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WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH
SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2021
2021 Women of Achievement Finalists GOVERNMENT
Mona Anderson
Angela Blaesi
Angela Blaesi loves her day care kids. In 2020, she expanded her focus to North Platte children of all ages, running for and winning a seat on the North Platte school board. Blaesi operates the only North Platte child care center rated at Step 4 by the state’s Step Up to Quality program. During the pandemic, she not only kept her childcare center, but she also received her child development associate credential and finished over 165 hours of continuing education. “She then ran for school board and won the election because she cares so much for the children in our community,” said her daughter Evelyn Blaesi. Blaesi is president of the Miss Nebraska Board of Directors and di- rector of the Miss Nebraska Little Sisters program. She is part of the Communities for Kids collaborative and the Rooted in Relationships ini- tiative. She is also studying for her associate’s degree at Mid-Plains Community College. Larissa Lunzman, whose children go to Angela Blaesi’s Childcare, said of Blaesi: “Angela is committed to providing quality day care to her com- munity, provides early education and loves her day care kids as her own.”
Mona Anderson is executive director of Keep North Platte/Lincoln County Beautiful. She is very involved in the city of North Platte, educating students about the importance of recycling and reusing, and has had contests to rein- force that message. She has helped earn many state and national awards for her KNPLCB work. “Mona is a great inspiration to everyone who has worked with her, wheth- er it was cleaning up the North Platte river banks, cleaning downtown north Platte, working with teams who clean the litter along Lincoln County roads,” said nominator Patty Clark, “and she has been instrumental in helping peo- ple complete community service hours.” Clark was a senior work-study student for Anderson in 2015-16. When she is not working in her office or the community, she is helping her daughter, Reese, with her horse, school and activities.
Laurie Jones
Laurie Jones went to work for the Social Security Administration at age 16 through a work-study program at North Platte High School. Some 40 years later, Jones remains with the agency as district manager. Outside her normal responsibility in four offices located in North Platte, Scottsbluff, Grand Island and Norfolk, she is routinely called upon to trav- el to help other offices in the Midwest Region, including Omaha and Kansas City. Laurie brings and enthusiastic and friendly attitude to her work each day. During the pandemic, she has been managing the office daily on her own, while letting the rest of her staff work remotely. “What is truly impressive to me is how I have been able to refer numerous surviving spouses (primarily widows) to Laurie, to have her give a cogent and helpful explanation of their Social Security opportunities following the death of (a) spouse,” said nominator Terry Waite, a lawyer. Whether the widow lived in Jones’ district or not, “Laurie has always been extremely ap- proachable and helpful to those grieving widows in their time of need while taking it upon herself to personally help them navigate through the Social Security application process.”
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