We were saddened to learn this week of the passing of one of our long-time members, Del Toebben.   

 

Del was a member of our club for 44 years, since 1978 and served as our President in the 1991-1992 Rotary year. The photo on this page is Del and his wife Phyllis receiving a Rotary Foundation Major Donor recognition.  

 

He was an active Rotarian during that time and we had been fortunate to have him join us regularly on Zoom during the last couple of years.   He was a wonderful Rotarian and friend and will be missed. 

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.  Condolences can be sent to his wife, Phyllis at 1438 N. 132nd Ave. Circle, Omaha, NE 68154.

 

The visitation and funeral are currently delayed. Please watch the Heafey website for more information.    

 

Obituary is here: https://heafeyheafey.com/delmer-l-toebben/

 

 

Prior to starting Marigold ONE11, Pam was a Shareholder and Principal for Harbinger Partners, a regional Information Technology Staffing firm (previously known as Bass & Associates) and prior to that was the Vice President and Director of Marketing for SilverStone Group, a local insurance brokerage.

 

Pam is passionate about connecting people and making a positive difference.  

She has served on numerous boards, including:

 

Pam is a Nebraska native and has lived in Omaha for 36 years. She and her husband, Marty, have three children and three grandsons. They also have a rescue dog named Kaci.

 

Pam loves Omaha and her reason for joining Rotary is to meet other people that are also excited about making a positive difference.  Welcome, Pam!

 

Thank you to all those who participated and donated! A special thank you to Alex Pearson for organizing. More information about results will be available later. 

Calling all Rotarians with an hour to spare each week.  Rotary Readers is starting up again after a two-year hiatus with COVID.  It will be sometime in October before we can start because of matching volunteers with the students' schedule.  You spend a half hour with one or two students each week at Skinner School.

 

This is a worthwhile and rewarding project we have done for years with Skinner School on 28th & Ames near North High.  You don't have to be an instructor, simply willing to sit with a 1st or second grade student while they read to you for half an hour.  The primary purpose of this program is to give the child consistency and encouragement with a weekly meeting.  Of course if you have vacation or the school is closed for weather or inservice, you are excused.  The main thing is to keep the teacher abreast of any absences.  Please contact Susan Thomas, Bonnie Gill or Jennifer if you are interested in volunteering for the program.  

37 years ago Rotary International started the Polio Plus program, whose goal was to eradicate Polio from the face of the earth.  We’re down to two endemic countries, but as the recent case in New York reminds us, the battle is not over until it’s completely won.

One of the biggest problems we’re facing right now is “Polio fatigue.”  Rotarians have been hearing about Polio Plus for decades and currently only 1 Rotarian in 10 is donating to Polio Plus.  This is creating a funding shortfall at the most critical moment in the battle.  This last little bit is the hardest part of the fight. 

 

Gary Bren wants to remind us all how important our engagement in this fight is.  He’s going to be riding 102.6 miles in the Ride to End Polio on November 19^th.    His goal is to raise $30,000 for Polio Plus…but the fundraising doesn’t stop there.  Our Rotary District will match dollar for dollar up to the first $20,000.  The funds are then matched two for one by The Gates Foundation.   That means that if you donate to support this ride, your funds will be matched as much as three for one.  If you help Gary meet his goal of $30,000, through matches that will be $150,000 towards Polio Plus.

 

The Ride to End Polio is part of the Tour De Tucson, which is celebrating it’s 39^th year on November 19^th.  Rotary got involved in 2009 and since then Rotarians have raised over $18,000,000—$53,000,000 when the Gates Match is added in—for Polio Plus.

The course for 102 mile ride covers a good portion of the Tucson Metro area, with scenery varying from Downtown to the aircraft boneyard to desert and Saguaro cactus.  Gary will be live streaming his ride, so you’ll be able to virtually come along with him and see the sights.  He finished the ride in 6 hours and 30 minutes last year and his goal is to finish under six hours this year.

You can make a donation to support Gary at his Raise For Rotary page. Donations made through Raise for Rotary will be credited to your Foundation giving and added to your club’s total donations. 

37 years ago Rotary made a promise to the children of the world.  In those 37 years we have:

Please consider supporting this ride to help Rotary make good on it’s promise to finish this battle.

Monday:  Millard at Noon - in person, no reservations required at the German American Society 

 

Tuesday:  Omaha Morning at 7:00 at Happy Hollow- hybrid meetings. Click here to register. 

                  NW Rotary at noon- at Garden Cafe in Rockbrook 

 

Wednesday: Omaha Downtown at Noon resuming hybrid meetings.  

                       Council Bluffs Centennial 7am at HyVee on Madison upstairs