2023-2024 Board of Directors
Officers
Jeff Smith, President
My career as a health care executive includes being responsible for hospital-based rehab centers in Montana and Illinois and a large state operated facility and veterans’ home in Minnesota and a retirement community in Mississippi. Prior to my retirement I served as the administrator of the Eastern Nebraska Veterans Home in Bellevue
Prior to my US career I served as a public health consultant in Jordan and Lesotho (Southern Africa) and as consultant to church health missions in Malawi (Southern Africa) and Papua New Guinea.
I have been happily married to my wife Esther for 55 years, we have 2 adult sons -1 in Los Angeles and 1 here with 4 grandchildren. When not volunteering with VAS (truly a great organization), our church or local service organization my wife and I spend a lot of time seeing the world-so far, we have been to 79 countries.
Barbara Rizvi, Vice President
Barbara serves as a Financial Planner for FNBO’s Wealth Management division. She specializes in providing comprehensive and personalized financial planning that incorporates investment, retirement, tax, protection and estate planning strategies.
Barbara’s passion for helping people make informed financial decisions reaches beyond the office. She is an active volunteer and board member of Volunteer’s Assisting Seniors, a local non-profit and regional SHIP office committed to making sure all seniors receive unbiased education and information regarding Medicare (benefits, enrollment, problem resolution) and property-tax relief through Nebraska’s Homestead Exemption program. She is also active on the board of her homeowner’s association and SID.
Family time is spent exploring the world with her husband, trying to master her vegetable gardening and landscaping craft, and wrangling her two rowdy pups.
Charlie Graham, Secretary
Charlie began volunteering at VAS in 2008 and joined the board in 2009. He is a homestead exemption volunteer and a SHIP certified Medicare counselor. He has served as board president, vice-president, treasurer and is currently secretary.
He is married to Dodie Yeshnowski Graham and they have four adult children and four grandchildren. He is retired from Northern Natural Gas Company and holds a BSME degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
- C.J. Guenzel, Treasurer
Directors
- Gary Green has been a volunteer for VAS for over 8 years. He enjoys playing tennis, running, playing various card games, and helping his wife whenever they are fortunate enough to have their 5-year-old grandson hang out with them.
“As certified Medicare Counselors, we are qualified to give accurate and unbiased information that allows you to make an informed decision to enroll in what coverage works best for you. Every person is different, the decisions you make are generally for the rest of your life. Why do we volunteer? We enjoy seeing people able to make their own decisions based on facts, not what your relatives, friends or neighbors might suggest to you.”
- Rick Scofield has been with VAS for 17 years and has participated in many of the changes that have ensued during those years. After retiring from an engineering career at OPPD, Rick joined VAS as a volunteer in February 2006. He immediately took the initial SHIP training to become a SHIP counselor. This was the first year of the Medicare Prescription Drug Program when all Medicare recipients were required to sign up by May 15, so VAS was extremely busy. In addition, Rick became a counselor for the Homestead Assistance Program and the Conservatorship Program. He was initially elected to the board of directors in 2006 and has filled all of the officer positions.
- Susan Whitfield
