Congratulations to Greg and Tammy Gass! They won the Outstanding Volunteer award from the Nebraska Association of County Extension Boards (NACEB) February 8, 2024 in Lincoln. They received this honor for leading the Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) program for high school youth since 1997 in Cherry County. Their countless hours have made this a once-in-a-lifetime experience that keeps teens connected to Extension and 4-H, and empowers them to be active in their communities.

.

Valentine citizens created around 1,300 Valentines for Veterans! Leo Brinda Unit #90 American Legion Auxiliary hosts this project each year. With the help of VFW members, the Auxiliary prepped and mailed off the Valentines to several Veteran Homes in the region. Over 135 individual envelopes were also mailed to area Vets. A big thank you to Mrs. Stoeger at Valentine Middle School for organizing a giving campaign with students to raise over $170 in funds for postage! Each Valentine is stamped with the official Valentine, NE stamp and an Auxiliary stamp.

NSAA State Championships were held February 15-17, 2024 in Omaha at the CHI Health Center. Coach Marcus Nelson said, “I am very happy that we qualified this many young wrestlers.

This past fall, the first through fourth grade students at Valentine Elementary School participated in Kids Heart Challenge, a fund raiser for the American Heart Association. The students set a goal for themselves of trying to raise $5,000. Once all the donations had been collected and turned in they ended up bringing in a grand total of $6,857.47, far exceeding the goal they set for themselves.

The Valentine Bull Bash Quilt Show held Saturday, February 10, 2024, was a great success. Sixty-two quilts representing many patterns, styles, colors, and decades from Valentine and the surrounding communities made the show a challenge for those willing to cast their votes for their favorite quilts.