Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg recognized six young Nebraskans, ages 3 to 11, today at the Nebraska State Fair for their winning photographs of farm and ranch life in the 2015 NEST on the Farm Fun Photo Drawing. The winners will each receive a $1,000 Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST) scholarship.
Money for the NEST on the Farm scholarships comes from First National Bank of Omaha, program manager for NEST, as part of First National’s scholarship initiative. Treasurer Stenberg is Trustee of NEST.
The scholarship winners in the newborn to 5 and 6 to 13 age groups for each Congressional district are listed below:
Congressional District 1
Congressional District 2
Congressional District 3
The children were recognized Saturday at the State Fair’s Family Fun Zone. Each was given a certificate featuring his or her winning photograph. The winners spoke about where their photos were taken, what they liked about their photos, and what possible careers they might like to pursue when they grow up.
“Our purpose is to acquaint young families with our college savings program and to acquaint young children with farm and rural life,” Treasurer Stenberg said. “There’s no better place to highlight the values of farm and ranch life and the importance of agriculture to the state’s economy than the Nebraska State Fair. The children’s photos cause us all to stop and appreciate the rural life around us.”
Stenberg added: “We want parents to know that the best time to start saving for college is when their children are very young so that the savings can grow and mature. We also want to encourage parents to talk with their young children about college, careers, and fulfilling life work.”
“We congratulate our winners on their heart-warming photos. First National Bank is a long-time supporter of the agricultural community in Nebraska, and we are thrilled to provide these young people with an opportunity to get a jump start on saving for college,” said Deborah Goodkin, Managing Director, First National Bank of Omaha.
The winners were chosen in a random drawing of photographs with a farm or ranch theme that were either taken by the children or that featured the children. The contest, which ran from April 23 to May 23, was open to Nebraska children ages 13 and younger. Two winners were chosen from each of Nebraska’s three congressional districts in two age groups: newborn to age 5 and ages 6 to 13.
About First National Bank of Omaha
First National Bank of Omaha is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska. First National of Nebraska and its affiliates have more than $23 billion in assets and 5,000 employee associates. Primary banking offices are located in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.
About NEST
NEST is a tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan and provides four plans to help make saving for college simple and affordable: NEST Direct College Savings Plan, the NEST Advisor College Savings Plan, the Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan, and the State Farm 529 Savings Plan. The Nebraska State Treasurer serves as Program Trustee. Union Bank & Trust Company serves as Program Manager, and all investments are approved by the Nebraska Investment Council. Families nationwide are saving for college using Nebraska’s 529 College Savings Plans, which have more than 285,000 accounts, including over 94,000 in Nebraska. Visit NEST529.com and treasurer.nebraska.gov for more information.
