Presiding Officer: John Sullivan Secretary: Nash Mahupete Invocation & Pledge: Keelan Chapman Digital Experience: Adam Leong & Sean Olson
In-Person Greeters: John Mock & Jesse Moore
Speaker: Dr. Tyler Martin
Dr. Tyler Martin
Dr. Tyler Martin is the Chairman and CEO of Adjuvance Technologies, a vaccine adjuvant company, with headquarters in Lincoln, NE, based on intellectual property from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. Prior to Adjuvance, he held senior leadership positions in a number of biotech companies including Chiron, Sangamo, and Dynavax. He has led teams that filed more than 100 Investigational New Drug (IND) Applications including two adjuvanted vaccines approved by major regulatory authorities, Fluad and Heplisav- B. In addition to other targets, Adjuvance is currently evaluating the utility of their lead adjuvant with COVID-19 vaccines.
What a great reminder from our newest member Jesse Moore this past week.
The eighteen new members of Jesse’s cohort this year have joined a club that was founded on August 4, 1911. That’s 110 years of Service Above Self. 94 years of Eighth Grade Honor Roll. 25 years of Omaha Downtown Rotary Foundation community grants. And, of course, legendary membership. We’re proud of our new members and look forward to your contributions to our Service Above Self legacy.
This Memorial Day, we are reminded that freedom is not free and pledge to honor the memory of the fallen members of our Armed Services with our own humanitarian efforts as part of the worldwide Rotary mission.
Jesse Moore is the Membership Development Officer at the Greater Omaha Chamber. Jesse was born and raised in Omaha. Jesse attended Omaha Central High School and went to college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Jesse is a leader and motivator with the willpower to get the job done. Jesse believes in the idea of integrity being who you are, responsibility is what is given upon you, and honesty is getting it done, the right way. He enjoys tackling projects where he knows he makes an influential difference in the outcome. Jesse excels at setting and achieving goals. He understands what it takes to run a business, have happy and successful employees, and drive for results.
Jesse is sponsored to Rotary by Past President Sean Olson. Welcome to Rotary, Jesse!
Jesse Moore with his Rotary sponsor Past President Sean Olson and President John Sullivan
Chris Tooker was raised in Aurora, Colorado, where he attended Regis Jesuit High School. Scholarships & good fortune brought Chris to Creighton University in Omaha, where he led two teams to the national level of competition as President of the Mock Trial program, managed a $4 million portion of Creighton's endowment, & had the privilege of mentoring 60 younger students as a resident adviser.
After graduating summa cum laude with degrees in financial analysis & economics, Chris led financial and operational audits in the Corporate Audit Department for Union Pacific Railroad where he uncovered millions of dollars of unbilled revenue, enhanced project efficiency, and worked with key leadership to ensure successful implementation of recommended process improvements.
Hal Daub sponsored Chris to Rotary. Welcome, Chris!
Chris Tooker with his Rotary sponsor Hal Daub, Past President Sean Olson, and President John Sullivan
Below is a Pubic Pulse letter by President John Sullivan published by the Omaha World-Herald.
I would like to commend the World Herald for its recent in-depth article regarding Polio in Nebraska.
Today, there are 19 million people walking on earth who would otherwise have been paralyzed by the wild poliovirus, if not for international eradication efforts begun in 1979 by Rotarians, starting in the Philippines. An estimated 650,000 cases are now prevented each year. The world has gone four years without a case of wild poliovirus outside of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There have been no cases in India for 10 years.
In Omaha, Downtown Rotary has raised $88,151 to fight the fight over decades. Rotarians in District 5650 (eastern NE and southwest IA) have raised or contributed nearly $1.2M. And Rotary International, founded and headquartered in Chicago, has raised 2.3 billion dollars for the “Polio Plus Campaign” since 1985. A more recent partner and very significant contributor to the fight have been The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Rotary PolioPlus Funds most recently allocated for worldwide outbreak response, vaccines, research, operational support, and surveillance include $50M in October 2020; $50M in February 2021; and $50M in June 2021 (anticipated). Rotarians never give up on the world’s children. And there are 1,800 of us in District 5650 alone, many who have traveled to India, Africa, and other faraway places to personally administer vaccines.
Rotarians have also responded to the Ebola endemics and COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, trial data for the Salk Polio vaccine demonstrated 80-90% efficacy. Early Pfizer data indicated its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective.
There is more information at endpolio.org and polioeradication.org.
-John G. Sullivan, President, The Rotary Club of Omaha (Downtown)
It's fun at Rotary! Here's Past President Camille Metoyer Moten's production of God Bless America with Jim Scott-Miller on the piano on May 26, 2021. Enjoy the raw video footage caught by the paparazzi at Rotary. Watch it, click here.
It was great to be back in person at Rotary today. I am sure you feel the same.
Thanks for your cards. And thanks for your interest in financially supporting the Fund we have set up in Amber’s name. The link into the Metro Foundation should let you access MCC to make your kind donations in her name. Please click here to donate. Thanks very much, on behalf of our Family, particularly Amber’s 4 children---Savannah, Kellan, McClain, and Max. Thanks as well from Deb, me, and Amber’s Sister Adele (Mike and her son Alex).
Thank you to our greeters, navigator, cashiers, and Sgt at Arms last week: Past President Brad Burklund of Strategic Solutions, Keelan Chapman of LinkedIn, Program Chair Fr. Lloyd Gnirk, and navigator John Marburger. Serving at the Registration table were Lori Bechtold of Omaha Home for Boys and Theresa Contreraz of MECA/CHI Health Center Omaha. Okley Gibbs was Sgt at Arms. We are in need of Greeters, Cashiers, Sgt At Arms every week. It's the best way to meet many Rotarians every week. Plus you get the incentive of getting attendance credits because you arrive ahead of every one, And you get your photo published on the Whirl with over 500 subscribers. Volunteer now, Click Here.
L to R: Fr. Lloyd, Past President Brad Burklund, and Keelan Chapman
Because of the overwhelming response from Rotarians to conduct a hybrid meeting going forward, the club's Executive Committee, led by President John Sullivan, approved the purchase of the Meeting Owl Pro. The Owl started working for us at last week's meeting. The Meeting Owl Pro is a premium 360-degree camera, mic, and speaker combined into one easy-to-use device. It creates the experience of in-person participation for hybrid teams and integrates seamlessly with the conferencing platforms that our club is using. Thank you to incoming Digital Experience Chair Adam Leong and Yolanda Hoffman for doing the research on continuously improving the Rotarians' digital experience.
We will celebrate birthdays every first Wednesday of the month. Birthday celebrants are encouraged to attend the meeting and to sit at the birthday table. Otherwise, a huge fine will be assessed. If you miss your own birthday party, that will result in a fine too.
Jesse Moore is the Membership Development Officer at the Greater Omaha Chamber. Jesse was born and raised in Omaha. Jesse attended Omaha Central High School and went to college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Chris Tooker was raised in Aurora, Colorado, where he attended Regis Jesuit High School. Scholarships & good fortune brought Chris to Creighton University in Omaha, where he led two teams to the national level of competition as President of the Mock Trial program, managed a $4 million portion of Creighton's endowment, & had the privilege of mentoring 60 younger students as a resident adviser.
Josh Todd is glad to share exciting volunteer opportunities for Rotarians at the Swim Trials.
Because of the overwhelming response from Rotarians to conduct a hybrid meeting going forward, the club's Executive Committee, led by President John Sullivan, approved the purchase of the Meeting Owl Pro. The Owl started working for us at last week's meeting. The Meeting Owl Pro is a premium 360-degree camera, mic, and speaker combined into one easy-to-use device. It creates the experience of in-person participation for hybrid teams and integrates seamlessly with the conferencing platforms that our club is using. Thank you to incoming Digital Experience Chair Adam Leong and Yolanda Hoffman for doing the research on continuously improving the Rotarians' digital experience.
