One year into the job, University of Nebraska President Walter “Ted” Carter, Jr. will address us on Wednesday, December 16th.
Previously under his leadership, the Naval Academy’s Class of 2019 achieved a record-high graduation rate of 90% and the academy was ranked the nation’s No. 1 public university by Forbes Magazine. As a naval flight officer, Carter completed 2,016 carrier-arrested landings, an American record. He also commanded a Carrier Strike Group, which included 20 ships, two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and two carrier air wings that were deployed to Afghanistan in the Arabian Gulf. He certainly seems to be the right leader at the right time for a university whose operations span 500 miles.
Our final meeting of the year is sure to be visionary and informative.
Our holiday break this year will run from December 17th to January 17th. During this period, our Service Above Self and Outland Trophy events continue as normal. Please see the Whirl for details. The Whirl will publish December 18th and resume January 18th. We will also hold a January 8th board meeting, and then resume normal club meetings on January 20th as we welcome Methodist Hospital CEO Josie Abboud to Rotary. We are continuing to meet virtually only (ZOOM) until we can safely resume hybrid meeting operations – both of which require an extraordinary effort by our Digital Experience Team of Sean Olson and Adam Leong, who have the gratitude of all. Thank you, gentlemen!
Please bring a guest as we welcome President Carter this Wednesday! (Let Leigh know who is coming…)
When the Omaha branch executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said 2020 has been an "interesting year" his virtual audience might have been tempted to think "no kidding" before asking, "How interesting was it?"
Well, Nathan Kauffman reminded us of programs many of us attended in which the main concern was finding workers for an ever-expanding economy. "A good problem to have," he added. And you couldn't drive far in Omaha without seeing signs of big buildings going up.
Then came the pandemic lockdown. Buildings kept going up but employment went down. We'd gone from a 50-year low in unemployment, less than 3% in Nebraska, to May figures of 15% nationally and 8% in Nebraska. "There were fears that it would go higher," Kauffman noted, "but it didn't."
Instead, bankers found themselves weighing both short-term and long-term impact of the health care crisis, and "not being sure of what the new normal will be like," he said.
Among the oddities of this "interesting year," April brought a negative price for oil. That's one example of the way disparities in the economic impact differed in places other than Nebraska. While low commodity prices have hurt farmers for years, our agricultural economy has fared better, for example, than states that depend more on tourism and the hospitality business.
Such disparities, while not hurting Nebraska as much as Florida or Nevada, still make for rough going for restaurants, bars and other service business. And it's tougher on low wage workers who are more vulnerable.
Long-term ponderables include the question of whether people will return to offices or continue to work from home. Paul Cohen asked about the work force at the Omaha branch, and Kauffman reported that many of the 150 employees have been working from home.
We have two locations to ring bells at the Nebraska Furniture Mart this year. East Doors of the Electronics Building (next to Subway) and the Main Furniture Building Entrance.
This is our national bell ringing video. We are encouraging all volunteers to watch this as it may answer some questions about safety and wellness related to Covid-19.
This year we are implementing safety protocols to ensure the health and safety of bell ringers, customers and associates.
General Guidelines:
Before reporting for a shift, you need to review the national bell ringing video (see below) that shows best bell ringing practices during COVID.
Follow current CDC and local guidelines related to exposure. If you are exhibiting symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days, please reschedule your shift.
You are required to wear a mask for the entirety of your shift. If you do not wear a mask, the manager for location may ask you to leave.
As an individual approaches the kettle, please step back to maintain social distancing.
Bell ringers will not have any physical contact with donations or individuals. Please allow donors to put the money into the kettle – do not assist them.
Kettles will be equipped with Google Pay/Apple Pay to allow for a contactless donation option.
Lindy Hoyer has been in touch with the Salvation Army in regards to their winter watch food distribution program. She has signed our club up to serve on 4 nights beginning in December through February. Each shift will require up to 3 club members to sign up, two will be serving food and one will be the jump (person who organizes crowd outside and hands out clothing). At this time no drivers are needed. The shifts start at 5:45 p.m. at the SA Western Divisional Headquarters, 10755 Burt Street. If new to volunteering for SA, need to arrive a bit early to fill out paperwork. The shifts each night are from 5:45-8 p.m. Volunteers must bring and wear a mask, wear warm clothes.
Ertz, Dan Nov 01 Diesing, Jack Nov 04 Johansen, Larry Nov 07 Keefer, Bob Nov 10 Logan, Cheryl Nov 12 Thompson, Shelley Nov 12 Guenther, Larry Nov 18 Secor, Spencer Nov 18 Sittenauer, Leigh Nov 19
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