Lincoln Chamber of Commerce 14th Annual Celebrate Business Awards Luncheon

Harvey Perlman, Chancellor

I am deeply honored to receive this award.

I am honored because the award is named after Roger Larson, who is a unique and ubiquitous community advocate.

I am fortunate to lead a great university and thus to receive credit for the accomplishments of my administrative colleagues, faculty, staff and students.

I am humbled to be singled out for this award at this very special time in the history of Lincoln, Nebraska. So many have worked so hard to generate so much momentum for this community. I have witnessed first-hand the energy, the time, and the resources being quietly but effectively contributed by members of 2015 to make Lincoln better. I can think of no similar period where enlightened leadership exists in so many organizations that are critical for our success: The Chamber of Commerce and other elements of the business community, the mayor's office and the city council.

Whatever contributions I have made seem small in comparison to the scale of what is being accomplished and the potential of what lies ahead. We are just beginning to realize the promise of the Antelope Valley project to rebuild a large swath of our community, to generate economic development, to create additional recreational opportunities, and to enhance the quality of life in our central city.

We are poised to begin the long-term investments necessary to develop State Fair Park into an Innovation Campus where the success of the university's research efforts can be harnessed to create economic growth.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-energize our community by constructing a new arena with its associated commercial, entertainment and arts activities that will provide a venue for attracting and retaining young professionals and their families.

These are opportunities we must pursue and visions we must achieve if we want our children and grandchildren to live here and prosper.

Finally, I am honored to receive this award in the presence of my family - my wife Susan, daughters Anne and Amie and their husbands Dave Spinar and Ron Larson. I know all of them will work hard to assure that this award will not go to my head.

I'm not Roger Larson but that's the way I see it. Many thanks.