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March/April/May 2013 B2B Omaha Magazine
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Joan Squiresleading and inspiring at Omaha Performing arts
royal rebrandlittle King maKeoverthe return of leggoons
Omaha’s Business-To-Business MagazinePRSRT STD
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PAIDPERMIT NO. 5377
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w w w . b 2 b o m a . c o mOmaha magazine • 5921 S. 118th CirCle • Omaha, ne 68137
B2B Omaha Magazine’sbest of b2b 2013results issue
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Omaha magazine • 5921 S. 118th CirCle • Omaha, ne 68137
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Publishertodd lemke
Omaha PublicatiOn editOr linda Persigehl
assistant editOrs Bailey hemphillChris Wolfgang
art directOr John gawley
directOr Of PhOtOgraPhyBill Sitzmann
seniOr graPhic designer
Katie anderson
juniOr graPhic designer Paul lukes
graPhic design intern marti latka
cOntributing WritersJudy horan • Dana markel
traci Osuna • michael Watkins Wendy Wiseman
accOunt executivesgwen lemke • greg Bruns
gil Cohen • Vicki VoetPaige edwards
assistant tO the Publisher Sandy Besch
accOunt assistantalicia Smith hollins • Jessica linhart
Catharine Kruse
OPeratiOnstyler lemke
WarehOuse distributiOn managermike Brewer
fOr advertising infOrmatiOn
402/884-2000
tO subscribe:Send $12.95 for a one-year (four issues) to:
B2B Omaha • PO Box 461208Omaha, ne 68046-1208
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a PublicatiOn OfOmaha Magazine
b2b Omaha is published four times annually by Omaha magazine, ltd, P.O. box 461208, Omaha ne 68046-1208. telephone: (402) 884-2000; fax (402) 884-2001. subscription rates: $12.95 for 4 issues (one year), $19.95 for 8 issues (two years). multiple subscriptions at different rates are available. no whole or part of the contents herein may be reproduced without prior written permission of b2b Omaha, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs. unsolicited manuscripts are accepted, however no responsibility will be assumed for such solicitations.
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OMAHA’S BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MAGAZINE • sPring 2013 • VOLUME 13 • NUMBER 1
insideon the web: www.b2boma.com
FE AT U R E Sroyal rebrand, little King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
return of the leggoons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Cover Feature: Joan Squires,
leading and inspiring at Omaha Performing arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Omaha business hall of fame 2013 inductees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Special Section
2013 best of b2b Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
On the rise : Amy Mather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Business events2013 CREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
OmAHA! Legends Comics and Coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
in the Office Pinnacle Bank Headquarters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Social media:What’s All the Hoopla About Hulu? . . . . . . . . . . 47
Omaha CVB: Omaha Gets a Great Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Office Furniture: Get up, Get moving! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Know-it-all: Creativity, Ingenuity . and Work Ethic . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
columns
cover featurePage 27
now check out b2b Omaha magazine online. using flipbook technology to give you a whole new magazine reading experience.
Check us Out on Facebook and Find Out How to Subscribe and get a 50% discount. Search for Omaha Magazine.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 5
amy mathercurating Omaha with Podcasts P eople fascinate me.”
So says Amy Mather, adult program manager at Omaha
Public Library and host of the podcast “Whatever Mathers.”
Friends and acquaintances had been tell-ing her to post her knowledge of the city, about the food, the art openings. “A lot of people told me I should blog, and I really hate writing,” Mather says, “I overthink it, whereas if it’s coming out of my mouth, it comes out once.”
When fellow Design Alliance Omaha board member Bryce Bridges told her she should do a podcast instead, “it took about six months for me to really consider it seriously,”
“
6 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
on the rise
S TO R y By C H R I S W O L f G A N G • P H O TO By B I L L S I T Z M A N N
she says. But after the first episode aired in September 2011 with the help of Clete Baker of Studio B, Mather embraced the idea of documenting what’s happening in the city now. “I think of it as curating Omaha,” she says with a smile.
Bridges, who has a family background in radio, finalizes the themes and gathers the guests for the podcast’s three-speaker panels as executive producer of “Whatever Mathers.” “I wanted to sit people at a table and poke and prod and ask why they’re doing what they’re doing,” Bridges says of the podcast’s raison d’etre, “The only thing missing is alcohol.” He adds with a laugh that such lubrication is unnecessary thanks to the way Mather han-dles the hour-long conversations. “Amy has a great way of letting people just be honest. When we sit people around the table with her, good things happen.” He adds that there’s not even much editing, just a few outtakes of jokes at a podcast’s end.
“I find people super interesting,” Mather admits. “There is a creativity explosion happening here. It’s an important thing to capture.” She typically asks three questions of her podcast guests, an example of which is “What do you think creativity is?” from her second podcast entitled “You don’t take sand to the beach.”
“It’s a very basic question to ask, but you get so many different answers,” Mather says.
Guests of “Whatever Mathers” have included local designer Steve Gordon, Design Alliance Omaha founder Tom Trenelone, acupuncturist Donna Hubert, and Anne Meysenburg of Kent Bellows Studio, just to name a few. Mather ends each podcast by asking her guests about their Big Love, encouraging them to reveal one thing they’re really excited about or have fallen in love with recently. The kale salad at Lot 2 has come up twice.
Despite living in several other states for many years and only being in Omaha for five, Mather states with delight that Omaha is the center of the universe. “I mean, in five years, I’ve met tons of amazing people, and there’s all this stuff happening,” she says. “I love Omaha, and I’m really proud of it. I just want to show, you know, we’re a bunch of badasses here. Look at what we’re doing.”
Interested listeners can visit whatever-mathers.libsyn.com or search for “Whatever Mathers” on the iTunes store and subscribe to the podcast to hear new and old episodes.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 7
royal rebrandlittle King sub shops get a makeover
L ong before there were sandwiches hawked by Michael Phelps and Jared or commercials for subs being delivered at breakneck speed, Little King was building a product and brand featuring fresh meats and great taste right here in Omaha.
Now, more than 40 years after the original store opened at 80th and Dodge streets, the Omaha-originated sub shop is undergoing a facelift while remaining true to its longstanding reputation and roots for providing a consistently outstanding product.
“Little King has developed a new, fresh, and more contemporary look and feel,” said Jose Partida, vice president and chief franchising officer for the sub shops. “Our branding was dated and didn’t reflect the energy of today’s Little King. We believe our new branding offers us a solid foundation to compete with all of our competitors.”
Partida said he and company president Nikhil Mehta, who bought the Little King brand and following from Chief Operating Officer Bob Wertheim, son of founder Sid Wertheim, in 2012, have been developing this new brand and positioning with local creative firm Webster Design Associates over the past 12 months. He admitted they are very proud and excited with the results and believe this is the right path for Little King’s future growth and success.
He added that Little King’s core values remain the same—to provide fresh, wholesome food at a great value and in an inviting dining environment.
“And of course, they’ve kept our signature sandwich, the #11!” Partida said. “If you don’t know what that means, it is the Royal Treat. We continue to slice fresh meats and produce and
bake fresh breads on a daily basis. Besides our new look, our customers will see only small changes in the Little King they have loved for over 40 years.”
The current “branding rebirth” of Little King is described as the biggest evolu-tion since the first store opened in 1969. While the company’s values have remained relatively unchanged over time, the brand continues to evolve.
The new brand and position are a departure from where the company was, but there is still a strong tangible, visual connection to the past. A testament to this is the recent reopening of the Little King restaurant in the first level of the new building on 12th and Howard streets—the location where one of the first Little Kings sat for more than four decades.
“‘Fresh Rules Here’ still speaks volumes
8 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
s tO r y by m i c h a e l Wat K i n s • P h O tO s by b i l l s i t z m a n n a n d W e b s t e r d e s i g n a s s O c i at e s
Bob Wertheim, Little King’s COO, at right, hands off a sub to the chain’s co-owner and president, Nikhil Mehta.
feature
about where we have come from and where we are headed,” Mehta said. “At one time, Little King had over 100 units in over 17 states. Our plans are to surpass those numbers in the next five to seven years.
“As a matter of fact, our 12th and Howard Street location is open again. It has undergone renovation to showcase our new corporate look and is now our flagship restaurant. We will be working with our cur-rent franchisees to convert to our new look over the next six to 12 months. Currently, we are looking at potential new sites throughout Omaha and Iowa.”
To learn more about the new and improved Little King brand, visit www.littlekingsubs.com, follow it on Facebook at LittleKingDeliAndSubs and on Twitter @LittleKingSubs.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 9
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Carr and family, June 1985
return of the leggoons
the colorful board shorts make a comeback.
C had carr’s love affair with Leggoons—the graphically obsessed, vibrantly patterned board shorts that were all the rage in Omaha and most of the nation in the late 1980s—began when his mom bought him his first pair at the Westroads
Brandeis in 1985.“There were so many different designs, and they definitely stood out,” Carr said. “I hadn’t
thought about Leggoons in a couple of decades until I saw someone wearing shorts in the Old Market several years ago that reminded me of them. It sparked my entrepreneurial interest in finding out what happened to them.”
After doing some digging, he discovered that founders and Omaha natives Tom Ryan and Michael Kofoed had sold the logo and brand to some investors in the late ’80s. He scoured Omaha World-Herald archives for every article he could find about Leggoons, With the help of his attorney, Carr located two of the original investors to inquire about purchasing the brand and resurrecting the ’80s shorts that, at their height, rivaled Ocean Pacific and Hobe in the marketplace.
The company had filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s, and after pulling the files in Missouri, where the brand moved after Ryan and Kofoed sold it, Carr purchased the rights.
“I started this process eight years ago, and here we are now, bringing Leggoons back to the market with a fresh look and a nostalgic hook,” Carr said.
An entrepreneur at heart—he started Ticket Express his senior year of college because he thought it would be a good way to see a lot of shows and concerts for free—Carr has never shied away from taking a chance or leap of faith.
That’s kind of how he sees this new venture, although because of its history, he knows this brand and product already have legs, no pun intended.
“I was always encouraged by my parents to work and make my own money,” said Carr, a 1988 graduate of Millard South. “I bought my first car with money I earned and saved for years from my paper route. It was always okay for me to think about working for myself instead of someone else. It was natural.”
While the Leggoons name remains the same, the look and design have been updated. The men’s shorts are longer to reflect the trend while the women’s are shorter—straying from the original “unisex” appeal of the originals.
Similarly, the patterns have been given a much-needed facelift to reflect today’s bold colors and designs, and, thanks to social media and the internet, the public relations and marketing strategy is much different this time around as well.
“The inventors spent a lot of money on PR, had their own storefront, as well as placed the Leggoons in local and national depart-ment stores, but that’s not as important or necessary today,” said Carr, who re-launched Leggoons this past August during Omaha Fashion Week. “We’ve been able to create quite a buzz for Leggoons on Facebook and
10 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
feature
s tO r y by m i c h a e l Wat K i n s • P h O tO s by b i l l s i t z m a n n & a j b r O W n P h O tO g r a P h y a n d P r O v i d e d by c h a d c a r r
R eal estate professionals from all over the region will soon converge for “shop talk” at Omaha’s 24th annual Commercial Real Estate Workshop (CREW), to be held at the CenturyLink Center Omaha on April 19, 2013. This year’s theme
is “Shifting Gears – Are You Gaining Momentum?”“The CREW Planning Committee decided at our September 2012 meeting that the com-
mercial real estate market had made a definite turn to the positive,” said Jerry Slusky, a partner with Smith Gardner Slusky Law and member of the CREW committee. “Noting that, CREW 2013 is using a bicycle theme to indicate that it’s time to shift your own gears and be in a posi-tion to take advantage of the momentum being created in the market. Each of the subjects of this year’s CREW is ‘geared’ to address that question,” Slusky explained.
CREW’s keynote roundtable theme, “Crisis of Confidence: How We Fix a Flat Tire,” will include conversation with Nebraska’s top business leaders and how they view the current economy, their expectations for the short and long term, and how their views relate to job creation and real estate.
As the Omaha mayoral election in May will have an economic impact on our economy, the CREW committee has invited the mayoral primary candidates to speak to attendees about their thoughts, plans, and goals for Omaha for 2013 and beyond. “All five mayoral candidates have accepted CREW’s invitation to speak at CREW 2013,” said Slusky. “The CREW Committee is preparing four or five questions that will be answered by the two mayoral finalists (decided in the April primary). It should be a very interesting.”
Jason Fisher, president of The Lund Company and regular participant in CREW, commends the CREW committee’s efforts in presenting a great event. “The committee and Jerry do a great job of blending relevant national or global market trends with the primary focus on local and regional issues,” Fisher said. “Secondly, the panelists, presenters, and topics are usually representative of the real estate market in its entirety—developers, brokers, attorneys, engineers, lenders, etc…All are represented. In addition, the relationship and networking opportunity [of CREW] is unlike any other. You basically have 300+ industry-focused professionals in the same room for a full day. If you can’t have meaningful conversations about your trade at CREW, then you are probably in the wrong business.”
“Shifting gears”is theme of
april CreW event
Twitter, and fans of the shorts have been able to purchase them online at www.leggoons.com. Beginning this spring, Leggoons will be available in select Omaha boutiques as well, added Carr.
feature
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 11
s tO r y by l i n da P e r s i g e h l
business events
Joan Squires leading and inspiring
at Omaha Performing arts
12 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
cover feature
s tO r y by j u dy h O r a n • P h O tO s by b i l l s i t z m a n n
Joan Squires leading and inspiring
at Omaha Performing arts
J oan squires was living a cozy life in Arizona where she was
president and CEO of the Phoenix Symphony. But when Omaha Performing Arts leaders called 10 years ago, she couldn‘t resist the challenge.
OPA wanted her help in operating two theaters in Omaha—the venerable Orpheum and the yet-to-be-built Holland Performing Arts Center.
Who could pass up the chance to operate a the-ater built in 1927 that was undergoing a $10 mil-lion renovation? And who wouldn’t want to participate in the building of a $102 mil-lion performing arts center in Downtown Omaha?
Squires saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “There was a committed board and key leadership. Also at that time, no one in Omaha was bringing in shows.”
OPA’s new president arrived in 2002 to find a staff of one and a lone com-puter housed in the offices of Heritage Services; the phil-anthropic foundation was OPA’s fundraiser.
The Holland Performing Arts Center was only a sketch on an architect‘s draw-ing board. The Orpheum Theater was still owned by the City of Omaha.
And few people knew much about the OPA. “One of our greatest challenges was branding the institu-tion,” Squires said. “We had to go from not in existence to fully operational in three years.”
Her first action was to
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 13
help set goals: 1) Assume management of the Orpheum from the city. 2) Prepare a strategic plan for the development of the organizational and administrative structure for OPA. 3) Participate in construction of the Holland.
“In 2004, we opened Ticket Omaha (a local ticketing ser-vice for the arts). Tickets were on sale six months before the Holland’s first performance in 2005,” Squires said.
a decade laterToday, the OPA president has a staff of 90 full- and
part-time employees and 500 volunteers. She oversees the 175,000-square-foot Holland Performing Arts Center and the renovated 2,600-seat Orpheum Theater that reopened in 2002. And Omaha Performing Arts now is the largest nonprofit arts organization in Nebraska.
Seventy-five percent of funding is now from earned revenue and 25 percent is from contributions.
Rankings in two industry publications in 2011 gave Omaha bragging rights. The Orpheum was ranked No.1 in Midwest ticket sales by Venues Today and No. 16 worldwide by Pollstar. The Holland was ranked in the top 10 nationally by Venues Today, an impressive ranking for a performing arts center that didn’t exist six years earlier.
“There were those that said Omaha could not support the facility,” remembers John Gottschalk, OPA chairman since its formation in 2000. Squires has oversight of a $18 million opera-tion. “And in six years she has never missed her budget. Never.”
Squires’ success in luring top talent has brought a financial benefit to the area, attract-ing visitors, creating jobs, and increasing tax revenue. A 2011 survey by University of Nebraska economists concluded that the two theaters had a cumulative economic impact on Douglas County of $128.49 million over five years and a $98.31 million impact on Nebraska.
The widely praised acoustics of the Holland bring out the best of the Omaha Symphony. Broadway shows now seek out the Orpheum. Performances have included Wicked, Jersey Boys and Disney’s® Lion King, which returns in March.
Check Squires’ iPhone and you’ll find an eclectic collection of music. But Broadway tunes rule. “From childhood on, I’ve loved Broadway musicals,” she said.
OPA’s mission includes presenting edu-cational programs for all ages, from student matinees to master classes to workshops taught by professionals.
“An addition at the Holland designed for teaching dance classes was added about three years ago,” said OPA Vice Chairman
What Omaha says abOut
JOan squires
I’ve said 100 times, we really, really were blessed to get her. Joan has a great knack for working with and inspiring people. She’s done a wonderful job helping other ar ts organizations. I have chaired f ive national organizations and I don’t know how many local, and…I put Joan high on my list as a very capable person. And a wonderful citizen of our community.
— John Gottschalk,
Chairman, Omaha Performing Arts
Joan is marvelous. I just considered us lucky as hell when we found her. She took over and has done everything. It ’s impossible to criticize anything. She’s that good. She can answer any question raised. She’s well-known in New York and all over the country because she attends things and asks questions. I would say of all women in Omaha, she’s got to be up there with the top.
— Richard D. Holland, Vice Chairman, Omaha
Performing Arts
I’ve been struck by the nurturing quality that she has. She is looking for the next generation of artistic leaders. I think Omaha is well-served with Joan as artistic curator for the community. She is focused, measured, energetic, and visionary. Joan brings a wonderful insight to the deliberations (as an NEA grants panelist). She’s visionary and makes a dif ference.
— Wayne S. Brown, National Endowment
for the Arts
14 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
cover feature
Richard Holland. The performing arts center was named for him and his late wife, Mary.
Squires has her finger on the pulse on Broadway theatre life and currently serves as a voting member for Broadway’s Tony Awards®. Active in Broadway League commit-tees, she is a member of the Performing Arts Center Consortium and of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. She is an advisor for the Broadway Dreams Foundation.
The life of Joan squiresJoan was born and raised in Shippensburg,
Pa., where her father ran a family business. Her twin brother, John, is the fourth genera-tion in the business.
Joan received her undergraduate degree in music education from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., and became a music teacher for three years. She loved her students, but teaching wasn’t her life’s mission.
She moved into arts management, earning a master’s degree in both business and music arts administration from the University of Michigan. She served as an intern for the National Endowment for the Arts and participated in a yearlong fellowship under the sponsorship of the League of American Orchestras.
Squires has worked in arts management for more than 25 years. Previous posi-tions were with the Milwaukee, Utah, and Houston symphonies.
She has received many honors including the Ak-Sar-Ben Court of Honor and the YWCA’s Woman of Vision. In 2012, she received a Governor’s Arts Award from the Nebraska Arts Council.
Squires has a short commute to work. She lives in a downtown condo about halfway between the two theaters that she oversees.
Her husband, Tom Fay, was a vice president of the Arizona State University Foundation before they moved to Omaha. A native New Yorker, he played the oboe for 17 years with the Pittsburgh Symphony and held a second career in arts management and academic fundraising.
Fay and Squires have been married 22 years. She has three stepchildren and three grandchildren.
Her husband has been supportive of her demanding career, said Squires. “He said he had his career, and it was now my turn.”
Squires said despite all the long hours she logs at work, it’s all worth it. “At the end of the day, standing in the back of the theater and watching the audience react, I think I have the best job in town.”
Throughout our 125 years se rv ing the Omaha
communi ty , f i ve consecu t ive genera t ions have
shared the same bus iness ph i losophy : In tegr i ty . I t
i s the corners tone upon which we were bu i l t and
cont inues to se rve as a so l id founda t ion today .
Thank you for vo t ing us #1 .
We can on ly be #1 by put t ing you f i r s t every day .
Some things never change…
YEARS
1983 - 2013 1983 - 2013
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS
OF OMAHA’S FACES & SPACES!
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 15
cover feature
16 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
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I t’s time for the highly anticipated Best of B2B Winners List! Now in its seventh year, the list is organized into categories, so if you’re looking for a specific product or service, you can easily
find the best! These businesses have the coveted vote of confidence from B2B Omaha Magazine readers.
The results were tabulated from ballots sent in from the Winter 2013 issue of B2B Omaha Magazine. Ballots had to be original, not photocopies, and more than half the ballot had to be filled out.
If you see some of the businesses you patronize on the winners list, be sure to congratulate them. They will greatly appreciate it! “This year, we received more votes than ever. The businesses who won in this year’s Best of B2B Omaha® contest should feel very proud of their accomplishment,” said Todd Lemke, publisher of B2B Omaha Magazine.
The resultsAre In!
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 17
Abe’s Trash Service, Inc.“Ser ving Omaha For Over 50 Years ”
Residential • Commercial • Rec yclingS ales • Ser vice • Rentals
Co m m e R C i a l• B o t h f R o n t f oa d & R e a R loa d S t y l e S
• S i z e S f R o m 2 - 8 C u B i C ya R d S
R e S i d e n t i a l• d e p e n da B l e w e e k ly R e S i d e n t i a l t R a S h S e R v i C e
• 90 G a l lo n t R a S h C a R t S av a i l a B l e• R e C y C l i n G a n d ya R d w a S t e S e R v i C e S av a i l a B l e
Co m paC t o R S• S tat i o n a R y & S e l f - Co n ta i n e d Co m paC t o R S
• C a R d B oa R d Co m paC t o R S• R e C y C l i n G S e R v i C e
• w e p e R f o R m a l l m a i n t e n a n C e o n o u R Co m paC t o R S
402-571-49268123 Christensen lane • omaha 68122 • www.abestrash.com
locally owned and operated B2B
Omaha Magazine’s
Om
aha’s Business to Business M
agaz
ine
WIN
NER • 2012 • WIN
NER
Co n S t R u C t i o n & d e m o l i t i o n•C&d l a n d f i l l
• C&d R e C y C l i n G• G R e e n B u i l d S e R v i C e S
R o l l - o f f Co n ta i n e R S• 12, 20, 30, & 40 ya R d S i z e S
• m e ta l o p e n t o p R o l l - o f f d u m p S t e R S• o n e - t i m e u S e o R o n a lo n G t e R m B a S i S
• Co n S t R u C d t i o n p R o j e C t S, S p R i n G C l e a n i n G, n e i G h B o R h o o d C l e a n u p S
employment agencyC & a industries, inc.
hemphill Search group 402-334-4800
www.hemphillsearch.com
engineering firmhDr
402-399-1383 www.hrdinc.com
Dlr group
financial Planning firmFeltz WealthPlan
Callahan Financial Planning
insurance agencythe harry a. Koch Co.
402-861-7000 www.hakco.com
Chastain Otis
architectural firmleo a. Daly
holland Basham architects
employee Benefit companylutz & Company, PC
SilverStone group
18 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Best of B2B 2013
10-MB_Cargo_2500_147.tif
For more information, call 1-800-FOR-MERCEDES, or visit MBUSA.com.
Mercedes-Benz of Omaha14335 Hillsdale Ave, Omaha, NE 68137
www.OmahaMercedes.com
Thank You Omaha! For voting the Sprinter
#1 in Best of B2B - delivery vehicle category.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 19
THANK YOU, OMAHA!
Voted THe Best
social Media consulting FiRM
& social Media MaRketing
PuBlic Relations
402.292.5553LET US TELL YOUR STORY.
www.alberscommunications.com
13665 California Street Omaha, Nebraska402.445.4380
www.mahoganyprime.com
Top 100 Restaurants in AmericaVoted Top 100 Restaurants in
America by Open Table
Prime Steak Fine Wine
Premium Service
Thanks for Voting UsB2B Omaha Magazine’s
Best of B2B 7 Years in a row!
Thanks for Voting UsOmaha Magazine’sBest of Omaha 9 Years in a row!
20 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
law firmBaird holm
abrahams Kaslow & Cassman, llP 402-392-1250
www.akclaw.com
Public relations firmzaiss & Co. 402-964-9293
www.zaiss.com
Carroll Communications
social Media consultantalbers Communications group, llC
402-292-5553 www.alberscommunications.com
iriDian grOUP
Building services
asphalt companylayman Paving inc.
B & W Co.
awning/canopy companyheartland awning & Design
allied awning & Siding
Burglar alarms & securitySei Security equiptment
aDt Security
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 21
Best of B2B 2013
Have your cake.And eat it, too.
Dining. Family. Fun. Health & Beauty. Household. Retail. Services. Transportation.
www.onesourcebackground.com
YEARSIN A ROW
carpet & rug cleaningSparkling Klean
402-399-9233 www.sparklingklean.com
Complete Carpet Care inc.
door companyOmaha Door & Window
norm’s Door Service
electrical servicemiller electric
advanced electrical Services
fence companyS&W Fence 402-333-5722
www.sw-fence.com
american Fence Co.
garbage collectionabe’s trash Services, inc.
402-571-4926 www.abestrash.com
Deffenbaugh industries
general contractorKiewit Corporation
hawkins Construction Co.
extreme limo• Corporate Events• Airport Service• Weddings, Prom• Last Day of School• Special Occasions
402.393.5466www.extremelimousineinc.comTHANK YOU FOR YOUR BEST OF B2B VOTE!
Greg CutchallOmaha Restaurateur
Database 101’s VIN GUPTAIn The Office
HAYNEEDLE
Nebraska’s PrEmIEr WEALTH ADVIsOrs
08
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The Omaha-Metro Business to Business Magazine
22 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Best of B2B 2013
Affordable • KnowledgeableProfessional
Visit us online Ciaccioroofing.comor call 402.293.8707for a FREE estimate!
Elite RoofingContractor since 2000
AVAILABLE 24/7
Protect Your Building & Investment with the BEST
HIGH PERFORMANCE ROOFING CONTRACTOR IN OMAHA
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 23
Ads
for B
est o
f Sec
tion
Businesses Are Buying Smarter
www.allmakes.com • Omaha: 2558 arnam t. | 402.341.2413 • Lincoln: 3333 O t. | 402.477.7131
The All Makes team is trained to help you make design and furniture purchases that fit your office atmosphere, your work style and your budget. Visit All Mak 165,000
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24 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
5601 Harrison Street Omaha, NE 68157
402.932.5704
@
omahafriendlyservices.com sunvalleyomaha.com
Thank You For Voting Us best of B2B Lawn & Landscape Contractor
BRAND YOUR ENVIRONMENT!
Take advantage of your environment as a powerful branding tool! We produce graphics and displays that create
an atmosphere that motivates and instills pride in your employees, impresses your prospects and clients, creates
the right buying atmosphere for your customers, and reinforces to shareholders that you have a vision for the
company’s future.
• lobby logos
• wall murals
• custom wallpaper
• dimensional graphics
• kiosks and display cases
• floor graphics
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• window film
For 1000s of ideas, go to RENZE.COM800.627.9131 X122
glass/Window installCity glass Co.
Quality glass & mirror
Heating/ac serviceStandard heating & air Conditioning,
Inc.
SOS heating & Cooling
Janitorial serviceFBg Service Corp.
Commercial Contract Cleaning
landscape/lawn contractorForest green lawn & landscaping
402-556-0595 www.forestgreenlawncare.com
Omaha Friendly Services 402-932-5704
www.omahafriendlyservices.com
locksmithCarl Jarl group
enterprise locksmiths, inc.
Moving companyOffice Furniture installers
allied
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 25
Best of B2B 2013
402.733.55004315 South 50th Street
B2B
Omaha Magazine’s
Om
aha’s Business to Business M
agaz
ine
WIN
NER • 2012 • WIN
NER
68 Years of Business in Omaha!
68 Years of Business in Omaha!
THANK YOU OMAHA!
B2B
Omaha Magazine’s
Om
aha’s Business to Business Mag
azin
e
WIN
NER • 2012 • WIN
NER
402.733.232212310 K Plaza, Ste. 108
www.taylorsflowers24hours.com
BEST FLORIST“Taylor Made” for ALL
your floral needs since 1950”
Locally Owned Since 1950
office furnitureall makes Office equipment Co.
402-977-3072 www.allmakes.com
Sheppard’s Business interiors
Painting contractormidwest Painting & Services
M.S. Services Inc.
Pest control companyOmaha Pest Control
Scott’s Pest Control
Picture framingmalibu gallery
402-391-4628 www.malibugalleries.com
lewis art gallery 402-391-7733
www.LewisArtGallery.com
Plumbing companyDave Janke Plumbing
Carmody Plumbing
Property Managementthe lund Company
402.393.8811 www.lundco.com
Byron reed Co.
26 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Best of B2B 2013
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 27
Ads
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est o
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28 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Citizens by Design
Thank you for your trust, Omaha! Voted #1 seven years in a row!
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Metropolitan Community College Culinary Arts Institute | West Dodge Expressway | Joslyn Sculpture Garden
A R C H I T E C T U R E | E N G I N E E R I N G | C O N S U LT I N G
www.hdrinc.com
2440 SOUTH 141ST CIRCLE • (402) 334-5446 • www.brandeiscatering.com
TipTop Downtown Ballroom1502 Cuming Street
Livestock Exchange Ballroom4920 South 30th Street
The Thompson Center at UNO6705 Dodge Street
Georgetowne Club2440 South 141st Circle
Voted Best Caterer in Omaha!“I want to thank the Omaha Business Community for selecting my company, Brandeis Catering, as the best caterer in the Metro Area
for seven years in a row. We appreciate your support and will continue to work to make you proud.” Joe Thallas - Owner/General Manager
real estate–commercialnai nP Dodge
World group
roofing companyCiaccio roofing
402-293-8707 www.Ciaccioroofing.com
Scott enterprises, inc. 402.571.2364
www.scottent.com
security guard serviceFrontline Private Security
Omaha Security
sign companyBest Buy Signs
402-861-0384 www.BestBuySigns.net
renze Display 800-627-9131
www.Renze.com
snow removal serviceClear Creek landscapes
executive lawn & landscaping
Towing companyneff towing
402-733-5500
Big red tow, inc.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 29
Best of B2B 2013
Thank You From All of us at Malibu!
402.391.4628301 North 78th St.
One Block N of Dodge
M A L I B U®
G A L L E R Ywww.malibugalleries.com
We were determined to become Omaha’s Best and with your votes, we succeeded. Thank you Omaha, we will live up to our title. Host your next event at Regency Lodge Hotel to experience why so many people voted us Best Business Conference Venue.
909 S. 107th Ave. • Omaha, NE 68114402.397.8000 • 800.617.8310
www.regencylodge.com
Regency Lodge Hotel.... O ur distinctive surroundings.... Create a lifetime of memories....
30 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
THANK YOU FOR VOTING HILTON OMAHA AS YOUR TOP HOTEL CHOICE FOR THE SEVENTH YEAR IN A ROW
Hilton Omaha, recipient of the AAA Four Diamond Award, eight consecutive years
Window cleaningall Weather Services
all Clear Window
financial services
BankFirst national Bank of Omaha
Security national Bank
credit card Merchant ProcessingtSYS merchant Solutions
402-574-7224 www.tsysomaha.com
american Payment Systems 402.502.9985
www.americanpayment.com
Payroll servicePayroll maxx
ideal Payroll Service 402-614-3028
www.idealpayrollservice.com
feature
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 31
Ads
for B
est o
f Sec
tion8 Straight
Years!BEST OF B2B
AWARD2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008| 2007 | 2006
Thank you for voting Better Business Equipment
THE BEST company in Omaha for the eighth straight year
32 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Best of B2B 2013Thank You Omaha!
www.akclaw.com 402.392.1250
Best of B2B Winner 3 years
in a row!
B2B best of omaha ad 2013_Layout 1 1/28/2013 1:17 PM Page 1
food services
Banquet facilityScoular Ballroom
402-449-1424 www.ScoularBallroom.com
Paxton Ballroom
catererBrandeis Catering
hap abraham Catering
restaurant–Business
BreakfastFarmhouse Cafe & Bakery
the egg & i
restaurant–Business lunchBiaggi’s ristorante italiano
Sullivan’s Steakhouse 402-342-0077
www.sullivanssteakhouse.com
restaurant–Business dinnermahogany Prime Steakhouse
402.445.4380 www.mahoganyprime.com
801 Chophouse 402.341.1222
www.801chophouse.com
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 33
Thank You for Voting Us Best of B2B
2 Years in a Row!
Contact our Highly Trained and Certified Staff at402-298-5011 | www.conceptsav.com
3712 S. 132nd Street | Omaha, NE 68144
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• MaintenanceandService• CustomFurnishingsandDisplays• EquipmentRentalandOperation
B2B
Omaha Magazine’s
Om
aha’s Business to Business M
agaz
ine
WIN
NER • 2012 • WIN
NER
34 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
B2B
Omaha Magazine’s
Om
aha’s Business to Business M
agaz
ine
WIN
NER • 2012 • WIN
NER
15803 Pacific St. • Omaha, NE • 402-333-5722www.sw-fence.com
Thanks for Voting S&W Fence the Best Again in 2013!
We’re Not Just About Fences.
lastingrelationships
beingproactive
Get to know us. 402.574.7224www.tsysomaha.com
TSYS Merchant Solutions processes an average of
3 million transactions a day.
We are honored to be named Omaha’s best of B2B for Credit Card Merchant Processing. After all, behind each and every payment is a person — and payments have the power to change lives.
For more than 30 years as a part of a deep history in Omaha, we’ve offered business owners payment products and services to meet their needs. Give us a chance to improve your business’ credit card acceptance.
© 2013 Total System Services, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
TSYS® is a federally registered service mark of Total System Services, Inc.
But they’ll remember this one — getting tickets to visit the new Scott Aquarium for the first time.
US ON402-556-0595
www.forestgreenlawncare.com
Thank You! We Wanted To Thank Everyone That Voted For Us.
www.davidradler.com402-342-6230
David Radler Studio
Thanks our
business
partners
for voting us #1!
coffee Providerlarue Coffee
ideal Pure Water & Coffee
Travel & evenT Planning
airlineSouthwest
US Air
audio-visual serviceConcepts aV integration
402-298-5011 www.conceptsav.com
aVi Systems
Business conference venueScott Conference Center
402.778.6313 www.scottcenter.com
regency lodge hotel 402-397-8000
www.regencylodge.com
floristtaylor’s Flower Shop & greenhouse
402-733-2322 www.taylorsflowers24hours.com
Janousek Florist & greenhouse
golf courseOmaha Country Club
happy hollow Club
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 35
Best of B2B 2013
Behind every excited bride, great event planner, caterer, production company or private party host, you will find a great rental company. Unit-ed Rent-All Omaha is that company.
• Experience• Quality• Service• Reliability• CapabilityThese are the cornerstones that also make United Rent-All your trusted event partner.
402.556.1600www.unitedrent-all-omaha.com
811 S. 48th Street | Omaha
OMAHA’S PREMIER SOURCE FOR PARTY AND EVENT RENTALS.
Thank you for voting us Best of B2B for
Picture Framing!
Lewis Art Gallery 8600 Cass Street402.391.7733
www.LewisArtGallery.com
• Family Owned for 42 Years• Multi Award Winning Framing
• One Week Service to Custom Framing• Over 900 In-Stock Mouldings
• Expert Consultation
• COMMERCIAL
• INSTITUTIONAL
• INDUSTRIAL
• 24-HOUR DEDICATED SERVICE DEPARTMENT
9684 N. 109TH AVE. • OMAHA, NE 68142 • 402-571-2364 • WWW.SCOTTENT.COM
PROVIDING QUALITY INSTALLATIONS TO FACILITIES
THROUGHOUT THE MIDWEST SINCE 1979.
VOTED BEST ROOFING COMPANY IN OMAHA!
Hotelhilton Omaha
402.998.3400 www.omaha.hilton.com
embassy Suites–laVista
limousine serviceOld market limousine
extreme limousine 402-393-5466
www.extremelimousineinc.com
live entertainmentmichael Walker
Complete music
event Planning servicePlanit Omaha
402.333.3062 www.planitomaha.com
Step group inc.
rental service storeUnited rent-all
402-556-1600 www.unitedrent-all-omaha.com
honeyman rent-all
Travel agencytravel & transport
402.399.4500 www.tandt.com
aaa travel
36 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Best of B2B 2013
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 37
Together, for over 66 years, Travel and Transport and Omaha have been “Going Places”.From our innovative corporate travel solutions, to our expertise in planning unforgettable vacations, Travel and Transport is “Going Places” and we are excited to take Omaha along for the ride. Thank you for your support and watch for new things to come from Travel and Transport.
www.tandt.com Located at 72nd & Mercy | 402.399.4500 Look for us on Facebook and Twitter Corporate travel | EvEnTs | LOyaLTy | vacaTiOns
Thanks for Voting Travel and Transport “Best Travel Agency” in Omaha!
Business services
advertising specialtiesBergman incentives
402.661.7900 www.bergmanincentives.com
ideal images 402.596.1002
www.ideal-images.com
auto repairall tech automotive
Walker tire & auto Service
Background & drugscreening service
One Source 402-933-9999
www.onesourcebackground.com
aPS resources
Business appraiser/BrokerSunbelt Business Brokers
acclaro Valuation advisors
Business forms & systemsPerformance group
402-896-9400 www.formsguys.com
Donis Corp.
38 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Best of B2B 2013
Thanks for voting us Best of B2B!
Grand Re-Opening March 2013
RECYCLING FOR FREE! CALL US TO FIND OUT HOW!
Please call us today at 402-731-3333 to learn more about
commercial recycling
www.DeffenbaughInc.com 402-731-3333
*Recycling costs are offset by a reduction in your trash bill. Ask your sales person for details.
THANK YOU OMAHA FOR VOTING US BEST OF B2B THE LAST THREE YEARS!
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 39
Named Best Printer, 8 Years Running.
Thankswww.OmahaPrint.com
Business Phone systemsin Touch
huntel Communications
cellular serviceSprint
Verizon Wireless
computer serviceOur Tech
Schrock innovations
copier & supplies co.Better Business equipment
402-393-6666 www.bbeomaha.com
SolutionOne 800-742-0023
www.solutiononenow.com
corporate Jet serviceJet linx
402-422-0393 www.JetLinxOmaha.com
netJets
delivery serviceCapital express
hotshot Deliveries
40 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Best of B2B 2013
• I n t e r i o r P a i n t i n g• E x t e r i o r P a i n t i n g• C a r p e n t r y• Wa l l C o v e r i n g I n s t a l l a t i o n• Wa l l C o v e r i n g R emo v a l• H a n d yma n & R e p a i r S e r v i c e
37 YEARS OF BUSINESS IN OMAHA!www.gerstcontracting.com
Call by 4/15 to Receive free DISC profile
VOTED #1 SALES TRAINER IN OMAHA
T: 402-616-1098 • F: 888-712-30593828 Dodge St • Omaha, NE 68131
Karl SchaphorstPresident
Sandler Training® utilizes continual reinforcement
through ongoing training and individual coaching
sessions not only to help you learn but also to ensure
your success. With over 200 training centers
worldwide to provide support, you won’t fail...
because we won’t let you.
Struggling to Grow Sales?We Can Help
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 41
For giv ing us the opportunity to serve your Search, Staff ing, and Consult ing needs.
Omaha’s business leaders chose Hemphill as Omaha’sBest Employment firm in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, & 2013
The Right Match the First Time!
Helping our clients get from GOOD to GREAT, one hire at a time!
402.334.4800 | www.hemphillsearch.com
THANK YOU!
42 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Optimization Drives Traffic,Leads and Sales
402.415.7740localmize.com
An Omaha Marketing Solutions Company
Can potential clients find your business online?If not they will find your competitors.
• Web Design• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)• Monthly Monitoring• Comprehensive Reporting• Proven Results• Omaha Based Business
Optimize with Localmize!
for more
When your company needs a merchant account we offer:• Guaranteed lower rates• Quick approvals• Low-cost terminals• Top-rated customer service• Gift and loyalty card programs (like the PinPoint Card program)
• Family owned and locally operated for over 30 years
Go to AmericanPayment.com for more information or call us at [402] 502.9985
delivery vehiclesmercedes-Benz of Omaha
402-384-9999 www.OmahaMercedes.com
Omaha truck Center
internet ProviderCox Business
402-934-3223 www.cox.com
Centurylink
Mailing listsCaS inc.
866-461-4693 www.cas-online.com
infoUSa
Mailing serviceBurke’s Direct mail
Omaha mail
office records storage & destruction
retrievex
records management Solutions
office suppliesPay-less Office Products
Officemax
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 43
Public Relations Works
Customer-Based Planning and Communications
If it’s not for your business, you may be missing a vital connection.
At Zaiss & Company our customer-based
communications plans include effective,
business-moving PR strategies
that deliver marketplace results.
For PR strategies that integrate with your
total plan and connect to real,
bottom-line benefits, partner with us.
You’ll be in good company.
402-964-9293 11626 Nicholas Street zaissco.com
Best PR Agency 5 Years Running!
Best of B2B 2013
commercial PhotographerDavid radler
402.342.6230 www.davidradler.com
ervin Photography
PrinterOmaha Print
402-734-4400 www.OmahaPrint.com
Barnhart Press
sales TrainingSandler Sales
actionCOaCh
uniform supplyalamar Uniforms
Don’s Pioneer Uniforms
Water–Bottledideal Pure Water
Deep rock Water
Website developerJm Web Designs
rebel interactive
44 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
The Harry A. Koch Co.Insurance & Financial ConsultantsMember of First Insurance Group, LLC
www.hakco.com • 402.861.7000
“Omaha’s Best Insurance Agency”
Insurance Solutions That Have
Withstood the Test of Time
• Business Insurance• Employee Benefits• Surety Bonding• Safety & Loss Control Services• Family Insurance
Thank you for voting us
Thanks for Voting us Your #1 Locksmith!
To see what else we are up to, check us out at:
www.carljarlgroup.com
Best of B2B 2013
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 45
Omaha Business hall of Famechamber names2013 inductees
T he omaha business hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1993 to honor the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s 100th anniversary. Since then, the chamber has recognized more than 100 men and women for their leadership in Omaha’s growth.
Stories of the honorees inducted during the past 20 years are on display at The Durham Museum.Five successful business leaders will join them at the museum after they are inducted on
April 23 at the Holland Performing Arts Center: Susan Jacques, Mogens Bay, Marshall Faith, William “Willy” Theisen, and James Young.
Proceeds from the Omaha Business Hall of Fame gala support a permanent exhibit at The Durham Museum and provide funding for the Chamber’s Greater Omaha Young Professionals Summit.
SUSAN JACqUES, PRESIDENT AND CEO
Borsheims A gem of an executive, Susan Jacques is
one of five business leaders headed for the Omaha Business Hall of Fame. While study-ing at the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, Calif., Susan Jacques met a classmate who would change the direction of her career.
Alan Friedman suggested she come work for his father’s store in Omaha to gain retail experience. His father, Ike Friedman, owned Borsheims at the time.
Sol “Coke” Friedman remembers that his
46 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
s tO r y by j u dy h O r a n • P h O tO s by b i l l s i t z m a n n
feature
late brother, Ike, had high regard for Jacques. “She probably knew more about gemstones than anybody in the store.”
Jacque’s passion for gems and jewelry began during her childhood in Rhodesia. She earned her graduate Gemology diploma in 1980 from the Gemological Institute of America. Jacques graduated with distinction from the Gemological Association of Great Britain and in 1982 was named “most outstanding student worldwide.”
Her knowledge, along with business savvy, propelled Jacques from a sales clerk and appraiser in 1982 to the store’s top position in 1994. Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway—Borsheims’ majority owner since 1989—named Jacques president and CEO.
Borsheims has become one of the nation’s largest independent jewelry stores, with 62,500 square feet of space and 100,000 pieces of inventory.
“I’ve watched her grow as an individual and as a business person with the company as it has grown,” said Coke, a retired businessman. “She is just a good person. That might be the highest compliment you can pay a person.”
Jacques is presently chairman of the Gemological Institute of America where she studied. She received the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Jewelry Association and was inducted into the 1997 National Jeweler’s Retailer Hall of Fame. She serves on the Creighton University board of directors and is a trustee of the Business Ethics Alliance.
She and her husband, Gene Dunn, have three sons. The couple recently bought Gorat’s Steakhouse from the family that had owned the restaurant since 1944. Shareholders have gathered for dinner at Gorat’s during the Berkshire Hathaway meeting for years.
In a business that depends on trust and a handshake, Susan Jacques has found her niche at Borsheims.
“She is one of those people if you didn’t know her, you would want to,” said Coke. “Susan has the knack of treating everyone as if they are a friend, which in the retail busi-ness is very important.”
On April 23, Susan Jacques will join her former boss, the late Ike Friedman, and her >>
What’s all the hoopla about hulu?
J ust to set the stage in the simplest of terms: Hulu is streaming TV (and a movie service with original content, but put this part aside for a minute). News Corp. and NBCUniversal started Hulu as internet video in 2007 as a single website offering the
previous night’s episode of The Simpsons. From those humble yet visionary beginnings, the service has grown dramatically; this year, its on pace to exceed $600 million in revenue. Most of Hulu’s 25 million unique visitors access Hulu for free, but more than 2 million willingly pay $7.99 a month to access Hulu’s full library of programs from all six major broadcast net-works and more than 400 content providers. That’s a reported 5,482 TV series and film titles, 181,020 videos, and more.
Put in even simpler terms, Hulu is TV—just watched differently by time-crunched, multi-screen viewers. And this is where the traditional businessperson who wants to reach people has to put her head. Not-so-traditional marketers are adding Hulu to media plans to supplement the reach of TV gained the traditional way via network, cable, and spot schedules.
Hulu serves up ads to both free access and paying viewers. Before the requested program streams, ads are served up for view. Users show tolerance for ads and are even asked if the ads are “relevant” to them. If they are, they may get an ad of similar relevance served up that they can sit through or skip. According to ComSource.com July 2012 online video rankings, Hulu leads the way serving 46.4 ads per viewer per month. Hulu says 96 percent of those ads are watched in full. Average age of viewer: 38, skewing younger and about even male/female.
The young digital natives likely made it what it is today, but the user demos are expanding in age and showing a solid $85,000 average household income with 33 percent over $100,000. That’s why Hulu’s roster of more than 1,000 advertisers is growing, too, including national brands Geico and Toyota.
Don’t misunderstand: Network and cable TV are nowhere near dead. But viewership is down 12.5 percent since Hulu’s launch and 3.6 million U.S. residents have abandoned pay-TV for internet video in the last five years. Ask the people under 30 in your office if they even own a TV…
Hulu is one way to reach the multi-screen, time-shifted viewer. And at just four minutes of ads served up pre-program streaming vs. average eight minutes of ads on commercial breaks on network TV, Hulu brags that general, brand, and message recall plus likability are all higher among their viewers. Not bad attributes once you can get your head around “Hulu is TV.”
Wendy Wiseman
Vice President & Creative Direc tor of Zaiss & Company, a customer-
based planning and communications f irm in Omaha.
feature
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 47
social medias tO r y by W e n dy W i s e m a n
<< current boss, Warren Buffett, in the Omaha Business Hall of Fame.
MOGENS C. BAY, CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF
ExECUTIVE OFFICERValmont Industries Inc.
A career with Valmont has taken Mogens Bay to Hong Kong, Madrid, and to Omaha’s corporate headquarters. He has led Valmont through a significant period of growth over the past 20 years to become the world’s leader in engineered products for infrastructure and efficient irrigation equipment for agriculture. He heads an organization with 100 world-wide manufacturing locations and more than 10,000 employees committed to making prod-ucts that make the world a better place to live.
MARSHALL FAITH, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
The Scoular CompanyIn 1967, Marshall Faith purchased a major-
ity interest in The Scoular Company. Now with nearly 700 employees and 70 locations, Scoular serves customers in food, feed, and renewable fuel markets. Annual sales are more than $6 billion. In his 45th year with Scoular, Faith continues his philosophy of providing employees good jobs, good pay, and good opportunities. With a son and grandson in
48 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
Business Hall of Fame
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O maha welcomes about 5 million overnight visitors every year; visitors who come to our city for a variety of different reasons—maybe it’s a business meeting, a college visit, or just a nice weekend getaway. You probably don’t think twice about
them, but twice is exactly what you should be thinking. According to the Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism, each dollar spent by tourists in
Omaha is re-circulated in the economy to produce an additional $1 in business and income, creating an overall economic impact of $2. For example, a tourism dollar that goes for gasoline is spent by the business owner to pay the cashier, who then spends the dollar to buy grocer-ies—it’s the multiplier effect.
Take a Kansas City family of four visiting Omaha for a weekend: They need a place to stay; two nights at a hotel will run them around $200. They don’t have a kitchen; that means they will eat out four to six times while they are here, so add another $280 to their tab. The family plans to go to the zoo; with admission, snacks, and souvenirs, they’ll likely spend $130. While shopping, they spend another $230. Add in incidentals like gas…and when the weekend is over, they’ve spent a total of $1,000. Considering their money doubles as it trickles through the economy—that one family made a $2,000 economic contribution to our city.
A recent Omaha tourism economic study showed overnight visitors drive an additional $1 billion into our economy annually. That’s a significant boost to our city’s financial health!
Too bad visitors don’t wear a big ‘V’ on their shirts so we could thank them personally for their impact on our local economy!
questions or comments? Email us at [email protected].
Dana Markel, Executive Direc tor, Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau
1001 Farnam, Omaha, NE 68102
402-444-4660 • w w w.visitomaha.com
They get a great Time. Omaha gets
a great return.
the business, Faith is counting on Scoular continuing at least another 120 years.
WILLIAM (WILLY) M. THEISEN, PRESIDENT
Business Ventures LLCMany entrepreneurs come up with restau-
rant concepts. Making the idea work on a national level is how Willy Theisen stands out. He founded Godfather’s Pizza in 1973 and, by the time he sold the company 10 years later, Godfather’s was the country’s fastest-growing restaurant chain. The entrepreneur stayed “ahead of the curve” as owner of the Green Burrito chain in 1992 and Famous Dave’s in 2000. Theisen is now owner/founder of Pitch Coal Fire Pizzeria in Dundee.
JAMES R. YOUNG, CHAIRMAN
Union Pacif ic CorporationSince joining Union Pacific in 1978, Young
has steadily risen in the ranks to the top posi-tion. He chairs an internationally focused company that employs 45,000 people in 23 states and 8,000 communities. Young remem-bers when railroads had a shrinking workforce and concerns about the future. Today, Union Pacific is strong and integral to the U.S. econ-omy. Young has led the evolvement of U.P.’s culture to a dedication to vision, commit-ment, teamwork, and respect.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 49
Omaha CVBS TO R y By dA N A M A R k E L • I L LUS T R AT I O N P R O V I d E d By U. S . T R AV E L A S S O C I AT I O N
legend Comics and Coffee
making comics accessible
C offee is one of those things…” David DeMarco, part-owner of Legend Comics and Coffee, pauses
as he tries to explain the welcoming qualities of the beverage. “You want to sit and read something? What better thing than to read a comic book with a cup of coffee?”
DeMarco joined forces in 2011 with Jason Dasenbrock and Wendy Pivonka to move Legend Comics into a larger space on 52nd and Leavenworth. A space fit for a new kind of comic book store.
Dasenbrock and Pivonka had been tossing around the thought of combining a coffee shop with their extant comics store. They put the idea to current landlord, Tom Simmons. “Tom wanted to do something that would bring in traffic to the location, and a coffee shop fit the bill,” Dasenbrock says.
DeMarco hazards a guess that there may be fewer than 10 comic book/coffee shops in the
“
Pictured top left at Legend Comics and Coffee: left, David DeMarco and Jason Dasenbrock, right.
50 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
s tO r y by c h r i s W O l f g a n g • P h O tO s by b i l l s i t z m a n n
omAHA!
nation. DeMarco, Pivonka, and Dasenbrock took their inspiration from Des Moines store Cup o’ Kryptonite, but by the time Legend reopened with its new vision in 2011, that retailer no longer ran a full coffee shop. “We are standing on the shoulders of giants,” DeMarco says.
Comic book stores can be intimidating for lots of people (the uneducated newbie or the wary female, for example), and coffee seems to be a natural way to bring in new fans. “This is not the boys’ club,” Dasenbrock says. “Everyone is welcome here, whether you’ve never read a comic or if you’ve read all of them.”
“We are not intimidating,” DeMarco adds, “and I will tell you why. I…think we are very nice.” Definitely a modest way of expressing his pride in a retail space that was created specifically for comic books. “I wanted to design a comic store,” he says. Thanks to local firm Architectural Offices, the shop’s custom shelves, lighting, and chairs say Industrial Art Gallery rather than Some Dude’s Basement.
In the same vein of making comics acces-sible to everyone, Legend hosts events like trivia nights every other Monday, raffles, and dunk tanks on Free Comic Book Day (May 4, mark your calendar). “We’re trying to be an advocate for the community,” DeMarco says. “Why wouldn’t we do fun stuff? And we have a room downstairs for games and for people to use.” It’s free for anything, from Magic tournaments to poetry workshops.
DeMarco believes that some of the best reading material these days is in comic books. “It’s an untapped reservoir, and we will walk you through it.” One of his favorite ways of suggesting comics to the uniniti-ated is by quizzing them about their favorite TV shows. “If you like West Wing, try Ex Machina. It’s political intrigue with a splash of superhero-dom.” For LOST lovers, DeMarco recommends Morning Glories, a comic cen-tered around kids isolated in a mysterious prep school. “Is it a government experiment? Are they dead? You don’t know!”
Legend runs a subscription service for those who want to have their favorite comics reserved and ready for them to pick up whenever they walk in. Then, maybe, they’ll order the Legend custom blend (or perhaps a Green River phos-phate) from the coffee bar and settle in to lose themselves with Spiderman.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 51
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nature- inspired Office Spacethe Pinnacle bank headquarters
T he four elements—earth, fire, wind, and water—connote strength, simplicity, and timeless-
ness andwere the source of inspiration for the design of the Pinnacle Bank Headquarters at 180th & Dodge streets in Omaha.
Pinnacle Bank, a Nebraska-based institu-tion now in eight states, worked closely with the team at Avant Architecture to make the building essentially a piece of modern art. Rising from the horizon, the stone, steel, and glass structure suggests strength and elegance, simplicity and beauty.
“We’re really all about Nebraska and the Nebraska way,” says Chris Wendlandt, Senior Vice President of Marketing/Retail. Having previously worked with Avant, Wendlandt says the architecture firm knew their phi-losophy well. “Avant worked to match the building with the brand and I think they did a great job.”
Wendlandt says that the goal was to create a space that would be simple, warm and invit-ing, and something that both employees and their customers would be proud of.
Since their grand opening in June 2011, the response of employees and clients has been overwhelmingly positive.
52 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
s tO r y by t r ac i O su n a • P h O tO s by tO m K r e s s l e r
in the office
The overall design of the building is sleek, yet elegant. “The emphasis is on light, open-ness, and views [of the exterior landscape],” says Wendlandt. Italian tile runs throughout the approximately 82,000-square-foot build-ing. Other materials carried throughout the building’s design are the dark, German wood veneer, Oberflex, used in cabinets and doors, as well as a Gage Cast bronze metal that can be found near the teller line, in the elevator, and in other parts of the building.
Glass plays a prominent role in the overall design as well. Running through the lobby is a green-tinted channel glass wall, hinting at the element of water and providing light, as well as privacy, to first-floor offices and conference rooms. Large glass-panel walls on both exterior and interior walls keep with the open and airy feeling.
“The consistency throughout the whole building gives it that warm feeling, but then the artwork really brings [to life] what our brand is,” says Wendlandt. While the design of the space is minimalist, the artwork is what captures the attention of the viewer.
Aided by Holly Hackwith of Corporate Art Co., the art in the building was com-missioned especially for the Pinnacle Bank
project. With the majority of the artists being from Nebraska and the surrounding area, their work conveys the feel of Pinnacle’s home state. “We went through and identified art-ists we thought worked for the building,” says Wendlandt. Some of the more promi-nently featured artists are Jorn Olsen, Helene quigley, and Matt Jones.
Then, in what Hackwith calls an extraordi-nary gesture, the Pinnacle executives allowed their employees to select which pieces would go into their personal offices. The result is an art collection that is a healthy mix of tradi-tional and modern, serene and vibrant.
“Their employees really felt like they were a part of the process,” says Hackwith. Each work of art includes a plaque detailing the name of the piece, the name of the artist, and a brief description of the piece and artistic process involved.
The executive offices on the upper floors have glass-panel walls that look into the hall-ways and common areas. Employee cubicles have lower walls with glass panes imbedded, giving nearly every employee access to natural light and breathtaking views.
A community meeting room was created so that many of Pinnacle’s nonprofit clients can reserve it for their own use. “Community is…very important to us,” says Wendlandt. She says that they made a conscious effort to include a conference room with community access to it. All conference rooms are equipped with the latest in audio-visual technology
The top floor houses a green roof as well as a meeting area surrounded by glass-paneled walls that can slide open and be used to enter-tain clients or hold business meetings.
The building has achieved its sought-after LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification. To earn this distinction, the building must meet green building standards regarding energy perfor-mance, water efficiency and several other aspects. In September 2012, the Pinnacle Bank project was also honored for its superior design with a silver award in the Corporate-Healthcare category by the Nebraska-Iowa Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).
President Sid Dinsdale and the executives at Pinnacle Bank have created a new work space that reflects their values as a company. In doing so, they have also built a monument to where they came from and the clients they serve.
www.ReadOnlineNow.com B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 53
get up, get moving!
ever get tired of sitting at your desk all day? By now, everyone has probably heard the reports of
the health benefits of walking. The Surgeon General recommends a minimum of 10,000 steps or five miles per day, yet the average American walks less than half of this amount, leading to chronic health problems brought on by inactivity.
By rethinking how you work, you can walk your way to better health while you work. The Treadmill Desk was recently designed to change the sedentary lifestyle and is con-tinuing to gain popularity.
Consisting of a desk with an integrated control console, the Treadmill Desk still allows you to accomplish daily tasks like emails, phone calls, and typing, while work-ing. The console displays speed, distance, steps taken, time spent, and calories burned. It also allows you to synchronize data over Bluetooth to a Mac or PC, which synchro-nizes the information with an online account that allows you to set goals and track your walking progress. The treadmill’s quiet motor is ideal for the corporate or home office.
Our bodies are made to move, so get moving! Stop by the All Makes showroom at 25th & Farnam to see what’s new in the office and to demo the Treadmill Desk. The All Makes team is trained to help you make furniture and busi-ness equipment purchases that fit your office atmosphere, your work style, and your budget.
s tO r y & P h O tO P r O v i d e d by a l l m a K e s
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office furniture
T he united states is like no other place in the world because of the environment we maintain
for providing incentive for those willing to think outside the box. As I travel talking to individuals who have taken a crazy idea all the way to a profitable venture, I am struck by how few of us even know about what these Americans do.
Here are two examples which you will never see on even The Science Channel:
First, there is a small division of a larger American company that uses patents devel-oped in Star Wars labs to make possible that which was impossible just a few years ago. A small research team has developed the ability to use lasers to destroy incoming missiles, airplanes, or even mortar rounds—Instant, accurate, and very powerful lasers to heat and destroy in order to make us safe from these threats. In accomplishing this task, an idea emerged that a spin-off use of this kind of technology would be easy. As they say, tactical to practical.
This small division uses powerful lasers to hammer metal into complex shapes and to stress metals in a manner that extends their useful life fivefold.
What if the U.S. military purchased a fighter which cost $350 million…a fighter that, after a mere 800 hours of flight time, risked having the mounts securing the wings fail and the wings fall off? What if these mounts could easily be made many times stronger, and last many times longer, by hit-ting them with powerful lasers?
What if a large, multinational aviation company determined that the aluminum frame for their aircraft would begin to fail after just a decade of use? What if the use of a powerful laser could extend the useful life of these frames fivefold?
What if the U.S. nuclear power facilities learned that the steel reaction chambers were being harmed by the radiation in a manner
that failure was likely? What if these steel chambers could be strengthened by hitting the surface with powerful lasers, thus extend-ing the useful life greatly?
These and many more equally fascinating problems are being solved by this small group.
Another example…There’s a unique American metal-working company that is capable of pressing hot alloys into complex shapes using pressures of 5.2 million pounds. The press weighing in at 5,300,000 pounds with three of the heaviest components weigh-ing almost a million pounds each. Aerospace industries so rely on this company for its unique capabilities that they require back-ups for each of the press components to be kept on-site, so that any component failure can be quickly replaced. There is no other press like this in the world.
Wouldn’t you consider these companies something to be heralded by the media? I, for one, find this infinitely more interesting than what fashion some actor prefers.
These two companies, and the hundreds of other unique American companies, cause me to ask, what is so different about the United States that entrepreneurs are willing to risk all to chase their dreams? Profit, of course. The ability to bring a great idea, or capabil-ity, to market and be compensated for the passion, perseverance, and hard work it takes to overcome the myriad of obstacles every entrepreneur faces daily.
So, when I hear the Occupy Wall Street types and short-sighted legislators say that the capital gains income tax rate should be the same as ordinary income, I want to scream out that we only need to look at what’s occurring in France now that their long-term investment tax rate is 60 percent. If we remove the profit incentive, we will remove the incentive to innovate, create, and work as hard as it takes to overcome the challenges of a new business venture.
Creativity, ingenuity, and Work ethic
Always Local, Always Beautiful
A Publication of
May/June 2012
Always Local, Always Beautiful
WAtkins ULtimAte
Backyard Challenge
CUrt Hofer ConstrUCtion
“Band of Brothers”
A Publication
Architect Steven Ginn’s Innovative Residence
September/October 2011
A Home For All Ages
Always Local, Always Beautiful
Kitchen Remodel
Room spotlight
Field Club Historical District
neighboRhood pRofile
ASID Project Awards
2011 nebRaska-iowa
54 B2B Omaha Magazine • Spring 2013 www.OmahaPublications.com
“ i m ag i n at i O n i s t h e b e g i n n i n g O f c r e at i O n .” — g e O r g e b e r n a r d s h aW
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