Sidney Mom Among NEST Drawing Winners

A young Sidney resident got a leg up on her college education this week, thanks to the submission of a photo taken by her mother.

Sidney's Kristin Boltjes entered a picture of her daughter, Everly, which was selected as a winner of a contest which makes contributions to college savings accounts. The photo, of Everly in an owl suit, has the caption "Happy Halloween! Hoo Hoo" on it on the Nebraska State Treasurer's website.

First National Bank of Omaha and Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg announced five winners in the NEST 529 Fall Festivities Photo Drawing Tuesday. Each winner was selected at random and will receive a $1,000 contribution to a NEST 529 College Savings account. To be included in the drawing, entrants were invited to submit captioned photos of children age 12 and younger enjoying fall activities.

"We received wonderful, fall-themed photos as part of the Fall Festivities Photo Drawing," said Treasurer Stenberg, Trustee of NEST. "The contestants were enthusiastic about establishing and growing their higher education savings. We are grateful to all of them for sharing their photos with us and for taking steps to reach their savings goals."

Fall Festivities Photo Drawing winners were:

- Rebecca Behle, Columbus

- Tatum Casart, Lincoln

- LaDonna Stanosheck, Osmond

- Kristin Boltjes, Sidney

- Linsey Knerl, Tekamah

"The Fall Festivities Photo Drawing was an exciting way for us to encourage families to enjoy the beauty of fall while reminding them to look ahead to the future," said Deborah Goodkin, Managing Director, Savings Plans, First National Bank of Omaha. "The best time to prepare for tomorrow is today. That's why we encourage families to take advantage of opportunities such as this-as well as the many other scholarships we offer-to prepare for the years ahead and achieve their academic dreams."

For images of the Fall Festivities Photo Drawing winners, please visit the Fall Festivities Winners photo album on Facebook (@NEST529College

Savings). The winners are also shown on the State Treasurer's website, treasurer.nebraska.gov.

NEST 529 is a tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan and provides four plans to help make saving for college simple and affordable: NEST Direct College Savings Plan, NEST Advisor College Savings Plan, TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan, and State Farm 529 Savings Plan. The Nebraska State Treasurer serves as Program Trustee. First National Bank of Omaha serves as Program Manager, and all investments are approved by the Nebraska Investment Council. Families nationwide are saving for college using Nebraska's 529 College Savings Plans, which have more than 261,000 accounts, including over 84,000 in Nebraska. Visit NEST529.com and treasurer.nebraska.gov for more information.