Local Financial Advisor Begins Service on PCDC Board

A Holdrege native and financial advisor has been selected as the newest member of the Phelps County Development Corporation board of directors.

Grant Ericksen, an advisor with Principal Financial Group, will take the seat vacated by Tom Nutt, who retired from the board this summer.

Ericksen is a 2004 graduate of Holdrege High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also holds the Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC) designation from the College for Financial Planning.

After starting his career with Waddell & Reed in Lincoln, he moved back to Holdrege in 2010 when his business began growing with Phelps County clients.

“The local support for my business, relationships within the area, and being closer to my family were all motivation to move back,” he said.

Ericksen said he enjoys living in the “big, small town that is Holdrege. We are big enough that we have a lot of great resources for things like retail and entertainment, but small enough to know a lot of the community and build some great relationships across the area.”

He also sees Phelps County as a community that continues to evolve.

“A lot of the places that I frequent the most have either started or been revamped in the last 10 years that I’ve been back,” he said.

Housing is an issue that Ericksen sees as a priority for PCDC to tackle, especially middle-income housing.

“It is hard to grow economically with limited options,” he said. “We need good space for new people moving in, and we need for those already here to not stretch their budgets too thin by buying higher than they should.”

Ericksen said he was honored to be asked to serve on the PCDC board.

“The board is composed of community leaders who are passionate about this area and collectively have contributed a lot to its growth,” he said. “I hope I can fill in the shoes of those who have paved the way before me.”

As a Financial Advisor, Ericksen said he will bring good insight on consumer sentiment within the area, and his experience in business continuation and succession planning strategies should add value to the board as well.

“I believe in the aphorism, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats,’ -- that an improved economy will benefit all participants,” Ericksen said. “Improving the economy is not only good for current participants but for future participants, as well. This area has always been considered home, and I seek to help it thrive so my daughter may one day view the area the same way I do.”

Ericksen’s wife, Melissa is a Kearney native and teaches fifth-grade science at the Holdrege Middle School and coaches eighth-grade volleyball. They have one daughter, Ansley, who is 3.

Ericksen has previously served as the Citizen’s Advisory Review Committee (the PCDC Watchdog Committee) and will now step down from that role to serve on the board. He attends Trinity Church, is on the Holdrege Public Schools Foundation Board, is a Teammates Mentor and Teammates Board of Directors Chapter President, and is a member of the Holdrege Rotary Club.