Marlene Geiger named Make Your Mark on Cozad recipient
Marlene Geiger, center, is honored with the Make Your Mark on Cozad award presented Laurie Yocom, director of Wilson Public Library. Also pictured are: Julie Geiger, Ann Burkholder, June Mundell, Marlene Geiger, Deanna Worrell, Nadine Berke, Donna Ackerman, Melissa Thompson.
On Thursday, Sept.10 , Marlene Geiger was named recipient of the 14th Annual Make Your Mark on Cozad Award.
Wilson Public Library Director Laurie Yocom surprised Geiger with the award during a monthly meeting of P.E.O., Chapter CO. Candlewick Press, publishers of The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds donated a special edition to be given to this year’s winner as well.
The Make Your Mark on Cozad Award is presented in conjunction with the Wilson Public Library’s celebration of International Dot Day. Themes of The Dot: creativity, courage, and collaboration, inspired the observance of September 15th-ish by teachers, libraries, and artists around the world.
Given as a way to spotlight community members who are enthusiastic supporters of Cozad as a whole, the arts in general, and the Wilson Public Library specifically, the inaugural award was bestowed upon Mrs. Katherine Wilson in September 2013.
Geiger is a lifelong resident of Cozad, so promotion of the town has always come easily for her.
She has definitely been involved in that endeavor, whether through helping her children with 4-H and her husband with his duties on the KRVN Board of Directors as well as on their farm, aiding the United Methodist Church of Cozad with events and worship, contributing as a member and former president of P.E.O. Chapter CO, or as a long-standing member of Cozad Tourism.
Perhaps the town best knows Geiger for her passionate support of the arts in Cozad, particularly the Robert Henri Museum. Geiger has been president of the board for numerous years and was not only there from the beginning of turning the house into a museum, but also for supporting the vision of how Cozad could draw upon its history as the childhood home of Robert Henri and become an international stop for fans of the artist with the new art gallery.
As for Wilson Public Library specifically, Geiger is an avid reader and supporter of the library’s programs, oftentimes reaching out to see how organizations of which she is a member can partner with the library.
For these things and more, Marlene was unanimously selected for the prestigious award at the Cozad Library Foundation’s last regular meeting in early April.
Geiger definitely embodies the themes in The Dot of courage, collaboration, and creativity.
Besides Katherine Wilson and Geiger, other Make Your Mark on Cozad Award winners are: Ann Burkholder (2014); Jan Patterson (2015); Art Peters (2016); Ike and Gerald Davenport (2017); Tim and Bonnie Hansen (2018); Carolyn Worthman (2019); Marcia Fritz (2020); Dr. Marilyn Peterson (2021); Connie Hanna Gengenbach (2022); Scott and Roz Trusdale (2023); Dail Vetter (2024); and Claude and Karen Berreckman (2025).
