Kent is still in the ICU at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln, and will be heading into spinal surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. The surgeon and trauma team say the prognosis is good and are optimistic about his recovery. He will be transitioning to in-patient rehab in Omaha in the coming days. He is in good spirits (and very determined) and is thankful for all the thoughts and prayers coming his way. - Juli Templien
Initial Information 11/13/17:
Immediate Past President Kent Templien is in the ICU at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln. Kent had an accident while on his UTV vehicle on a hunting trip this past weekend, which resulted in a spinal injury. Kent’s wife Juli, said he is in stable condition and will undergo surgery soon. Please keep Kent in your thoughts and prayers for his full recovery.
Editor's Note:
Since Kent is still in the ICU, visitation is limited. However, you may to send him eCards or messages via email at
kent@x-eqt.com. Once he’s in rehab, he should be able to have visitors.
Brian joined first joined Rotary in 1993 as a member of the Council Bluffs Morning club and was a member until the club disbanded in 2000. He rejoined Rotary as a charter member of Council Bluffs Centennial in 2005. As a member of Centennial he has served as a Board Member, Chair of the annual Pasta Luncheon fundraiser, Foundation Chair, Membership Chair and in 2010-11 as Club President. He is a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Sustaining Member of the Rotary Foundation and a member of the Paul Harris Society. Within District 5650 was the recipient of the outstanding club president award in 2011, and served as Area 6 Asst. District Governor from 2011-13. He served as District Governor during the 2014-15 Rotary year, and currently is serving as the District Foundation Committee Chair. He is a graduate of Rotary Leadership Institute, and has attended multiple Rotary Zone 28-29 trainings.
Brian grew up in Chariton, a small town in south-central Iowa. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in business, and was employed by Hy-Vee, Inc. for 31 years. He retired in 2008. During his career, he served as a store director in the Council Bluffs/Omaha market for 21 years and was a member of the Hy-Vee, Inc. Board of Directors in 2000.
Within the community he has served as a board member and officer of several organizations, including the Volunteer Bureau of Council Bluffs, the Loess Hill Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Omaha Summer Arts Festival, the Omaha Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Children’s Square USA and the Children’s Square Foundation. Brian was a member of the Leadership Iowa class of 1997-98 and was named the Council Bluffs non-profit volunteer of the year in 1995.
Brian is married to Stephani and they celebrated their 33rd anniversary this past February. They have two adult children; Dean, who resides in Council Bluffs, and Brianne, who lives in Kansas City, MO with her husband Max and daughter Rosie. Steph and Brian both enjoy cooking, gardening, fine wines and traveling in retirement.
Last week, our President Nuzhat Mahmood presided the meeting. Dick Lerner gave the Invocation, Michelle Kaufmann and Kent Templien served as Greeters while Tim Neal was Cashier. Bev Karrer served as Sgt At Arms. Dwayne Brown was Chair of the Day and he introduced our speaker Lori Bechtold. Lori spoke about their programs and projects at the Omaha Home for Boys. Michelle Kauffman gave her vocational talk.
L to R: Matt McKeever, Lori Bechtold, and Dwayne Brown
Michelle Kaufmann giving her Vocational Talk while Rotarians at her table started to dig in their pockets because she went over her time allocation of two minutes
Michelle's table. Only at Omaha West Rotary are Rotarians happy to be fined, waving their dollars for good cause. L to R: Martie Cordaro, Joe Finnegan, Kim Kuhle, Bev Karrer, & Suzan Rohrig.
Here's our hard working Friday Crew:
Cashier Tim Neal busy counting our money
Sgt. At Arms Bev Karrer was delighted to help John Morey find his badge
Greeters Kent Templien and Michelle Kaufmann greeted everyone and were the last ones to sit down
Lori Bechtold from Downtown Rotary joined us both as a guest Rotarian and as our speaker today. Jim Gerner introduced his guest, Dan Pogge. Red Badge members were recognized. Matt fined Ron Niederhaus for good news found on Facebook about his grandson signing a letter of intent for a Creighton baseball scholarship. Kent Templien, Vaughn Wiebusch, Dick Lerner and Russ Iwan all had good news to share. Matt told a “Bill Cutler Mostly True Story” about the estate planning attorney who planned his own spectacular wake.
Michelle Kaufmann is the Relationship Manager in Wealth Management at First National Bank and she joined Rotary in July 2017. Michelle previously worked for Prudential Retirement in Dubuque, IA where she grew up. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in marketing. In her free time she enjoys cruising in her 1971 Volkswagen Beetle convertible and she is a member of the Omaha Volkswagen Club. She enjoys reading, golfing, web surfing and watching sappy Hallmark movies this time of year. Michelle is single, but still looking to find “him.” She has enjoyed getting to know everyone in Rotary thus far.
Carol Gendler, born in New Haven, Connecticut, has created a legacy of community activism stronger than that of most Nebraska-born citizens. She joined Rotary Club of Omaha – West in 1998 and has worked with the various committees. She currently serves on the Omaha West Rotary Foundation. For almost a decade now, Carol has donated $5000 to the Paul Harris Fund as a match of $100 each with our individual members donations.
Years ago, Carol completed a Masters degree in History at UNO and has used that knowledge to create a history of the local Jewish Community, in her work with the Douglas County Historical Society over the last 50 plus years, in the 14 years she served as Director of the Douglas County Law Library, and as a major donor to the Omaha World Herald digital library. Her OWH gift enables current historians the luxury of digital records instead of spending hours turning the crank of a microfilm reader. In 2006, Carol completed a historical account of our own Rotary club spanning 50 years.
Besides the Omaha West Rotary Foundation board, Carol also serves on the Humanities Nebraska, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Heartland Family Service, Joslyn Art Museum, and the Legal Aid of Nebraska boards. Many local civic organizations such as Lauritzen Gardens, NET Foundation and the Omaha Community Foundation benefit from Carol’s financial gifts.
Rotarians are fortunate to have her talent, passion and generosity toward our local and international projects.
The Rotary Information Committee has been working on the boxes from our storage unit. They will be saving documents electronically and all of the rest of it will be thrown away. If any member is interested in any of it, please contact Suzan Rohrig by Thanksgiving.
Where: Family Fare Supermarket, 1221 S 203rd St, Omaha, NE 68130
When: December 2, 2017, Saturday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Shift: Just a hour, two to three Rotarians per shift
Omaha West Rotarians take pride in helping raise money to help the less fortunate in our community. The Community Service Committee is looking for 12 to 18 Rotarians to enjoy bell ringing for an hour shift. Bell ringing counts for service hours if anyone in your family needs service hours. The online sign up for this event is now open. Please visit our club website and click on "For Club Members" and go to the calendar to sign up.
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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Michelle Kaufmann is the Relationship Manager in Wealth Management at First National Bank and she joined Rotary in July 2017. Michelle previously worked for Prudential Retirement in Dubuque, IA where she grew up. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in marketing. In her free time she enjoys cruising in her 1971 Volkswagen Beetle convertible and she is a member of the Omaha Volkswagen Club. She enjoys reading, golfing, web surfing and watching sappy Hallmark movies this time of year. Michelle is single, but still looking to find “him.” She has enjoyed getting to know everyone in Rotary thus far. 
