Our recent annual conference marks three years of recognizing great people doing great work in Indian Country. In the coming weeks, we will highlight our 2017 Superhero Award winners on the blog.
(Pictured from left to right are: Jade Farmer, project specialist, Ho-Chunk Capital; Alexcia Boggs, director of development, Ho-Chunk Capital; and Phil Glynn, president, Travois)
This week’s feature is the Economic Development Professional of the Year: Lance Morgan, president and CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc.
Ho-Chunk Inc. (HCI), the award-winning economic development corporation owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, was founded in 1994 by Lance Morgan. The organization has grown to over 1,000 employees with operations in 16 states and nine foreign countries.
Lance continues to break new ground in economic and community development and the organization’s success inspires fascinating work across Indian Country. Recently, HCI partnered with Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor to continue investing in Ho-Chunk Village, its vibrant, walkable, new urbanist community, through the use of New Market Tax Credits.
Lance was unable to attend the conference this year. Alexcia Boggs, director of development of Ho-Chunk Capital (and panel speaker at the conference), and Jade Farmer, project specialist of HCI, (both pictured below) accepted the award on behalf of Ho-Chunk Inc. and Lance. She commented to the luncheon crowd that if Lance could’ve attended, he would have a big smile and stories to tell!
Lance later told us: “I am honored to be named a Superhero in economic development by Travois,” he said. “At Ho-Chunk Inc., our agenda is clear; we are committed to developing and operating successful businesses and providing job opportunities for tribal members. We desire to improve the lives of our tribal members. With successful economic development, we achieve this by directly providing jobs, and by indirectly providing homes, educational opportunities and a wide variety of community-based initiatives.”
Congratulations, Lance! We are fortunate to have your advice and assistance as a member of our advisory board.
Read about our 2017 Superhero Awards winners:
- Haven Professional of the Year: Jean Defoe, finance manager of Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority
- Housing Professional of the Year: Floyd Tortalita, Pueblo of Acoma Housing Authority executive director
- Pillar Professional of the Year: Danny Chatter, maintenance supervisor at Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Housing
- Project Team of the Year: Red Lake Reservation Housing Authority