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Let’s hear the story of Nebraska, its communities, its number one industry Agriculture, and the people who make it happen. Sponsored by Nebraska's Law Firm® - Rembolt Ludtke.
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Nebraska Stories of Gratitude--A Special Thanksgiving Episode
This special Thanksgiving episode brings together some prominent Nebraskans—and a few with deep Nebraska roots—to share what they’re most thankful for this Thanksgiving and what fuels their spirit of gratitude each and every day.
From leaders in public service and athletics to agriculture to community and beyond, each guest offers a personal, heartfelt reflection on what grounds them, inspires them, and reminds them of the good around them.
In this compilation of short snippets, you’ll hear stories of family, faith, community, and purpose—told with the authenticity and warmth that define Nebraska. Whether you're looking for encouragement, perspective, or simply a moment of gratitude during this Thanksgiving season, this episode offers a thoughtful reminder that thankfulness isn’t just a once-a-year tradition, it’s a way of life.
Hey, this is Mark Folsen, host of Ninety Three the Podcast. This is a special episode. We thought, you know, new episode drop every Thursday, and Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday. So we thought, why not have a special Thanksgiving episode? Celebrating something more than just Turkey and football, celebrating gratitude. On this special Thanksgiving episode, we've got a collection of Nebraskans and folks with Nebraska Connections sharing what they are most thankful for this year. We're not stopping with a simple thank you. We're digging a little deeper. You'll hear how each of our guests works to maintain an attitude of gratitude not just at Thanksgiving, but throughout the entire year on the good days and the hard ones. Their answers are thoughtful, surprising, and very Nebraska, rooted in family, faith, service, and a commitment to something bigger than themselves. So whether you're driving across the state on I-80, cooking in the kitchen, or relaxing after a big meal, thanks for spending part of your Thanksgiving with us.
SPEAKER_00:Nebraska, it's not just a place, but a way of life. It's 93 counties that are home to innovative individuals, caring to do, and a spirit that runs deeper than its purple story. It's a story that could be told. Welcome to 93, the podcast.
SPEAKER_01:He's a former Husker athlete, actually two sports. He graduated from the Nebraska College of Law. He's an attorney, the former vice president for basketball operations for the National Basketball Association. And since 2023, he's been the Southeastern Conference Associate Commissioner for Men's Basketball. Garth Glisman, what are you most thankful for for Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_05:I'm thankful for a mom and dad who loved me and instilled my Christian faith and values in me. We weren't uh a perfect family. It wasn't always easy. But looking back, I am so fortunate to have the mom and dad that I did. Um, and more than anything else, they they made me feel loved and gave me a love of other people. And as I've gotten older and gained more life experience, I've realized that many others weren't nearly as fortunate as me and they didn't have that same grounding as a young person. And so I I try to take the love, faith, and values that my parents instilled in me and then go make a positive impact on the world and the lives of others.
SPEAKER_01:So growing up in Nebraska, was there a special item on the uh Thanksgiving dinner table that you looked forward to every year?
SPEAKER_05:We were a pretty traditional family in terms of turkey, mashed potatoes, uh gravy, cranberry, all that. I think for me, Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday because it's a great sports holiday. Uh, and there was always good football on TV.
SPEAKER_01:Did you ever go out in the yard or the street and uh play a little uh pickup game uh between games?
SPEAKER_05:I grew up on a small farm um about 15 minutes north of Lincoln, and so weather permitting, um, I would go out and that time of year uh probably throwing the football around. Um, you know, early early in my childhood it would have been Nebraska, Oklahoma, the day after Thanksgiving. And then once I got to adolescence and beyond, it would have been Nebraska, Colorado, uh, as the day after Thanksgiving rivalry. So I probably that time of year mostly had football on my mind, but uh maybe if if the weather was was nice, uh I could go out and shoot some baskets as well.
SPEAKER_01:Any special plans for this Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_05:Well, it still is a great time of year for sports, and so I'm gonna be closely following uh SEC football action. Uh and we have SEC basketball teams that are playing around the country in some marquee events. Uh the SEC is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. I've lived in three places uh primarily throughout my life: Nebraska, New York City, and now Alabama. And I'm I'm a big believer wherever you go, you have to learn the culture. And so when in Rome, uh we have the annual Iron Bowl this weekend in Alabama, and the Iron Bull is the annual Auburn, Alabama football rivalry. And so we're gonna be watching uh the Iron Bull uh the day after Thanksgiving, and of course, I'll be watching a lot of other SEC football and basketball games, and and I'll keep an eye on that Nebraska-Iowa game as well.
SPEAKER_01:So, Garth, you have an amazing resume. You've done uh just uh incredible things. How do you maintain a spirit of gratitude, not just during the Thanksgiving season, but throughout the whole year?
SPEAKER_05:I I think it goes back to realizing how fortunate I was to grow up with parents that loved me and instilled Christian faith and values in me that have anchored me throughout the rest of my life. And for me, it's not just enough to be thankful of the values that my parents instilled in me. I want to turn that into action and ultimately have a positive impact on others. And as I've gotten older, uh I've realized uh I'm far from a perfect person, uh, but you don't have to be a perfect person or at a perfect stage of your own life to make a difference in the lives of others. So those are the values that my wife and I are trying to instill in our young children, and and that's how I go about my work uh as part of my job with the SEC. I get out and about a lot. Uh, I get interact with people on SEC campuses all across the country. And ultimately, uh view a big part of my job as service to others uh and trying to positively impact others wherever I may find them, wherever I may encounter them. And I think the same is true for anyone. Uh again, you don't have to be a perfect person to make a positive impact on others.
SPEAKER_01:Garth, thank you for your time. I hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_05:Mark, thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
SPEAKER_01:We have the opportunity to visit with the Jackson sisters, Denny, who is a member of the Rembolt Latte team, and her sister, volleyball phenom Andy. Denny, let's start with you. In this Thanksgiving season, what are you most thankful for?
SPEAKER_09:Uh, this Thanksgiving season, I I'm really grateful for how I've grown actually in the last year. I'm 22, so my mind's always changing, but I'm really grateful for personal growth and I'm really grateful for my family. They're all very healthy and we're all happy and we're all great friends, even though we don't live in the same state anymore, and it's awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Does family include your sister Andy? I hope so. Andy, what are you most thankful for this uh Thanksgiving season?
SPEAKER_07:Well, there is so much. I mean, I don't even know where to start. Obviously, my family, I'm so grateful for Denny having her here in Lincoln. She has just been such a huge support system for me. And I'm so incredibly grateful for the University of Nebraska and just all the opportunities that have been provided to me. I wouldn't be where I'm at right now without them. And so my team, my coaches, the support staff that we have, it is unlike anywhere else. And I'm so incredibly grateful that I just get to be a small part of it. I think same as Denny, in these last few years in college, I have just learned so much about myself and I've also grown so much as a person, and I'm super grateful to be where I'm at. So just like Denny, there's so much to be grateful for. And obviously here in Nebraska, I have so much to be grateful for and back home as well. My family, I really miss them. But like I said, I have Denny here, and she's been a huge, huge rock for me. So I'm just grateful for it all.
SPEAKER_01:How do you maintain a spirit of uh gratitude uh throughout the year, not just Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I think when we go and we travel places, um it's really eye-opening to just all the resources that we have at Nebraska, and it makes it really easy to stay grateful. And I understand that I'm in such a special position and I don't take that for granted. So year-round, I just try to practice gratitude because I, like I said, I know I'm in such a special position and I want to be able to use my platform and just the things that God has given me to really spread light and spread love. You know, like it sounds so cheesy, but I just um want to be able to just use my platform to share the things that I believe in and inspire younger female athletes and younger athletes as a whole, and hopefully grow women's volleyball, grow women's sports as a whole. And like I said, the gratitude comes so easy because I know that I'm in such a special place and it just is really easy to stay grateful. I am presented new opportunities every single day, and I have a healthy body, I have a healthy mind, and I don't take that for granted either. So it's pretty easy here.
SPEAKER_01:Sister Denny, how do you maintain that attitude of gratitude throughout the year?
SPEAKER_09:Sometimes when I'm thinking, like if I have a really, really bad day, I think about how awesome this day would be for a lot of other people. Like if I wake up and I feel so sick or something, I'm like, wow, I'm so glad that this is my worst problem today, you know? Right? Like you just wake up with a cold and I'm like, Wow, that's just too bad, right? Because I just have so much else to be grateful for, you know, and I've gotten better at comparing myself less to other people. And when you really focus on what you do have versus what you don't, I think it's so easy to just um you just feel like so appreciative of all the little things that you have in your life, you know. Like I can go over and see Andy and it makes me grateful that I still have her, that she's so close, that our relationship is so good, you know?
SPEAKER_01:When the Jackson family gets together for Thanksgiving, what's your favorite item on the Thanksgiving menu?
SPEAKER_07:Well, our mom's not the best cook. Love her heart.
SPEAKER_01:Hopefully she doesn't listen to this.
SPEAKER_07:No, she'll agree when she hears it, but she makes a nasty sweet potato casserole.
SPEAKER_01:Danny, what do you think?
SPEAKER_08:So that's two ingredients the sweet potatoes and marshmallows.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. Hey, both of you.
SPEAKER_08:Yeah, you know what?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, double down.
SPEAKER_08:I could go with sweet potato casserole, too.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. It's unanimous from the uh Jackson sisters. That's awesome. Thank you, both of you. Uh appreciate it. Have a great Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_07:Mark, thank you so much. Happy Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_01:You as well. Bye. Ben Sass, thanks for coming on. Uh, Ben is a Native for Fremont, Nebraska. He's a big thinker. He's a Nebraska football diehard, and he's a former U.S. senator. Ben, uh what are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving season?
SPEAKER_06:Well, I don't want to go too theologically highbrow or serious, but I'll give you a two-parter. Uh we have been living a lot of seizures at our house the last three or four years. And over the course of this year, we've only had one. And we were averaging one every six to eight weeks for the few years before that. So that's both a blessing in its own right. And weirdly, as we hopefully mature and are sanctified a little bit, um, the effect of having had so many seizures has made us yearn for heaven more. So we're happy to have fewer seizures, and in a weird way, in our rear view mirror, we're pretty happy to have had seizures because they help us uh cling less desperately to things which are passing away.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome to hear that. Uh again, your family I know is really important to you. And uh it's awesome that uh again, Melissa, things uh appear to have stabilized. But how how do you maintain a spirit of gratitude, not only just during Thanksgiving, but throughout the whole year? I mean, what is there a way that you sort of maintain a rhythm?
SPEAKER_06:Uh we do the weird hybrid of a lot of wisdom literature and a lot of time outside. So um if you read Ecclesiastes and Job and you read a bunch of the Psalms, it's pretty great to become grateful for all of the common grace and saving grace benefits we get that we don't deserve. Um and we try to combine that with a lot of uh walking and some hunting and working out and lots of different uh cardio forms. And the combination of having your feet touch grass and reading enduring wisdom literature is a pretty good way to inculcate the practice and habit of gratitude.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. Abby Pasco, mayor of City of Waverly, Nebraska, one of the fastest growing cities in Nebraska. What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_10:Hi, Mark. So this Thanksgiving, I am most grateful for my family's health. Um at this time, my parents are getting older, my husband and I stay plenty busy, and my boys keep us on our toes, but we're healthy. And that is something I never ever take for granted. Uh many people are walking into the holidays this holiday, especially carrying new challenges. And it really puts things into perspective for me.
SPEAKER_01:So I know you're you did not grow up in Waverly. Where'd you grow up?
SPEAKER_10:I did not. I grew up in Clarks, Nebraska.
SPEAKER_01:Do you still have family? Is that where your parents live?
SPEAKER_10:Yes. Yes, they are still back there. My sister's back there, and uh my brother's in South Dakota.
SPEAKER_01:So, in addition to being a successful mayor, you're also a successful businesswoman. How do you maintain an attitude of gratitude not only during Thanksgiving but throughout all 365 days?
SPEAKER_10:Yeah, so I think one of the things that I really try to do all year long, regardless of what's going on in my life, is connecting with people on a real and personal level. You know, we never really truly understand what someone else is carrying with them through the day. And so trying to approach every interaction with the respect and kindness uh just to let those people know that they are seen. Uh I also like to send handwritten notes. I'm a big note person. I send birthday cards, my kids send birthday cards, thank yous, and just kind of a thinking of you if someone is going through a rough match. Um it's kind of my way of spreading positivity throughout the year.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Any special traditions or meals or food that you uh look forward to for Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_10:Yes. So Thanksgiving is when my mom's family gets uh together. That's their big holiday. Uh she has 10 siblings. I have 30 first cousins. Um, so we all get together, about 90 to 95 of us, every Thanksgiving in Hastings. So seriously. I really, really enjoy that.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. State Senator Jana Hughes, whose district is comprised of York, Seward, Butler, and was it Polk County?
SPEAKER_11:Polk County, yes. A little bit of Butler, not all of Butler, but a little bit.
SPEAKER_01:So, Senator, uh what are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_11:You, this is like the easiest question ever. Um, we are expanding our family because on Saturday, our oldest daughter, Alina, gets married to Tate Anderson.
SPEAKER_01:So congratulations.
SPEAKER_11:I yeah, I get a new son. So I'm very excited about that.
SPEAKER_01:And is your husband prepared to walk his daughter down the aisle?
SPEAKER_11:Yeah, that's a good question. I think he's gonna be, yeah, I think he's gonna need some tissues in his pocket. So it's yeah, this is the first one in the family, his oldest daughter. You're and you haven't done that yet.
SPEAKER_01:I have not, and that's okay. We're we can delay the yeah.
SPEAKER_11:I it I keep saying, I go, I don't feel old enough to have a kid getting married, but you know, she's 25, gonna be 26 in January. So she's definitely old enough.
SPEAKER_01:So any special Thanksgiving traditions or things you look forward to?
SPEAKER_11:Uh we this is it's a food thing. Um, we grew, I grew up, my mom and she grew up this way. She always makes um homemade noodles and you eat them over mashed potatoes, and that's like a Thanksgiving thing. Not everybody does this, but they're you're right. They don't. I know, right? It sounds weird, but if you would come to our Thanksgiving, I promise you you would love it. Um and my kids look forward like seriously, homemade noodles over the mashed potatoes are like the best ever.
SPEAKER_01:So, how do you maintain a that attitude of gratitude, not just during the Thanksgiving season, but throughout the whole year?
SPEAKER_11:Yeah, that sometimes is hard to do, I think. Um, but the best way to do it is give yourself perspective and take a step back and hear somebody else's story or um you know, volunteer somewhere with people that are in need, and real quickly you realize how how blessed you are and um and how grateful you are for you know what you have and what you can do to help. And I just that's that's the best thing is just take a step back from your little. Sometimes we just get in these circles of my world and poor me and whatever. And it's like, you know what, let's take a step back to reality and look around.
SPEAKER_01:So thank you, Senator. Jan Frenzen. Uh she is a farmer and a mom and a grandma and a wife up in Fullerton, Nebraska. Jan, welcome. Uh what uh what what are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_02:Hi, Mark. It's good to talk to you. Mark, I'm thankful for so many things. It's hard to pick one, but as I thought of this about it, you gave me a little bit of a heads up. So um if I had to pick one word, Mark, I would say freedom. We have so many freedoms that are easily taken for granted here in this country. Um, the freedom to worship, the freedom to farm, to grow what we want to, to travel, to spend time with our family. A lot of people in the world today don't have those things. So that was the word that kept coming to the surface when I thought about visiting with you, Mark.
SPEAKER_01:So, what does Thanksgiving look like for you? What do you guys do?
SPEAKER_02:Well, this year, uh, all my siblings are gonna be here at our home at Fullerton, where Craig and I live. And all of our children will be here as well, and grandchildren. So we're gonna have a great time. My mother-in-law and her husband are gonna join us. And then on Saturday, uh, all of Craig's family always gets together at his mom's house for a meal. So we're gonna have a lot of good family time and good food and and uh just enjoy being together.
SPEAKER_01:Any special item on the menu for Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, we always have ham when it's at my house. And and why is that?
SPEAKER_01:You want to explain why that's it? No, I have it.
SPEAKER_02:My heart is in the pork industry. Um, yes, as you know, when I married Craig, I brought pigs with me here to Fullerton, and I did not convert Craig into a hog man. But even though we don't raise hogs anymore, I always have bacon in the freezer.
SPEAKER_01:That's a good thing to have.
SPEAKER_02:It is, yes.
SPEAKER_01:So again, you you uh very poignantly stated uh gratitude on Thanksgiving. But how do you maintain that attitude all 365 days a year?
SPEAKER_02:Well, I think it's just a mindset, Mark. I was just talking to one of my daughters about that the other day. Sometimes when you feel down, it's easy to feel very negative, but uh often, and I told my kids this growing up, think of the things you have to be thankful for. And it doesn't take very long, and you can write a really long list of things uh to be grateful for. And um, I just think it's important to surround yourself with other people with that type of mindset and to keep a positive attitude.
SPEAKER_01:Well said. He's a legendary sports broadcaster, calling games for Westwood One, Fox Sports, Big Ten Network, and a whole host of others. He's a UNL graduate and Lincoln Native. Kevin Kugler, what are you most grateful for this Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_04:I am grateful, A, for all that you mentioned, the opportunity to provide for my family by doing something that I love. It's one of those, it's one of those things you're told when you're young, find a job that is not work and you'll never work a day in your life. And I've found that to be true. Now, of course, it's even better when you work in a sports field because you're basically just getting paid to go to games, like so many of us do with our own hard-earned money. But I am thankful for that, and I'm thankful that it's able to provide for my family, and I'm also thankful for that family that they've been able to support me through all the years and the travels and the the holidays away. I'm grateful to be home this year for the holidays, and I'm grateful for the years where I haven't been that that they've still embraced me when I'm back home like I am this year.
SPEAKER_01:So, do you have a special Thanksgiving food or meal you like to prepare?
SPEAKER_04:Well, I, you know, as as I am not the one who is home on about half of the Thanksgivings, I have left the preparation to those better suited to the task. And so my wife Michelle and my daughters Cassidy and McKinsey usually go down on the day before Thanksgiving and bake with my mother-in-law Linda Chandra and my sister-in-law Jill Chandra, and they make the uh the very best rolls for the holidays that are always something that everybody looks forward to. Those show up and they disappear about as quickly as they arrive. So I cannot wait for the fresh homemade rolls once again this year. Those will be baked this week for Thanksgiving, and we'll have an opportunity to see them disappear by the end of the day on Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_01:So you keep a pretty crazy travel schedule. How do you maintain that attitude of gratitude throughout the year when you're just going from game to game to game and traveling the country and the world at times?
SPEAKER_04:For for me, Mark, it's really easy because I get the chance to work in a field that so many would do for free. I I love I think about this often that as I'm slogging through three games in three days in the cold of winter in the Big Ten conference, and it's going from cold West Lafayette to cold Bloomington to colder Detroit. And I think, you know what? There are about 90% of the people who are right now slogging off to work in their office that would give everything to be in the position I'm in. And that's the that's the easy way to keep the gratitude. On any given Sunday, when I'm calling the National Football League on Fox, there are approximately 15 of us total in the United States of America that are broadcasting play by play of an NFL game on television in the United States. That's a that's a pretty unique club to be in. And I I don't lose sight of that. I have I really have grown to appreciate that even more year over year, and this year especially. I have really just embraced that notion that I'm doing something really special, and I'm fortunate to be able to do it, and I enjoy doing it, and I'm hoping I can do it as long as possible. But it is uh it's a it's a real joy, and it's very easy to be grateful when you're in the situation that I'm in.
SPEAKER_01:Kevin, we hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Weston Swoboda, Burwell Rancher, Rembolt Letsey attorney. What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_03:Well, Mark, I gotta I gotta tell you, this is a little bit of a softball question for me uh this week. Uh my wife Shelby and I just uh welcomed our our first child, Barrett.
SPEAKER_01:Congratulations.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, thank you. So gosh, I mean, just super thankful for that. Um had really a pretty, pretty smooth pregnancy and then a safe delivery, you know. So happy and healthy mom and baby. So uh it's super, super easy to be, really thankful for a growing family.
SPEAKER_01:And he represents what generation on your ranch?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so it'll be generation six for us. So that's uh that's really exciting.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. So uh being a new dad, uh what what got any special things you're gonna do for this Thanksgiving?
SPEAKER_03:You know, just uh gonna try and kind of stay home and ease into things uh with the the new baby. And uh, you know, I think I'm I'm sure we'll have a couple grandmas over uh at some point too. So yeah, just getting Barrett uh introduced to the rest of the family.
SPEAKER_01:Because you have multiple generations of grandparents, great-grandparents that are still living, right?
SPEAKER_03:Yes, absolutely. So yeah, he uh and on my side, he'll be the first uh grandkid, the first great-grandkid, and the first great-great-grandkid. So my great-grandmother is still alive, and this is her first great-great-grandbaby. So we're really excited for that introduction.
SPEAKER_01:That is so awesome. So, do you have a favorite Thanksgiving food is there something you always look forward to eating or making?
SPEAKER_03:You know, I do. Stuffing, stuffing has always been uh my go-to, you know. Uh enjoy the stuffing.
SPEAKER_01:You have your own recipe?
SPEAKER_03:Uh, you know, I tie I tend to lean on grandma's recipe. So yeah, I've been pretty lucky on that front. Um, but yeah, enjoy that stuffing. And then uh when I married Shelby, uh, I never knew this was a thing, but over in Iowa they do uh turkey and dressing sandwiches, like with the leftover, uh any leftovers that there might be. And gosh, that just uh makes eating those leftovers even better. So that's uh another thing. If you haven't had it, uh worth a try. I'll recommend it.
SPEAKER_01:So, Weston, you're a guy, you're not only thankful during Thanksgiving season, but you're a guy who appears to express tremendous gratitude throughout the year. Uh, how do you maintain that attitude of gratitude not only during Thanksgiving, but the remaining uh days and months of the year?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I think that uh for me it it all comes down, and this is gonna sound like a little bit of a a cliche answer, but it's it's all about the small things for me, right? Uh there's gonna be ups and downs in in all sorts of uh you know day-to-day life. There's gonna be high highs and low lows, but it's just about you know picking out the small things, whether that's you know, a day out on the ranch and just appreciating, you know, the weather and the grass, or whether it's you know, um, you know, just the opportunity to spend a couple moments with family or whatever. But uh, you know, I really appreciate the small things, and I think that that always always leads me back to faith as well. So just being really grateful for for all that God has given us.
SPEAKER_01:Weston, congratulations to you and your family on the birth of your first son, and may you have a great Thanksgiving. Thank you, Mark. Thanks for joining us. Hope you're having a great Thanksgiving. If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing on Apple, Spotify, or wherever it is you get your favorite podcast, and share it with someone who might find it of interest. And while you're at it, keep on listening as we release additional episodes on Nebraska. It's great communities, Nebraska's number one industry, agriculture, and the folks who make it happen.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks. This has been Nighty Three, the Podcast. Sponsored by Nebraska's law firm, Rembolt Ludkey.
