This week’s “Meet the Director Monday” is Jennifer Hawley. Jennifer works as Plant Manager for her family’s business Magnolia Metal Corporation. Jennifer has served on the Auburn Development Council for 7 years.

Jennifer was born and raised right here in Auburn, NE. She moved away for about 18 years but ultimately came back to Auburn because this was where she and her husband Aron wanted to raise their family. They absolutely love their small town life. Jennifer and Aron have four children; Lily, Bella, Hudson, and Amelia.

Jennifer wanted to be a part of the Auburn Development Council because she wanted to get involved in her community and to have an impact. Jennifer desires to see Auburn grow and wants to do her part in making Auburn a great place to raise her kids.

When asked what does being a member of the Auburn Development Council mean to you? Jennifer answered the following: “I’m invested in Auburn’s future, and I want to dedicate the time and effort to see that through.” While Jennifer enjoys many aspects of serving on the Auburn Development Council her favorite part is being able to plan or get things going for the town of Auburn. She has enjoyed being more involved in the community and that in turn has helped her involve her own family’s business Magnolia Metal Corporation in more town events.

When asked who she looks up to on the ADC Board, Jennifer answered Kim Beger. “She is dedicated and works tirelessly on behalf of the city of Auburn cares so much about Auburn. She cares about Auburn and puts in a great deal of time without asking for anything in return.”

Looking towards the future of the Auburn Development Council, Jennifer is excited to see “The transition and quality of life projects that will hopefully intertwine with all of the things that Auburn Development Council stands for.”

This week’s “Meet the Director Monday” is Jamie Aue. Jamie works as an accountant atAue & Company. Jamie is Vice-President of ADC and has served as a director for two years.

Jaime was born and raised in south-central Nebraska. Once she graduated from high school she moved to Lincoln for a time, and it was there she met her husband, Curtis. They moved to Auburn and dove right into community life. They adore their boys Creighton and Carter and love watching them play every kind of sport. Jamie went back to school for an accounting degree and worked for a local accountant before starting her own business in 2018. A fun fact Jamie likes to share is that her husband Curtis, both of his brothers and their spouses, along with herself all graduated from Peru State College.

When asked why she wanted to be a part of the Auburn Development Council, Jamie says the following. “I have a passion for small business, so I loved the idea of being a leader and working for Auburn’s growth, as well as the surrounding areas in the county.” Serving on the Board of Directors for the Auburn Development Council is an important task. To Jamie being a director of ADC, “Is being a part of a group of individuals that are trying to make a positive impact on our community.”

While being an ADC Board Member has many great aspects, everyone has their favorite thing. For Jamie, her favorite part about being a board member is seeing ADC’s projects and events come to life. Whether large or small, each event and project’s goal is to create a better future for the community and for economic growth.

When asked who Jamie looks up to on the board, Kim Beger comes to her mind. “Kim has such a passion for economic development that I hold her in high regard. Her drive is beyond any other when it comes to developing Auburn.”

When asked about the future of the Auburn Development Council, Jamie is looking forward to marketing LB840 and making an impact on future projects in Auburn.

This week’s “Meet the Director Monday” is Ashley Hansen. Ashley works at Auburn Agency Crop Insurance here in Auburn and has served on the Auburn Development Council for 3 years.

Ashley was born and raised just up the road in Nebraska City. In 2013 Ashley married the love of her life Klint. Shortly after they were married, they bought their dream house in Peru, NE where they are so happy to be able to call this place home. Ashley and Klint have two beautiful girls, Aubrynn and Alessondra aka Ali. In 2014 Ashley started her job at Auburn Agency Crop Insurance which quickly turned into a career. Shortly after starting work at Auburn Agency Crop, Ashley became enamored with everything agricultural and decided to pursue that passion. In 2017 she received her crop insurance agent license in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. She thoroughly enjoys working with farmers and ranchers and our local community. “It gives me a sense of true purpose.” she says.

Ashley joined the Auburn Development Council after graduating from Nemaha County Leadership #4. After the leadership class, Ashley felt the need and desire to be a part of the community, it was important to her especially since her children will grow up here in Auburn. Ashley said that she wants to be a voice for our rural community.

When asked the question; “What does being a member of ADC mean to you?” Ashley answered the following. “Community leadership and togetherness. I love to learn and connect with people. ADC gives me the ability to integrate my love, passion and career of agriculture with our city life.”

While there are many things Ashley enjoys about being on the Auburn Development Council, the relationships she has built are by far her favorite. “I admire the creativeness, special events and programs our team has put together to better the quality of life in Auburn.” says Ashley. When asked “Who is someone you look up to on the ADC Board?” “Kim Beger. She’s a great critical thinker, thoughtful, involved and connected. She knows so much about our community.”

Looking forward to the future of the Auburn Development Council she says she is excited for the continued growth of Auburn. “The growth of our community, quality of life, education, workforce, housing…bringing everyone closer together to establish a strong community because it’s not about you or me, it’s about us.”

This week’s “Meet the Director Monday” is Rusty Crotty. Rusty is an optometrist at Lifetime Vision Center here in Auburn and has served on the board for three years.

Rusty was born and raised right here in Auburn, NE. He left to go to college, eventually going onto optometry school. After school, Rusty then came to Auburn to work with his father. He met his lovely wife Bobbie, and together they have two precious daughters. Ari is three and Cora is one, and Rusty loves spending his free time with them. When he is not working or spending time with family, Rusty enjoys playing softball and in the summer, sand volleyball. Rusty is an avid sports fan and when asked the question “Husker Football or Husker Volleyball?” Husker Football wins with little contest.

Rusty became active with the Auburn Development Council because he was looking for opportunities to help out the community after he moved back. Rusty joined the council mainly because he was looking for a way to make the biggest impact he could on Auburn’s future. To Rusty being a member of the Auburn Development Council means that he cares about the future of the community. “Too many people complain about things and don’t take action, so this is me taking action,” he said. Rusty loved growing up in Auburn and he wants to continue to make Auburn an awesome community for his own kids to grow up in.

While Rusty enjoys everything being a board member of ADC has to offer, his favorite part about this role is: “Being in the know and being involved with all the things going on in our community.” When asked the question, “Who is someone you look up to on the ADC Board?” Rusty said Auburn Development Council President, Leslie Clark. “She has no fear and is jumping in and making things happen.” Rusty admires Leslie’s can-do attitude and positive spirit. Looking at the future of the Auburn Development Council Rusty claims; “We’ve got a good buzz going with our team right now. The Auburn Development Council plays an important part in the quality of life in Auburn, both now and in the years ahead.”

This week’s “Meet the Director Monday” is Tim Becker. Tim works at FAST Global Solutions as the Facility Manager and has been serving on ADC for over five years.

Tim grew up in Fairbury, Nebraska, a small town much like Auburn. He attended high school in Crete, Nebraska and then went on to college in Indiana. He moved all over the midwest and lived in Wisconsin and Iowa before returning to Nebraska where he and his wife, Angie raised their four kids, Zachary, Amelia, Kyra, and Kyle. He and his family first moved to Auburn to be a little closer to home, and Tim joined the workforce at Ariens Manufacturing which has since transitioned into FAST Global Solutions.

Tim wanted to be involved and saw the Auburn Development Council as an opportunity to help other businesses and to also assist the community to grow in any way possible. Tim values recruiting and retaining workforce employees. He sees ADC as a way to make Auburn a more attractive place to live so that they can be competitive against other communities to bring in and retain employees and community members.

When asked “Who on the ADC Board do you look up to?” Tim replied that he looks up to Kim Beger and Leslie Clark. “Kim is the overall glue of the organization and helps to maintain old traditions but isn’t afraid to try new things either. Leslie is new and has helped to kickstart the organization to improve the quality of life locally.”

ADC has exciting things in the works and Tim looks forward to seeing LB-840 passed, hopefully in the near future. LB840 is a financing option for local businesses as well as supporting an economic developer for the community. Tim believes this option will help make quality and prompt improvements to the town and a great opportunity to help Auburn grow to its full potential.

This week’s “Meet the Director Monday” is Auburn Development Council Secretary/Treasurer Kim Beger. Kim works as the Administrative Assistant for the City of Auburn. She has served on the board since 2013.

Kim was born and raised right here in Auburn, NE. She left Auburn soon after graduating high school. After her worldly adventures as a military dependent, Kim returned to Auburn in 1992. While living in Auburn she met her husband Nate Beger, who works in operations for the Cooper Nuclear Station. Kim and Nate raised their son Xavier and have continued to build their life in Auburn. In her spare time, Kim enjoys traveling. Italy has been her favorite destination to date. When she isn’t traveling, Kim volunteers for different organizations in the Auburn Community as well as serving as a Nebraska volunteer coordinator for the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation with her husband Nate.

Kim’s time with the Auburn Development Council first started as part of her job as administrative assistant. However the more she learned about economic development and the impact ADC has on the community of Auburn, she became more invested.

“Auburn Development Council is an important organization that plays a crucial role in the vitality of Auburn and surrounding communities.” -Kim Beger

To Kim, being a director of ADC means being connected to regional and state organizations, to learn as much as she can about opportunities that Auburn can be involved with or learn from. When asked her favorite part about being an ADC Director, Kim says she loves bringing information and new ideas to ADC which in turn could benefit Auburn. She enjoys working with the business community and connecting them to people who can help solve problems. “If I can’t help someone solve a problem, I can find someone who can.”

When asked who is someone she looks up to on ADC, she said Tim. “I admire Tim because of his ability to think analytically. He is not only a rational thinker but he is able to list pros and cons in every decision. We know that behind every vote, he is always making an educated choice.”

The future is bright and busy for ADC. When asked what excites her about the future of Auburn Development Council, she enthusiastically responds. “I am excited about our current directors and those who we will continue to add. The vision and the commitment the directors have for the future of Auburn is inspiring. ADC continues to grow as the umbrella that economic development is under continues to expand. We are able to adapt to the ever evolving needs that businesses in our community continue to have.