Nebraska Planning and Zoning Association

Welcome to Day 3 of the NEPC 2026! We hope everyone had a great time learning, networking and honoring our award winners yesterday! Here are a couple of the highlights from the day. Everyone please travel safe on your way home today!

A special moment at tonight’s NEPC Awards Banquet with all of these past winners of the Loretta Ludemann Award, pictured here with the venerable Dave Ptak.

Welcome to Day 2 of NEPC 2026! Here are a few of the moments from Day 1! Here's to another great day of learning, networking and honoring our award winners!

The NEPC provides top-notch training and education for our state’s planning and zoning professionals and leaders. One of the ways we achieve that is by bringing in well-regarded keynote speakers to the conference. This year’s speakers are no exception! The 2026 Conference Keynote will be delivered by Clint Runge.

Clint is the CEO & Founder of Archrival, and his session, Navigating a New Generation Through Placemaking, will break down the driving forces that attendees can rely on to build better communities, opportunities and effective marketing. By knowing a generation’s unique operating system, placemakers can be better prepared to take on the nuances of creating attract spaces whether that’s out in the public, at work or online. Trust. Innovation. Influence. Loyalty. Topics that every major organization in the world wrestles to evolve.

For more details on this keynote and other sessions at the NEPC 2026, visit our website at NPZA.org/Conference.

The NEPC provides top-notch training and education for our state’s planning and zoning professionals and leaders. One of the ways we achieve that is by bringing in well-regarded keynote speakers to the conference. This year’s speakers are no exception! We are going to highlight each keynote for the next two weeks, first up are the Big Beautifully Bearded Planners, TJ Dlubac and Josh Olhava.

TJ is the President/Owner at Community Planning Strategies and Josh is the Planning & Development Supervisor at Ayres Associates. TJ and Josh will deliver the Welcome Keynote, The Art of Making It All Work.

From balancing public expectations with technical realities to coordinating multiple disciplines, planners excel at aligning teams, reframing challenges, and guiding communities toward workable solutions. Through stories from real projects, interactive polls, and the trademark B3P humor, Josh and TJ unpack the mindset and tools that help planners and their partners make progress when conditions are anything but straightforward.

For more details on this keynote and other sessions at the NEPC 2026, visit our website at NPZA.org/Conference.

The deadline to submit nominations for the 2026 NPZA Awards is THIS COMING MONDAY, January 26.

Awards are considered for presentation at the Nebraska Planning Conference, which will take place March 4-6 at the Younes Conference Center North in Kearney. The awards up for consideration are:
• Appointed Official
• Elected Official
• Professional
• Mitsuo Kawamoto Excellence in Planning
• Carol Swayne Planning Commissioner
• Loretta Ludemann Achievement
• Spotlight Community
• Community of Achievement
• Rising Star in Planning and Development
• Innovations in Planning
• Multi-jurisdictional/Multi-faceted Project

For more info, visit our website at NPZA.org/awards.

NPZA and the Nebraska Chapter of the American Planning Association are excited to offer the Donna Lynam First Time Attendee Scholarship.

Donna was a long-time attendee to the Nebraska Planning Conference and had a successful career in the planning and zoning departments at the City of Gretna and Sarpy County.

In honor of Donna, the scholarship program awards scholarships to those who meet the criteria and are attending the Nebraska Planning Conference for the first time.

For more info., visit our website at https://npza.org/conference/donna-lynam-first-time-attendee-scholarship/.

Nominations are now open for the 2026 NPZA Awards, which recognize outstanding individuals and communities that have contributed to the field of planning in Nebraska.

Awards are considered for presentation at the Nebraska Planning Conference, which will take place March 4-6 at the Younes Conference Center North in Kearney. The awards up for consideration are:
• Appointed Official
• Elected Official
• Professional
• Mitsuo Kawamoto Excellence in Planning
• Carol Swayne Planning Commissioner
• Loretta Ludemann Achievement
• Spotlight Community
• Community of Achievement
• Rising Star in Planning and Development
• Innovations in Planning
• Multi-jurisdictional/Multi-faceted Project

For more info, visit our website at NPZA.org/awards.