Written by Nemaha County Herald Friday, 06 November 2009 16:41
The Community Builders Club of Auburn, formerly the Auburn Kiwanis Club, has announced the recipients of the 2009 Community Builders Awards.Community Builders Awards are presented annually to individuals, families, organizations or entities that have gone above and beyond in their commitment to the development of Auburn and Nemaha County. Recipients of this award will have demonstrated this commitment over a long period of time and will have given a large measure of themselves in terms of time, effort and resources for the benefit of Auburn and Nemaha County. This year’s award winners are the State Theater and Kenneth Hutton.State TheaterSince purchasing the theater in 1986 the Ensz and Bucy families, all friends and owners, have taken part in running the business. Many upgrade projects have been completed, such as two new screens, two new sound systems and a refurbished projector. They have remodeled one bathroom and the concession area. Buying the entire building in 1990 they replaced a leaky roof, modernized an air-conditioning system and installed a new heating system. The theater’s owners have learned valuable lessons along the way. One of them is picking movies that suit their audience. Disney films score big and lesser-known, more artsy flicks don’t. Most gratifying for the business owners, is doing something for their town and employing local students from the high school and Peru State College. Whatever the reasons, KATS Enterprises continues to be committed to bringing first run movies to southeast Nebraska seven nights a week at affordable prices. The team of Kathy and Dr. Gary Ensz and Kathy and Dr. Bill Bucy added another couple, Dr. Jeff Meade and Dr. Shannon Stemm, to the corporation and the owners continue to improve that corner of downtown.Kenneth R. HuttonKenneth, a Nemaha County native, graduated from Nemaha High School, attended one year at Peru State, appointed Clerk of the County Court, then returned to Peru and received a Bachelor of Science with a math and business major. Ken received his Masters of Science from UNL and was granted a Shell Merit Scholarship from Stanford and completed doctoral work except for his thesis. Ken taught school in Auburn from 1951-1991. Not ready to retire he accepted a job at Peru State from 1991-2007 where he taught and supervised the student teachers.Ken is proud of receiving an Honorable Achievement in Excellence from the UNL Teachers college, being named Teacher of the Year by AEA and was a nominee at the state level for the presidential Award for Excellence in math and science teaching.In 1977, Ken married Joyce and helped her raise two step-children. Son Randy teaches math a Sabetha, Kan., and daughter Susan is a guidance councilor in the Millard system. Ken and Joyce have five grand-children.Nothing makes Ken happier than to have the doorbell ring and receiving a visit from a former student or helping a young person on the phone that is working through a math problem. After living here so many years it is heart-warming for him to see his many students developing into community-minded contributing citizens.The State Theater and Kenneth Hutton will be recognized at the Community Builders Club dinner meeting on at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, at Arbor Manor.
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