Osborne Gives Timeless Advice at PCDC Annual Meeting

Former Nebraska Football Coach Tom Osborne delighted a crowd of 120 PCDC supporters at the annual meeting on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Taste of Texas in downtown Holdrege.

Osborne spoke to the crowd about the importance of building a positive culture among businesses and organizations, how mentoring can make an impact in youth and future employees and about overcoming adversity.

The former coach talked about his 42 years of influence in the Nebraska football program and how he worked to establish a culture where everyone was treated with care and kindness.

“How the low man on the totem pole is treated affects everybody,” Osborne said. “The first team player was just as important as the fourth string player.”

Osborne and his wife, Nancy, started the TeamMates mentoring program to help all kids have a chance for a better future. He said each high-school dropout costs taxpayers $240,000.

But with a mentoring program and caring adults, kids can achieve their goals and become one of the best sources of economic development ad future employees in a community.

“We are not just working to have high school graduates, we are about every student having a marketable skill,” Osborne said.

He praised the local TeamMates mentoring program, which has 75 mentors and mentees, and encouraged more adults to get involved in the program.

“That is probably one of the best commitments you can make in your community,” Osborne said of TeamMates.

He also shared his advice on the three ways that people approach adversity. Some will quit, some will blame someone else, and others will treat adversity as an opportunity to learn something and improve.

“People who do well learn from their mistakes,” Osborne said. “They don’t quit. Adversity is your friend. When adversity hits is when you make the most positive changes.”

Prior to Osborne’s keynote address, PCDC conducted a short business meeting. Fred Diedrichsen, PCDC’s outgoing board president, announced the re-election of board members Tim Anderson, Fred Diedrichsen, Phil  Hinrichs, Tom Nutt and Doug Stevenson, and the election of new board member Janet Boehler.

Diedrichsen thanked everyone who invested in PCDC in the successful Prosperity Project II Campaign and announced Tim Anderson as this year’s President’s Priceless Pick award winner.

“Tim’s been of invaluable service with his contacts across the state of Nebraska,” Diedrichsen said.

 Diedrichsen then passed the gavel to new president Doug Stevenson.

Stevenson thanked Diedrichsen for his service to PCDC and the community.

“With Fred, the thing I saw immediately was his integrity and his commitment to the community,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson announced upcoming projects that PCDC will be working on in the coming year:

• Developing the former Washington School property starting with the construction of residential rental units this spring,
• Developing the Iron Horse Business & Industry park by extending sewer and utility lines and paving Gustin Road,
• Partnering with the City of Holdrege to build ballfields.

“These fields are not only for our families and our teams but for other families out there looking to find a home,” he said.

Also at the meeting, PCDC honored Breinig Diesel and the Phelps County Community Foundation as the Business of the Year and Organization of the Year.

Emma Larson and Thomas Crandall, students at Loomis Public School, entertained the guests during supper with musical accompaniment on the piano keyboard.