Mike Yanney to be honored by Omaha Press Club

If there was a Mount Rushmore dedicated to Omaha's top businesspeople, Mike Yanney would almost certainly be one of the faces.

On Nov. 18, a different sort of face recognition will be given to Yanney — one of UNMC's top supporters — when the Omaha Press Club honors him as its 166th Face on the Barroom Floor. He will be joining an elite group of individuals who have indelibly left a mark on the state. Past honorees include UNMC Chancellor Emeritus Harold M. Maurer, MD, and his wife, Beverly, Warren Buffett, Gerald Ford, Johnny Carson, Tom Osborne, Bob Gibson and Gale Sayers.

Currently serving as chairman emeritus of Burlington Capital, a firm that manages nearly 70,000 apartment houses around the country, Yanney and his wife of over 60 years, Gail Walling Yanney, MD, have teamed together to serve the community in a multitude of ways.

They have spearheaded countless community projects over the years including Campaign for Nebraska, a massive fundraising effort on behalf of the University of Nebraska. They have been driving forces on just about every major construction project at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine in the past two decades.

Other organizations which have benefited from the Yanneys include the Omaha Zoological Society, Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, United Arts Omaha, Museum of Nebraska Art, Nebraska Heart Association, Junior Achievement of Omaha, Film Streams, Omaha Performing Arts Society Foundation, and Heritage Services.

In addition, Yanney established a mentorship program, Partnership 4 Kids, that has helped thousands of children from disadvantaged families.

A native of Kearney, Nebraska, Yanney received his undergraduate degree in 1955 from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He later earned graduate degrees from the American Institute of Banking and the University of Wisconsin School of Banking.

After finishing college, Yanney worked for a bank in Denver. He had no interest in making Nebraska his permanent home. Then, he met Gail on a blind date, and his whole career path changed. Four days later, they were engaged.

"It came as a surprise to my mother," Gail said. "She wasn't sure I knew how to spell Mike's last name."

On Christmas Day in 1960, the Yanneys tied the knot. They lived in Omaha and Mike took a position with Omaha National Bank while Gail completed her medical degree and residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and became an anesthesiologist.

Mike's banking career took off, and he started his own investment company, America First Companies, in 1983. In 1976, he established a business partnership with the Soviet Union, launching a broad range of initiatives that included soybean fields, a chicken production facility, and a glass bottling plant. He had occasional meetings with some of the country's leading figures. Over the past 45 years, Yanney has conducted business in 14 other foreign countries.

His countless awards include the Horatio Alger Award, the NebraskaLander Award, induction into the Omaha Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame and the Russian Academy of Science and Information, serving as the 118th king of Ak-Sar-Ben, and several major awards from the University of Nebraska.

Yanney's pride in UNMC/Nebraska Medicine is immense.

"It is the No. 1 employer in the state of Nebraska," he said. "It's by far and away our state's best prospect for future development. With the combination of leadership and the highly engaged private sector, the medical center has the potential of becoming the 'Silicon Valley of Medicine.' That's saying a lot."