Category: Events

Happy New Year! 2018 walking opportunities

Happy New Year! Was one of your resolutions to do more walking? Our national organization, AVA: America’s Walking Club, has been promoting an online challenge called.  “Invest in Your Health: 401k”. Look for more details at AVA.

Locally, you can join one of our Meet and Eats in January indoors at the Westroads Mall at 8 a.m. on January 20th. Walk 5k or 10k – then join the group for a Food Court late breakfast, early lunch or brunch!

Later that day, the NWFT holds its Annual Meeting and Dinner at 5:30 p.m. (social time for the first 1/2 hour – don’t miss it!) at Valentino’s Pizza at 5022 S 108th St, Omaha, NE 68137.  Members pay only $12, non-members pay $17. Reservations are due to Butch Spaulding by January 12th, so make your reservation today! Enjoy a lovely evening with friends, celebrate with our 2017 Walker of the Year and close out last year’s business with the installation of our slate of club officers for 2018.

Members should be looking in the mail for their 20 page booklet full of walks and activities for 2018. What’s a non-member to do? Wait for an email – or better yet, join today! A membership form is available here.

Oh, What a Night! Lights Walk 2017

Holiday Island 2017

Our December 2, 2017 Night of Lights Walk was successful beyond all our imagination!  By the numbers:

689 walkers:  41 were for credit, 658 were “Fun Walkers”, who were from 66 towns and cities in 7 states (CO, KS, MO, SD, MN, IA and NE)

For New Visions (Council Bluffs) and Siena/Francis House (Omaha) homeless shelters, we collected:

  • 967 rolls of toilet paper
  • 300 pairs of socks
  • 12 pairs of children’s socks
  • 250 pairs of gloves
  • 200 hats
  • 80 scarves
  • 4 new winter coats
  • 60 misc. items, including toiletries
  • 23 extra packages of cookies
967 Rolls of Toilet Paper!

A big THANK YOU! to all of our walkers for their generosity.  Also, a big THANK YOU!  to all of our volunteers.  We received many compliments and good feedback on a special night and many expressed hope that we’d be doing this again.

 

#OptOutside Walk coming soon!

Reminder of our November 24th #OptOutside walk:

#OptOutside is the hashtag, or identifier, used on Twitter to make a term searchable by other social media users. This one refers specifically to the idea of walking, hiking or enjoying the great outdoors on the Friday after Thanksgiving, rather than giving the day over to shopping.  Our club and other walking clubs across the U.S. are organizing to offer #OptOutside events.

Our event will be a group walk of the Hanscom Park/Ford Birthsite Year Round Walk, either the 5k or the 10k.  Folks will meet at the Hanscom Park Pavilion at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, November 24th to sign paperwork and pay fees.  ($1.50 Fun Walkers, $3.00 AVA/IVV credit, exact change much appreciated.)  Groups will set out at 10 a.m. to work off some of that Thanksgiving turkey. Lunch together is a possibility – the Greek Islands or the 11-Worth Café are both nearby and local favorites.

Can’t make it to our event because you will be out of town?  Try locating a walk near where you will be by searching the AVA’s website for walks all across the United States:  OptOutside – AVA website link  There are some fabulous walks out there. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to #OptOutside with the Trailblazers or with the AVA!

 

Traditions – Old and New

Our club is fast approaching its 39th birthday in March 2018 and has established traditions over the years.  For example, there’s the March Soup Walk, the September Breakfast Walk, going to Lincoln for their annual Wyuka Walk, the November Pie Walk* and the December Lights Walk.  There’s the annual “Walker of the Year” award, voted on by club members as having made a significant difference in the club’s operations that year. (Hey, have you sent your nomination to club president Lee Frantz yet?)

(If you know of or have access to a location that would be a great place to hold our Soup or Pie Walks, please let Sandy Spaulding know right away. The Committee is planning the club’s roster of 2018 walks and those are the 2 hardest walks to schedule, due to needing a kitchen and/or sinks and tables.)

New traditions respond to new trends in communication, walking, and enjoying the outdoors.  For example, the National Trails Day Walk, the first Saturday in June, is a national walking and hiking day, which the club has put on a few times.  There are our somewhat monthly “Meet and Eats”, promoting an extra walk in a month of one of our year-round walks or that of a neighboring club.  And we’re rolling out a new “tradition”, that of #OptOutside.

#OptOutside is the hashtag, or identifier, used on Twitter to make a term searchable by other social media users. This one refers specifically to the idea of walking, hiking or enjoying the great outdoors on the Friday after Thanksgiving, rather than giving the day over to shopping.  Our club and other walking clubs across the U.S. are organizing to offer #OptOutside events.

Our event will be a group walk of the Hanscom Park/Ford Birthsite Year Round Walk, either the 5k or the 10k.  Folks will meet at the Hanscom Park Pavilion at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, November 24th to sign paperwork and pay fees.  ($1.50 Fun Walkers, $3.00 AVA/IVV credit, exact change much appreciated.)  Groups will set out at 10 a.m. to work off some of that Thanksgiving turkey. Lunch together is a possibility – the Greek Islands or the 11-Worth Café are both nearby and local favorites.

*Reminder:  Our annual Pie Walk is coming up on Saturday, November 4th at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, 15005 Q Street, Omaha, NE from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.  Off the trail by 3 p.m., but those pies will be packed up around 1, so if you’re planning to come later, plan to eat pie before you hit the trail.  Where do all the pies come from? From walkers like you! Leftover pie is taken to a local homeless shelter, so non-cream pies travel best. Or eat the cream pies first!

Upcoming Events – late August, early September

Our Breakfast Walk is coming up on September 9th in Plattsmouth’s Memorial Park.  The Harvest Festival will be happening at the same time, so an exciting atmosphere will surround our walkers on that day.  Remember that it starts at 8 a.m., registration runs until 11 a.m. and to bring a pre-cooked breakfast item to share, plus $3 for Credit Walkers, $1.50 for Fun Walkers.  Breakfast available at the Volunteer Fire Department Pancake Feed from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. plus many food vendors.

What if you’ve volunteered to work the walk on September 9th or can’t make it that day? Well, the Workers’ Walk on Saturday, August 26th at 9 a.m. is for you!  Leave the breakfast items at home, but come 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork and to pay.

Mary Ptacek of Tater Tours is bring 51 walkers to walk the Downtown Omaha walk on Monday, September 11th, scheduled to arrive at 11 a.m.  Would you be willing to walk with these out-of-towners that day and give them a warm welcome to Omaha? 5k and 10k walkers are both welcome.  Like being an ambassador? Tater Tours will be in Lincoln the next day (Tuesday, Sept. 12th) to start the walk around 8 to 8:15 a.m. and off the trail by 11 a.m.

Speaking of September 11th, that’s the date that club meetings resume.  84th Street is STILL not open from Methodist Hospital south to Pacific Street, so plan your route in advance to arrive by 7 p.m. at Morning Star Lutheran Church at 331 S 85th Ave, Omaha, NE 68114.

May 2017 news

Our NWFT May-June 2017 Newsletter is available now.  If you want the full version, consider becoming a club member.   Club members get reminder emails of upcoming events, discounts and more.  Check out these 26 people having a great time at our April “Meet and Eat” in Ashland, Nebraska.

April 2017 Meet and Eat

 

 

 

 

 

Page 7 of the newsletter lists a lot of area walks from SD, MN, NE, KS and MO, hosted by our club and a number of other great clubs.  Did you know that every single one of those walks qualifies for the “Doin’ the Louisiana Purchase” program, even if that special program isn’t specifically listed?

 

 

Our regular club meeting on May 1st at 7 p.m. in the lower level of Morning Star Lutheran Church, 331 S 85th Ave, Omaha, NE 68114, will feature a talk on keeping seniors moving.  Don’t forget that if you’re coming from the south on 84th Street, that 84th is closed from Pacific north to Methodist Hospital (Dodge Street) and you can NOT get to the church that way! Use an alternate route.

Our Workers’ Walk for the May 13th “Florence Days Walk” in the Omaha neighborhood of Florence will take place on Sunday, May 7th at 2 p.m.

Finally, remember that Eclipse package registrations, as well as t-shirt and patch orders, close on May 25th.  If you’re just coming out on Monday, August 21st, please go ahead and register for just that walk.  We’d hate to run out of eclipse-viewing glasses!

Late March/early April 2017 Updates

What a busy month! It’s hard to keep up with all our club members – they’re always on the move!

Saturday, March 25th is our next “Meet and Eat” for either a 5k walk or a 10k walk. Meet at the north end of the Gallup Parking lot (off Ferer Plaza) by 10 a.m. – be ready to walk by 10:15.  Lunch this time will be at the Old Mattress Factory, at 13th and Cass Streets.

The next day, Sunday March 26th, the Workers’ Walk for the April 1st “I Spy Walk” will start at Madonna Rehab Hospital near the unnamed outdoor shopping mall, 17500 Burke Street.  Walkers will start promptly at 2 p.m., so arrive early with exact change in hand to sign the paperwork and pay.  $1.50 for fun walkers, $3.00 for credit walkers.

The formal “I Spy Walk” will be held the next Saturday, April 1st, from 9 to 12, off the trail by 3 p.m.  Same prices as above. If you’re able to walk with new walkers at 9:30, great! We’d love to have you come set the pace and offer some words of friendship.

The regular monthly meeting at Morningstar Lutheran Church on Monday, April 3rd, will feature a presentation on the summer sky. If the sky is clear, we’ll go out and look up.  The meeting starts promptly at 7.

For those of you looking at our Eclipse Events August 18 – 21, good news! The Stuhr Museum has worked out a deal with us, so we’re passing on the savings. The package cost is now $25, rather than $30, and the actual Eclipse Walk is now $5, rather than $10. Those who have already pre-registered and paid will be offered a refund onsite.  We’ve found a couple of rooms, so let us know if you’re interested – first come, first served!

March 2017 and more!

The Trailblazers have been busy and have more planned – just look at our March – April 2017 Newsletter!  Club members get the full version – why not join now?

123 cans of soup collected for food pantry in 2016

Our annual Soup Walk is coming up March 4th at Maplewood United Methodist Church at 3535 Maplewood Blvd in Omaha.  Please let club president Lee know if you can help – volunteers are still needed.  But when do volunteers get to walk? Well, the Workers’ Walk will be on Saturday, February 25th at 9 a.m.   The church won’t be open, so take advantage of businesses on 90th Street or on Maple before arriving.

The local walking season is just getting underway – check out walks in Lincoln, NE and Des Moines, IA, both on March 18th – and then again on the following week in downtown Omaha with one of our own fun-tastic Meet & Eats – lunch at the Old Mattress Factory.  And then again the following week (April 1st) at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in west Omaha near an outside mall that has asked us to re-route our walk to avoid their property.  The club is asking you not to shop there before/after the walk if wearing a club t-shirt, because we don’t want them to think that we are “walking” on their property.