MIKE YANNEY:The 166th Omaha Press Club Face on the Barroom Floor

Mike Yanney, one of the top business and civic leaders in the Omaha community, was honored November 18th by the Omaha Press Club as the 166th Face on the Barroom Floor.

Currently serving as chairman emeritus of Burlington Capital, a firm that manages nearly 70,000 apartment houses around the country, Yanney and his wife of over 60 years, Gail Walling Yanney, MD, have teamed together to serve the community in a multitude of ways.

They have spearheaded countless community projects over the years including Campaign for Nebraska, a massive fundraising effort on behalf of the University of Nebraska. They have been driving forces on just about every major construction project at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine in the past two decades.

Other organizations which have benefited from the Yanneys include the Omaha Zoological Society, Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, United Arts Omaha, Museum of Nebraska Art, Nebraska Heart Association, Junior Achievement of Omaha, Film Streams, Omaha Performing Arts Society Foundation, and Heritage Services.

A native of Kearney, Nebraska, Yanney received his undergraduate degree in 1955 from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. One of the accomplishments of which Yanney is most proud is establishing a mentorship program, Partnership 4 Kids, that has helped thousands of children from disadvantaged families.

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YANNEY AND ARTIST JEFF KOTERBA

Yanney’s countless awards include the Horatio Alger Award, the NebraskaLander Award, induction into the Omaha Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame, and the Russian Academy of Science and Information, serving as the 118th king of Ak-Sar-Ben, and several major awards from the University of Nebraska.

Roasters included:

• Mike Kelly, emcee, retired columnist, Omaha World-Herald (107th Face on the Barroom Floor)

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• W. David Scott, founder, president and CEO of Tetrad, a real estate and investment firm – video roast (son of Walter Scott, 95th Face on the Barroom Floor)

• John P. Nelson, chairman, SilverStone Group, an Omaha insurance brokerage

• Lisa Yanney Roskens and Bill Roskens, combined roast. Lisa is chairman
and CEO, Burlington Capital, and daughter of Mike and Gail Yanney. Her husband, Bill, is managing director, First Care Companies, a collection of small businesses focused on the health and wellness of aging seniors and their families. (Bill’s father, Ronald Roskens, was Face No. 126.)