Buffet Lunch is $18 for members and $20 for visiting Rotarians and guests. Lunch ticket is back. Please collect your lunch ticket after check-in and put it in the jar at the beginning of the buffet line
GREG MCDERMOTT Creighton Bluejays’ Acclaimed Head Coach
This week, Rotary is thrilled to feature Greg McDermott as Rotary speaker, the highly respected head coach of the Creighton Bluejays basketball team. Greg’s journey to becoming one of college basketball’s most accomplished coaches is one marked by dedication, success, and a commitment to excellence—both on and off the court.
Born in Cascade, Iowa, Greg’s love for basketball started early. He played as a center for Northern Iowa from 1984 to 1988 before taking his skills to Switzerland, where he played professionally. Shortly after, Greg began his coaching career, which would take him to various colleges across the country, leaving an impact at every stop.
He got his first head coaching role at Wayne State College in Nebraska, where his leadership saw two of his teams earn spots in the Wayne State Hall of Fame. He moved on to North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State, before arriving at Creighton in 2010. Since then, Greg has led the Bluejays to new heights, consistently placing them among the top teams in college basketball.
With a long list of coaching accolades, including BIG EAST Coach of the Year and multiple national Coach of the Year honors, Greg’s contributions go beyond the sport. His recognition with the Coaches vs. Cancer Champions Award highlights his commitment to using his platform for the greater good.
Greg is also a family man, sharing his journey with his wife, Theresa, and their three children, Nick, Doug, and Sydney. Many may remember his son Doug McDermott, a Creighton legend and former national player of the year, coached by Greg himself.
As Rotary welcomes Greg McDermott, we celebrate not only his incredible career but his continued impact on our community and the world of basketball. We look forward to hearing his insights and learning from a coach who has truly seen it all.
Fellow Rotarians and friends of the Rotary Club of Omaha, it’s another great week in Rotary with many exciting things happening in our club and around the world.
Our club is vibrant and growing, and we’re happy to welcome more new members! We have many opportunities to be engaged with other Rotarians, with service projects, and with leadership in our club. Please let me know if you’re open to having more of an impact through Rotary!
Thank you, Zac Triemert with Brickway Brewery and Distillery, for being our Business Sponsor this month.
We hosted U.S. Senatorial Candidate Preston Love, Jr as our featured speaker who shared some of his passion (and his legacy!) for civil rights, his concerns for meeting the needs of Nebraskans regardless of politics, and invited us all to strip away hate, divisiveness, and party agendas, and to take note of the character of our candidates. He asks us all to not be “undecided” but to vote for what each of us believes in.
Our upcoming featured speaker is Greg McDermott, Creighton Men’s Basketball! Then, October 2nd we have a distinguished visitor from Belize: Yvette Burkes has experience with one of our signature service projects, Operation Hippocrates. Plus, we have many other highly regarded speakers in the months to come.
I’ll see you at the Field Club this Wednesday for lunch. Bring a guest! Oh- and Rotarians, please plan to introduce yourself and your guest briefly (because of course, we want you to be part of the club before we give you the microphone- let’s entice new members to join!) See you soon!
President Heather Legge The Rotary Club of Omaha
Here is the link to the President's weekly video: https://www.facebook.com/omaharotary/videos/452955307773288
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month for Rotary. As I am visiting clubs in our district, it is fantastic to see the number of clubs that are recognizing students for academic achievement, giving out dictionaries to grade schoolers and awarding scholarships to high school seniors to help support our next generation of leaders.
In addition, I would like to thank PDG Kathryn Schubert and her committee for all of the work that they have put in to bring the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) back on October 11-13 at Camp Sonshine in Roca, Nebraska. We truly are "People of Action".
I would also like to thank our District Conference Committee, led by James Mackiewicz for all of the work that they are doing to plan a terrific "Fusion 5650 District Conference".
We will be hosting the conference on October 18th and 19th at the Downtown Omaha Marriott. Please make plans to attend. The discounted conference rate and the room rate will end on September 20th.
We are working on a great agenda that will include Don Eckles, Co-founder of Scooters as our keynote speaker at the District Luncheon on Friday. PDG Barbara Bartles will present on her group's NID trip to India on Saturday. We will have some interactive roundtable discussions on Membership Recruitment and Public Image best practices and more. We will post the entire agenda soon. I hope to see you all there.
Where three or more Rotarians gather, it's called a Rotary Social, and you earn attendance credits. Rotarians may come from different clubs. Connect with Rotarians and enjoy the power of Rotary fellowship. Below are our recent Rotary Social.
Recently, Rotarians celebrated Brett Freverts' company, CFO Systems' 20 Years in business. Congratulations, Brett! Photos below:
L to R: Sandy Lemke, Steve McCollister, Zac Triemert & Brett Frevert
L to R: Brett Frevert, Christopher Nwafor, and Brad Burklund
L to R: Christopher Nwafor, Josh Todd and Brett Frevert
Rotarians at the Association for Corporate Growth L to R: Brett Frevert, Larry Guenther, and Susan Koesters
Rotarians Viv Ewing, John Ewing, and Michelle Trawick meet up
Michelle Trawick with Hal Daub. Michelle and Hall will tell us at the meeting the missing third Rotarian
Rotarians in action at the recent Commercial Real Estate Summit. L to R: John Sullivan, Kevin Baitey, Adam Hoebelheinrich, and Larry Sullivan
Thanks to the efforts of Rotarians and dedicated volunteers, nearly 3,000 flags now stand at Memorial Park as part of our 9/11 Tribute. Each flag honors one of the 2,977 lives lost on September 11, 2001, displaying the name, age, location, and personal details of a victim. A special section is reserved for flags representing those with a Nebraska connection. We extend our deepest gratitude to Dan Esch for coordinating this meaningful project, and a heartfelt thanks to all the Rotarians, Boy Scouts, family members, and friends who generously volunteered their time.
The Rotaract Club of Belize City is renovating a rural school and a Rotary club-sponsored park as part of its youth-focused agenda. In April, club members met at the Hattieville Government Preschool to paint restrooms and complete other beautification work. A later phase will include new toilets. “We’ve been able to replace chalkboards in 10 classrooms with whiteboards and to donate a printer and other school and hygiene materials,” says Kristoff Nicholson, immediate past president. The club partnered with a telecom provider and raffled off smartphones to help pay for the project. It also received a District 4250 grant of $1,000. In March, club members replaced basketball and goal nets and painted benches and a playset at Love Park in Balama, another element of the project, Nicholson says.
Colombia
In January, the Rotary Club of Cúcuta-Ciudad de Arboles purchased about $600 of school supplies and delivered 100 sets of notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, sharpeners, and more to students in the city. It’s about 350 miles northeast of Bogotá. Club members also visited with students in the neighborhood of Las Delicias, says Dora Patricia Lobo, a past president of the club. “The hustle and bustle and joy of these students when they receive their school package warms our souls and encourages us to continue,” Lobo says. More than 1,400 students have benefited since the project began.
June 26, 2024. Outgoing President Larry Guenther recognized our members who achieved perfect attendance. Perfect Rotary attendance(aka Perfect Rotarians) is attained through consistent participation in weekly meetings, service projects, committee work, weekly club service, Rotary socials, visiting other clubs, Rotary online makeups, Zoom attendance, attendance at club board meetings, and attendance at club foundation board meetings. Below is the list of our perfect attendance Rotarians.
July is the perfect time to start your journey towards becoming a Perfect Rotarian!
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 its 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.
Pictured here are the July 2024 volunteers L to R:Steve McCollister, Colleen Brennan, Christopher Nwafor, Fletcher Reel, and Julie Sanford
The Rotary Club of Omaha is now recruiting more members! It's your opportunity to join the Rotary Club of Omaha, click here to complete the membership application form. For questions, please contact Membership Chair Franco Gentile at FGentile@sbgtv.com.
Chase Bank
UNO College of Business
Centris
Ollie The Trolley
Carlson West Povondra Architects
DA Davidson
Elkhorn Athletics Association
Omaha Massage Therapy
Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha
Kevin Baitey
Brad Burklund
Paul Cohen Hal Daub
Gene DeBoer Dianne Desler
John Ewing
Viv Ewing
Brett Frevert
Dawn Gonzales
Okley Gibbs
Fr. Lloyd Gnirk
Tom Gouttierre
Larry Guenther Bill Harvey
Gretchen Harvey
Barbara Hayman
Yolanda Hoffman
Larry Johansen
Bob Keefer
Susan Koesters
Heather Legge
Sandy Lemke
Adam Leong
John Marburger
Steve McCollister
Heidi McGinness
Camille Metoyer-Moten
Lloyd Meyer
John Mock
Jim Murphy
Roxy Orr
Fletcher Reel
Jim Scott-Miller
Deb Skinner
Jim Stewart
Jim Suttle
LeRoy Swedlund
Lisa Tonjes Moritz
Michelle Trawick
Jennifer Trebill
Kathryn Weitz
GREG MCDERMOTT
President's Pen
Belize
Colombia
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