HENDERSON – Nebraskans have loved and cared for the land for generations. Nebraska Press Women will learn about and celebrate some of those efforts at the fall conference Saturday, Oct. 17.
Board members will meet at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 at Chances R, 124 W. Fifth St. in York. The conference will be at the Gathering Room at Mennonite Heritage Park, 720 Road B in Henderson, or 1.5 miles south of Interstate 80 Exit 342. The program will run from 10:15 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a general membership meeting 9-10 a.m. Registration is $35, due by Friday, Oct. 9.
The conference will include election of new officers and presentation of the Communicator of Achievement award. Lunch will be catered by The Dutch Kitchen of Henderson
The 8.5-acre park preserves the history of 35 German Mennonite families who settled in the area in 1874. It includes the Immigrant House museum, which replicates the building where all 35 families lived when they first came to Nebraska; a 1911 barn; a church; schoolhouse; and farmstead.
Suzanne Ratzlaff, a member of the park’s board, will speak during the afternoon program about the history of Mennonites in the area and development of the park. She’ll then lead a tour of the grounds, with golf carts available for those who prefer to ride rather than walk.
According to a story in the York News-Times, Ratzlaff, who chairs the Henderson Heritage and tourism Committee, won an Impact Award earlier this year from the York County Development Commission for her efforts. Those efforts included raising about $700,000 for the recently constructed Gathering Room, where press women are meeting.
Grace McDonald, a reporter for KOLN-TV’s Pure Nebraska, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at reporting and creating an authentic media presence in her presentation, “Grassroots and Grace: Stories from the Heartland.” McDonald has worked for the Grand Island Independent, Kearney Hub, and as a stringer for the Associated Press. According to the KOLN website, her work as a student journalist at the University of Nebraska at Kearney earned her Eric Severeid awards and honors from the Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association.
Kerry Hoffschneider of rural Waco will present “Difference Makers – Difference in Action,” a program that is revitalizing rural and lifelong learning/entrepreneurship with grassroots projects and storytelling. The program launched at York Public Schools and the York County Fair with volunteers from the Future Farmers of America organization and has spread into the greater school body, community, and even a school in Iowa. According to a story published by Melanie Wilkerson on Just Melanie W., the group is “learning about and sharing information around the stressors the world’s farmers face every day.” They are putting their knowledge to work through implementing local solutions around food and agriculture that can be replicated state and nationwide.
To register send a check to Lori Potter at 4437 Parkwood Lane, Kearney, NE 68845. Or, register online with PayPal at www.nebraskapresseomen.org.
For those needing accommodations, hotels off Interstate 80 include the Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield by Marriott, Victorian Inn and Suites, Quality Inn, Super 8, Best Western Plus and Motel 6. The park is a 15-minute drive.