Beef Passport Winners Announced

Kearney, NE (September 30, 2021) Nine lucky winners were selected out of the thousands of participants in the first year of the Nebraska Beef Council’s Good Life Great Steaks Beef Passport program.   

Mary Jo Keenan of Hastings was the grand prize winner, receiving a $500 beef bundle from Custom Pack Inc. and a Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Cabela’s Cooler. Submitted passports with at least 11 stamps were eligible for the top prize.   

“I was excited to hear that I won,” said Keenan. “I’m looking forward to hosting friends and family for dinner and enjoying more fantastic beef.”   

The beef passport encouraged Nebraskans and tourists to visit participating restaurants throughout the state, order beef menu items and collect stamps for their chance to win prizes. The program was launched May 1, 2021 and concluded September 10. Over 5,000 stamps were collected during the 19-week promotion. Passports were requested from over 600 communities and 39 states.   

Other winners included Barb Maynard of Lincoln and Ricardo Molina of Lexington who each received $250 beef bundles. A beef swag prize package was awarded to five winners including Frankie Bonde of Kearney, Michelle Hansen-Daberkow of Lincoln, April Wichman of Omaha, James Adley of Hershey and Laura Liesmeyer of Nebraska City. Vedah Fales from Broken Bow was selected as a winner of a bonus Cabela’s cooler when her name was drawn from a select group of people who visited all 41 locations.   

“It was fun to see the stamped passports come back and the notes from participants who enjoyed the experience,” said Adam Wegner, director of marketing for the Nebraska Beef Council. “Some shared that they used the opportunity to see parts of the state they had never been to before or to connect with friends and family they hadn’t seen in a while. What a terrific way to reunite and share a beef meal together.”   

“I really had a great time doing the Beef Passport,” said Keenan. “Not only did I get to have some delicious beef meals, but I was able to enjoy them with my sister and my mom who turns 90 this year.”     

For additional information about the Nebraska Beef Passport visit www.GoodLifeGreatSteaks.org.    

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The Nebraska Beef Council is a non-profit organization served by a nine-member board of directors. The volunteers oversee the beef checkoff in Nebraska and checkoff-funded programs. Programs for marketing and promotion are funded by the $1/head beef checkoff.