By Patti Jo Peterson

A couple of months ago, Jeanene Wehrbein told me she had decided to resign from her position as Plattsmouth Chamber of Commerce’s executive  director.

I was a little stunned by the news, because the past five years she’s worked continuously to get her work at the chamber like a well-oiled machine.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t understand everything about Jeanene, but there are many qualities she possesses that I do understand and have learned about her in the past five years.

First and foremost, Jeanene loves Plattsmouth.

She spends every waking moment thinking about how to promote it as a destination point for shoppers, historical interest point for visitors and home for newcomers.

Many times, Jeanene has told me that she wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about all that needs to get done. Jeanene often sleeps very little, because she’s so enthused about Plattsmouth that she just doesn’t have time to sleep.

If she’s not doing work for the chamber, Jeanene is doing something else like planning a chautauqua, serving as a judge for the fair, attending festivals in other communities to get ideas for Plattsmouth, helping with an event at her church or going to her grandchildren’s sporting, theater and other school-related events.

Despite all that, she still seems to have time to whip up some country-style dinner for her husband Roger.

Secondly, Jeanene is a hard worker. I’m amazed at how many hours she can fit into one day.

She really did hit the pavement  running when she became chamber director.

I didn’t realize it until I interviewed her a few weeks ago and she talked about her trepidation at having to plan the chamber’s golf outing when she first started.

I never saw a bit of fear in her. In fact, I thought she’d organized 100s of golf outings for chambers.

In my position, it’s important to have a good relationship with the chamber director. For one, they seem to know everything about what is going on in their respective communities — new businesses, business expansion, industrial developments, taxes, new people in the community — you name it.

In my position, it’s important to have a good relationship with the chamber director. For one, they seem to know everything about what is going on in their respective communities — new businesses, business expansion, industrial developments, taxes, new people in the community — you name it.

Over the years, Jeanene became a good source of information for me. I got numerous story ideas from her and the bulk of them panned out for The Journal.

Many times I have called Jeanene and said, “I need a story on the holiday event,  Cruisin’ Main, the chamber auction, the chamber dance, etc. Can you come talk to me to today or tomorrow?.”

“Sure, I think I can do that,” she’s always say.

She’d come to The Journal at the appointed time. I swear, she was never late.

That’s always a good sign that a person has a strong worth ethic, and also that they respect your time as well as theirs.

Many times we would be at the same events and I wouldn’t know a soul in the room. She and Roger always found an extra chair for me so I could sit by them.

Jeanene would have me sit by her, then she’d whisper the latest developments in my ear. Not gossip, mind you, but just interesting things happening that I might want to check into later for the newspaper.

Somehow, knowing I could sit by the Wehrbein’s when I saw them made me feel a little less like a stranger in Cass County.

Jeanene is also a strong person. I saw that when she had her knee operation. Before the operation, she was in a great deal of pain when she walked. Despite the pain, she never took off time to rest at home or opted to sit down during the high point of the work.

No, she continued to walk on that knee. I’d see the signs of pain around her eyes, but she would never complain.

She took off a little time to have the operation.

I thought for sure, it would take months before Jeanene would be at her normal pace.

About a week after the operation she was hobbling a little bit. But I swear, it wasn’t more than a couple of weeks before she was at a brisk pace without any sign of injury.

Lastly, and I know she would hate to admit it, Jeanene has a big heart, and a heart that’s in the right place.

I’m going to miss calling her at the chamber for news and information. In addition to story ideas, she could always tell me how to spell somebody’s name or what their title was.

I’m sure the chamber has lots of able candidates to fill her shoes, but it won’t be an easy fit.

Her shoes were definitely made for walking. And that’s just what Jeanene does. She walks her heart out for the community she loves and the people in it.

Today (July 31), there’s a reception in her honor 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Cass County Bank in downtown Plattsmouth.

I hope she gets a huge turnout to this event.

We won’t be saying goodbye, because Jeanene plans to stay active in the community and county.

But we will be saying thank you, and that’s important to do.