Events

This week's program will be about Lake McConaughy and the agriculture, communities, recreation, and environment it supports.  Devin Brundage is the General Manager of The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, the public entity that owns Nebraska's largest lake, and he'll talk about why we in eastern Nebraska have an interest in this lake nearly 300 miles west of us during this week's program.

Join Seward Rotary Club for a showing of "The Garfield Movie" (PG) at 1 pm on Monday, March 17th at the historic Rivoli Theater.  The movie is free but kids, accompanied by an adult, are asked to bring two cans of food or two toiletry products to be donated to Seward area food pantries.  There will also be door prizes as Seward Rotary continues its 100th anniversary celebration.

In keeping with Rotary's focus on water issues in March, this program will feature Terry Julesgard, Water Department Manager for Upper Big Blue Natural Resource District, talking about water quality and quantity issues in the Seward area, which is part of the district.  A great opportunity to learn more about Nebraska's most valuable resource - water.

Local resident Kelley Limback became the owner of Chapters Books & Gifts in January and will share why she bought this cherished local business and what lies ahead for Seward's independent bookstore in this week's program.  (Photo: Seward County Independent)

No fooling...it's almost time to enjoy summer at the Bandshell! Seward's historic bandshell is home to Municipal Band summer performances, the 5th Street Music Series, 4th of July festivities, weddings, workday lunch breaks, and so much more. It's a place where everyone in the community can enjoy a seat for much of the year. And 2025 promises to be a bit cooler, as Seward Rotary Club, in celebration of 100 years of service to the community, is on a mission to raise $150,000 to shade the 'shell before the 4th of July.

One band that has survived the hot sun is joining us for a fun musical event to help us make this summer a little cooler. Based in Lincoln, The Raw Nerve is made up mostly of dentists. Playing classic rock covers at events such as Husker game day parties, wedding receptions and convention dinners, they will definitely get you on the dance floor with their brass, electric guitar (one is tooth-shaped), drums, keyboard, and vocal combos.  We're grateful for their involvement in "Songs for Shades" on April 1st!

Some event highlights:

Free-will donation for entry (suggested donation is $10 per person). Cash bar hosted by Red Path Gallery. Valention's Pizza available by the slice.  What's the Scoop? will have ice cream and Nebraska's Best Kettle Corn will be available.  There will also be a drawing for 6 months of free internet from Allo.

Can't attend but want to support the Bandshell share project? Checks can be made out to Seward County Bridges (a 501c3 organization) for the "Rotary Bandshell Project."

Nebraska celebrated its 158th birthday on March 1st and this program will highlight well known, interesting, and off beat parts of the Good Life and Rotarians views about and knowledge of our state.

The long-awaited Wellness Center is now open and Joel Brase, executive director of the Center, will give our Club an update on these first weeks during this program.

Jerry Meyer, Executive Director of the Nebraska National Guard Museum, will talk about the exploits of the First Nebraska Infantry and others during the Civil War, which was fought before Nebraska achieved statehood, in this week's program.  PLEASE NOTE that this week's meeting will be held at the Nebraska National Guard Museum.

The majority of Americans die without a will and do not have powers of attorney in place.  Seward Rotarian Anthony Aerts will talk about the importance of these documents and some common issues in estate planning he has seen during his legal career in today's program.

The inaugural Great Plains Literay Festival is being held in Seward the week of April 21, 2025.  In this week's program, we'll hear from several people involved with the festival about why the started it, how the first festival went, and their plans for the future.

The 2024-25 school year is in the books and it was a busy one for Seward High School students.  Scott Curry, Activities Director, will recap the year and share his thoughts on how to engage Bluejays during this week's program.

Seward Rotary Club will hold its 100th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at Junto Wine.  The event will include a social hour, dinner, silent auction, and award presentation. All proceeds raised will support local Seward Rotary service projects, including our Centennial project to shade the Seward Bandshell, and Rotary International’s global effort to eradicate polio.

The highlight of the event will be the presentation of Seward Rotary's annual awards - the Youth Rotarian of the Year, the Seward Rotary Service Above Self Award to Marvin "PeeWee" Schulz, the Wayne Tanderup Award to Craig Saalfeld and Michael Saalfeld, and the inaugural T.H. Wake Sr. Award to Jones Bank.

The evening will begin with a social hour featuring a cash bar hosted by Junto, followed by dinner catered by Sparetime.

Individual tickets are $50 a piece.  Sponsorships are available starting at $450.  For sponsorship information, please contact Greg Zabka at gndzabka@windstream.net or Clark Kolterman at clark.kolterman@sewardschools.org

Kevin Zadina will introduce us to "Discover Seward County," a new podcast that is a joint project of the Seward County Independent, Sweet Tea Marketing, and the Seward County Chamber  & Development Partnership, during this week's program.

On June 6, members of Seward Rotary Club, joined by the team from Rembolt Ludtke LLP, will be engaging in acts of service throughout Seward.  Seward Rotary Club members and guests will be focusing their efforts on the recently remodeled Civic Center, helping with grounds and facility cleanup during the morning (10 am-Noon) and afternoon (1:30-3:30 pm).

Please sign up by registering at the link.  Lunch will be provided to volunteers.

According to the CDC, 61% of children ages 5-17 are flourishing while 13% of children ages 3-17 have a mental health condition.  This week's program from Four Corners will provide insights into the mental health of youth in our community today.

This week's program will feature Shelby Pedersen, Executive Director of Southeast Nebraska CASA, discussing the state of foster care in Nebraska and the needs that children have.  Help inform others about this important issue and invite a guest to join you for this program.

The wonderful craziness that is the 4th in Seward will be less than a week away as we hear from this year's winners and runners up for Miss Independence and Mr. Firecracker and are reminded again of why 40,000 folks (right, Clark?) spend the 4th in Seward!

Esten Johnson, who recently graduated from Seward High, will return to our Club to reflect on his experiences last year at the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy.

Jamie Fields, recreation director for the City of Seward and assistant director of the Seward Wellness Center, will share with our Club what has been happening in our city this past summer and look ahead to the fall during this week's program.