County leaders from across the state have recognized the impact Seward County Commission Chair Misty Ahmic has made early in her time as a county official.
The Nebraska Association of County Officials presented 2024 Next Generation awards to Ahmic and Hall County Treasurer Alaina Verplank Dec. 19 in Kearney.
The award recognizes county officials who have served less than two terms in their office and show promise for the future. That is measured through involvement in their affiliate groups and by showing a strong interest in NACO’s leadership and education programs.
Ahmic served as an appointed member of the Seward County Planning Commission for about four years before completing the Seward County Board of Commissioner’s term left vacant by Commissioner Mike Mundhenke’s death in October 2020. She was then elected to a four-year term.
NACO Executive Director Jon Cannon said this was the seventh year for the Next Gen Awards and selection was made by a committee of elected officials from across the state.
The nomination submitted by Sherry Schweitzer pointed to examples of Ahmic’s activity and leadership in her involvement with the Nebraska Broadband Initiative and her work to help assure Seward County receives a fair amount of the state’s $405 million share of that federal funding.
She also noted Ahmic’s efforts to obtain grant funding for roads, bridges and infrastructure around the county, as well as implementation of employee recognition lunches and board-recognition of a Veteran of the Month.
Schweitzer described Ahmic as a “driven multi-tasker and problem solver who enjoys challenges and gets results.”
As a former Planning Commission member, Ahmic has worked on updating planning and zoning regulations and is part of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy. She is a member of the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership Board which focuses on economic development in the county.
Cannon said Ahmic’s communication with legislators is also helpful to the county association. She is a graduate of the association’s Institute of Excellence and is part of a conference for new county board members in January.
In February, she will be involved in the Nebraska Safety Conference, where she will talk about the Community Safety Action Plan Program. That is part of the Safe Streets and Roads grant program from which Seward County received $500,000 to identify possible safety improvements for the thoroughfare at Southeast Community Campus in Milford.
Ahmic is Southeast District president for the 93-county association.
“She got into the leadership role very quickly. She’s just been very, very active,” Cannon said, noting her projects included bringing him and others into the Seward County Courthouse for the local County Government Day.
Ahmic has also been active in the creation of the Seward County Gives Day, a fund-raising and awareness effort benefitting more than 40 organizations in the county. She is also part of Leadership Nebraska.
Ahmic said she was humbled by the award.
“It was very kind, but I can’t take credit for any of those things all by myself,” she said. “It takes a village to do anything, and I am just lucky to have a good one.”
Being a county commissioner was not something she had planned to do, but she said she felt respected and welcome when she joined the board.
“Being a commissioner is all about what you make it,” she said. “It’s really up to the individual.”
Ahmic was born in Lincoln and raised in eastern Colorado, but spent much of her summers with her grandparents and other relatives in the Milford area, which is the district she now represents.
