Lincoln, Nebraska
Bob Henrichs began his teaching career at Hastings High School in Nebraska. During his tenure there, he was elected vice president of the Nebraska Thespian board, spearheaded the effort to establish a new home for the International Thespian Festival at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, his alma mater, and served as Nebraska chapter director.
In 1998 he became the youngest-ever vice president of EdTA. As the first two-year president of EdTA, from 1999-2001, he oversaw the change to the system of policy governance that the board still uses today. He served as the state treasurer of Nebraska Thespians for more than a decade, and later served as secretary.
In 2001, at the new Lincoln Southwest High School, Mr. Henrichs chartered Thespian Troupe 6547. The troupe’s 2007 production of Black Elk Speaks was a Thespian Festival main stage show, and received a Chief Standing Bear Award from the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs.
Lincoln Southwest was the first Nebraska school to receive an EdTA Outstanding School Award, in 2006. Mr. Henrichs has been named Nebraska Theatre Teacher of the Year three times, and in 2010 was one of the first recipients of the ITS Outstanding Theatre Educator Award. Colleagues describe him as “a true educator who puts his students first,” one who “takes a very difficult and challenging curriculum and brings it to life for his students.” One former student, 2003-04 International Thespian Officer Jenna Christine Ferris, said, “To this day, I know I am a better performer, worker, leader, and teammate in life because of the discipline and passion Bob showed us.”
