September 1, 2005
Lincoln Journal Star

Lincoln, NE--Two Nebraskans' devotion to public services to be honored by Appleseed Center for Law.

Two Nebraskans who devoted themselves to public service will be honored by a nonprofit group that addresses poverty issues.

The Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest created an award honoring the late Jim Wolf, a businessman from Albion whose public service work in a dozen areas created long-lasting benefits.

Vard Johnson, an Omaha attorney and former state senator, will receive the first "Jim Wolf Equal Justice Award."

Both men were founding members of the Nebraska Appleseed Board in 1996. Johnson was the board president from 1998 to 2000.

The award is part of the Appleseed's first annual dinner Sept. 18 at Ironwood Country Club in Omaha.

It was established to honor Wolf's memory and to recognize people who are doing work outside the comfort zone of their daily lives, said Milo Mumgaard, executive director of the Appleseed Center.

Wolf, who died in 2002, was a successful businessman who had a genuine concern for the broader community, said Milo. He was associated with a family business, Wagonhammer Cattle Co., a diversified cattle operation in the Sandhills near Albion and Bartlett.

In 1966, Wolf bought the Albion National Bank, serving as the bank's president and chairman. He sold the bank in 1991.

Wolf was instrumental in forming the Central Nebraska Community Foundation to encourage giving to local community projects, and served as chairman of the Nebraska Community Foundation.

He fought for social justice, serving on the national board of the Anti-Defamation League, according to an Appleseed news release.

He was also a philanthropist, giving to many causes. He created a loan fund for Albion High School students, contributed to the endowment of Nebraska Public Radio, and formed the Schlesinger Professorship for Social Justice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Nebraska Wesleyan awarded him an honorary degree and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Block & Bridle Club named him man of the year. The University of Nebraska also presented him its Builder Award.

He was also awarded posthumously the Nebraska Bankers Association's Agri-business Recognition Award.

"Jim cared about the common good. He cared about his community, not just about himself," said Chuck Hassebrook, executive director for the Center for Rural Affairs.

"Vard (Johnson) has lived his public life that way as well," he said about the award winner.

Johnson has always been a creative and forceful voice for others, particularly low-income and marginalized people, said Mumgaard.

He has been able in his career to do things that are not conventional charitable work, but that created broader systems, Mumgaard said.

In early 2005, Johnson opened a law office in Boston, where he is concentrating on immigration work, primarily with working class people in jeopardy of being deported.

He is still a partner in the Omaha firm of Broom, Johnson, Clarkson and Lanphier.

Over the years, Johnson has been involved in many precedent-setting cases, including a case that assured low-income parents were provided with legal counsel in child neglect cases.

As a state senator in the early 1980s, Johnson was the primary author or proponent of virtually all legislation that overhauled and modernized the funding and administration of public assistance in Nebraska. Medicaid, once a county responsibility, was turned over to the state and standardized.

New benefits were provided children in poor, intact families (including the last increase made in monthly Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits in 1988). Child care was regulated and extended, according to information provided by Appleseed.

As Revenue Committee Chairman he also helped create the original business tax incentives designed to bring more jobs to Nebraska.

Johnson is the co-founder of "Fighting Chance for Children," a tax exempt nonprofit corporation organized to promote safe and healthy environments for children.

Johnson has also been a leader in a wide range of community organizations, including the Metro Arts Council, the Historical Society of Douglas County, United Way of the Midlands, Nebraska Voters for Choice and the Salvation Army.

He has received more than a dozen awards for his civic and legal work, including the Order of the Tower award, the highest honor provided to a non-alumnus by the University of Nebraska at Omaha.