There are many different ways to be a Midwesterner, and Bluestone’s new Real Estate Analyst Ben Wellman has been just about all of them. He grew up on a farm outside of Neola. Next, he played football at Truman State College in Kirksville, Missouri, where he was a team captain and two-time All-Conference linebacker. (This is also where he had three shoulder surgeries in three years.) He then moved to Omaha and graduated from Creighton Business School with his MBA in May 2022. 

Ben now lives in Papillion with his girlfriend and is trying to activate his dormant green thumb with several landscaping and gardening projects.  He likes to hike and has been exploring some of our great local trails at Hitchcock Park, Fontenelle Forest, and Walnut Creek. He also enjoys pheasant hunting with his father and the family's two English Setters.

Though he's definitely an outdoorsy guy, Ben does come inside from time to time. “I just love to watch YouTube videos that I can learn things from, like anything on history, anything about current events, business, and also comedy.” He and his father bonded over comedy, and Trailer Park Boys was one of their favorites. If you have seen that show, you might be surprised to hear that Ben's favorite book is Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, but it is. People are complicated.

As for travel, Ben and his girlfriend rented a camper van the last two summers, visiting the Grand Canyon and the big five national parks in Utah. “It’s great to be able to spend some time in the parks, hiking and just trying new things. It's a lot of fun.” He hopes to own a camper van soon so they can do even more road-tripping, both planned and spontaneous.

The trips this summer are smaller, specifically to a few concerts. One of those concerts features an artist known as Taylor Swift, maybe you’ve heard of her. (Taylor! Swift!) Acquiring those tickets won him his very first All-Conference Best Boyfriend award. Congratulations, Ben, and welcome to Bluestone!