07/21/2026
Our condolences to Derek's family and friends. We are so sorry for your loss.
Derek was one of our earliest cheerleaders and supporters. He showed an uncommon interest in our shop, the work we do and how we could succeed. He sent every opportunity he found our way. His excitement at helping others was palpable. From our ribbon cutting at the shop to more recent conversations around living and working with illness, Derek was relatable, thoughtful, funny, kind and just a wonderful person. His loss in incalculable to the Lincoln community. 💜🪻
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.
Jason Ball - President & CEO
