Grimes, Kolkman to receive Distinguished Service Awards

Grimes was a member of the Nebraska State College Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000. She is a native of Chadron and earned her bachelor’s degree as a non-traditional student from Chadron State in 1979. Her husband, Jim, earned a music education degree in 1967.

The Grimes were living in Grand Island when she was appointed to the Board of Trustees. Shortly after her final term on the board, the couple returned to Chadron where they currently reside. It is believed she was the first Chadron State graduate to serve on the Board of Trustees.

Grimes served three terms on the Chadron State Foundation Board and was the first female chair of the board. She led the board during the five-year Vision 2011 Comprehensive Campaign that raised $16.5 million. Funds raised in the campaign were instrumental in the construction of the Rangeland Complex, Eagle Ridge Housing, the renovation of the Armstrong Physical Education Building, and the construction of the Chicoine Center.

Grimes said she was amazed at the fundraising abilities of the members of the leadership team and the generosity of friends and alumni who contributed.

The Grimes have donated an annual scholarship to the CSC Wind Symphony as well as including CSC in their estate plans.

The Grimes attend CSC concerts and athletic competitions. Over the years, they have also hosted many international CSC students in their home for meals, holidays, and special events.

“We had a positive experience at CSC and want others to have the same opportunity,” she said. “Everyone at CSC was so helpful and accommodating when I was trying to earn my degree in Chadron while my family was in Ogallala. It was a good experience. Staff, faculty, and administrators bent over backward encouraging and supporting me.”

Jim taught music in Morrill, Ogallala, and Hastings before landing his dream job teaching elementary instrumental music at six elementary schools in Grand Island. He retired in 2002.

The Grimes’ son, Jeff, is the information technology director at the First National Bank of Gillette. He and his wife, Lusi, have three adult sons, Jeremy, Jacob, and Isaac who all live and work in Sheridan, Wyoming. In the past, Jeff played the trumpet with the Powder River Symphony, and was a board member and board chair.

Fran’s parents both attended CSC briefly in the early 1940s before her father volunteered to serve in WWII and her mother left school to work. Her sister, Roxie Schmitz, is a CSC alum.

Kolkman served on the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges from 1993 to 1999. At the time, he was the head of the First National Bank of North Platte, where he lived. During his tenure with the bank, a branch was opened in Chadron. His involvement and leadership at the bank resulted in financial support for Chadron State College and its projects.

“My time helping at the college was a great, fun part of my career. I was pleased to associate with so many people in the community and bring the bank into active participation with the college,” Kolkman said.

In 2000, Kolkman’s bank pledged $50,000 to commission George Lundeen of Loveland, Colorado, to sculpt a life-sized statue of author Mari Sandoz that was placed in front of the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center in 2002.

“We were excited to participate in helping with the Center. Mari Sandoz was a very important part of Nebraska history,” Kolkman said.

Kolkman was on the Chadron State Foundation Board for two terms and chaired it leading up to the college’s centennial. He was a catalyst instrumental in developing the Foundation’s first comprehensive campaign called Vision 2011.

“My theory was that people were out there waiting to give to CSC and it turns out that was correct. I put the idea out there and they took it and ran with it. I don’t take any credit for the success of the campaign. They raised more than the goal. It was well-timed coinciding with the centennial of the college,” Kolkman said.

The campaign received a $100,000 gift from the First National Bank of North Platte. Campaign funds contributed to the construction of the Rangeland Complex, the Coffee Agricultural Pavilion, and the Chicoine Center.

“Chadron State College is a diamond in western Nebraska,” Kolkman said. “It has a solid administration, faculty, and staff. I can’t imagine western Nebraska without this institution to educate our leaders, motivate us to expand our horizons, and move us forward economically. It makes such an improvement to quality of life with cultural events, the students that attend, and the economic impact.”

Kolkman also participated in the CSC Golf Classics for nearly 20 years until he retired in 2014.

He and his wife, DiAnn, live in Omaha. Their daughter, Lisa, is a bank manager in Beatrice where she lives with her husband, Jeff. Their son, Aaron, is a certified financial planner in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and has three children. Their son, Dr. Paul Kolkman, is chief of surgery at Methodist Hospital in Omaha. He and his wife, Marcy, have four children.