Press Release
Class reunions are a perfect time to catch up with old friends.
But as the Norfolk Area Recruiters and the Norfolk Area Retiree Recruiters have found out, it’s also a good way to encourage people to come back to Northeast Nebraska.
Recently, the two groups were at the annual Norfolk Catholic Alumni reunion.
The Norfolk Catholic gathering was the first reunion attended by the retiree recruiters, while the recruiters have been attending class reunions since 2006.
During the reunion, both recruiting groups placed pamphlets on tables and made themselves available to those in attendance, said Mark Hall, a Norfolk Area Recruiter.
Initially, the Norfolk Area Recruiters would receive alumni information from local and area high schools to send out marketing information, Hall said.
“The outgrowth of that (is that) the organization grew and expanded its marketing scope. They wanted to personally interact with individuals at a reunion event,” Hall said. “We inform them on how we’re trying to help them stay engaged with Northeast Nebraska, with the possibility of recruiting them back to the Norfolk area.”
Hall said he didn’t receive any prospects from individuals attending the reunion, but he still felt attending was worth the effort.
“It was good. I was able to talk to several people,” Hall said. “I felt that they were very receptive and it was a non-threatening way to interact with alumni—very laid back and easy to approach.”
Don Olsen of the Norfolk Area Retiree Recruiters agreed.
“Their primary goal is renewing acquaintances,” Olsen said. “We were able to distribute our information without interrupting people.”
The goal of the retiree recruiters organization is to focus on retired alumni, Olsen said.
“A lot of people moved away and have lived their lives in other parts of the United States and are nearing retirement,” Olsen said. “It’s a major movement nationwide of people wanting to relocate to a simpler lifestyle, a more affordable lifestyle.
“Our focus is just to plant the seeds and then let former Nebraskans take it from there,” Olsen added. “If we accomplish that, we’ve accomplished our mission.”
Both men understand the importance of the recruiters’ mission since both moved back from living out of state.
Olsen came back to Nebraska after several years away. Olsen lived in Texas for several years, but after retirement, he decided it was time to move back to Nebraska. IN moving back to Nebraska, he met his wife, Pat, and now resides in Columbus until they find their permanent home.
After spending more than 23 years traveling the world with the U.S. Air Force, Hall said there really is “no place like Nebraska.” The Halls considered moving to either Omaha or Norfolk, but finally decided on Norfolk because of the quality of its schools, the presence of the Norfolk Family YMCA and the ease of getting around town.
Hall landed a job working for Power Computing Inc. in 2000. In 2002, he became the owner of two businesses—Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker and Watertight Storage Case Co.
In the future, both groups would like to get involved with more class reunions in Pierce, Madison, Norfolk, Stanton and Battle Creek.
“We would like to work with some of the Norfolk High reunions and we would like to make contacts and try to get into some of these communities,” Olsen said.
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
