ABOUT OUR BOARD
Mike Semrad Sr.
President/Board Member
Mike Semrad Sr. is our master historian and President of the board of directors. His deep well of knowledge spans the history of Nebraska Music and beyond. He is a 45 year retired banker and 58 year professional musician. He has been inducted to Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota Music Halls of Fame as a member of The Smoke Ring and J. Harrison B. & The Bumbles. He is also a recipient of The Iowa Rock Music Association Dan Matousek Lifetime Achievement Award as a musician. Mike Sr. is a Midwest music historian and author of many Midwest music articles in national and international publications. He is also married, with 6 boys; several of which are acclaimed musicians.
Michael Semrad Jr.
Vice President/Board Member
Michael Semrad Jr. has been working in the industry of entertainment for nearly 30 plus years. As a childhood entertainer, his career started while performing alongside his father and uncles at State and County fairs. He has continued to grow as a singer/songwriter, producer, talent agent, philanthropist, and advocate for fair publishing rights.
Being a musician and artist in Lincoln, Nebraska has been life changing for Semrad. He and his wife Kerry head The Bottle Tops, one of the Midwest’s premiere honky tonk groups. Nebraska became a fertile ground to plant ideas, become activists, and watch an already thriving arts scene grow to offer so much more. Semrad started a record label called Sower Records, in which they just released their 26th album on vinyl. In 2017, he helped organize a famed concert, ‘Harvest the Hope, to stop the Keystone XL pipeline, bringing Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson, Neil Young and tribal leaders together in Nebraska. Michael Semrad continues to organize groups of creative minds to make positive change all across the nation.
Martha Florence
Secretary-Treasurer/Board Member
Marthaellen Florence, now retired, was the director of community engagement at NET-Television. In the community, she sits on the boards of the Malone Community Center, Lincoln Community Foundation, longtime organizer of Jazz in June (Lincoln, NE), Lincoln Library Board, KZUM Radio, Flatwater Shakespeare Company and is the associate CD-1 county chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party. She also serves on the UNL Chancellor’s Commission for the Status of People of Color and is part of the Inclusive Leadership curriculum team. She joins the Nebraska Performing Arts Hall of Fame board with a wide knowledge of music history and general Nebraska history.