Page 18 2023 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS May 2023 Selfless and giving help define By Angela Reiners Elaine Aue is a person that believes in giving back to her community as her work around the community shows. Aue opened a Culvers franchise in Lincoln in 2007. Culvers offers fundraising opportunities to various organizations by raising money for special causes. These have included fundraising events for the Relay for Life, local schools, churches, the Oasis Senior Center, first responders. For these events, the organizations receive ten percent of the sales that afternoon and evening. On a website with history about the first Culvers restaurant, Craig Culver said he encourages all franchisees to be active in their community. Aue has definitely done that over the years. In a June 11, 2013, Lincoln Daily News article about a Relay for Life fundraising event, Aue said, “we’re proud to call Lincoln home, and doing our part to help just feels right…We strive to make a difference in the community we share with so many others, and working with Relay for Life of Logan County allows us to help support individuals and families in our area.” Elaine Aue as a 2023 Hometown hero As the article said, “Culver’s support of Relay for Life is just part of their dedication to giving back to the community. From Culver’s founders to each locally owned and operated restaurant, each franchise partner and team member understands the importance of serving those in need.” Tonita Reifsteck, Aue’s mother, explains some of Aue’s motivations for helping others. Reifsteck said Aue was doing work for the community even in her youth. The Reifsteck family moved to Lincoln in September 1969 and the children went to Central School, Lincoln Junior High School and Lincoln Community High School. Elaine was involved in various school activities such as singing in chorus, playing the violin in the orchestra and playing sports, especially volleyball and baseball. In addition, Aue was active in her church’s youth program, participated in 4-H and was an Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital candystriper. As Reifsteck said, the entire family was expected to support the community they lived in so that included CROP walk and other interdenominational and community programs. Continued --
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