Though he lives in Chicago, Ron Cox stays connected to Nebraska through Nebraska Public Media and supports its trusted, fact-based reporting.
Ron Cox grew up in Mason City, a tiny village between Kearney and Broken Bow. He remains connected to Nebraska through friends and family, and his home here. Even though he moved away nearly 50 years ago, strong ties bring him back for several weeks or months each year.
Radio was always part of the connection. “My mother had the radio on all the time,” Ron said. “So, I grew up listening.”
From Chicago, Ron streams Nebraska Public Media, following state politics, news and sports. “It’s pretty thorough reporting about what’s going on in the state,” he said.
Through their leadership, service and philanthropy, his parents instilled in him a lifelong commitment to the greater good. “Dad, both a banker and city clerk, always said, ‘If you want a store or gas station in town, you should buy items in town and not go elsewhere to save a few pennies," said Ron.
His mother was the town librarian, wrote local news for four different papers and held offices in community organizations. Both were life-long blood donors who supported educational television.
Ron joined the Peace Corps in 1974, serving in Liberia, where shortwave radio opened up a wider world. “We listened to the BBC, mostly,” he said. The listening continued while teaching in Fort Calhoun, attending graduate school in Ohio and Michigan, and while living in Hawaii and Illinois.
Public media remains “a window to the world,” informing Ron about issues he values, including climate change. “In the world where fact-based news is frequently absent, I would like to help keep PBS and NPR alive,” he said.
That perspective guides his giving. Ron makes qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) to support organizations he values, including Nebraska Public Media. “If I just put the money from my IRA into my pocket, then it’s taxable, limiting the charitable contribution,” he said. “But if I donate that $100 to you, you get $100, and it’s tax-free.”
His generosity circles back to his hometown, where he helped organize a foundation to support the cemetery that holds generations of his relatives and friends. He thinks often about the future, especially for his six-year-old granddaughter, Quinn.
“What my parents did impacted me,” Ron said. “So, what I do, I hope, impacts her.”