Jan (Hovey) ‘75 and Dave Johnson ‘74 were close together yet worlds apart for more than two decades until the two Augustana alumni met, built their success stories and began to make an impact on their communities and alma mater. The Johnsons grew up just 10 miles from each other — Jan in Bruce, 南达科塔州, 戴夫在埃斯特林, 南达科塔州. Although they shared a Lutheran parish growing up and their years at Augustana overlapped, 这对夫妇直到1977年才认识.
“I was singing at her cousin's wedding in early December,戴夫说. “I had come home from a European trip where I blew out my MCL (medial collateral ligament). 所以我从臀部到脚踝都打了石膏. After the wedding, she comes up to me and says, ‘What happened to you?’”
“我不是很主动，”简插嘴说. “事实上，我很害羞.”
After Dave told her about his skiing injury, Jan asked when the cast would be coming off.
“我说，‘简. ’”戴夫回忆道. “她说，‘简. 11——那是我的生日. 也许我们应该庆祝一下.’”
他同意在一个多月后举行庆祝活动.
“那时还没有手机, 我没有她的电话号码, 所以没有任何接触,戴夫说. “But, five or six weeks after we had our first meeting, we both showed up (for the date).”
一年后，他们结婚了.
家族企业
Although the Johnsons never met while students at Augustana, they both credit the institution with providing them a solid educational background for their success. Dave was drawn to Augustana through the influence of three of his older siblings who attended — Paul Johnson ‘59, 59岁的哈丽特·斯科特和69岁的辛迪·约翰逊. Dave, an economics major, sang in the Augustana Choir under the direction of the late Dr. Olaf Malmin, and spent his junior year abroad in Germany and England.
简一直很喜欢英语, 文学与写作, 到了该考虑上大学的时候, she had only heard excellent things about the Augustana English Department. 当她到达12bet游戏平台时, she solidified English as her major and joined the English club and Kappa Delta Pi, 国际教育荣誉学会.
Following Augustana, Dave attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 1975, 回到南达科他州, 戴夫的父亲准备卖掉他的银行, 所以戴夫决定试试银行业. 就在回家几个月后, 戴夫的父亲意外去世了, 戴夫接管了银行的管理, 现在被称为信实银行, 年仅23岁.
“戴夫成为了一名银行家，”简说.
戴夫是首席执行官 & 他是家族企业信实银行的董事长. Jan is also involved in the family business — serving on the Reliabank Board of Directors, IT Committee and will eventually succeed Dave as chair of the board.
“I never would have dreamt back when I was 21 years old that I would become a banker … never in my wildest dreams, 但我已经,简说。.
同时学习银行业, Jan also taught high school English for 28 years in Estelline and four years in Watertown, 南达科塔州.
“那, 我梦寐以求的工作就在眼前, which was teaching composition at Mount Marty College (现在 University) in Watertown,简说. “在我退休之前，我做了12年.”
在银行和教学之间, 约翰逊夫妇欢迎他们的儿子, 里德和伊森, 都在信实银行工作.
培养教育
尽管他们都是银行老板，而且, 现在, 有七个孩子的祖父母, the Johnsons have never lost sight of their passions — incorporating each of them into the way they give back to their community and alma mater. The couple’s generosity was recognized in September when they were named the state’s 2023 Outstanding Philanthropists by the 南达科塔州 Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
“It stems from our ELCA Lutheran faith,戴夫说 of their desire to give back. “The writer of Luke challenges us saying, ‘To whom much is given, much is required.“我们把这句话牢记在心.”
“在我们的生活中，我们非常幸运，”简补充说. “We feel that we have many gifts that have been given to us, so it's really important to us to give back to things and places that mean a lot to us. 奥吉给我们开了个好头.”
多年来, the Johnsons have been faithful supporters of Augustana — sponsoring the Jan, 里德 & 拉森赛道内的伊森·约翰逊跳台 & Field Complex and a nursing office in the Froiland Science Complex. 约翰逊一家也是 南达科他州历史上的旧路和新路, published by Augustana’s 西方研究中心 (CWS).
In 2022, Dave and Jan gave a transformative gift to the 12bet中文官方平台, 指定用于购买新钢琴. Augustana received its first shipment of 31 state-of-the-art Yamaha pianos in the spring and summer of 2022. 哈姆雷独奏厅, faculty studios and the Pederson-Homan Center Keyboard Lab were the first to receive new pianos. 第二阶段, 计划于2026年开始, 包括大型排练室吗, recording studio and practice rooms in the lower level of the Fryxell Humanities Center.
“我家里有音乐，”戴夫说. “我的祖母是一位钢琴和小提琴老师. 我在妈妈的唱诗班里唱歌. 我的意思是, I started going to choir before I even had memory of it because my mom would bring me as an infant. I also developed a hobby of singing the national anthem … I’ve sung for Augie Basketball, 排球, 橄榄球——甚至明尼苏达双城队的比赛.”
The Johnson’s most recent philanthropic endeavor with the university has been supporting the Augustana Hockey Program and Midco Arena. 戴夫和简正在赞助Reliabank教室, which will be located inside Midco Arena on Augustana’s campus.
“教育对我们来说非常重要, so a classroom in a sports facility is right up our alley,简说。.
和, it’s education they always come back to when the Johnsons consider what’s important and where it all started.
“Augustana gave both of us a really good background to be successful in our respective careers,简说. “我们即将结束自己的职业生涯, we're able to go back to Augustana and give back so that the next generation has the same opportunities we had. It's just so important to foster education, and if our dollars can help do that, we’re in.”