News
Koley Jessen Sponsors Young Professionals Choice Award
Published: 1/15/2010
An Omaha law firm is once again paying tribute to the power and promise of young professionals by sponsoring the Young Professionals Choice Award, which will be presented to Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) during the 2010 Young Professionals Summit luncheon on Thursday, March 4.
Paul Jessen, president of Koley Jessen Attorneys, said, "The Young Professionals Choice award is a way to show our appreciation for the role that young professionals play throughout our community and here at Koley Jessen. It honors those companies which have a great track record of attracting and retaining young professionals. We also see it as an opportunity for local businesses to learn how these companies have been successful in this area."
Young professionals submitted 56 nominations for the Young Professionals Choice Award. A selection committee narrowed the field to the top six, which included Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, ConAgra Foods, Cox, Omaha Public Power District and Thrasher Basement Systems, Inc. The committee used site visits and pre-determined criteria to choose the winner.
Julie DeWitt, Koley Jessen's director of client development and community relations, served as a liaison between Koley Jessen and the awards selection committee.
"In our third year of the award, the nominees were as outstanding and diverse as ever. It was exciting to see the largest and smallest organizations passionately promoted by the nominating young professionals. Momentum by the young professional community continues to be strong in Omaha and it is interesting and exciting to learn about the growing list of employers behind that momentum," DeWitt said.
To Jessen, young professionals symbolize fresh perspectives and new ideas. His firm opened its doors 22 years ago with seven attorneys. The count now stands at 50 lawyers and a total staff of 110, many of them young professionals.
"We know that young professionals are critical to the long-term viability of Koley Jessen," said Jessen. "They provide services necessary to meet the needs of our clients, hold leadership roles within Koley Jessen and in the community, and they are essential to the continuity of our organization. The response to the Young Professionals Choice Award shows that many businesses in Omaha feel the same way."
The Summit is presented by the Greater Omaha Young Professionals. The Summit sponsors are Bellevue University and HDR, Inc.