HOLBROOK, NEB. (May 6, 2005)--"Remember what the nighttime sky looked like when you were a kid? It still does."

This line is printed on one of five postcards that business partners and sisters Nancy Herhahn and Betty Sayers are mailing out to Nebraska alumni, beckoning them to return to their home state.

Herhahn and Sayers each left Nebraska at the age of 18 because they were told that if they wanted to make something of themselves, " You had to get out". Now they have found their way back to Nebraska, and they want others to join them. The sisters have created a nonprofit partnership and accompanying website called Business Beyond the Farm (BBF) sponsored by communities in the region and the South Platte United Chambers of Commerce to lure alumni and others to Nebraska. The website can be accessed at: www.businessbeyondthefarm.com and their office is located at 701 4th Ave., in Holdrege, Neb.

Business Beyond the Farm targets alumni from Nebraska high schools because "Colleges contact their alums, but high schools don't," said Sayers. The sisters gather alumni data from area communities, and print out mailing labels and mail postcards about upcoming alumni events on behalf of those communities. They also survey website visitors about occupations, hobbies and other interesting data, sharing information with communities with the goal of incorporating it into marketing materials and tools used to attract more people to the area. For example, if a community schedules a specific event, BBF will email all registered persons who indicated an interest in that hobby and encourage them to incorporate it into their vacation plans. To cover their services, BBF charges each participating community a membership fee of $1 per person based on the community's current population.

After a successful career that took her to Chicago and San Diego as West Coast Regional Vice President of HQ Global Workplaces, Herhahn decided to return to Nebraska. "I have family connections here. I also saw how the growth affected the quality of life [in the city]. City life was expensive and wearing. My husband and I decided that [staying on the coast] was silly."

Sayers taught at a community college in Belcourt, N.D., before moving to Detroit Lakes, Minn., where she facilitated a hospital and clinic, co-authored a book, and wrote and facilitated grants. While out of the state, she read articles about Nebraska and how its communities were dying. However when she visited Nebraska, she witnessed many positives.

"The schools were doing an excellent job of educating, just like they did when we were in school. There were safe streets, clean communities, and kids left their unlocked bikes at the swimming pools lying on the grass.Communities were strong with amenities-- airports, golf courses, fire departments. We asked ourselves, "'so what is wrong?'" She decided to help change other people's perceptions and the mixed messages they were receiving about Nebraska. Her reasons for returning were personal.

"I wanted a life that matters to me," Sayers said. "When I lived in other states, I wasn't committed."

Both sisters are certainly committed to their communities and region now. Sayers, a resident of Holdrege, unearths the stories that need telling while Herhahn, who lives in the Plum Creek Canyon Lake area, manages the data. Sayers believes that the world is hungry to hear about the Midwest.

"It's a secret that been kept hidden away for too long," she said. She has written stories about communities, as well as individual entrepreneurs throughout southwest Nebraska to post on the website. "[Nebraska] is a big pot of gold for anyone who wants to have a life that matters," she stated.

Herhahn downloads and sorts the website information into various categories.

"We want interactive communications with people," Herhahn said. She uses registrants' information to spark a conversation between the website visitors and communities throughout southwest Nebraska. Currently the data covers more than 11,000 alumni and 500 members registered on the website which receives nearly 40 hits per day. Herhahn believes that her experience as a company executive who worked with entrepreneurs and provided leading technology for other companies impacted her awareness of technology and what it can do for people.

Sayers also credits GROW Nebraska and its director Janell Anderson Ehrke for valuable advice and sound direction in helping build the project.

"What GROW does is fast forward us because we get caught up in the past and the present. To keep a business perspective, we must look one quarter ahead at least. GROW demands that of us," Sayers said.

Business Beyond the Farm has communicated with GROW from the time it was just an idea on a drawing board, and has been a member since 2004.

BBR's goal of bringing entrepreneurs to Nebraska closely mirrors those of GROW Nebraska.

"We want people to bring a job. This is a good place for entrepreneurs," Sayers said. She feels it is important to highlight the success stories of entrepreneurs in the area and to let them know that they are valued. Business Beyond the Farm wants communities to share their entrepreneur stories, business transfers, and employment and entrepreneurial opportunities so they can pass the information along to others.

Barbara Swanson, a Beaver City native, is one of the success stories. After living in various states throughout the U.S., Swanson is looking to return soon to Nebraska thanks to a BBF postcard. "Nebraska is so unique in the way they live compared with the rest of the United States," Swanson commented. With her social services background, Swanson hopes to provide services locally when she makes Nebraska her home again.

In just a little more than a year, the sisters have created and implemented a campaign to bring people into the state. They hope their motto "See life from a better perspective. Join us in Nebraska" will accomplish that goal.

(Grassroots Resources and Opportunities for Winners) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is focused on maximizing Nebraska's entrepreneurial spirit and focused on building Nebraska businesses globally by providing sustainable business environments through marketing, education, business-building services and access to markets. To learn more about GROW Nebraska or Nebraska entrepreneurs, visit their website at: www.grownebraska.com

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Janell Anderson Ehrke at 888-GROWNEB
(476-9632)