07/20/2026
Derek fue un verdadero apoyo para Latino Connect desde el principio. Estuvo presente cuando se habló por primera vez de la idea, asistió a todas las reuniones y continuó participando en cada evento porque creía en la misión y en las personas que forman parte de ella.
Las personas que tuvieron la oportunidad de conocer a Derek sabían que era una persona amable, sincera y siempre dispuesta a estar presente. Aunque no entendía español, nunca permitió que eso creara una distancia. Siempre estuvo ahí, escuchando, participando y haciendo un esfuerzo por ser parte de cada reunión y cada encuentro. Su presencia decía mucho sobre la persona que era: alguien que valoraba las conexiones con los demás, la comunidad y el apoyar a otras personas.
Su amabilidad, apoyo y compromiso dejaron una huella en todos los que tuvieron el privilegio de conocerlo.
Hemos perdido a una persona verdaderamente especial. La ausencia de Derek se sentirá profundamente, pero continuaremos honrando su memoria llevando adelante los valores que él representaba: la bondad, la inclusión y el deseo genuino de unir a las personas. Estamos muy agradecidos por el tiempo que compartimos con él y por la huella tan especial que dejó en nuestra comunidad.
Many of you – Chamber members, Ambassadors, investors and visitor industry leaders – have known and worked with Derek Feyerherm. He passed away on the morning of July 17, surrounded by his family after a nearly two-year fight against cancer.
With his passing, Lincoln has lost a fierce advocate. What’s more, Lincoln’s tourism industry has lost a true innovator, and our team lost a cherished friend. The Chamber will be closed all day on Wednesday, July 29, for his remembrance services.
Derek joined the Visit Lincoln team (called the Convention and Visitors Bureau at that time) in September of 2005. Over the next two decades, he became the “indispensable man” of our team. In any complicated set of circumstances, Derek could meet the stakeholders, negotiate the issues and find a path to success with them. Nobody has a more comprehensive view of all our programs. He knew all the budgets, IT systems, contractual arrangements and the finer points of the strategic plan. He led the Chamber’s new member development efforts, working with the Chamber Ambassadors and adding new programs like Latino Connect and Chamber U.
While his leadership responsibilities expanded to include many aspects of our organization, his first love has always been the visitor industry, and his leading role with Visit Lincoln. He had a passion for displaying Lincoln’s tourism assets to bring people to the community for rodeos, roller skating, auto racing, conferences, competitions, trainings, sports and celebrations.
Derek worked extensively with Lincoln’s entire hospitality community, including organizations like the Sports Car Club of America, USA Roller Sports and many more. He was instrumental in creating the sports marketing organizations of the Cities of the Big Ten, a coalition of the seventeen cities in the Big Ten Conference, and Sports Nebraska, a coalition of fourteen marketing organizations in Nebraska. He led the adoption of new metrics tracking, new technologies and best practices learned from innumerable other organizations throughout a 20 year career, all with Visit Lincoln. He loved bringing visitors to Lincoln and loved the industry that brought them here.
He also had a very special relationship with the Nebraska Air National Guard and the 155th Air Refueling Wing in Lincoln. Under Derek’s leadership, the 155th Wing, the Lincoln Airport and the Lincoln Chamber, jointly organized the largest attended event in Lincoln’s history. The 2023 Guardians of Freedom Airshow, featuring the Blue Angels, drew 350,000 attendees over two days. It was awarded the best airshow of 2023 – by the Blue Angels pilots and team. Derek led the civilian functions performed in support of that airshow…and it was the fourth one he organized. That December, Derek was honored by the 155th Air Refueling Wing with the Commander’s Public Service Award – one of the highest recognitions a military commander can bestow upon a civilian. The award recognized his extraordinary support of the Wing and the United States Air Force, and the lasting impact he had on the Airmen, mission and community he so faithfully served.
We could fill messages with his achievements and contributions every Monday for a year and still have more stories to tell.
He made Lincoln a better place. A better place to visit, to work in and to live in. A better place for all its residents and those just here for a few days. A better place for everyone.
Importantly to us, he made our team better. It’s been a privilege to work with him. We had so much fun along the way making big things happen. We will miss our friend.
I’d like to thank you for being part of Derek’s journey. He was always grateful for the relationships he got to have through his many leadership roles in Lincoln. He loved his work and the community that enabled it to happen.
Thank you, Derek. You will be forever in our hearts. ❤️
