People of Rotary | Valerie Hunt

"Valerie Hunt: A Modern-Day Homesteader"

By Randy Bretz

 

She’s the fifth generation to live on a parcel of land in Lancaster County. Valerie Hunt, her husband Adam and their three sons Abram, Ethan and Tyler are living a modern-day homestead experience on a farm that her great great grandfather Leonard Spatz settled. Spatz came to Nebraska and settled on a piece of property in Eastern Lancaster County, property that has been home and served the family for generations. Hunt’s family ties to Lancaster County run deep and include her great great grandfather Karl Lemke who settled in Nebraska in the mid 1800’s. Lemke was not only neighbor to the Spatz family, but his son Carl married one of the Spatz daughters and they were Valerie’s great grandparents whom she saw nearly every day until they passed.
 
Valerie walked into the restaurant where we met for the interview with a heavy notebook filled with family stories, photos, birth certificates and memorabilia. The notebook is about 3 inches thick and weighs about five pounds, and it illustrates just how deep her roots are in Lancaster County. And, she said there’s a second one tracing her mother’s side of the family. It’s those incredibly deep roots that brought her back.
 
After graduating from Waverly High School, Valerie headed to Northwest Missouri State where she majored in marketing and business management and snagged Adam. They married in 2004 and headed to Kansas City where Valerie worked with Wells Fargo. It was during this time that she met the person who had helped fund a scholarship that paid for much of her college education. That meeting helped her realize just how philanthropy could positively impact people. It was a turning point in her career.
 
She and Adam headed to Colorado where she helped raise money for the University of Northern Colorado Performing and Visual Arts. Next was West Virginia University College of Law to manage a significant campaign. But it was the arrival of the third child, Tyler, that really tugged at the desire to be closer to family. Adam saw a job posted with the Bryan Health organization so she applied. We laughed as Valerie talked about flying to Lincoln with 3 year-old Abram in tow for the interview. Her parents, Mark and Bonnie Lemke were thrilled to have the two of them in town and even happier when Valerie took the job with the Bryan Health Foundation.
 
That job and the Bryan Foundation have grown steadily since Valerie joined the Bryan team. She’s helped raise money for the new Bryan Health Comprehensive Community Cancer Center, the Neonatal Intensive Care Rooftop Healing Garden, the Bryan Independence Center, Scholarships for the Bryan College of Health Sciences and a host of other important projects and programs at Bryan. Husband Adam is hitting his stride as a teacher at Scott Middle School. And their boys are loving the life on the family farm. Of special note is that Abram, the oldest, is enjoying hunting with his dad on the same ground where so many previous generations have hunted. In a recent video recorded for her Rotary Club, she mentioned that her boys are the sixth generation to live on the land. https://youtu.be/yctUu6P9DPQ
 
As we discussed what she and Adam would say to others contemplating a boomerang move back to Lincoln, of course family was at the top of the list. But Valerie also talked about how great schools are in Lincoln and across Nebraska, and how wonderful Lincoln is as a place to call home. “Having lived in some fairly large cities, I’ve really grown to appreciate the commute. It really allows you time to focus on what’s important for your family.” Of course, since she’s involved in healthcare, that’s high on the list. She noted that she knows quite a few people who have moved away, but schedule vacations to return to Lincoln for routine medical checkups and even some surgeries.
 
Valerie Hunt’s story is a clear example of the quality of life in Nebraska and how it can draw you in. If you’d like to hear more and see photos of her family, she’s featured on a Leadership Lincoln podcast. https://www.leadershiplincoln.org/podcasts/valerie-hunt.html  Whether you’ve moved here and you’re a relatively new resident or like Valerie you’ve moved back after living in other places, the Good Life is definitely calling. Perhaps some future generation will prepare a notebook that chronicles your live in Nebraska and it will illustrate just how you can take root among the people who call Nebraska home.