Rotary... The Original Social Network
This is NOT Your Grandpa's
Rotary Club!
Come see for yourself!
Join us at Black Cow Fat Pig Pub & Steak, 702 W. Norfolk Ave.
Tuesdays at Noon
Newly installed District 5650 Governor Tom Cardwell and his wife, Jenny, visited our club today. Tom spoke about some of the initiatives that the new RI President, Ian Reisley of Australia, would like to put forth. One focus is on planting trees and another is increasing female and younger membership in Rotary. Tom would like to see our district (eastern Nebraska and western Iowa) plant at least 2,000 trees in the coming year. Discussion was held on planting some trees at Skyview Park to enhance the Music in the Park experience.
R.C. Duskin brought a guest who is a resident of the country of Georgia. Also visiting were Dan Rose and Barbara Engebretsen of the Wayne Rotary Club.
Gene Schermer received his Paul Harris award.
Next week, Rotarian Mary Hammond will speak on her Dominican Republic medical Mission trip.
The Norfolk Rotary Club was joined by Rob Latimer – Senior Adviser for Community Relations with TransCanada. The company has been issued a federal permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline; however, they still need to secure route approval through Nebraska. The proposed route, including 273 miles in Nebraska, was chosen as the most environmentally safe route through the avoidance of some water crossings and other sensitive areas. The Nebraska Public Service Commission will conduct a public meeting in Norfolk on Wednesday, June 28, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Divots Conference Center.
Nebraska State Senator Jim Scheer joined us for this week’s Rotary meeting. Scheer recounted his experiences serving as Speaker of the Legislature in the latest legislative session. Part of Scheer’s responsibility as Speaker was to allot time to debate each bill in order that it got the proper attention yet kept the session moving along. To accomplish this, he instituted some operational changes to the Legislature. Contentious bills were scheduled in three-hour segments on first reading. At the end of the three hours, senators had to show they had enough votes to advance the bill to get it back on the schedule. The 90-day legislative session, originally scheduled to adjourn on June 2, was adjourned 4 days early.
This week’s Norfolk Rotary guest was Dr. Robert Prince. He is a board-certified pain management specialist with Faith Regional. Prince’s interest and expertise is in the field of interventional pain procedures, specifically implantable devices. These pain-relieving implants use very small wires to send electrical pulses directly to the nerves causing the pain. Dr. Prince came to Norfolk from Indianapolis about a month ago and is working at the FRPS Pain Management Clinic located at 2622 West Norfolk Avenue. To learn more about Dr. Prince click here.
Odd Fellows Randy Backhaus and Rick Konopasek were the guest speakers at this week's Norfolk Rotary meeting. Rick recounted the history of The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which was created in 18th Century England before getting its start in the United States in 1819 for the purpose of giving aid to those in need. Randy spoke about the history and presence of the fraternal order in Norfolk as well as some current projects like expanding their local temple and the annual 4th of July Parade. Thank you for joining us and thanks for striving to make the world and this community a better place.
Dr. Jeff Hoffman, Career Academy Coordinator with the Norfolk Public Schools was the speaker today at Rotary. The Norfolk Public Schools Career Academies provide students with the opportunity to learn and explore different careers that they have an interest and passion in doing after graduation. There are several different career cluster areas or "academies" that students can choose from such as agriculture, construction, drafting, and health sciences. More academies will be added in the future as this program develops and expands to include a wide variety of career choices. There are elective courses that follow each program of study that include class work as well as hands-on, practical experiences in each field. Partnering the Career Academy with the business community and local colleges will only add value to the students' future success and the communities that they serve.
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