College News

On Thursday, Sept. 12, three alumni who have served and given back in various ways – sometimes from behind the scenes – were among the honored at the Northeast Community College Foundation 2024 Achievement Awards ceremony in the Lifelong Learning Center.

The Alumni Hall of Success honorees were Doug Dekker, Papillion; Rosemary “Mony” (Milnar) Walstrom, Marysville, Kan.; and Leon Weiland, Madison. Northeast President Leah Barrett introduced the honorees.

Dekker graduated from Northeast Community College in 1981 with an associate of arts degree in criminal justice. He currently serves as director of Emergency Services for 1-800-BoardUp of the Omaha Metro Area. The company provides victim services, inspection, security, and restorative services after a fire or other emergency.

Dekker’s first job out of college was as a Norfolk police officer. He worked his rank up to detective during his 13 years, also serving as a member of the Norfolk Fire Reserve. An arson investigation further piqued his interest in firefighting, so he joined the fire department. 

Shortly after, he returned to Northeast for paramedic training. Dekker served 18 years with Norfolk Fire and Rescue. As a firefighter and paramedic, Dekker taught emergency medical services classes at Northeast, which sparked his love of teaching. He also served as the interim director of the Northeast EMT and paramedic program while still a full-time firefighter. Arthritis and the need for a hip replacement forced him to consider another career change, and in April of 2012, he became the full-time director of EMS and paramedic programs at Northeast. 

After Northeast, Dekker worked with Simulation in Motion (SIM) in Nebraska and briefly for SIM-Iowa. He served as assistant manager of SIM-NE for two years, and as manager for five. In June 2023 he was hired by the University of Iowa as the Western Region Coordinator for SIM-IA. He was based in Sioux City and found the separation from his home and family to be less than ideal, leading him to join 1-800-BoardUp.

Dekker said that he is humbled to receive the award. After receiving notification, he looked up the names of past recipients and found former Northeast classmates, former employers, mentors, and distinguished members of the Norfolk area community that he has often looked up to.

Doug and Cheryl have been married for 41 years and reside in Papillion. They have three sons: Joe, Chris, and Michael. Joe is married to Tressa, and they have two children, Callum, and Cora. Joe works as a firefighter and paramedic for Omaha Fire. Chris is married to Mallory, and they have three children: Evelynn, Elinor, and Cillian. He serves as a conservation officer for South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks, based in Rapid City. Michael is married to Tarassa, and they have one child, Kiera. Michael works as a firefighter and paramedic for Grand Island Fire.

Walstrom is a retired speech language pathologist from Marysville, Kan. She is originally from Verdigre. From 1970 to 1972, she attended Northeastern Nebraska College, where she earned an associate of arts degree. During her time there, she was active in student government, played volleyball, and was a cheerleader. She was also crowned the All-Royalty Ball Queen by the previous year’s queen, her sister Rita Mlinar, and represented Northeastern Nebraska College in the Miss NebraskaLand Pageant.

Walstrom graduated in 1974 with a bachelor of science in speech-language pathology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She earned her master of arts degree in speech-language pathology from UNL in 1977 and has held the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech Language Pathology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association since 1978.

She worked as a speech language pathologist for Educational Service Unit 1 in northeastern Nebraska before moving to Kansas, where she continued her career in speech-language pathology with Valley Heights Schools and the Marshall County Special Education Cooperative. Walstrom also spent time in private practice, amassing over 40 years of experience in both the private and educational sectors.

In Kansas, Walstrom has been actively involved in the Marysville community as a member and board member of organizations and various social clubs. Mony has been married to Cleve for 48 years, and they are passionate travelers. Since retiring, they have visited all 50 states, France, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, and embarked on a Norwegian voyage to Svalbard and the Northern Fjords of Norway. She has traveled to England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland with her sisters and ventured to Costa Rica with her son.

Mony and Cleve have two sons. Woody lives in Marysville, and is engaged to Laura, who has a daughter, Elena. Wally is a physician at Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kan., and is married to Amanda. They have three sons: Thane, Dayne, and Blaine. 

Weiland attended Northeastern Nebraska College in 1969 with the intention of studying psychology. As a student, the subjects Weiland found interesting had no course name or written prospectus. He completed 32 credit hours. 

The highlight of Weiland’s time at Northeastern Nebraska College was meeting his future wife outside the gym. His friend had parked his 1963 Chevy Biscayne in front of the building, and beside him was the most beautiful girl — Jean. Everything changed shortly after. Jean is the greatest miracle in Leon’s life, surpassing all others. Her steadfast love and support have inspired him to persevere, and she is credited with helping him find balance across his spiritual, social, and physical aspects.

Beyond his roles as a husband, father, and grandfather, Weiland is a successful entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker, teacher, farmer, and carpenter. In 1984, he founded Weiland Doors, Inc. in an old barn with a dirt floor and a wood-burning furnace. Starting with producing doors for local meatpacking plants, he nurtured the business to support his family of five and employed several others. Through countless hours of work, dreaming, drawing, engineering, selling, building, and shipping, he built a successful enterprise. 

Today, under the leadership of his son and two sons-in-law, the company has grown to 55 employees, with products reaching Ecuador and Bermuda. The company was recognized as the 2019 Nebraska Small Business Persons of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and has been honored by the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce for its growth.

Weiland’s greatest pride is the effect he has had on his community and family. He has been instrumental in maintaining and enhancing St. Leonard’s Church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His generosity extends globally as he has “adopted” children from impoverished countries, providing them with food, clothing, and education. Today, his focus is on teaching and inspiring others to become stronger, more spiritual, courageous, lovable, compassionate, patient, and kind. This is the central theme of his 2015 memoir, “Smell the Dirt and Other Life Lessons Learned from the Ground Up.”

Leon and Jean have been married for over 50 years. Together they have five grown children, Stephanie (Brendan) Knarr, Amber (Rob) Haake, Vanessa (Jason) Ash, Rebekah Mehaffey, and Carl (Jennifer) Weiland. The couple has 22 grandchildren.

Other awards were presented Thursday. Thomas E. Rudloff of Battle Creek earned the Nebraska Community College Association Distinguished Alumni, while nominees for the Nebraska Community College Association Awards were presented to Donovan Ellis, Pierce, (Governors’ Award), Brandon McLean, Norfolk, (Administrator’s Award) and Sara Barritt, Norfolk, (Faculty Award).

Northeast Community College’s new inductees into its Hall of Success are (from left) Leon Weiland, Madison; Doug Dekker, Papillion; and Rosemary “Mony” (Mlinar) Walstrom, Marysville, Kan. (Northeast Community College)