Couple gives back to community

One Sidney couple has devoted numerous years to serving their community and they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Gene and Margaret Lienemann have been involved in many community activities and still serve as Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.

Gene serves at the chairman for the ambassadors and Margaret serves as the coordinator for the Dress Down Day presentations for the Ladies Chamber.

The two hit it off during an event unlikely to inspire romance.

“I came from Alliance and he is from around here,” said Margaret. “He’s been here for 60 years this January.

“We both worked for rural electric systems so we knew each other by name and we both had been in some meetings where we knew each other. One spring he came over to PREMA where I worked in Alliance’s annual meeting,” she continued.

“He was a little bit late and I had to go up front so that I could take down the minutes so I told him, ‘If you want to join me you’re welcome to.’ Well that cost him I guess,” laughed Margaret.

The relationship blossomed from there.

Gene worked for Wheat Belt Public Power District for approximately 40 years before he retired soon after the couple got married. Margaret worked for 30 years in Alliance for Panhandle Rural Electric before retiring and moving to Sidney.

“It’s been a blessing for both of us I think. I thought I would work until I was 65 and Gene figured it out that I didn’t need to, so that was good,” said Margaret. “Before we got married we decided that I had a house in Alliance and he had one here, so he put his on the market and it didn’t sell, so I put mine on the market and it sold. We had agreed whoever’s house sold first would move and that’s what brought me here to Sidney.”

Margaret said that although Alliance had been her home for so long that she is really glad Sidney is where she ended up.

“I’m glad I got to move out here,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed doing a lot of different things here. Gene’s been active with the chamber ambassadors for years so I became an ambassador right away.”

Margaret has been an ambassador for 14 years and Gene has been chairman for nearly 20.

Over the years the couple have helped out anywhere they could, and they have a vast knowledge of the area.

“He use to help out at the chamber office when they needed help and now I do it,” said Margaret. “We put up the light pole decorations for I don’t know how many years for the Ladies Chamber until the businessmen downtown decided Gene didn’t need to be on the ladder anymore.

“When you volunteer for something you keep volunteering for more and more and more,” she said.

Margaret said that she also heads the Ladies Chamber Farmers Market and that the couple helps with all the events that they can, including the local Garden Walk and Ice Cream Social.

They also help with Thanks with Franks and the sidewalk sale at the end of June, and Gene use to cook the hamburgers for the event before the holders of the social event decided to only hand out hotdogs. The couple has been proudly serving sodas at the event instead for the last few years.

The couple also volunteered when there was a caboose in town for children and still volunteer as substitute deliverers for the Meals on Wheels programwhere hot meals are taken to the houses of senior citizens who have problems leaving their house.

The Lienemanns said that they are also extending efforts to the towns of Potter, Gurley, Dalton and Lodgepole and seeing if more small businesses might want to become associate members of the chamber.

Gene and Margaret admitted that they are avid golfers and love Husker Football just as much as the next Nebraska fan.

“We went to games for about 17 years and three or four bowl games like the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowls and the Alamo,” said Margaret.

The couple may be retired from paid work, but their dedication and work for the community continues to grow as strong as the day they signed up to be ambassadors in the first place.

“We like to be out with people and we like to give back to the community,” said Margaret. “We like to be actively involved.”

“Plus it gets us out of the house,” said Gene with a smile.