The Westward Ho 7/2/21 (Jun 29, 2021)

No Meeting 7/2

Have a fun and safe Independence Day- we will see you next Friday!

Changing of the Guard

Last week we recognized outgoing President Dwayne Brown and Secretary Warren Whitted III for their service during the 20-21 Rotary year. Congratulations and thank you!

We look forward to a great year with Michelle Schrage and Dan Lassek!

Paul Harris Recognition

Congratulations and thank you to Don Otis who received his Paul Harris+ 7 recognition from Rotary Foundation Committee Co-Chair Deirdre Milobar last week for his donations of $8000. The Intl. Rotary Foundation supports projects around the world (and here locally) to eradicate disease, promote literacy, peace, and economic security.

Covid MVP

Congratulations and thank you to Kent Templien who was recognized as Covid MVP by President Dwayne Brown last week for all he did to get us and keep us online during the last year.

Bloody Mary Jazz Fest

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers, sponsors, and attendees! It was a great event and we look forward to reporting financial results on July 9th.

Letter from our President-Elect

Hello fellow Omaha West Rotary Club Members,

First, let me express my excitement, enthusiasm, and appreciation for the dedication you all have shown through the past year. The resiliency of good people who are passionate about service proves that we can pivot, overcome, and thrive in any scenario of uncertainty. I applaud our club's ability to adapt and to embrace a world of change - knowing that our desires and efforts to make the world a better place will not be put on hold. Thank you for keeping the fabric of our club safe and strong.

As the world is opening up and we get back to "hitting the ground running" with Service Above Self...we begin to look forward toward the future of our club. We know that camaraderie, community, and connection is so incredibly important to our club's foundation and framework. Being able to share space, to smile, to shake hands, and to collaborate face to face leads to inspiration and momentum that makes incredible things happen...and quite frankly, it can't be replaced. However, we also learned that chaos can spark innovation that opens up brand new opportunities we never imagined or saw coming. ZOOM has taken on a whole new meaning and has enabled us to reach through the computer and reach out to the world.

Therefore, we have some exciting news to share for the 2021-2022 year of Omaha West Rotary! Please see below:

We have signed on to a 1-year agreement with the Embassy Suites in LaVista to continue our weekly Friday lunch meetings, beginning July 1st
We will continue our hybrid meeting format - both in-person and Zoom
Those who choose to attend in-person without a lunch will have a $10 meeting fee
Those who choose to attend virtually will have a $10 virtual meeting fee (Virtual punch cards will be available)
Attendance will resume being tracked - so those who qualify for attendance awards will once again be recognized

I am very eager to serve the club as your President over the next 12 months, and I welcome thoughts, ideas, and feedback...please feel free to reach out directly to me anytime! And I am very happy to share that Dan Lassek will serve as Club Secretary for us over the next year as well.

Thank you to all of our members who have stepped up to serve as Committee Chairs - we have exciting plans to increase the footprint of Omaha West JenniferRotary through service!

Please make plans to attend our Club's Changing of the Guard event on Friday, June 25th at the LaVista Embassy Suites, as well as the Club's first meeting of 2021-2022 on Friday, July 9th!

Get re-inspired about being a Rotarian! https://rotary.org/en/about-rotary/history

Sincerely,

Michelle Schrage

Omaha West Rotary President-Elect

How to Join Us on Zoom

The Zoom link remains the same each week. Please plan to join us this Friday at noon for our regular meeting. Please make sure your name is on your Zoom profile so we can let you in the meeting. We are no longer recording meetings nor streaming to Facebook.

There are 3 ways to participate: