BOB AND NONA HEYEN
MAKING THE DREAM COME TRUE!

Making it all happen at Seward's Lied Senior Center are Bob Heyen, Aging Service Assistant, with assistance from his wife, Nona, through the auspices of the Seward Aging Commission. Commission members are appointed by the Mayor of Seward.

Bob and Nona have done more for the Lied Senior Center than many will ever realize. Going back to when the Senior Center was only a dream, Bob Heyen was a driving force. It was in 1990 that Bob Heyen brought up the need for a Senior Center in Seward. He was later appointed chairman of a committee to look into the possibility of a senior center. The rest is history!

Service for Seward seniors began on May 12, 1992, with meals on Wednesdays and Fridays a the Civic Center. Soon the need for more space dictated that other arrangements be made. Because no other adequate space was available, it was determined that a senior center should be designed to meet the expressed needs.

Donations for a new building began in June 1992. By the end of 1993, there was a total of $15,872 in the building fund.

By June 1994, a decision was made to build a house using whatever donated land and material could be received and with volunteer labor. A lot at the corner of 6th Street and 6th Avenue was donated. A building was designed, built by seniors and sold that fall. This provided a gain of $62,500.

This was followed by submitting for and receiving a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $232,000. With this grant, individual donations and the many fund-raisers, construction was ready to begin.

Ted vonFange, Finance Chairperson, deserves much credit for the many volunteer hours spent in raising funds during the entire project. It was Ted's idea to build the house. It was through his efforts that a grant for $150,000 from the Lied Foundation was received, thus the name "Lied Senior Center." The Seward Aging Services Foundation was created through his guidance in order to have sufficient funds available for future years.

A ground-breaking ceremony for the Seward Senior Center was held on June 11, 1996 at 1010 Manor Drive West. On May 4, 1997, an Open House was held in the new building -- A DREAM COME TRUE!