Charles “Charley” Gould was Blood’s high school speech/debate teacher. From Arcadia, he attended Kearney State College and majored in English and education. He began his teaching career in Elba, Neb., and moved to Hastings Adam Central. He later attended graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and then taught for Omaha Public Schools and then retired from teaching in 2009. He then went to work on the staff of the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Community School District before retiring in 2015. He was named Nebraska Language Arts Teacher of the Year at the end of his career. He also was national chair and a state representative of the National Council of Teachers of English. He is a volunteer at Omaha Together One Community.
Mary Macias-Cox owns Texture Salon and Spa in Bellevue with her husband, Rick, a retired Air Force master sergeant. Born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia, Mary’s family immigrated to the United States and settled in Alamogordo, NM. Mary is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. She graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism and in 1994 switched her career to cosmetology. She and Rick have three children: Victoria 24, Diego 21 and Fernando 19. They are members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bellevue.
Joslyn Stamp, 13, is the daughter of Jerod and Margaret Stamp of Plattsmouth, Neb.. She is well-known throughout Sarpy and Cass Counties for her commitment to helping the environment. She earned the 2018-2019 Presidential Youth Environmental Award from the Environment Protection Agency for her recycling efforts and is Nebraska’s 2021 Prudential Spirit of Community Middle School Honoree. Joslyn is an eighth-grader at Brownell Talbot College Preparatory School She is also active in Cass County 4-H and is a Kid Reporter for Sports Illustrated Kids.
