Club News

Mid-September Calendar Update, plus a couple of other things

PLEASE NOTE:  November Pie Walk has been changed to Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, 15005 Q St, Omaha, NE 68137.

Pre-Walk for October’s Dem Bones Walk is Saturday, Sept. 30 at 9:00 a.m.

Dem Bones Walk is October 7th at the Girl Scout Service Center at 2121 S. 44th Street, Omaha, NE 68105, starting from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Pre-Walk for November’s Pie Walk is Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m.

Pie Walk is November 4th at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, 15005 Q St., Omaha, NE 68137, starting  from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

Pre-Walk for December’s Light’s Walk is Sunday,  Nov. 26 at 4:00 p.m.

Lights Walk is December 2nd at the Landmark Building, 13th and Farnam Streets, starting from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

New officer nominations are needed. Lee must be replaced as President and Trish is considering not being secretary due to a heavy class load at Bellevue University. Butch will do one more year as treasurer and then needs to give it up. Larry is always concerned about being VP with the snow-birding they do.

We need a place and plan for the March 3, 2018 soup walk by late November/early December.  Need church or community center for kitchen use.

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.

Reminder: No NWFT Meeting until September 11th

From:

Lee Frantz, President, Nebraska Wander Freunde Trailblazers – A Great Plains Walking Club

Walkers,

Since we have a number of new members this year, I want to remind all that there is no regular meeting in August – we will Not meet this evening, Monday, August 7.

Also, due to Labor Day, our meeting in September is always the second Monday – so this year it will be September 11, 7:00 p.m. at Morning Star Lutheran Church.

PS: for those that read the first newsletter of the year, you may remember my challenge to increase the numbers on our own Year Round walking Events (YRE).

Do 50 NWFT YRE walks and I will personally pay your 2018 dues. Thanks to Butch Spaulding, who loves to crunch numbers, it looks like Diane Fenlon is in the lead.

  1. Diane Fenlon: 28
  2. Lee Frantz: 23
  3. Donna Campbell: 23
  4. Jim Fenlon: 18
  5. Karen Dix: 17

Eclipse Events updates

  1. Package registrations are closed. Any remaining t-shirts and patches will be available on a first-come-first-served basis at the Raffle/Sales Table at the walks.  The brochure and registration form on the website has been updated. Supplies for walks are limited – reserve your eclipse glasses, glowsticks, etc. by mailing in your registrations so that they are RECEIVED by August 8th.  Walk-ins after that date are welcome to walk (or swim), but are not guaranteed eclipse glasses, etc.
  2. The Meet and Greet on Friday, August 18th, has been moved to St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish Hall, 112 S. Cedar St. Grand Island, NE 68801.  The event is open ONLY to those pre-registered by August 8th (see above).
  3. Meet and Greet registrants have been asked how they want their first name to appear on the name tag and for an interesting fact or tidbit about themselves for a mixer at the Meet and Greet.  Prizes for the top 3 winners will be available!
  4. NEW WALK ADDED!  After the Meet and Greet ends at 7 p.m., we’ll be walking Historic Downtown Grand Island in 5k and 10k small groups.  Bring your books to be stamped. Information on Special Programs available has been included in the updated brochure.
  5. The Sunflower Sod Stompers have sanctioned 3 additional swim events during the 4-day weekend – and have scheduled them so that you can walk, then cool off by swimming. What a great way to multitask during a multi-event weekend!  The location of those events is the pool at the Candlewood Suites. All the information on the Sunflower Sod Stompers’ Eclipse Swim Events is contained in this  printable flyer.  Be sure to bring your own towel and to observe all motel guidelines; swimming is at your own risk.
  6. Getting confused with everything that you need to know? Don’t worry – we’ll have “Need to Know” sheets for each day. Here’s Friday’s “Need to Know” sheet.  Let us know if you have any questions.

June is busting out all over!

Club Website – 1st Place Award
Club Logo – 2nd place award

 

 

 

 

 

First there was the 2017 Biennial Convention to follow, as maybe a dozen club members headed west to Billings, Montana via the Crazy Horse Monument Walk on June 3rd and then headed back via Cody, Wyoming on the 10th and 11th.  Our club website was voted #1 and our club logo #2 at the convention. Thanks to everyone who keeps our club out there in the public eye!

Our club meeting on June 5th will have to last us until the next meeting on Monday, September 11th, where a great program speaker is on deck. (More details when the speaker is confirmed!).

Then 19 members and Meetup friends ventured out onto the trail at Wehrspann Lake the day after hurricane force winds and two tornadoes knocked trees onto the trail and onto our members’ yards and houses! Wow – they must really love to walk! Or maybe it was the Cracker Barrel brunch that followed?

Our Eclipse Committee has been working, working, working! Over 100 people have signed up for events on each of Saturday, Sunday and Monday. More information to come in a separate post about changes to our planned events and places – plus a brand, new event! Also, one of our neighboring clubs to the south, the Sunflower Sod Stompers, are reserving use of a hotel swimming pool so that they can offer Swim Events in between our walking events.  Keep an eye out for more information, to be posted here and on Facebook.

Our next club event will take place July 8th at the Mallory Kountze Planetarium inside of the Durham Science Building on the UNO Campus. The program “What’s Up” will feature summer skies and what we might see at the Star Party in August. The program starts at 6:30 p.m., lasts for about an hour, and costs only $4. That leaves you with enough money for ice cream after the show!

 

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!