Recently, Rotary Director Sandy Lemke introduced our newest Rotarian, Harrison Abbott. Harrison Abbott is a design professional and team manager for Kiewit Corporation and moved back to Omaha from south Texas last year. Working for Kiewit as a professional engineer, he collaborates, designs, and executes with a multitude of projects across North America.
Harrison’s early life includes being born and raised in western Nebraska on a family ranch. Attending and graduating from Ogallala, his family encouraged him to study and gain real world experience outside the family ranch and led to completing an engineering degree from the University of Nebraska (Lincoln). After graduating, he joined Kiewit in 2012 as a field supervisory staff and worked on TD Ameritrade Headquarters and STRATCOM.
Harrison Abbott with President Sean Connolly and his sponsor Sandy Lemke
Recently, Operation Hippocrates Chair LeRoy Swedlund, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of The Rotary International Foundation, recognized our dedicated medical team led by Dr. Jeff Delaney as Paul Harris Fellow. Nurse Jenny Van Winkle and ultrasound sonographer Mora Link were also recognized as Paul Harris Fellows. The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation. The recognition of the Operation Hippocrates team as Paul Harris Fellows was made possible through the donations made by Past President Bill Harvey, Endowment/Major Gift Advisor to Rotary International.
L to R: President Sean Connolly, nurse Jenny Van Winkle, ultrasound sonographer Mora Link, LeRoy Swedlund, and Dr. Jeff Delaney
Downtown Rotary is helping to support the Food Bank of the Heartland with a food drive on 11/30! Pick up some groceries, put them in your trunk, drive through the Field Club entrance on 11/30, pop your trunk and let us take it from there! With one in 10 people across the Heartland and one in seven children struggling with food insecurity, this is especially important with children staying home from school so much more over the upcoming holiday breaks! Thank you so much for your generosity!
For questions, please get in touch with Service Above Self Chair Tobi Mathouser at tmathouser@goodwillomaha.org.
Connecting with fellow Rotarians is made easy with club service. Plus you get attendance credit. It's a great deal! and if you are a new Rotarian, it counts toward your Red Badge requirements. You may sign up as Greeter, Virtual Greeter, Check-in/Registration, Navigator, and Invocator. Click here to sign up.
Recent greeters Jim McKernan of WOWT and Gary Eller of Presbyterian Church
Rotarians are making a difference at Stephen Center. CLICK HERE to sign up.
Stephen Center partners with the community, families and individuals to overcome homelessness, addiction and poverty. Stephen Center has served the homeless and low-income in Omaha since 1984 through their three programs: Emergency Shelter, HERO Program and Transitional Living Program.
The Omaha Downtown Rotary partners with Stephens Center in serving hot meals to its residents.
Hardworking Rotarians at Stephen Center L to R: Franco Gentile, Jim Stewart, James Mackiewicz, Heidi McGinness, and Vince Miscia
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system.
Our goal
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.
Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within ten years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
Here's a sneak peek of a weekly meeting at Omaha Downtown Rotary. It starts with a live concert with Jim Scott-Miller on the piano with certified singers, the Omaha Downtown Rotarians! Watch this video. You can feel the energy!
Recently, Rotary Director Sandy Lemke introduced our newest Rotarian, Harrison Abbott. Harrison Abbott is a design professional and team manager for Kiewit Corporation and moved back to Omaha from south Texas last year. Working for Kiewit as a professional engineer, he collaborates, designs, and executes with a multitude of projects across North America. 
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