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Nebraska, Iowa reveal annual Hero recipients for Heroes Game
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Nebraska and Iowa are preparing to face off in the traditional season-ending rivalry game. As a part of that matchup, each university will once again honor one person from their state as a Hero for the Heroes Game rivalry.
The two Hero recipients were identified in a press release. Nebraska’s Hero will go to Josh Hicks while Iowa’s Hero recipient is Eric Kumm. Both will be recognized during Friday’s game inside Memorial Stadium.
Hicks is a Lincoln native and an HVAC technician. He played a pivotal role in rescuing and pulling a man from a van that had rolled off a high and into a lake near Wichita, Kansas in the summer.
“I had no idea who was in that van. Don’t care,” said Hicks when asked by the Lincoln Journal Star. “Don’t know if they’re hurt, we’re just gonna go down there and check it out, make sure if anybody needs our help, we’re there,” he said. “There was no, ‘I’m gonna go out and be a hero and save some lives today.’”
Kumm has been a vocational agriculture teacher and FFA advisor since 1997 in the South O’Brien school district. He is credited with having an incredible influence on countless young minds among kids in rural Iowa who found their love and passion for agriculture under his tutelage.
“Pioneer is incredibly grateful to honor both Josh and Eric for their heroic and impactful efforts in our Midwest communities,” said Jeremy Renz, Pioneer US Marketing Director. For nearly 100 years, we’ve been helping and honoring farmers throughout the U.S. and we are excited to keep that tradition going by honoring local heroes that live and work in the communities we serve every day. This partnership is one small way we can express our sincere gratitude for those heroes.”
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.