Thanksgiving is always a crazy, tumultuous day, depending on how you celebrate of course! It can end up being busy, filled with family you haven’t seen in a while, and a food coma that lasts longer than intended.

That’s why sometimes the best day to truly reflect on why you’re thankful is a few days after—when the family activities have died down. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season, here are a few things we’re thankful for as we head into December and the start of a new year.

1. Amazing Nebraska Manufacturers: If you haven’t caught the series on our manufacturers in Nebraska, make sure to do so– it’s pretty incredible. There are a wide, wide variety of manufacturers in many industries, from consumer retail to agriculture to food. The caliber of talent and innovation that’s happening in our state is dynamic and exciting. Take a look at the manufacturer profiles, and you’ll see for yourself! There’s a lot happening in this Great Plains state of ours.
2. Nebraskan Entrepreneurship: Have you heard? Omaha was recently named #2 on a list of the best cities to be an entrepreneur in. The amount of small businesses, tech startups, and self-employment here is something that many people might take for granted, but is actually very rare. And by the way, it’s also one of the “cheapest” cities to live in, so we’ve got that going for us.
3. Top-Notch Schools: True, most people from outside Nebraska are probably most familiar with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (and those Huskers are pretty great). However, what Nebraskans know is that everywhere from our high schools to our community college offer top-notch education and specific programming for those in the skilled trades. Take the Precision Machining program at Southwest Community College, or programs at Metropolitan Community College with high job placement rates.
4. Manufacturing in the U.S.A.: This year has seen lawmakers and government officials alike stand behind manufacturing in a way that hasn’t been seen in a while, thanks to some new initiatives placed on manufacturing by President Obama and policies enacted by our own Nebraska Governor, Dave Heineman. The U.S. government is finally making headway on solving the massive skills gap that we have in America today by raising awareness and helping manufacturers. October is now National Manufacturing Month in Nebraska, and this year saw one of the largest Manufacturing Day Events ever on October 3, 2014. Although there are still not nearly enough people who know about how important the manufacturing industry is, we’re thankful for all those who are taking action to fix it.

Most of all, we’re thankful for all of you who read this blog. Send us a or leave a comment in the section below if you think of anything we missed!

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photo credit: via