A Nebraska Father’s Day Tribute
By U.S. Senator Deb Fischer
As we approach Father’s Day, I’ve been reflecting on how my dad’s desire to serve Nebraskans shaped my own path in public service. Since childhood, I’ve seen up close the importance of sound, locally focused public policy. My dad taught me that real servant leadership means showing up, staying the course, and doing the quiet work that tangibly matters.
My father was Jerry Strobel, a civil engineer who spent his entire career at the Nebraska Department of Roads and served as its director under Governors Kay Orr and Ben Nelson. But to me, he was just “dad.” As a kid, I tagged along on his weekend inspection tours to look at bridges and roads being built across Nebraska.
I didn’t know it then, but it was on those tours and through the conversations around our kitchen table that shaped the values I still carry with me today: attention to detail, respect for the people doing the hard work, and a belief that policy only matters if it improves daily life for the people it touches.
These values guided me as a member of my local school board. Years later, I chaired the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee in the Nebraska Legislature where I passed my Build Nebraska Act, which directed existing sales tax to fund our state’s roads. To this day, that law continues to build and maintain our roads and bridges.
My father’s work ethic was quiet but relentless. Today, in the U.S. Senate, I try to carry that same ethic. I take the job of legislating very seriously because Nebraskans deserve someone who works as hard as they do. Our state is powered by people who rise early and stay late – that’s the Nebraska way.
What my father understood — and what I’ve come to believe more deeply each year — is that good policy is about setting the next generation up for success. It’s about building something sturdy enough to last and flexible enough to adapt. That’s what he wanted for me, and it’s what I want for my children and grandchildren.
This Father’s Day, I want to recognize the countless Nebraska dads — working the land, building our communities, serving their neighbors — who are passing down values that will help their children leave our great state better than we found it. Thank you to all our fathers for raising the next generation of citizens, leaders, and stewards of our democracy.
Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
