20 Under 40: Christina Liekhus an inspirational leader at Pinnacle Bank | Local

“She always has ideas as to how we can not stay where we’re at, but move forward,” she said. “So she comes to us a lot with new ideas on how we can better accomplish the work that we’re doing and how we can do our work more efficiently and better.”

With the people she works with at Pinnacle, Liekhus said she appreciates how much experience they have in their fields.

“And just learning how they interact with customers, you’re always learning something every day about a person,” she said. “So just building those relationships with my coworkers and customers is really one of my favorite things.”

Liekhus still lives in North Bend with her husband and their 11-year-old daughter, Isabelle, and 8-year-old son, Brant. In 2010, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had to go to physical therapy.

But in June 2019, Liekhus raised $10,000 toward finding a cure by running part of the MS Run the US. She ran 157 miles from Holdrege to Lincoln over the course of six days as part of a cross-country, 19-runner relay.

“People all over, look up to her because of that,” Barton said. “And she’s worked really hard to overcome her battle with MS, and she’s doing a great job, and she does the same for us here at the bank.”

Additionally, Liekhus has kept softball in her life, as she’s coached the sport since she was a teenager, as well as given pitching lessons. She’s also coached volleyball and basketball in the past for her daughter.