CONNIE (POWERS) KOMPARE
Class of 1972
Inducted in 2025 |
Connie was inducted into the SHSAA Hall of Fame in 2025.
Connie graduated from South in 1972. She received an associate degree in business management from Metro Community College and a bachelor’s degree in management of human resources from Bellevue University. Connie retired in 2019 after 20 years working for First Data in sales support, project management and client services. Connie’s continued volunteer work and activism is the main reason she is being honored. In 2024, she received the Outstanding Volunteer from the Nebraska Hospice and palliative Care Association. She received a District Award for Merit with the Mid-America Council Boy Scouts of America and was nominated for volunteer of the year for United Way of the Midlands. Connie’s community and public service extends to many. She conducts an annual drive each October to collect and deliver coats, blankets, portable heaters, winter clothes, etc. to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She is a hospice volunteer and has been working with the NODA (No One Dies Alone) program for six years to provide comfort and support to hospice patients without family or friends, being there for them during their final hours. She also conducts an annual quilt show for the Mable Rose Assisted Living and memory care residents; to display various quilts she has made and talk to residents about their quilting. During Covid, Connie sewed over 900 cloth masks that she donated to the Rosebud Reservation. She also made and donated a dozen quilts to the Nebraska Veteran’s Home. Connie also volunteers with the Community Crafters sewing group in Council Bluffs, that make blankets, quilts, mittens and various projects for local community organizations to distribute to homeless and other various groups. She has donated numerous quilts to various raffles and fundraisers to raise money for medical costs including for children with cancer. She is a former volunteer with the Board of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska and the Boy Scouts of America Explorer Scouts. Connie has been married to her husband, Frank (SHS-1965) for 45 years. She has two daughters and four grandchildren. Connie says that her time spent at South gave her some of her best memories and life lessons. The things she learned, the teachers she learned from, the people she met and friends she made have taught her to be able to work with people from all cultures, social and economic backgrounds, and physical abilities. |