Sen. Nelson to speak at CSC graduation

 Nearly 160 degrees will be conferred during the ceremonies. Those graduating include 36 who completed work on their degrees last summer.

Nelson was elected to the Senate in November 2000 after serving eight years as the Nebraska governor. He is a Democrat.

A native of McCook, he worked as a lawyer, business executive and government official in the insurance industry issues before becoming the Nebraska governor in 1990 by ousting the Republican incumbent.

When Nelson completed his second term as governor in 1998, he enjoyed near record approval ratings after having cut state taxes, advocating increased ethanol production, reducing welfare rolls and bridging the gaps between rural and urban Nebraska.

In the Senate, he is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture and the Veterans Affairs Committees. He has made tax reduction, the protection of Social Security, a prescription drug benefit for seniors and a pro-business approach the cornerstones of his Senate agenda.

He also has worked to strengthen the nation’s defense and homeland security, and advocated improved services and benefits for veterans. In addition, he championed a new farm bill and advocated new renewable fuels standard as part of the national energy strategy.

Nelson has received the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award, the Distinguished Eagle Award from the National Eagle Scout Association, the Groundwater Achievement Award from the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation and the George W. Norris Award for his support of public power. In 2002, he was awarded the U.S. Chamber of Commerce "Spirit of Enterprise" award for his strong support of business issues.

In late 2003, the senator worked with the Students in Free Enterprise program at Chadron State to launch an Exploring Free Enterprise project in Nebraska. The program is designed to teach Nebraska students in grades 6, 8 and 12 the basics of the free enterprise system. Materials were sent to more than 500 public schools in the state on how their students can use computers to connect with the CSC blackboard system to access the information on business ethics, entrepreneurship, personal finance and market economics. The training concludes with a message from Nelson, congratulating them on participating,

There are approximately 25,000 students in the state in each of the three participating grades.

Nelson was so pleased with the program that he entered information about it in the Congressional Record.

He said the program seeks to spread that spirit of enterprise to a new generation of young business leaders and entrepreneurs. He added, “It is their entrepreneurial spirit that will drive America’s economic engine in a competitive world economy.”

The senator and his wife, Diane, have four children and three grandchildren.