OMAHA, Neb. (Dec. 21, 2025)  — Thousands gathered in North Omaha on Saturday, Dec. 6, for the 15th annual Christmas in the Village, a vibrant holiday festival that brought economic energy and community pride to the 24th & Lake district.

“Since the launch of Christmas in the Village, new organizations, businesses and venues have opened in the historic district,” said Willie Barney, CEO and founder, Empowerment Network. “These events attract families, visitors and tourists that support the arts and cultural venues and shop with the vendors and businesses.  Businesses report this as one of their top sales days and a significant way to gain new customers that come back throughout the year.”

Christmas in the Village brought residents, families and community members together to experience live entertainment, carriage rides, arts and crafts, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus and shopping in the holiday boutique. The celebration spanned from 24th & Ohio to 24th & Burdette. 

“Christmas in the Village is one of North Omaha’s most beautiful traditions,” said Kimara Snipes, executive director, One Omaha. “Black joy on full display. Kids running around with cocoa and candy canes. Families taking pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Live music, small businesses lined up, people hugging in the street like a big family reunion right in the heart of our community. This is what it looks like when we invest in ourselves. This is what it looks like when a vision turns into a tradition.”

Organized in partnership with the Omaha Economic Development Corporation (OEDC) and dozens of community businesses, the event has served as a critical economic engine for the area.  

“The important thing about Christmas in the Village, or events like this, is that it brings communities together,” said Buey Ray Tut, CEO of Spark and event vendor. “It brings people together, and it gives us pride in the community that we live in. So I not only think it’s an important event, I think it’s a critical event for our community to grow and thrive.”

More than 100 local businesses, organizations, artists and ministries participated in this weekend’s event, continuing a tradition of community collaboration and economic support that has grown steadily since the festival’s inception in 2011.

“I can’t believe it’s been 15 years since we’ve had the privilege to host this amazing holiday tradition in North Omaha,” said Vicki Quaites-Ferris, VP of Community Development for the Empowerment Network and Christmas in the Village Event Director. “We started out with 1,000 visitors and have since grown to host well over 10,000. Bringing joy to children and families while creating wonderful memories to last a lifetime is something I am proud to have been a part of.”

She added, “We have been blessed with businesses, organizations, churches, and families who have supported us each year. I am already looking forward to hosting the 16th Annual Christmas in the Village at 24th and Lake on Saturday, December 5, 2026.”

This year’s sponsors included American National Bank, Charles Drew Health Center, Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund, KETV, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Revive! Omaha and Veridian Credit Union. Supported by the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK Alliance), a program of The Obama Foundation, the Empowerment Network is committed to building safer environments for all residents by increasing educational and career success while reducing violent crime. 

To learn more about Empowerment Network and Christmas in the Village, visit https://empoweromaha.com/. 

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About the Empowerment Network

The Empowerment Network is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing economic, social and civic progress within Omaha’s African American community, North Omaha and the region. Through collaborative efforts and innovative initiatives, the Empowerment Network strives to create opportunities for empowerment and transformation in every zip code and neighborhood in the City of Omaha and other national communities.

Great news for the North Omaha community and beyond.

Karnetta Rushing, a former Senior Vice President and Branch Manager from First National Bank has joined the Carver Legacy Team and will formally host open hours at the Historic 24th and Lake location.

“After three years operating mostly by appointment at the location, we are excited to have Karnetta join the team,” said Willie Barney, one of the owners of Carver. “She has an incredible knowledge of banking and she’s one of the most community-focused people I’ve ever known.”

Rushing is now available at the Carver on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to six pm each week. She will also continue the community days on the second Saturday and host special events and financial empowerment sessions at the Center.

Because of the joint venture between Carver and American National Bank, she will be able to assist new and existing customers with many products and services of a traditional bank.

“I’m excited and looking forward to serving this community and meeting all of their banking needs at this historic location,” said Rushing. “I have a passion to see our community thrive financially and much of that starts with a strong banking relationship.  Working at Carver will allow me to help families, businesses, organizations, and ministries to accomplish their financial goals and make their visions a reality.”

A native of North Omaha, Rushing worked in the banking industry for over 20 years before retiring in 2020 to provide care for her mother. She worked in the downtown offices for First National Bank for a few years but spent most of her career at the location along Ames.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with customers throughout my career to make their dreams come true whether buying a home, launching or scaling a business, saving for a car or their education,” said Rushing. “To have this opportunity to do it at Carver, with people who are absolutely committed to seeing this community succeed, is amazing.”

Carver Legacy Center is a Black-owned financial center owned by Willie and Yolanda Barney and Martin and Lynnell Williams.  The business contracts with American National Bank to administer their Carver Legacy Accounts allowing them to instantly have access to locations across the Omaha metro to serve customers and meet their banking needs.

However, it is more than a traditional bank, as the team is committed to investing in the community.

“Through our outstanding partnership with American National Bank, we are able to receive deposits, will be issuing our own debit card and can lend capital to businesses in our community make investments in our community,” said Barney. “We are willing to go above and beyond to help our customers and community to succeed.”

In just two years, Carver has lent over $4 million to small businesses in the North Omaha community.  With Rushing on board, the team is prepared for exponential growth to have an even greater impact in the community.

“This has always been the plan,” said Lynnell Williams. “We wanted to take our time to fully develop the model and then find the right person to lead our location at 24th and Lake.”

“I’m most excited about what Karnetta will be able to do to help customers with developing plans to save their money and invest for the future.”

Carver has already invested in a number of businesses from a wide array of industries and sectors.

“Our customer base has grown consistently over the past few years,” said Martin Williams. “I am beyond excited to have Karnetta join our team.  The dream is becoming even more of a reality.  She will be able to really make an impact with our community.”

In addition to having the financial center at Carver Legacy Center open, the Carver Hub will also be activated.

“The original vision for Carver included the Hub, an incubator store, and the financial center. With Karnetta’s business banking experience, she is the perfect person to get the Hub going as well,” said Yolanda Barney.

“The Hub will be a place where entrepreneurs and business owners can come to get connected with information, training, and resources to launch and scale their business,” said Willie Barney. “They will also be able to meet with experts in finance, accounting, marketing, HR, and legal matters and link up with other opportunities to grow their business. Having Karnetta lead the way is a huge step forward towards the bigger vision.”

Carver Legacy Center at 24th and Lake

Open Tuesdays and Thursdays from Noon to 6 p.m.

Open every second Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 pm

For more information:

Phone:  402-507-8441

Customers can also still conduct business at any American National Bank location and use their Carver Card locally and nationwide.

Carver Legacy Accounts are FDIC insured through American National Bank.

On a personal and professional level, the month of May 2025 was incredibly confirming. Game changing. Unprecedented. Historic. It was a time of confirmation, transition and transformation.

I had the opportunity to present in New York at a national Black economic summit that featured Governor Wes Moore, Killer Mike – musical artist and entrepreneur, CEO’s, investors, funders, researchers, media execs and many others. The keynote presentations and points of emphasis all completely confirmed the models we have been implementing for the past 18 years and the next phase we are preparing to launch.

I then woke up at 3 am to board a flight after the two-day event to get back in time to facilitate a leadership meeting and then a separate conversation about voter turnout and mobilization.  More confirmation about the expansion of the model.

My friend and one of the original members of the Empowerment Network and Omaha 360, John Ewing was elected as Mayor of Omaha.  The first Black mayor elected in the city! A committed leader and man of God, who has served this community with passion and excellence for 40+ years.  We have worked together for over 20+ years and the visions we discussed are becoming reality. Great things ahead.

The next day was the start of our 18th Annual Rebuilding the Village Conference with national guests from eight different cities focused on creating safe, thriving, and prosperous communities. This year was different as we redesigned and dedicated the conference to elevating deeper collaboration, rediscovering economic self-sufficiency, building wealth, pooling, and investing resources and working together toward community transformation.

One of the most significant moments was having the opportunity to facilitate a panel featuring representatives from some of the most successful Black Wall Streets in the history of this nation. A long-held vision! For years I have researched Black Wall Streets and now have the opportunity to document the keys to success. Absolute confirmation.

I was also blessed to have the opportunity to recognize JoAnna LeFlore Ejike and the Malcolm X Foundation for their work and in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Malcolm X’s birth.  JoAnna shared some key information regarding why Malcolm’s dad moved to Omaha, and I have always appreciated Malcolm’s message of self-help.

We also celebrated our National Empowerment Champion, Ryana Parks Shaw, Mayor Pro Tem from Kansas City. She has led many projects and she’s an incredible champion for the Empowerment Network, KC 360 and KC United for Public Safety.  She introduced and led the approval of a $30 million fund to support community-based violence prevention and intervention efforts in KC.  She shows what’s possible through strong leadership skills, effective policy making and commitment to community.

A week later, my daughter graduated from high school. What an incredible blessing. My son, mother and stepfather joined us along with many members of Priscilla’s village. She had a great experience at Central and is now headed to UNL.

Then last week, after an intense 360 meeting that I’ll speak more on very soon, we loaded a bus to Tulsa’s Black Wall Street to present the collective action plan that I have facilitated with the engagement of 250+ Black leaders and change makers we’ve convened collectively with a planning team. It is already producing fruit.

In addition, we took 25 Omaha entrepreneurs, community builders and national strategic partners to Tulsa this past week. I had the opportunity to introduce the comprehensive model that I have been developing, piloting, and evolving for nearly 35 years. The response to the models and framework has been overwhelmingly positive.

While in Tulsa, we launched the next phase of the Revive Black Business Network and Empowerment Network. We focused intensely on relationship development, business connections and exchanges, fund development and access to capital, housing and development, history and cultural tourism, and education and youth development. We had the strongest feedback of any session we have facilitated. Let me just say some strategic business relationships were established and expanded.

History was made again. We met with Mayor Monroe Nichols in Tulsa, Oklahoma home of Greenwood’s Black Wall Street on our Rebuild and Transform Tour. The first Black Mayor of Tulsa. He was also part of our State of Black Tulsa Summit.