his accounting degree at Union College. He was a numbers guy looking for his first job and a professor told him that the bike shop down the street needed someone to help with their books, so Dan applied and got the job.

At the time, the bike shop owner had a small coffee area in a corner of the shop. Nothing fancy, just basic coffee for the people who shopped. Over time, the shop owner fell in love with coffee and wanted to sell gourmet imported coffee to customers.

“That was the genesis of The Mill,” Dan said.

Now, The Mill has become a Lincoln staple. It’s a go-to spot for studying, newspaper reading or even a first date. Dan looked around The Haymarket Mill, scoping out his patrons for the day, as he described how he enjoys watching different crowds of people filter in and out of the coffee shop.

There’s a certain group that shows up at The Mill on Sunday mornings and another that occupies the late-night, weekday hours. So many people have integrated The Mill into their routine, and to Dan that’s special.

When it comes to running the shop, Dan described his approach as more evolutionary than revolutionary, meaning he didn’t necessarily set out to do anything other than roast and sell great coffee, but they’ve catered their services and aesthetic to what customers have wanted.

“We’re about community as much as coffee … we’re a melting pot, a meeting place, a safe haven … and we hear people’s stories,” he said as he waved to someone across the shop.

The Mill has done well, Dan said. Are there ways they could be more profitable? Sure, but he’s not willing to compromise his community-focused shop just to be slightly more profitable, that’s not Dan.

And while running a local coffee shop might seem like a simple task, it’s not. Dan takes it personally. His employees are like his kids, his two locations are an extension of his home and every paycheck he writes is going toward important things like college tuition, gas, groceries, student debt or rent.

It’s heavy and even lonely at times, because running a popular coffee shop is a 24/7 job. But it’s a load he shares with his wife, and it’s also one Dan takes pride in. It’s a pride and work ethic that he connects to his dad who owned a bakery in a small Michigan town.

Dan can remember washing dishes in the bakery and pulling all-nighters with his dad to make sure the shop was stocked for the next day. He knows it wasn’t easy to raise four boys on a bakery, but it was what his dad loved and passionately pursued until he retired.

He’d often say to Dan, ‘If you don’t have pride in what you do, you have no business doing it.’ That’s why Dan has stayed tethered to The Mill after all this time, it’s the combination of his passion, the people, the ownership and the community – it’s satisfying work.

And while his accountant-turned-coffee-shop-owner title cues looks of confusion, Dan likes that his work is a nerdy-hippie hybrid. He knows his experience in the corporate accounting world has shaped him as an employer and given him the tools to properly build and expand The Mill. In the same way, his people-driven coffee shop has brought out his extroverted side.

When Dan takes time to zoom out and look at the broader picture of his life, he’s not shocked that The Mill has been a consistent theme. He said he always hoped he’d be his own boss. He was never a traditionalist who played it safe. Dan likes risks and he values making his own mistakes.

His story is about building community, watching community grow and staying true to his values. He’s thankful for the stress, chaos and culture that a coffee shop has brought into his life and his story.

He’s Dan Sloan largely because of The Mill, so if you want to know Dan, just stop by The Mill.

April 13, 2016

Love6

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