FCDC annual banquet honors best in business in Fillmore County

SHICKLEY - Not all small counties in the state of Nebraska have dedicated economic development organizations. Fillmore County does, and Wednesday night their leadership took the time to celebrate local business in that area. 

The Shickley Community Center was the site of a celebration of small businesses from across the northwest side of Southeast Nebraska Wednesday night. 

“We’re starting to research ideas of what we can do to give back to the community,” said Eric Johnson, the Fillmore County Development Corporation’s executive director. “With our leadership, we are seriously working on really making sure things are done right. The little things make a difference – trying to show more involvement in the community, overall making sure FCDC is known county-wide, not just Geneva-centric.” 

“Really it’s all about funding, we’re trying our best to find great funds,” said Blake Bauer, who is in his first year as FCDC’s president. “A lot of it’s got to start with our members and other people in our communities. For us to be able to do projects, we have to have funding, we have to have members pay. If we can maybe increase that bottom line in some way, to be able to put that money back into our communities, whether it’s a revitalization project, doing something that’s not reliant on what we’re able to get from the state or other government entities.” 

“We just need to keep everybody in Fillmore County, that’s really huge to me,” said departing board member Jodi Kleinschmidt. “I have two boys that have come home to farm with us, and it’s just vital that we get these kids home and back into our community.” 

 One of the centerpieces of the Fillmore County Development Corporation's annual banquet is the presentation of a couple of awards to outstanding local operations. 

 Winning the Business of the Year award was Weaver Pharmacy. Even through recent management changes, it’s remained a Geneva staple for more than four decades.  

And the county’s Entrepreneur of the Year is the Bean and Barrel restaurant, which opened up in downtown Shickley right across the street from the community center just a couple of months ago.  

“Obviously it’s very nerve-wracking opening up a brick and mortar, and you never know how it’s going to go, especially in a small town, it’s hard,” owner Ally Plock said. “But the community has loved it. I get shown support every single night, even the days I’m not open they’re like ‘please be open seven days a week!’ And so it means a lot to me to be able to win this award, and that the community loves it so much, and that I can provide a service.” 

Originally from McCook, Plock spent some time around different parts of Southeast Nebraska before moving back to Shickley with her husband. They took over the vacant building where Bean & Barrel now stands in December 2024 and finally opened the doors in November – a fulfillment of a need for the community and a fulfillment of a dream for the owners.  

“We haven’t had an eating place in town for ten-plus years, so I saw an opportunity, and it’s always been a dream of mine to open up a coffee shop and a bar, so I kind of combined the two businesses,” Plock said. “The past two years have flown by, and it’s been really stressful at times, but I’m super thankful to be up and running, and the community loves it.” 

The event spotlighting local enterprise also featured appearances and addresses from people with a statewide presence like SENDD Executive Director Tom Bliss and District 32 Senator Tom Brandt.  

Bliss gave the keynote address at Wednesday's event.  SENDD's chief focus is interoperability, he said, as they prioritize projects that "improve Nebraskans' quality of life." 

“That’s what we put on the business card,” he said in his address. “We serve as a voice and an advocate for rural communities. We do that by attending meetings, hearing needs, and carrying that message to Lincoln and Washington, D.C.” 

Bliss’ organization has ties all across Southeast Nebraska, and he cited multiple examples of SENDD success stories where they implemented plans to improve housing, economic development, broadband, and other areas of need around the state.  

“Fairmont is an excellent example. They cracked the code on getting these grants for rehabbed houses,” Bliss said. “What that did was we dumped almost $1.2 million into that community, into rehabbing houses. We did some in Geneva, we had a county-wide one here in Fillmore County. But that’s no longer a priority for the state – they want to see new construction. And our argument is that works in Omaha. That works in Lincoln. That may not work in Exeter, in Fairmont, or Shickley. Because you guys need houses, but you can’t build enough to really get to where you need.” 

Brandt was on hand as a sponsor of the graduating ODEGEO class, a program designed to give people an inside look at how the county operates - “people that live and breathe Fillmore County,” as Johnson put it. Brandt helped show them how the Capitol operates as well, and dropped in to see them all receive certificates of completion and comment on economic development in the area.  

“This is the 90/10 club, right? You’re the 10 percent of people that do 90 percent of everything. And that’s probably true here,” Brandt said in his address. “A lot of you I know, a lot of you I met for the first time. But in every community it’s like that – we're like that. Something needs to be done, you step up.  

While the larger counties in Brandt’s district (Jefferson and Saline) don’t have designated economic development directors, Thayer and Fillmore County do - Brandt presented that as something that can help small businesses in this part of Southeast Nebraska keep pace with others.  

“This kind of activity keeps you in the game on a lot of things. You’ve got a poster with all the towns on it. You got to Thayer County, they’ve got flags with all the towns around the courthouse,” Brandt said. “Being from Plymouth, that’s kinda cool.” 

Brandt's in his final term on the state legislature, and commented on the existing race to succeed him in the District 32 seat. Brandt said both candidates, Jefferson County commissioner Mark Schoenrock and Crete lawyer Shay Smith, are both good candidates and good people. He also stressed that Nebraska needs good people to run for office - not just the state senate, but in local races like school and county boards.