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The Spirit of Inclusion and Change

Chris Rodgers, 37
Douglas County Commissioner
Member, Metro Student Achievement Steering Committee
Bank Representative, First National Bank of Omaha

Chris Rodgers came to Omaha from East St. Louis, Ill., in 1987 to attend Creighton University on a basketball scholarship. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in journalism and his MBA from Creighton, as well as a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

He says he stayed here because he found “better opportunities than back home.”

One of those opportunities has come in the form of the Executive Development Program of First National Bank of Omaha.

“As a bank representative in its Executive Development Program, I do special projects as assigned to learn the bank and gain experience,” Rodgers says. “The program is geared to develop future bank leadership.”

Rodgers also serves the community as an elected member of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners and on the Metro Student Achievement and North Omaha Development Project steering committees.

He is admittedly fond of the city and especially the people who live here. “The people as a whole . . . that is one of the things that kept me here. Omaha has been very welcoming and has allowed me to grow personally and professionally.”

He also enjoys the strong sense of community here, a spirit reflected in events including the Omaha Days in North Omaha.

Omaha Days, which every two years celebrates African-American heritage by bringing native Omahans and former residents back to the city for a week of festivities in August, is like “a family reunion where the common name is Omaha.” The 2005 gathering, the 15th of its kind, attracted between 8,000 and 10,000 people.

Presented by the Native Omahans Club Inc. and several corporate and civic sponsors, the week includes a Gospel celebration at Salem Baptist Church, a tour of Omaha, a drill team competition at Creighton University, a boat ride on the River City Star, a golf outing, a music and cultural expo, a Welcome Home Dance at Qwest Center Omaha and a Sunday afternoon picnic at Carter Lake Park. The events draw to a close with tearful goodbyes on “Blue Monday.”

“Other cities may do the same thing,” Rodgers says, “but I have never observed a celebration with its spirit of history and entertainment.”

He says he owes a lot to Omaha. “I don’t think I would have been able to advance to my current professional level anywhere else but Omaha, and I want to be a part of making sure the opportunities that helped me get to where I am are available to everyone, native or newcomer.”

He urges other young professionals to give Greater Omaha a try.

“There are many employment opportunities and signs of progress toward meeting the entertainment and social needs of the entire community. The developments downtown, the efforts to make Omaha the amateur and collegiate sports capital of America, and the spirit of inclusion and change shared by our next generation of leaders.

“It’s one of the best kept secrets in America.”