Donavon Heimes, MBA'71, Earns Statewide Recognition

Rural Nebraska Awards Alumnus with Distinguished Service Honor

Donavon Heimes, MBA’71, CPA, says he “flunked retirement” over 10 years ago. He had originally intended to follow up his long accounting career with some much-deserved free time. But instead, after a brief stint with CFO Systems in Omaha, he returned to Columbus, Nebraska, to help the Columbus Community Foundation redevelop a former hospital to prevent a large building from remaining vacant in the middle of town.

The lower floor was transformed into the Family Resource Center, which provides nonprofit entities the space to co-locate, share resources and refer clients to one another. The top two floors are currently being developed into affordable senior apartments. When this phase of the project is completed in 2020, then Heimes might take a stab at retirement again.

This kind of civic engagement is one of the reasons the Nebraska Society of CPAs recognized Heimes with the 2018 Distinguished Service to the Profession Award, honoring outstanding leadership and dedication to the society. Since joining the society in 1971, Heimes has almost continuously served in some capacity on its committees and boards. He joined the board of directors in 1980 and was elected chairman in 1984. Currently, he is vice president of the society’s Political Education Committee.

Heimes received the award during the Nebraska Society of CPAs’ annual luncheon in November. He says the experience was surreal. So often, he had watched others receive awards, thinking how deserving they were. When his time came, Heimes’ initial thought was, “You gotta be kidding me. There are a whole lot of other CPAs who should be getting this award.”

Just as Heimes has extensively served the society these past four decades, so too has he shared his time and talents with his other organizations. He has sat on the boards of Scotus Central Catholic, the Columbus Area United Way and the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a trustee at his parish, St. Bonaventure, on the board of directors of the Columbus Community Foundation, and past president and current member of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Omaha’s board of directors.

On the state level, Heimes has served on the board of directors of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is past president of the Nebraska Workforce Investment and the Nebraska Diplomats boards, and is a past member of the Central Community College System board. He has served as a trustee of the Boy Scouts of America Mid-America Council and the University of Nebraska Medical Center board of counselors.

“I think it is important for people to use their talents the very best that they can,” says Heimes. “Obviously, that includes being the best provider they can be for their family first, but after that, giving back to church and community can be some of the most rewarding ways to use their developed skills.”

He attributes his ability to undertake professional and civic engagement to Pat, his wife of 50 years.

“One cannot participate in outside community activities without the complete support of your wife and family. She was fully supportive, which made it work,” he says. 

Heimes began his college career at Creighton, but finances and then the draft derailed his accounting studies. After two years of military service in Vietnam, he resumed his studies with the Bootstrap Program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He graduated with a business degree in accounting, worked 10 years for KPMG in Omaha, during which time he returned to Creighton for his MBA to “better prepare for future advancement in my career,” he says.

He spent most of his professional life in Columbus, Nebraska, where he moved in 1978, and is currently president of Management Advisory Services, LLC, in addition to his work with the Columbus Community Foundation.

The Heimes’ connection to Creighton is strong. Two of their sons attended the University for undergraduate studies, and a third has taken a few Creighton certification courses. Five of Heimes’ brothers and sisters have Creighton degrees, as well as several nieces and nephews.

“You could say, as a family, we are good examples of valuing a Creighton education,” he says.