Omaha West Rotary has a rich tradition of honoring the achievers in our community. We are now on our 62nd year of recognizing the best seniors from our area high schools. This year we are honoring 31 seniors from 31 high schools. This is by far the most inspirational meeting of all the inspirational meetings you have attended this year. So DO NOT MISS IT, ATTEND. The place, time and lunch price are the same as our regular meeting, but the meeting content is a hundred times better. If you have not made any reservations, just come, we have a seat for you.
Our Senior Recognition Day Committee, led by Bob Fell, has been working hard to make this a successful event. Our committee members, working with Bob Fell this year are: Martie Cordaro, Vice Chair; Stacy Auman, Laura Iliff, Michelle Kaufmann, Dick Lerner, Nuzhat Mahmood, Deb Neary, Ron Niederhaus, Rana Scarlett-Johnson, and Jill Slupe.
The meeting will feature two speakers, namely; Barbara Barrientos from Omaha South High School and Todd Simon, Senior Vice President at Omaha Steaks International.
Last week, President Nuzhat Mahmood presided the meeting. Kim Kuhle gave the Invocation. Jim Gerner and Ray Kurowski served as greeters, while Rodge Bickerstaff was Sgt. at Arms. Don Otis was Cashier. Bev Karrer, our powerhouse 85-year old member, served as Chair of the Day. Bev introduced our speaker, Kate Dodge from NEI Global Relocation.
Omaha West Rotary Club Secretary Report for April 20, 2018.
Matt began with an announcement that Kent Templien would still be at QLI for a few more weeks and was receiving guests. Guests of Rotarians and their hosts included Laurie Roth Donnell (Dick Sturgeon) and Starla Waite (Yolanda Hoffman, who also announced that Starla applied to become a new member). Gail Veitzer again introduced her husband, Irv Veitzer, as guest for what must be the sixth consecutive week. Brad Rohrig introduced us to his mother, Shirley Rohrig, and Carl Philo introduced us to his wife Jan Philo, who happened to be sitting next to her son, member John Philo. Matt observed that it was good that Brad’s mother and John’s mother were present to keep an eye on their respective sons. Deb Turbes also joined us as a guest accompanying our speaker, Kate Dodge.
Rotarians with good news included Laura Thomas, Nuzhat Mahmood, Matt McKeever, Brad Hess, Suzan Rohrig and Martie Cordero. Matt was fined by Kim Kuhle for an article on paying taxes on bitcoins and by Carol Gendler for a Smithsonian magazine article about Bitcoin. Rebecca Miller submitted an decades-old article about disorderly students being disciplined by principal Eugene Skinner in an attempt to impose a fine on any club members who had so disciplined. No one admitted to being one of those students, so no fines were levied but Rebecca was complimented for her ingenuity at trying to generate fines. Matt fined everyone not wearing either red or white in honor of the Husker Football Spring Game the next day. Matt explained after a few questions that the red or white had to be clothing and had to be visible. For story, Matt read a number of quotes from the recently-departed Barbara Bush, including: “Why be afraid of what people will say? Those who care about you will say, ‘Good luck!’ Those who care only about themselves will never say anything worth listening to anyway.”
Last week, President-Elect Jill Slupe introduced our newest member Lori Benton. Lori is a Partner and Marketing Director at Verde Martin. Lori is a strategic marketing and communications professional with a firm grasp of corporate branding and development. Lori moved back to Omaha seven years ago to keep an eye on her aging parents. Please make sure to introduce yourself and welcome Lori when you see her at our Friday meeting.
Lori Benton
L to R: Jill Slupe, Lori Benton, and Nuzhat Mahmood
RI President Ian Riseley is asking a question to every Rotarian: "Did you participate in my tree planting challenge?" Our Ecology Chair, Manny Paz answered "yes" on your behalf, and put every West Omaha Rotarian in good graces with President Riseley. Everything is arranged for you to plant a tree on April 28th. All you need to do is show up at Minne Lusa Elementary School, 2728 Ida Street. More information here.
Here's President Riseley's letter:
Ian Riseley President, 2017-18 T +1.847.866.3467 F +1.847.866.3390 ian.riseley@rotary.org
Dear fellow Rotarians,
At the beginning of this Rotary year, I issued a challenge: for every Rotary club to plant one tree for each Rotary member. My goal in doing so was twofold. The first goal was obvious: trees are good for us. They absorb carbon and release oxygen, they support biodiversity, they improve our soil, our climate, and our moods. We need more of them, and planting trees is a wonderful project for all Rotary clubs to do together. Read the rest of the letter by clicking here.
After completing the rigorous Red Badge requirements, Nick Rosenberry received his Blue Badge from Nuzhat. Congratulations, Nick!
Watch out Nick is our Club Secretary by July 1st. However, gauging from this picture, he does look more merciful than Matt McKeever in assessing fines.
Mark your calendars for the most inspiring meeting of the year, the 62nd Annual Senior Recognition Day on April 27, 2018. You will have the rare opportunity of meeting and greeting the creme of the crop among our young people in the area. There will be 31 topnotch seniors who will be recognized for overall achievement and service to their class, school and community. We will hear a speech from one of the seniors and the committee is currently voting on that particular senior. Our guest speaker will be Todd Simon, Senior Vice President of Steaks International. In addition to this rare opportunity, you will get two attendance credits. It will be fine-dining that day so please reserve your seat here and plan to arrive 15 minutes earlier than usual as the meeting will begin promptly at 12:00 noon.
The Rotary Information Committee is now in its final stages of saving the rich history of Omaha West Rotary. The committee is in need of volunteers to finish scanning and saving electronically West Rotary's documents from the storage. John Morey volunteered but he needs help. Yes, you can help! Please contact Suzan at skrohrig@skr-aia.com or John at John.Morey@RaymondJames.com.
Join us to plant trees and sustain the urban forest in Miller Park/Minne Lusa Neighborhood and Boulevard on April 28, 2018 at 08:30 AM - 12:00 PM. Sign up here.
We will be planting shade trees along the Minne Lusa Boulevard and Florence neighborhood right-of-way parkland.
Meet at the Minne Lusa Elementary School located at 2728 Ida Street (East side of school).
We will plant shade trees and lay mulch.
Although shovels will be provided, volunteers are encouraged to bring their own shovel and gloves.
Tree holes will be pre-dug to ease volunteer labor.
Spread the News! It's a great time to join Omaha West Rotary!
Please spread the news, the fee for joining West Omaha Rotary has been discounted from $540 ($340 plus $200 application fee) to $113 from now till June 30th. Because of the generous “new member” contributions from Nizar Mamdani, Dwayne Brown and John Morey, the application fee has been waived and the membership fee has been supplemented for all new members. This is a great opportunity to encourage prospects to test out our club and join at a reduced rate. For more information please reach out to Jill Slupe at Jslupe@verdemartin.com or 917-416-7498.
Let's go to Toronto in June 23-27, 2018 for the Rotary International (RI) Convention!
There is no experience for a Rotarian quite like an International Convention. Meet old friends and make new ones from around the world. Hear great speakers and enjoy fabulous entertainment. Participate in the many breakout sessions on topics of interest to you. Stroll through the House of Friendship. Enjoy the many restaurants and tourism opportunities that Toronto has to offer. The next several RI Conventions will be outside of North America, so it's a good time to go this year. You will not believe it, but it's really not expensive to fly to Toronto. We did a random search online and the round trip ticket ranges from as low as $220 to $400. Of course, it could go higher if you fly business class, but the general fares are pretty good.
To register for the RI Convention, please click here. If you need help with your registration, please contact Jill or Yolanda.
To find out about speakers at other Rotary Clubs in the area, you can conveniently see the list of Club websites here. Then click on the home icon to the left of the club name. The list of speakers are listed on their Homepage.
Understanding the value of The Rotary Foundation . . .
When asked what participants want to get out of Rotary training and meetings, we hear things like the statements above.
Meeting all of those needs is a challenge - but there is an answer – the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI).
RLI has been available in District 5650 since 2006. The curriculum and format were improved in 2009 and we expanded to partner with District 6000 in Iowa in 2012. There have been nearly 275 Rotarians participate in our local program.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) was designed to provide discussion and activity-based programs. There is time to go into detail on many topics. It is not focused on a particular Rotary position but allows an opportunity for participants to truly discover Rotary.
All Rotary members benefit from the RLI experience. Rotary Club leadership can be more effective because of their expanded knowledge and connections made during RLI sessions.
RLI is a three-part program. Each RLI participant attends three one-day sessions. Our goal is to offer each Part with every meeting date (pending a sufficient number of registrations).
Upcoming session dates:
March 3, 2018 - Hosted by District 6000 in Iowa City
April 21, 2018 - Hosted by District 5650 likely in Omaha
October 6, 2018 - Hosted by District 5650 likely in Omaha
November 3, 2018 - Hosted by District 6000 likely in Des Moines
We are now offering 10 punch lunch tickets ($160) and 10 punch meeting-only tickets ($70) for sale at the meetings. Get one and don't worry about having cash or getting out your credit card! For sale at check-in.
MONDAY BELLEVUE 12:00 PM (DJ's Dugout, 10308 S. 23rd St.) NORTH 12:00 PM (Omaha Eppley Airport Conference Room) MILLARD 12:00 PM (German American Society, 3717 South 120th Street) - NO MEETING on Oct 9
TUESDAY MORNING 7:00 AM (Happy Hollow Country Club, 1701 S. 105th St.)
NORTHWEST 12:00 PM ( Effective August 15th Northwest Rotary will meet Tuesday's at noon at Jerico's, 11732 W Dodge Rd, Omaha, NE 68154.)
SOUTHWEST NIGHT 5:15 PM (DJ's Dugout at 17666 Welch Plaza, northeast corner of 180th & Q streets)
WEDNESDAY COUNCIL BLUFFS CENTENNIAL 1st Wed 7:00 AM; 3rd Wed floating event; no meeting other weeks (Hy-Vee in Mall of the Bluffs, I-80 Exit 5) DOWNTOWN 12:00 PM (Field Club, 3615 Woolworth Ave.)
THURSDAY COUNCIL BLUFFS NOON 12:00 PM (The Center, 714 S. Main St.)
SUBURBAN 12:00 PM (Anthony's, 7220 F St.)
WESTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY 7:00 AM (Elkhorn Common Ground Community Center, 1701 Veteran's Drive)
FRIDAY WEST 12:00 PM (Champions Run, 13800 Eagle Run Drive)
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