Former State Chamber President and Pawnee City native dies
10/27/2025

(KLZA)-- Pawnee City native Barry Kennedy, who was a fixture of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce for more than 30 years, including nearly two decades as its president, died Saturday. He was 79.

Kennedy joined the chamber in 1987 and became its president in 2000, a role he held until retirement in June 2018. During his tenure, the organization “grew in membership, influence and notability,” according to Kennedy- bio when he was inducted into the 2019 Nebraska Business Hall of Fame.

After serving in Vietnam, Kennedy joined the United States Junior Chamber, also called the Jaycees, serving as president of the civic organization at the local, state, national and even international level.

Kennedy got involved with the Nebraska Chamber after meeting then-President Jack Schwartz in 1986 while working on a political campaign, according to his obit. His membership with the chamber began a year later.




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