Connecting With People
A Conversation Between Randy Bretz and Jacque Genovese
Randy Bretz is one of those people who you immediately like when you first meet him. He’s engaging and full of stories to share, and I found his career in Lincoln to be equally fascinating.
How did you come to Lincoln?
Randy: I grew up in Indiana. In 1975, I attended a conference in Lincoln and thought it was a neat place. I had a Bachelor of Science degree and Master’s in Radio and Television, Speech/Communication, and Broadcasting. I knew I wanted a career in education so I applied for a job at the University in 1978. I learned that I wasn’t being considered for the position because I didn’t have a PhD. Then in January 1979, Quentin Gessner, Dean at the University of Nebraska (UNL), called and suggested I interview for the job (the one I had applied for but didn’t get). I went to Lincoln, interviewed, and did get the job. Now having lived here for 43 years, I consider myself a Nebraskan.
Talk about your exceptional UNL career.
Randy: I oversaw the Media Center for UNL, the University’s Film Library, and an innovative endeavor in open learning called the State University of Nebraska, or the SUN Program. The SUN Program combined well-produced educational TV programs broadcast on NETV with correspondence courses at UNL. It was considered a national leader in open learning.
Shortly after starting, the Nebraska Legislature eliminated the budget for this program. With the support of Nebraska ETV, we created the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Telecourse program and broadened the scope to add videotaped graduate Engineering courses. Later we developed the University of Nebraska Continuing Education Audio Network and were instrumental in starting the National University Teleconference Network. During this time, I finished my PhD.
How did you get involved in the Broadcast Ministry?
Randy: The pastor at my church wanted to start a broadcast ministry. He kept going on about it and when I didn’t get the hint the pastor said, “I’d like you to run the program.” It was a weekly TV show on cable along with daily radio programming on 200 stations around the country, as well as a shortwave broadcast from Ecuador, and Trans World Radio to West Africa and China. I accepted the job and was there for about seven years.
What other careers did you embark on?
Randy: I did PhD research on satellite conferencing and education. The University and NET put together a consortium called the Agricultural Satellite Corporation. I worked there for six or seven years.
I also worked for FACTS Management — Fast Automatic Cash Transfer Service. I helped produce videos on electronic transfer of tuition funds for K-12 private and faith-based schools, and eventually the higher education market. When the company was bought by Nelnet in 2012, I moved into Nelnet Corporate communications and then retired in 2018.
What does your retirement look like?
Randy: I don’t play golf or fish, so I find other opportunities that I’m interested in. I teach one class at Nebraska Wesleyan University, which I really enjoy. I work with Leadership Lincoln, am an active member of Rotary 14, and serve on the board of Junior Achievement of Lincoln. I'm also working with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Visit Lincoln, and Downtown Lincoln Association to get a conference center here. Additionally, I write for various organizations and have published a book.
How did you get involved with TEDxLincoln?
Randy: I had an interest in TED Talks. I looked into how they were produced, applied for a license, and founded TEDxLincoln. To get a license you have to attend a main TED event; I attended three. At one event, I heard about a TEDx that had been done in a prison in San Diego. I contacted the head of Corrections in Nebraska and said I wanted to do a TEDx in a prison; he connected me with the women’s prison in York. My wife Jan and I went there and put on a TEDx — it was amazing! We did TEDx events for eight years, producing about 20, including several TEDxYouth events at Lincoln High.
How would you sum up your journey?
Randy: It’s about the connections we make with people. You never know who or how they will impact your life. Like that first call I got from Quentin Gessner about the job that brought me to Lincoln and how it has given me the opportunities to connect with so many people. It’s been wonderful and I’m not close to being done!
What makes a city a community? What makes a place home?
When you really want to know the personality or the pull of a place, get to know the people who live there. Randy Bretz has spent more than forty years getting to know the people in Lincoln.
In his book, The People of Lincoln, Randy presents sixteen portraits of people who make the city a nice place to live, work, and raise a family. They are leaders, entrepreneurs, neighbors, artists, organizers, and people who moved away and returned. They are people worth getting to know.