2022 - 2023

Jerry and Sara Venner Family

We want to recongize the Venner Family for their work with the parish. They supported and organized a fund raising event for a parish family in need. They have organized meal trains for parishers. They have held multiple rosaries for families facing loss and for healing. They work on school and parish events as volunteers and patrons. They put together displays in the school and parish to promote life and vocations. They worked with and parish organizations to rally in support of mothers in need through a diaper drive. They particapate and support in the parish prolife group. They are a family in love with their faith and community.

2019 - 2020

Toby and Jennifer Korensky

The Korensky’s were named Family of the Year for Council 10160 due to their love of God, devotion to the Church, strength of the family, and willingness to listen to the callings of the Holy Spirit. When you meet Toby and Jennifer, these traits are very evident, and they have demonstrated an ability and willingness to evangelize to many people.

High school sweethearts who grew up in the Lincoln Diocese and graduated from Pius X High School, Toby and Jennifer Korensky have been married for nearly 27 years. After graduating from high school, Toby joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1989. Jennifer headed to college and after graduating with a BS in Business Administration and Accounting in 1993, Toby and Jennifer were married. After completing his military service in 1994, Toby, Jennifer and their first son (Taylor) located in Omaha and have been members of St. Stephen the Martyr parish for over 20 years. Toby and Jennifer have been blessed with seven children and one granddaughter. All their children attended (or are attending) St. Stephen the Martyr school. They currently have children enrolled in St. Stephen the Martyr school, Skutt Catholic High School, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Toby is a 3rd Degree Knight and the former Youth Director of Council 10160. He and Jennifer have been very involved in youth activities throughout the years. Toby has been involved in faith formation, youth leadership, created and facilitated retreats such as TEC, Godparents, and Life Teen, participated in Marches for Life both in Lincoln and Washington, D.C., and was a Discipleship Mentor for Skutt Catholic high school (just to name a few). Toby was also involved in the Boy Scouts of America as a youth and continued the tradition with his five sons, holding various leadership roles in the last 18 years. He was a founding Core Team member of the That Man is You! Program at St. Stephen the Martyr, a men’s group that meets at 5:45 a.m. on Friday mornings. This group is in its ninth year with an average of 30 to 50 gentlemen attending. Toby credits Jennifer and the sacrifices she has made over the years for his ability to answer the Holy Spirit’s call to serve Jesus Christ through these ministries.

Jennifer has been very busy in assisting in numerous activities that come with seven active children and one very active husband. At St. Stephen the Martyr school, Jennifer has been a classroom coordinator. While the boys were involved in Boy Scouts, their daughters were in Girl Scouts and Jennifer served as a Girl Scout leader and Cookie Mom. She was also the fundraiser coordinator for the Skutt Catholic Competition Dance team. Jennifer is also a Teacher Assistant at St. Stephen the Martyr school.

In 2005, as Toby and Jennifer’s oldest son, Taylor, was preparing to enter the 6th grade, Taylor was recruited by relatives in Lincoln to participate in the Lincoln Diocese Boys Leadership Camp. Taylor was involved for 9 out of the 10 years of the Lincoln camp program, the last few years as the Assistant Director. While Toby could see the affect the camp was having on Taylor, it wasn't until the summers of 2013 and 2014 that his work schedule allowed him to visit the camp for any length of time. During these visits, the Holy Spirit started calling Toby into action. After family discussions and prayer about the possibility of having a similar camp for boys in the Omaha Archdiocese, and a little nudging from his family, Toby presented a proposal to the Omaha Archdiocese. With the blessing and complete support of the Archdiocese, Camp Virtus et Veritas (Camp V2 for short) was launched in 2015. To date, 295 campers have attended the camp along with 106 youth leaders and nearly 200 adult volunteers. All three seminarians from St. Stephen the Martyr have been active in the camp as counselors or campers. Toby and Jennifer’s other children also attend or assist at the camp as campers or volunteers as they become eligible.

2018 - 2019

Steve and Connie Cinnamon

Steve is an Air Force veteran who met Connie while he was serving our country. This June they will be celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary. After completing his service in the Air Force, Steve continued to serve his country working for the National Park Service in New Mexico and Arizona before moving to the Park Service's Regional Office in Omaha. They have two grown children and two grandchildren.

Steve and Connie are active members of their parish and community with their lives revolving around their faith, their family, and their service to others. Actually, to say they are active is an understatement! While their children were growing up Connie was a Religious Education coordinator and also worked with their confirmation classes. While their son was in Cub Scouts, Steve and Connie served as Cubmaster and Committee Secretary. They helped organized a Boy Scout Troop at St. Stephen the Martyr and served as Assistant Scout Master and Committee Secretary while their son attained the rank of Eagle
Scout.

Connie currently serves the parish as an usher, assists serving funeral lunches, is an active member of the Council of Catholic Women, and is involved in a new parish venture called Martyr Jump Starter. Steve is a cantor and a member of the church choir and has coordinated the Life Teen Paint-A-Thon for the last 12 years. Both are on the Vocations Committee and volunteer at various parish activities such as Trivia Night, the rummage sale, and parish festivals.

Connie recently retired from the Millard Public School system and has been involved in a mentoring program for the past 7 years and is currently a literacy tutor for a Syrian refugee. After retiring from the Park Service, Steve worked with Rebuilding Together Omaha.

While working with Rebuilding Together, Steve organized a group of retired/semi-retired Knights to assist on maintaining and renovating services to low-income and elderly homeowners in Omaha. This group came to be known as the Cinnamon Sticks and after Steve retired from Rebuilding Together, the group decided to concentrate on serving the elderly, veterans, and disabled in our Parish community to allow them to stay in their homes longer. The Sticks also provided assistance to the parish with grounds maintenance (trimming of trees and bushes), and pew and kneeler repair in the church, as well as picking
up items of furniture donated to the annual parish rummage sale. In calendar year 2018, The Sticks also lent their talents to Sarpy County Habitat for Humanity, working on the construction of two homes, where ten Knights provided 837 hours of service. Last year Steve organized the Council's first Family Golf Outing with net proceeds designated to Vocations. Steve is
also assisting a disabled veteran parish member, doing his yardwork, shoveling snow, and providing rides to and from church. In his spare time Steve volunteers one day a week at the Strategic Air Museum, refurbishing and restoring "Looking Glass" an EC-135 aircraft whose mission was to ensure nuclear peace and completed it's 37 year mission in 1990. He is also transcribing WW II Army Air Corps General Orders acknowledging service awards for air crew members, thus far entering more than 3,000 lines of data into a spreadsheet.

Anytime Steve and Connie become aware of someone in the community that is in need, they unselfishly step forward to offer any assistance that they can. Anytime Steve is thanked for his willingness to serve, he simply shrugs and says "That's what we are supposed to do, isn't it?"