Events

Join Seward Rotary Club on Wednesday, October 23rd for a fun time of food, drink, and fellowship while helping to support the eradication of polio across the globe.

For a suggested donation of $20 per person, you'll enjoy pulled pork and sides from Squire Ward’s, while drinks will be available for purchase from Bottle Rocket Brewing Co.  The favor of a RSVP by October 18 is requested so we can plan for adequate food to be available.

Thank you to our event sponsors:  Jones Bank, Bottle Rocket Brewing, Rembolt Ludtke LLP, Edward Jones (John Owens, Brady Johnson, and Adam Greenquist), the Tanderup Family, Hartmann Construction, and Mark Kolterman.

Email sewardrotary1540@gmail.com if you would like to join them as an event sponsor.

For children 0-12, free and open to all!

Judging by age, with winners receiving special medals and an overall Grand Prize Trophy. No pre-registration required.

To kick off Rotary Foundation month, Mick McKinley, District 5650 Rotary Foundation Chair, will share an update on giving throughout the District to The Rotary Foundation, the funding of global and district grants, and other points of emphasis as we consider our year-end giving.

Brad Kindler, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Sustainable Landscape Specialist, will share the Arboretum's mission to plant Nebraska for healthy people, vibrant communities, and a resilient environment through tree-planting, gardening, and education.

For this week's program we'll hear from students our Club sponsored to attend District 5650's Rotary Youth Leadership Academy in October as they reflect on their academy experience and their takeaways.  Be sure to join us and be inspired by these future leaders.

John Hughes, President of Hughes Brothers Inc., will share what is happening at one of Seward's corerstone businesses and the improvements and expansion work currently underway at the plant in this week's program.

Four Corners Health Department's mission is to “promote health, prevent disease and protect the environment, improving the health" of residents in Butler, Polk, Seward, and York Counties.  This week's program will provide an update on Four Corners' work.

Former Secretary of State Allen Beermann is widely recognized as a skilled public servant, true, patriot, masterful connector, and Nebraska champion.  In today's program, he'll share stories from his new book about his remarkable life of service to Nebraska, our nation and thousands of friends around the globe.  

The Civic Center renovation project is making good progress and members of the Civic Center Commission will give us an update on this important community facility in this week's program.

This week's meeting will continue the discussion began in late 2024 on our Club's plans for the remainder of this centennial year and beyond.  Please be sure to attend and be part of this important work.

Come join us at the Dave and Amber Fiala home for a Rotary Club family social event. Plan to bring a bottle of wine and a snack to share. Kids are welcome and there will be a hang-out space for them in the basement. Childcare/supervision is not being specifically provided in the basement, so please make the plan that works best for your family.

We hope you'll join us in celebration of the new year, Groundhog Day, and being in fellowship with other Rotarians!

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.