Events

Robert grew up on a farm/ranch in South Central Nebraska. He became a Rotarian in 1994 after serving as Rotary District’s 5650’s Ambassadorial Scholar to the University of Edinburgh Law School, Edinburgh, Scotland in 1988-89. He was President of his Omaha Morning Rotary Club in 2020-21. Robert earned his undergraduate degree in Business/Finance from Doane University and MBA from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Robert’s professional background includes his work in economic/community development, international business consulting, and insurance and financial services. He enjoys spending time working and relaxing at the family farm/nature reserve located near Johnson Lake in the Platte River Valley. His son, Alex and wife Allie live in Mesa, AZ. He and his partner, Pam, live in Elkhorn, NE. His hobbies include music, photography, and history.

DISTRICT GOVERNOR FOCUS Club Strategic Planning; Building Stronger Rotary Clubs; Membership Retention & Growth; Rotary Club Innovation, Community & International Projects; Rotary International Foundation Giving; Peace & Conflict Resolution ROTARY AWARDS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS ● Ambassadorial Scholar, District 1020, Univ. Edinburgh Law School, Scotland 1988-89 ● Group Study Exchange Team Leader, District 4370, Venezuela, 2006 ● Outstanding District Chair 2010 – Rotary Group Study Exchange Team ● Group Study Exchange Team District Chair 2010 – 2013 ● Vocational Training Team Chair 2013 – Present ● Presidential Citation 2016-17 ● Paul Harris Fellow, 2011, 2012, 2021 ● Benefactor/Bequest Society Level 1 2020-21

Monroe Burianek

Education Coordinator for Adult Programs and Volunteers at Lauritzen Gardens

I am originally from Kansas City Missouri and moved to Omaha permanently after attending Creighton University to study Environmental Science. Through my career I always have a goal of preserving the natural world and teaching on how to return to a native landscape. When I am not teaching, I am always on the hunt for new knowledge and spend most of my time reading about new environmental topics or in my own garden to let nature be my teacher.

"Our speaker will be our own Bob Nelson who most of you already know.  He was the charter President of Northwest Rotary and the first recipient of their club's "Distinguished Service Award."  Bob has had perfect attendance since he joined Rotary in 1978.  His topic will be "Is Rotary Still Relevant?"  It is not what you might expect.  Don't miss this message of a most unusual journey and how you might enhance your own Rotary experience."

Graduate of UNL with Marketing degree.

33 year career in newspaper industry including serving as:

>General Manager of Capital Newspapers in Madison, WI

>President and Publisher of the State Journal-Register in Springfield, IL

>President and Publisher of the Omaha World-Herald

President of the First Responders Foundation since 2021.

Married for 29 years with two grown sons.

What could be better than to lead, train and inspire Scouts to become 1st Class? 

• Bob currently serves as 282’s Committee Chair since 2018. 
• Before that he was Troop Chaplain and Cubmaster dating back to 2010. 
• He is Wood Badge trained and has served on Wood Badge staff for 5 years.
• He serves as an Assistant Council Commissioner coordinating the Roundtable Commissioners across the Mid-America Council.
• Bob is pretty low-key behind the scenes until someone says Christmas Tree, then it’s ‘Game On!” He has coordinated the efforts for the past 7 years growing the program to collect 7,000 trees a year adding Kearney as Scouting For Trees expands westward. 

27th Annual Millard Rotary  Dave & Arlene Steier Memorial Golf Tournament

October 1, 2025 at Tiburon Golf Course

• 10:30AM Registration Begins
  Lunch Specials Available in the Pub
  Purchase Mulligans and Raffle Tickets
  Warm up on the Driving Range and Putting Green
• 11:30AM Shotgun Start for the Tournament
• 5:00PM Dinner Served
• 5:30PM Winners Announced
  Flight Awards, Pin Prizes and Raffle Prizes

REGISTRATION FORM

Send your registration form in with a check for your payment or you can pay be credit card at the link below.

Credit Card Payment Link (Includes 3% cc fees)

Please sign up with Bob Cannella to volunteer at Food Bank for the Heartland on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, 5pm to 7pm.

Email Bob by Oct. 28 at rcannella@fitzlaw.com if you are able to help.

Details and instructions are below. 

Food Bank for the Heartland Volunteer Center
10525 J Street Omaha, NE 68127

Description:

A few things you should know:

• On the day of your volunteer shift, please park at the south side of our building. The volunteer entrance is at the southwest corner under the Food Bank for the Heartland awning and I, or another Food Bank employee, will be there to greet you!
• We encourage our volunteers to dress comfortably. Our Volunteer Center is climate controlled, so we recommend dressing in layers.

• Please make sure to wear a shirt with sleeves (no tank tops or cut offs). Many company volunteer groups wear company t-shirts to show their workplace pride!
• All volunteers must wear close toed shoes (no sandals or flip flops). We recommend wearing comfortable tennis shoes, as most of your session will involve standing.

• All volunteer tasks are assigned based on product availability and designed to “Feed the Greatest Need” of the Food Bank that day.
• Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. We do welcome younger children ages 10-15, but they must be supervised by an adult.

• If you would like to bring a child between the ages of 10 and 15 in to volunteer, there must be one adult to every five children present.

As we mentioned at our meeting on November 3^rd, Northwest Rotary for the last 27 years has provided a snack tray to the 911 operators the day before Thanksgiving.  We want to continue this project as it is very important to show thanks to these hard-working individuals at one of their busiest time of the year.  We are looking for some volunteers to help in this easy yet rewarding project. 

Details are below so if you want to help, sign up at the link or contact Ken Backman:  kjbla@cox.net and/or Micah Evans:   micah@scottishriteomaha.org

Details for the 911 Snack Tray Program this year are as follows

Date:          Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Location:  Hy-Vee, 3410 North 156^th Street (Southwest corner of 156^th & West Maple Road)

Time:          6:00PM, Meet inside the west door at Hy-Vee to collect snack trays

Delivery Time:       6:15-6:30PM, Travel across 156^th Street to the 911 Center

Delivery Location:  911 Center, 15335 West Maple Road (Douglas County Offices)

Post Delivery: Those participants interested in a guided tour of the 911 Center can stay and enjoy a behind the scenes look at the 911 Center.

Rotarians, family members, and guests are welcome.

Please sign up with Bob Cannella to volunteer at Food Bank for the Heartland on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 5pm to 7pm.

Email Bob by Dec. 2 at rcannella@fitzlaw.com if you are able to help.

Details and instructions are below. 

Food Bank for the Heartland Volunteer Center
10525 J Street Omaha, NE 68127

Description:

A few things you should know:

• On the day of your volunteer shift, please park at the south side of our building. The volunteer entrance is at the southwest corner under the Food Bank for the Heartland awning and I, or another Food Bank employee, will be there to greet you!
• We encourage our volunteers to dress comfortably. Our Volunteer Center is climate controlled, so we recommend dressing in layers.

• Please make sure to wear a shirt with sleeves (no tank tops or cut offs). Many company volunteer groups wear company t-shirts to show their workplace pride!
• All volunteers must wear close toed shoes (no sandals or flip flops). We recommend wearing comfortable tennis shoes, as most of your session will involve standing.

• All volunteer tasks are assigned based on product availability and designed to “Feed the Greatest Need” of the Food Bank that day.
• Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. We do welcome younger children ages 10-15, but they must be supervised by an adult.

• If you would like to bring a child between the ages of 10 and 15 in to volunteer, there must be one adult to every five children present.