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This Friday at Rotary
Presiding Officer: Nuzhat Mahmood
Secretary: Matt McKeever
Chair of the Day: Martie Cordaro
Invocator: Russ Iwan
Cashiers: Tim Neal
Sgt. at Arms: Gail Veitzer
Greeters: Laura Thomas & Bob Fell
Speakers: Colleen Wachter                                  
Colleen Wachter
Executive Director, The ALS Association Mid-America Chapter
 
Presentation Topic: ALS Clinics - from a Living Room to Telemedicine
 
40 years ago a young man at the peak of his career and life was diagnosed with ALS. He set out to find information and answers, and instead found very little existed. Immediately he and his wife decided to build a network of people and information to give help and hope to others who were diagnosed with this fatal disease. From those living room meetings grew The Mid-America Chapter; a three-state Chapter which has provided services to thousands of people since 1978. As we look to the next 40 years, the evolution of clinical care at The ALS Association treatment centers from basic symptom management, to one that encompasses physical and psychological care along with participation in research trials provides people living with ALS with the highest quality of help for today, and participation in the hope for tomorrow.
 
Bio: Colleen has 17 years of experience in non-profit. She began working with The ALS Association Mid-America Chapter in June of 2006 as the Director of Events.  During her seven years in this role she supervised a fundraising staff of five and more than tripled the amount of funds raised from $376,000 to $1.1 million. She also served as the Chair of the National Peer Group for two years. In January of 2014 Colleen became the Executive Director, overseeing a regional chapter covering Kansas, Nebraska and the western two-thirds of Missouri with four offices and 21 staff members. Colleen currently sits on the National Strategic Planning Committee for The ALS Association. 
 
Colleen moved to Kansas City to pursue an internship in Corporate Wellness which eventually led her to work for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In her role with The Society, she grew the Walk program from $125,000 to $450,000 in her five years as a fundraiser.
 
Colleen received her Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science from Iowa State University in 1998. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching college football and spending time with her husband of 14 years and their three boys.
 
 
 
Last Week at Rotary Was 62nd Senior Recognition Day
April 27, 2018, 62nd Senior Recognition Day
 
It was a full house (more than 200 Rotarians and guests) at Senior Recognition Day last Friday.  We honored 31 metro area seniors who had been selected by their schools for a balance of academics, extracurricular activity, and community service.  Our guest speakers were Barbara Barrientos, number four in her class of 622, and Omaha Steaks International Vice President Todd Simon.  Nuzhat Mahmood introduced Michelle Kaufmann for the invocation and pledge of allegiance. A short explanation of Rotary was presented by Bob Fell, and Martie Cordaro carried the program to conclusion with his polished introductions of the student honorees.  It may be years before we see the impact of such a program on our honorees; however, with leaders like the Honorable Hal Daub and Chicago Catholic Cardinal Blaise Cupich among our program alums, we can expect to see these young men and women at the top of their chosen fields.  Bob Fell, chair of the event, wants to recognize his committee; additional volunteers who helped out; Yolanda Hoffman, executive director;  and the outstanding number of Rotarians from our club who attended; for putting Service Above Self for this 62nd annual Senior Recognition Day.
 
31 Outstanding Seniors representing 31 high schools
 
L to R: Omaha Steaks Senior VP Todd Simon, Student Speaker Barbara Barrientos, and President Nuzhat Mahmood
Rotary Tree Planting, A Huge Success
Fresh from a successful 62nd Senior Recognition Day, Omaha West Rotarians in collaboration with several organizations, planted a total of 125 trees along Minne Lusa Boulevard in North Omaha. Ecology Chair Manny Paz, thanks all Rotarians and their families who came in droves, excited to plant trees. Past President Kent Templien even came to participate, though he said, he brought his "workers" to plant the trees for him.
 
RI President Ian Riseley should be proud to see these People of Action, Omaha West Rotarians, working with shovels and some on their knees planting trees
 
No one can be more ready than these Rotarians to plant trees
L to R: Butch Ethington, Pat Knowles, Kim Kuhle, Dwayne Brown, Starla Waite (soon to be Rotarian), and Nick Rosenberry
 
 Past President Kent Templien and his family, Ecology Chair Manny Paz and several volunteers
Upcoming Event: Backyard Cookout at Vaughn's
It's a backyard cookout! You don't want to miss this event. Sign up and bring your family! Click here to sign up. We will also have a paper sign up this Friday.

We will have hotdogs, burgers, fruits and vegetables, and lots of games.

Club Fellowship hosted by Vaughn & Donna Wiebusch
May 10, 2018, Thursday, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
2720 Mary St., Omaha 68112
BYOB
Vaughn's cellphone number: (402) 708-7108

Rotaract Wheelchair Project

Rotaract Wheel Chair Project

The Rotaract Club based at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, has embarked on a wheelchair project. The Rotaractors are raising money to send 120 wheelchairs to Ivory Coast and support the momentum of polio eradication in that country. Please make your gift to the Rotaract Wheelchair Project, Rotary Club of Lincoln 14 Foundation, PO Box 83843, Lincoln, NE 68501.  Details about this project can be found here.
Meet Newest Member Lori Benton
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
 
Jill Slupe, Membership Committee Chair
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.     
Happy Birthday, May Celebrants!

     

May Birthdays
Rich Secor 04  Don Klein 05  C. Latta 08   
Kent Templien 11   Carol Gendler  13   Jim Meier  13
Ric Miller 16 Mary Sue Riley  17
Luke McNeese  20   Steve McWhorter  25  Mike Jones 31

 
Read more...
Let's go to Toronto for the RI Convention!
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.
 
Watch this promotional video: 
 
 
 
Check Out Other Rotary Club's Weekly Speakers
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.
 
Club Vision Statement
We are a service organization with projects that support education and building understanding locally, nationally and globally.
Rotary Leadership Institute - Get More Out Of Rotary
How to engage members . . .
Making our projects more successful . . .
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
 
Registration and Details: rli-heartland.org
 
For brochures and photo albums, see the Rotary Leadership Institute page on this website - or click here.
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Speed Up Your Check-in, Get a Punch Card
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. 
Need a Make-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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Speakers
May 11, 2018
Skinner SkyHawk Awards
May 18, 2018
Boy Scouts of America’s transition to programming for the Full Family
View entire list
Upcoming Events
Omaha West Rotary Board Meeting
May 09, 2018
 
Club Fellowship hosted by Vaughn & Donna Wiebusch
May 10, 2018
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
 
Skinner Skyhawk Awards
May 11, 2018
 
West Rotary Luncheon
May 11, 2018
 
West Rotary Luncheon
May 18, 2018
 
West Rotary Luncheon
May 25, 2018
 
West Rotary Luncheon
Jun 01, 2018
 
Family of Rotary event
Jun 07, 2018
 
West Rotary Luncheon
Jun 08, 2018
 
Omaha West Rotary Board Meeting
Jun 13, 2018
 
Bulletin Editor
Yolanda Hoffman
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
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