John McCollister

John McCollister grew up in Omaha and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Business Administration in 1971. He then embarked on a 35-year career with McCollister & Co, a three-generation family business that manufactured lubricants for large commercial, industrial, and private label customers in fourteen Midwestern states. In 2006 the company was sold to Growmark, a large Midwestern farm coop. From 1979 to 2008, McCollister served as a publicly elected member of the Metropolitan Utilities District Board of Directors, which provides natural gas and water to the Omaha area. In early 2009 McCollister was named executive director of the Platte Institute for Economic Research – a nonprofit free market think tank.

In 2014 John was elected to the Nebraska Legislature. He served as a member of the Legislature’s Executive Board, the Banking and Insurance Committee, the Government and the Military and Veterans Affairs Committees. He was also the Vice Chair of the Planning Committee. During his tenure in the Legislature, McCollister has promoted legislation for criminal justice reform, fighting food insecurity with expanded SNAP benefits, climate change remediation and promotion of renewable energy. 

 

He also currently serves on the One World Health Center Board of Directors and the University of Nebraska Business College Advisory Board.

 

McCollister married Deborah Way in 1971 and they have three children: Lauren, Daniel and Jeffrey and two grandsons, Andrew and David. 

 

Senator McCollister’s Awards and Honors:
● 2015 Nebraska Wind Energy Champion
● 2016 Council of State Government’s BILLD Fellow
● 2018 / 19 Nebraska League of Conservatory Voters Legislator of the Year

● Nebraska Farmers Union President’s Award - 2022
● 2018 / 19 /20 Holland Senator Honor Roll
● 2020 ACLU Defender of the Bill of Rights Award
● 2021 The Bloc’s 50 Over 50 Community Award

● 2021 Appleseed’s Good Apple Award