By Cindy Gonzalez
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A former mayor, a publisher, a marketing expert, two husband-wife teams and the founder of a discount-store chain are to be inducted into the Omaha Business Hall of Fame.

The selections follow a nomination process that sought people whose accomplishments in business were historically significant to the development of Omaha. The winners’ achievements will be showcased in the Hall of Fame at the Durham Museum.

“All of our honorees are successful entrepreneurs whose enterprises have added vitality and depth to the Omaha community,” said David Jacobson, chairman of both the selection committee and the Kutak Rock law firm.

Some, he said, have achieved national and international recognition. All have been “forces for growth.”

Each will be recognized during the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s annual gala April 24 at the Holland Performing Arts Center.

Paul and Lori Hogan

Theirs is a homegrown success story: two graduates of the University of Nebraska system who met on a blind date, launched a franchise network out of his mother’s house and built it into a global senior care business.

In 17 years, Home Instead Senior Care has provided services to nearly a million elderly residents through a network of more than 950 franchise offices in the United States and 14 countries.

The business employs 65,000 caregivers who provide nonmedical services that enable senior citizens to live at “home instead” of assisted living or other group care housing.

A symbol of commitment to their hometown and to changing the face of aging, the husband-wife team were anchor donors to the $10.2 million University of Nebraska Medical Center Home Instead Center for Successful Aging, a hub of medical services, education, activities and research dedicated to older people.

After the 2008 groundbreaking, Paul Hogan said that in his business life, “I’ve never felt as good about anything as I did today.”