Bosselman family: Community Builders

The Bosselman family has a long record of contributing to community projects in Grand Island and Central Nebraska. Some of the Bosselman family members involved in the family’s companies are (standing from left) Charlie, Jan, Chuck and Fred Bosselman Jr. and Brandi Bosselman Lofing. Seated is Maxine Bosselman. (Photo courtesy of Hal Maggiore)

Robert Pore

Updated

There's a spirit of giving that pervades the Bosselman family and the companies that they own.

It is the spirt of the Bosselman companies to get involved, said Charlie Bosselman, vice president of Bosselman Inc.

"We can't do everything, but we try where we can, and we get involved where we can," Bosselman said. "We know where we came from. So it is important for us to give back."

Over the years, the Bosselmans' generosity has added to the quality of life in the communities where their companies are located, along with the thousands of individuals whose lives have been touched by this Grand Island-based business.

 

The Bosselman family are the recipients of this year's Grand Island Independent Community Builders Award, which honors an individual, family or business whose generosity has enriched and improved the community over the years.  The Bosselmans, during a period of more than 60 years, have not only built a business that stretches over 20 states, but have also given back, along with their employees, to Grand Island and the many communities where their companies do business.

Organizations that have been helped by the Bosselman family over the years include Crane Meadows (now the Nebraska Nature & Visitor Center); the Heartland Events Center; Fonner Park and the $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes; Big Brothers Big Sisters; Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts; Crisis Center; American Red Cross; United Way; Stuhr Museum; Children's Miracle Network; MADD; Make-A-Wish Foundation; DARE; Goodwill Industries; academic scholarships; College Park; 4-H; Zion Lutheran Church and School; the Worms community; Arthritis Foundation Nebraska Chapter; and the National Cancer Society Foundation.

Heartland United Way President Karen Rathke said the Bosselmans have always been strong supporters of the annual United Way campaign and the many fundraisers the United Way sponsors.

Rathke said the Bosselman Pump & Pantry stations also collect toys for the Toys for Tots campaign during the Christmas season. The Nebraska Danger football team, which is owned by the Bosselman family, also has helped to raise funds for the United Way.

"Their support has been very instrumental in the success of our fundraising campaigns," Rathke said.

When Charlie Bosselman said, "We know where we came from," he was referring to the business's humble beginnings in 1948, when his grandfather, Fred Bosselman, a farmer and part-time truck driver, and his wife, Maxine, opened the Bosselman & Eaton Truck Stop on Highway 30 in Grand Island with his brother Charles and brother-in-law and sister, Al and Charlotte Eaton.

According to the company's website, the truck stop developed a reputation for good food and good service. In 1965, Fred Bosselman built the Bosselman Truck Plaza at the intersection of the new Interstate 80 and Highway 281.

Bosselman Co. is a privately held firm with more than 1,400 employees.

Over the years, the business became a family affair with the addition of Fred's sons, daughters and their spouses and expanded into many new ventures, supervised by Fred Bosselman's sons, Fred Bosselman Jr. and Chuck Bosselman, and his grandson, Charlie Bosselman.

Charlie Bosselman said that, for 63 years, the companies have continued to be leaders in community service through financial contributions, support of youth scholarships, community events and volunteer efforts of employees.

Bosselman said giving back to the community is an ethic passed down by his parents and grandparents.

"We always tried to set ourselves apart from the average company by being part of the community," Bosselman said. "That is why we took it upon ourselves to get involved in different activities and different things going on."

Because the Bosselman companies are spread out in a lot of small communities, Bosselman said, "it is important that we make our presence known in every one of the small communities we are involved in and help out in any ways that we can."

Bosselman said the company receives a lot of requests for donations and help for various community projects.

"We can't do everything, but we take requests, and we sit down and review each of them and decide which ones we can do and which ones we can't, which ones have the greatest impact on people," he said.

For example, Bosselman said, the company owns the Nebraska Danger football team, which plays in the Heartland Events Center.

"It is by no means a money-making deal," he said. "We have lost money in it since we got involved. But the thought behind it was it was something we could do for the community to give back and impact a lot of people. A lot of people come to the games and follow the team. That interest helps out Fonner Park and the Heartland Events Center. It helps out the community. It brings people into town. It has a positive impact."

Bosselman said it's not about "just writing a check."

"A lot of stuff we do involves our staff and our customers that come into the stores," he said.

For example, Bosselman said they have just completed a campaign at their Pump & Pantry stores that raised nearly $40,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"That was our staff going out and talking with the customers, trying to get them to help out with St. Jude," he said.

"That was the type of deal where it wasn't just us but getting everyone involved."  That ethic of giving back involves not only the Bosselman family, but also the people they employ.

"If they feel there is something in their community that needs support, we tell them to go ahead and we will help out to get it started," he said.

Bosselman said the foundation of their company is "family and community."

"It is important to us that these are the ways to show that," he said. "It is easy to write it down on paper, but it is quite a bit different to physically go out and show it to the community."

 

"We have been involved with that for years," he said. "My grandfather was a big contributor as far as the Heartland Events Center and getting that going.

Fonner Park is a prime example.

"Fred was a very shrewd individual, and he knew business well. We realized it was not a bottomless checkbook for these kind of things," Bosselman said. "He understood that he needed to get involved with certain things that have the biggest impact for everyone."

Hugh Miner Jr., chief executive officer and executive vice president of Fonner Park, said the Bosselmans have not only been a "tremendous asset to Fonner Park, but the community also."

Miner said Fonner Park approached the Bosselman family many years ago about sponsoring a big race, "sort of like our Kentucky Derby day."

"We presented a plan to them to do that, and the family agreed to do it," Miner said.

Over the years, the Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes has highlighted the racing season at Fonner Park and drawn big crowds to Grand Island.

The Bosselman family also played a big role in the building of the events center.

When community leaders approached Fonner Park to spearhead a third attempt to build a civic center, Miner said, they approached the Bosselmans, who agreed to be a big contributor so the project could get off to a big start.

"In talking with Fred (Bosselman), he said, ‘If you start this campaign, you can put me down for a million dollars,'" Miner said.

He said Fred Bosselman was also involved in the early 1950s in the development of Fonner Park.

"Fred Bosselman and the Bosselman family have supported a lot of things over the years, not just Fonner Park or the Heartland Events Center," Miner said. "It was something that Fred was very good about in giving something back to the community."

The building of the events center was key for Grand Island to be the new home of the Nebraska State Fair.

Charlie Bosselman said Bosselman Inc. plans to build 20 service shops across the country to add to the 36 it already owns.

"That will be 20 new communities that we are involved in," Bosselman said. "It is not just the Midwest, but in California, Pennsylvania, Florida."

Bosselman said one of their employees was recently killed in Indiana, and companywide they raised several thousand dollars to help the family.

The key word is family, he said.

"We try to foster that by saying that if you work for us, you are part of the family. We are going to help you out where we can and help the community out where we can and try to get involved where we can."

He was always involved with Fonner Park, as my father and I have been. We have been sponsoring that race (Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes) for a number of years. It is one of the things that bring people to the community."

Bosselman said it is important for their company to do things like that.