Jeff Scherer knows the importance of business, education and working hard.
After high school, he worked in a packing plant in West Point in the 1980s. After a few years, he decided to seek a business degree and went to college while working part-time at the plant and taking on other jobs. He was married with a young family, eventually earning his bachelor’s degree and later his CPA degree.
It is that type of understanding that he brings to Northeast Community College, serving as the at-large representative from Beemer on the Board of Governors. For these reasons and more, Scherer was named the Northeast Governor of the Year and honored on Sunday, November 2, by the Nebraska Community College Association (NCCA) during its annual conference in Lincoln.
Scherer has a lengthy and varied community life, including both a member and officer of Nebraska Diplomats. He was a board member for several years on the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, served as a district director and chairman of that board in 2011.
He served on 4 Lanes for Nebraska, previously served on the Northeast Foundation Board of Directors, served on the fundraising efforts to get the Northeast Nursing College built, and made a generous contribution to the campaign.
Scherer is a 1987 alumnus of Midland University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in accounting. During his college years, he was active in the Blue Key Honor Fraternity.
He worked as an accountant and became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in 1989 for Brune & Oelkers CPAs in Dodge. In the early 1990s, he served as controller for Smeal Fire Apparatus Company in Snyder, eventually becoming Chief Financial Officer. He later led his own ventures, including Best Point Properties, Inc. (doing business as Horizon Inn & Suites) from 2007 to 2017, and operates Scherer Land & Cattle Co.
Northeast President Leah Barrett nominated Scherer, who has served at the Northeast board chairman since 2024.
“Jeff is the right person at the right time for Northeast. His experiences as an industry leader has provided a perspective that is supportive to the president and helps the board fulfill its role to the college and to its owners. Jeff has been a confidant, a sounding board, and a voice of reason,” Barrett said.
Scherer understands first-hand the vital role that community colleges serve, especially for working students. That role attracted Scherer to serve on the Northeast Community College Board of Governors in 2016.
Job training for the future workforce of the region and Nebraska are other subjects that Scheer cares deeply about. Outside of higher education, he has a diversity of interests, including hunting, cooking, gardening, traveling and improving small communities.
He and his wife, Lori, have four adult children and eight grandchildren.
Governor Honored
Leah Barrett, Northeast Community College president, honored Jeff Scherer of Beemer as the Northeast Governor of the Year during the NCCA Convention in Lincoln on Sunday, November 2. Also shown on the right is Courtney Wittstruck, executive director of the NCCA. (ChadCRG Images)
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