May 26, 2025 • 30 mins
This week’s show featured Luann Rabe with the Munroe-Meyer Guild promoting their Garden Walk fundraiser for the MM Institute at UNMC, Food Bank for the Heartland’s Stephanie Sullivan discussing the impact of recent spending cuts on local hunger issues, and Michael Elofson inviting the public to play in an annual golf fundraiser for local veterans and high school scholarships.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten kfab It's
Scott four Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being a part of our program.
This week, we welcome back to the show with the
Monroe Meyer Guild. That means it's garden walk time. Lou
Anne Raby is here and lou Ann, it's great to
have you back on the show. Welcome to Community.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Matters, Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
It's a right of spring, is it is?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
That means the flowers are blooming.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
So a couple of weeks from this weekend, what are
we doing.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We're having six private gardens here in Omaha open up
to the public for a fundraiser for the Monroe Meyer Institute,
which is at sixty nine oh two Pine Street. And
the gardens with this weather are lush and the garden
are so excited to share it with all of you.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
For those who have joined our community or are just
kind of plugged in over the last year and aren't
familiar with this, this is so much fun because it's
actually illegal and trespassing to just wander into someone's gated
backyard and start walking around and going, wow, this is
great landscaping. But for this opportunity, it's select sites around
(01:24):
our community. You are invited, you are encouraged to do
just that, and you won't get arrested. So tell me
about how we find out what the map looks like
for what we're doing on Garden Walk Day, which is
on by the Way Sunday, June eighth, in just a
couple of weeks, it will.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Be from nine to four rain or shine, and about
one thousand people will attend. They will buy twenty five
dollars tickets or thirty dollars day of and yes, the
gardeners open their gardens. And the exciting thing also is
that we have vendors, and the vendors have garden art.
We also have Tom's Traveling Coffee truck, so you can
(02:03):
come get hot drinks if it's cold, you can get
cold drinks if it's hot.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And you've thought of everything.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
We're trying to do. Everything we're trying to at the vendors,
we have garden art, nature photos, jewelry, plants, master gardeners
to answer questions, pastries. Also at each garden we will
have master gardeners, so you can ask questions or the
owners are very knowledgeable. One of the gardens has all
(02:32):
of her plants labeled. Another garden is all in the
Nantucket style. In fact, their home is called the Kissmet Home,
which is like Nantucket, and the house will look like it.
The gardens are like Nantucket, and so there's just so
many different things that you're going to get to see.
(02:54):
Another garden is to try Faith Hope Orchard and that's
one hundred and three second in Pacific, and they have
more of a orchard types and they'll be master gardeners there.
Another garden has more natural They have fruits that they
make into jams, They have butterfly gardens. It's just such
(03:18):
a different variety of gardens that a homeowner or a
want to be homeowner can come and pick up one
or two little ideas and go home and say I
can do this, or they can pick up some garden
art and beautify their garden instantly.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, that's part of what this event is for. Of course,
the biggest thing is it's a wonderful fundraiser, and we'll
talk about that in just a moment. But it's both
admiring what someone else has done with the landscaping and
the gardens and everything that they've cultivated on their property
right here in an urban setting. But it's also ideas
you can take and in many instances homeowners and master
(03:55):
gardeners you can talk to and go, all, right, what's this?
How do you do it? Is it harding and enough
for this? Will it blend? Will with this? Does it
need sun shade? Whatever? You can ask all of your
questions and you can get those answers right there. Now
a lot of times with this garden walk, there have
been instances where you can walk between some of the
different homes. Doing this sounds like we're more West Omaha
(04:18):
for this, so it's not exactly a real walking tour.
So how do we find out where everyone is so
we know how to have a good plan of action
that day?
Speaker 3 (04:28):
You can buy tickets at high V It's going to
be mid to west Omaha. So we're in the Eagle Run,
the Tri Faith Unity Garden, the Sterling Ridge estates the Brook,
Westchester and Loveland areas, So if you know anything about Omaha,
that's the area. You can also go online to purchase
your tickets and get more information and that online addresses
(04:54):
go period you and MC period edu slash garden walk.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Go dot UNMC dot edu slash garden walk. You can
also of course search garden walk Omaha and this annual
fundraiser for the Monroe Meyer Guild will pop right up
there and on your ticket there's a map there on
the ticket showing all the different sites. You just pluging addresses.
Your GPS mindlessly directs you there. You don't have to
(05:23):
go do I turn left here the phone, the car
will tell you how to do it. It's so easy,
but there's always a nice flow to the garden walk.
You're not like going We have to go from Crescent
to Gretna. It's usually within just a few miles of
each other, so it's a real easy trip. And lou
annraybi with us here. And you've been a part of
(05:44):
this garden walk for so many years, and I know
you're passionate about the gardens, the landscape and the people
who are so nice to open up their homes and
also the Monroy Monroe Meyer Guild as this is a
nice fundraiser for this organization. Tell me about the Monroe
Meyer Guild the Guild.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
This will be our fifty sixth garden walk. So we've
done this a few times and the money one hundred
percent of the ticket sales goes back to Monroe Meyer
to provide innovative equipment programs or projects. What we do
is we fund the initial idea for a project or
(06:24):
a program, and then they can take that money, have
that success, and then they can take that success and
apply for bigger grants. We also are providing scholarships to
Camp Monroe. And just to let you know that, when
you put an address into one of the garden addresses
into your GPS, it will come up and say Monroe
(06:46):
Meyer Guild Garden Walk. I just programmed that last night.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Oh good. It can actually map out a whole thing
for you there, potentially if you're handy with the technology.
But don't worry. If it sounds scary, don't worry about
all that. It's very easy and the address is right
there on the ticket. It's very easy to figure all
this out.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And there will be signs. There will be flag signs
that will be directional signs, so if you just get
in the area, we'll get you to the house.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
The garden walk is Sunday, June eighth, from nine to four.
You said, rain or shine cross parts of midtown to
West Omaha. It's not only an excellent way to spend
a day, it's also a fundraiser for the Monroe Meyer Institute.
Lou Ann Raby with us here from the Monroe Meyer Guild.
They put on this garden walk because they have for
fifty six years. That's an impressive run. How is it
(07:37):
that people are selected as to being on the garden
walk map? How do people get a chance to show
off what they've done with their landscaping.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
On the ticket. There's a place to recommend gardens. So
if your garden is beautiful, or neighbors or somebody you know,
we look at those, we take recommendations, and we're not
too proud to see a great garden. Go up and
knock on the door.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
You have done that, haven't you.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
We have stopped out gardens.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Please let us have a bunch of people come through
your backyards. And some people are obviously very anxious to
be able to do this. Some people are a little
anxious about it, and so they say, I don't know,
but I'm guessing there are a lot of people who
turn you down the first year you ask them. Then
they go to the garden Walk, they see how it
all works and say, oh, yeah, I've got to be
a part of this, and so the next year they're
(08:27):
a part of it. Right.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
We just find so many different ways to find gardens,
and we try and go to a certain location and
find gardens in that area. Ask neighbors lots of different ways.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Are there other are there ever neighbors like next door
neighbors that say come over here and take a look
at my tomato plants? There anything, and they try and
get on the garden walk when they're not officially on
the garden walk. What do we do about those people?
Is there jail for them? Is there a fine? How
does that work?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
We usually just say no, yeah, try and be polite
and say nope.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It's it's a lot of fun, and the neighbors often
have a lot of fun. You might see some kids
with a lemonade stand in the vicinity, which is very sweet.
It's all coming up here in just a couple of weeks.
The fifty sixth Annual Garden Walk Tour on Sunday, June eighth,
from nine to four Rainer Shine a fundraiser for the
Monroe Meyer Institute Lounrabi with the Monroe Meyer Guild. Everything's
(09:27):
online and this is all through UNMC, the Monroe Meyer Institute.
That's why the website is go dot UNMC dot edu
slash Gardenwalk all one word, go dot UNMC dot edu
slash Gardenwalk, or just do a search for Gardenwalk Omaha
and you'll find all the details about this fun annual event.
(09:48):
Lou Ann, you got a couple of weeks left. What
do you have to work on between now and then
to make sure everything's ready? Are you good?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I'm head of advertising, so I'm going around doing just
what we're doing here today, and then I'm also the
chair of a house, so I need to line up
volunteers and logistics for that.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Good. Well, tell people again how to get tickets and
if it's day of, can they just go to the
first house that they stop at and buy a ticket
at that point.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Yes, you can go to any of the houses and
purchase a ticket the day of. Otherwise you can go
to our website, purchase it online or high V stores.
Many of the nurseries have them. Benson Plant Rescue, Westlake
ur Westlake Ace Hardware at one hundred and fortieth and
West Center.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
All right, this coming up Sunday, June eighth, the Monroe
Meyer Guild's fifty six annual Garden Walk Tour. Lou N Raby,
You're always such a passionate and knowledgeable person to talk
to about promoting not just what the Monroe Meyer Guild
does for our community, but this garden walk where people
can have fun providing funds for a very important cause.
(10:55):
Lou Anne, thank you so much for what you're doing
for our community, and thanks for telling us about it
on Community.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Matters and thanks for promoting it.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And that's what we do here. And next up, we
are doing this with the assistant director of Marketing and
Communications for Food Bank for the Heartland, Stephanie Sullivan, is
back here on Community Matters. Stephanie is good to see you.
Thanks a lot for coming in, Thank you so much
for having me here. We are the onset of summer
Memorial Day weekend. A lot of people very excited, but
(11:24):
there are also some realities which you know all too well,
about summer hunger being a thing. We tend to talk
about this a lot around the holidays. Well, this is
a holiday, This is the start of the summer season.
What are the realities here for the Heartland on summer hunger, Stephanie, Yeah,
you make.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
A great point there. A lot of people are really
excited for summer, but for many in our communities, summer
means one thing, and that's hunger. Right now. Based on
Feeding America's map the Meal Gap latest report which just
came out, one in seven individuals across the Heartland and
one in five children right now don't have the necessary
(12:02):
means to feed their families. One in seven are facing
hunger and that is an increase from the year before,
and with children, it's nearly a fifty nine percent increase
over the last two years. And so unfortunately, we're seeing
the need continue to rise, and the summer months make
it even harder for families who are already on strange
(12:24):
budgets because they're not getting free and reduced breakfast and
lunch for their children as they would during the school year,
and that just amplifies the problem. Right So, we're seeing
heartley neighbors across Nebraska and Washington, Iowa who summer can
be a really difficult time and a lot of the
times we focus on it, like you said in the
winter time, and it's also a time at the food
(12:46):
bank where financial donations decrease. So it's this juxtaposition where
financial donations go down, but the need actually increases. And
that's why it's really important that we work with partners
and volunteers to help our neighbors right now are really struggling.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I know that there are some people that say, like, well,
don't a lot of these schools offer some breakfast, some lunch,
some food there throughout the school year. Yes, they do,
but this radio show doesn't just encompass midtown Omaha or
anywhere Omaha proper. We talk about food Bank for the heartland.
Some of the schools in the heartland are miles and
miles away from where these families live, and it's the
(13:26):
reality is you can't get there exactly.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
We serve ninety three counties, seventy seven in Nebraska, sixteen
in western Iowa, and for some of our rural counties,
they may not have a grocery store in the entire county,
so they could be driving fifty to sixty miles just
to get to their local Walmart. And then when you
take the food away that they would get in the schools,
that it really puts a damper on these families of
(13:51):
how they're going to get food. And that's why we
have programs such as our mobile pantry program that delivers
food to communities with the high need and limited resources
for some families that maybe they're only access to fresh food.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
And so logistically, how difficult is it to when you
hear someone who has need and they're in a rather rural,
rather remote area, to be able to set up getting
them what they need when they need it. That's got
to be really really hard.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
Yeah, And luckily the Food Bank has amazing partnerships. We
work with over five hundred network partners that includes pantries,
mobile pantries, churches, schools, emergency shelters, other nonprofit organizations. We
get the food into our warehouse and then it gets
distributed to these network partners who are then on the
ground serving our neighbors in need. And right now, with
(14:39):
the need being as high as it is, it's really
overwhelming our pantries who are already seeing higher levels of
people needing food assistance, and that, paired with economic uncertainty
and federal cuts is it's really putting people in a hard.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Spot right now talking here with Stephanie Sullivan food Bank
for the Heartland online at Foodbankheartland dot org. That's a
really important thing that the food Bank does, and that
is partner with some of these organizations to where someone
doesn't have to come to food Bank headquarters or one
of the Omaha pantry locations. You work with some of
these churches, schools, businesses, and some of these more rural
(15:18):
areas to make sure that people in those communities are
getting what they need. Now, you just mentioned some of
the cuts, some of the political news which changes by
the hour anymore. Here, what are the current realities as
it relates to cuts affecting families here in the areas
served by Food Bank for the Heartland.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Stephanie, Yeah, Unfortunately, the resources available to local food banks
such as ours don't match the growing need that we're
seeing across Nebraska and western Iowa. And then recent announcements
from the USDA to roll back various programs, it's a
significant setback to how we try and reduce food and
security across our service area. In fiscal year twenty twenty four,
(15:58):
twenty four percent of the food so by the food
Bank came from the USDA, So any cuts, that is
a significant cut to the food that we would distribute.
And the recent cuts have resulted in cancelations of truckloads
of healthy food for Hartley neighbors and needs, which which
actually would have distributed more than five hundred thousand meals
(16:20):
between March and July.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Of this year.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
And those are the items in those trucks. We're healthy food.
We're talking produce, protein, protein, and dairy, and we know
because of the high cost of these items, we can't
turn around and purchase truckloads of those items. And at
the same time, it's the same items that our neighbors
have cut from their budget because it's too high to
(16:45):
afford right now. So we are committed to ensuring that
our neighbors have access to healthy food, but when we're
seeing cancelations of these healthy food items, it becomes a
lot more difficult for us to deploy our mission. Now.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I know that your execut of Director, Brian Barks, he's
no shrinking flower. He knows people in high places, does
he What do you think needs to be done here?
To get on the phone with some of these officials,
whether it's local, statewide, national, and say, look, we want
to save taxpayers money. We want to make sure that
waste and fraud is eliminated. But here's the realities of
what we're dealing with. Work with us here. How is
(17:22):
all of that coming here? Can you snap your fingers
and make it all better?
Speaker 4 (17:26):
We wish we could, right We'd be in a much
better spot if we could. But our advocacy team and
our executive team, we are constantly communicating with local delegates
and federal delegates to make them aware of the issues
happening in our communities, the rise and food and security.
If you think of what our nation has experienced over
(17:47):
the last five years, I mean right here in the heartland,
we've seen catastrophic flooding, and then the pandemic, and then
inflation and now federal cuts. And when you look at
the last couple of years, we've been operating in crisis
mode for the last couple of years. But it is
amplified the rise in need, and right now we are
(18:07):
seeing levels we have not seen in our food bank history.
We're expected to serve more than five hundred and eighty
thousand individuals this fiscal year. That's the highest we've seen.
And so that's why our communication in our partnership with
those local and federal delegates to educate them on what's
happening right in their own backyard and that any additional
cuts could be catastrophic to the scope of hunger in
(18:30):
our communities.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
I want to be optimistic because there's been so many
things where a political official says, here's what we're doing,
and then people who are automatically opposed to whether it's
the party, the person, or whatever, say, Nope, that's going
to be the worst thing ever, it's all going to
be terrible. Well, when the dust settles after a matter
of days, weeks, months, or whatever, there's either a gap
(18:52):
that's filled or a course that's reversed. I want to
be optimistic that people are doing the right things to
the right people. That's all for down the line. In
the meantime, Stephanie, if someone is in need now and
you can't wait for certain dust to settle in this example,
what can our friends and neighbors listening to this program
(19:13):
here today and this iHeartMedia Omaha Radio station do to
help their fellow people. And in some cases they know
I'm just a missed paycheck away from being in the
situation where I might need this help. What can people
do today to help your cause?
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Thank you for that, because that's really important and we
want to let people know there are several different ways
that they can take action in the fight against hunger.
First and foremost, cash is king, and every single donation
helps us provide that healthy food to neighbors so they
have the resources they need to thrive. They can go
to our website Foodbankheartland dot org and make a donation.
(19:51):
Ninety six cents of every single dollar goes directly back
into our communities. If they may not have the extra
funds to donate, because we know funds are tight for
every everyone right now, they can get involved by giving back.
We have eleven different volunteer shifts throughout the week, and
so volunteers are the backbone of our mission. They are
the ones packaging all the food that goes out to
(20:13):
our neighbors in need, and so they can go to
our website Foodbankartland dot org to sign up for a
volunteer shift. And another great way to get involved too
is through advocacy. Right now, more than ever, we need
your voice. It's important in the fight against hunger, and
you can help us by reaching out to your local
senators and telling them that they need to do the
(20:36):
right thing to help our neighbors in need to ensure
that they have consistent access to healthy food to thrive,
because everyone deserves access to healthy food and unfortunately right
now not everyone has it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Great information and it's a wonderful thing you provide for
whether it's friend groups, family groups, church groups, whatever, to
be able to go to the food bank and volunteer
your time. If, as you said, money is a little
bit tight, you can all always give it a couple
of hours and put some onions in a bag or
whatever it is that needs to be done. And you think,
well I don't know what I'm doing, you don't have to.
(21:08):
Just have a great attitude and be willing to help.
Someone will tell you what to do.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
We problem.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Someone will make sure that it's being done the way
it needs to be done. So there's really very little
way you could mess that up. Great thing you can
do and all the details are at food Bank Heartland
dot org. Talking here with the assistant director of Marketing
and Communications with Food Bank for the Heartland, Stephanie Sullivan. Again,
they're online at Foodbank Heartland dot org. Stephanie, great information
(21:37):
great conversation. As always, thank you very much for what
you're doing to fill the needs of people here in
our community, and thanks for telling us about it on
Community Matters.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Thanks so much for having me. We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You're listening to Community Matters. We welcome now Michael Ellison
onto the program. Michael is doing a really fun event,
a golf event for a great cause. Michael, tell me
what we're doing in North ben Nebraska on Saturday, June
twenty eighth.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Hey, thanks Scott. Saturday June twenty eighth, I am hosting
my third annual golf Veterans Golf Scramble. It's a four
man scramble for the am Vets and the VFW Post
in North Bend. We're trying to raise money. We give
out scholarships to our high school seniors. We put money
(22:24):
toward veterans funerals any veteran in need in town. A
few years ago we had a member who lost the
house to a fire. It's nice to have those kind
of extra funds to help people out in need around
the community as well. We also donate a little bit
to our Veterans Memorial Park in town, which coincidentally I'm
the president of.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
So.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Yeah, it's a lot of stuff, just veteran oriented that
we're trying to keep, maintain and promote in town and
whatever little bit we can make always make things easier
to spread around.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Very cool. Tell me about the organization am Vets aments.
Speaker 5 (23:01):
It's just the American veterans. Yeah, so some people. Obviously,
each organization has this restrictions. The VFW has to be
a veteran of a foreign war. You meet a certain criteria,
the certain engagements, whether it's Korea, World War one, World
War two, Vietnam, et cetera. The lesion has its certain
(23:24):
requirements you must meet, have to be in there this time.
I I couldn't tell you exactly what they are, but
every branch of every organization has their requirements. Well, the
AMVETS is just American veterans. If you've ever served, if
you've ever been in you're able to join the Amvets.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Yeah, and one's not better than another. They're all just
a little bit different. And the purposes of this event
on Saturday, June twenty eighth is to create a really
fun day of golf for a fantastic cause, not just
taking care of our veterans and some of these needs
or the Veteran Park, but all so scholarships for local
seniors in the community. It's a really fun day for
(24:05):
a great cause. Michael Ellison with us here on community matters. Michael,
For those who have not played the golf course there
in North Bend and think, what is this like? Five holes,
sand greens? What are we doing there?
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Man?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Are you in for a treat? It is a wonderful
golf care course there in North Bend.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Oh, it's absolutely beautiful Scott's. We get compliments all the time.
We have people on our I play Wednesday Night League.
We have men's leagues Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Women's Night League
on Tuesday, couples Night League on Friday, and I mean
we they're full. We have people coming from Fremont, Omaha, Lincoln, even,
people come from all around. It's a beautiful course. It's
(24:44):
very well kept. It's a short course. It's got its
challenging aspects. It's a really fun course. If you haven't
played it, I recommend it. If you have played it,
you probably want to be there.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Yeah. I played out there with really really good golfers.
I've played out there with people who are more in
the beginning stages. Everyone just has so much fun playing
that golf course. So for those who want to put
together a group, you said, this is a golf tournament
for veterans. You don't have to be a veteran to
play in the event. So what do people need to
do right now, Michael? So they can play in this
(25:17):
event on Saturday, June twenty eighth, they're in North Bend.
Speaker 5 (25:20):
They could reach out to me or the golf course. Okay,
the best way to get a hold of me would
be email. It's Michael m I c Cha E L
dot l dot last name Elifson E L O S
S O N at gmail dot com. Or just call
the North Bend Golf Course and they can get you
(25:41):
signed up.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Probably easiest just to contact the golf course. Let them
handle it. Michael, you got enough going on preparing for
all of this. So what about I mean, do people
need to register as a foursome? I'm imagining that would
be helpful. What probably wouldn't hurt to call the golf
course and say, look, I got just me or there's
a couple of us us up with someone if you
need What is the best way of going about that?
Speaker 5 (26:04):
So Yeah, preferably if you come in with a foursome,
get a team together. It's a nine am shotgun start.
We try to put two teams on a box and
you know, can make it random because personally, I really
enjoy playing meeting some meeting another team and playing eighteen
with them. It's a good way to kind of check
each other and it's also a good opportunity to meet
(26:26):
some people. I forget what the question was, but keep
on rolling.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Yeah, No, it's just just if you wanted to register
as a single, you can always check. But really get
your friends together, register your foursome for this event and
go out there and have a really fun day of golf.
Probably some good food as well, right.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
Yes, we always have a steake meal following the event. Uh,
there's pen prizes and raffle items. We're always working on
more things, looking for sponsors, looking looking for more so
to make it a more enjoyable oubting.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah, so if you if you wanted to play in
the golf if you wanted to play in the golf event,
contact the golf course. If you wanted to be a
whole sponsor or volunteer, or just throw a bunch of
money at it. That's where people need to contact you,
right absolutely, Okay, So it's Michael dot L dot Elfson
(27:23):
at gmail dot com, E L O F s O N.
And if you're driving right now, go on, Scott. I
can't remember all of that. As I always say on
this show, no matter what radio station you're hearing this
program on, just contact the radio station and say there
was a guy talking to a guy about a thing.
At some point. That will get back to me and
(27:44):
I can set you up. I can connect you with
Michael and make sure that all of your needs are met.
We're happy to do that here on this iHeartMedia, Omaha
radio station. But again Michael's email is Michael dot L
dot Elfson E L O F as In, Frank s
is In, Sam Oennison, Nancymichael dot L dot Elifson at
(28:05):
gmail dot com. Michael's the one putting together this event,
and Michael, great job with it again. This year third
annual event for Amvets, the VFW Scholarships for high school seniors,
taking care of veterans, park assistance for vets and needs.
You've got a lot of different things going on here.
It's going to be a really fun day of golf
(28:26):
to throw hopefully a whole bunch of money at these
great causes. Michael, thank you for everything you're doing there
with this golf event on Saturday, June twenty eighth at
North Bend's Short Course Golf Course, and thanks for telling
us about it on Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
Absolutely Scott, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on Cat one O three, Omaha's Greatest Hits, ninety nine
point nine kg R News Radio eleven ten KFAB Country's
Greatest Hits ninety three three The Wolf and ninety six
to one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening,
and enjoy the rest.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Of your day.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
God or He's here with a message of hope from Sheepgates.
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Get rid of that old vehicle, get a tax deduction,
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org ga
This is Community Matters, a weekly public affairs program to
inform and entertain you with some of the great people, organizations,
and events in and around Omaha. Now here's the host
of the program from news radio eleven ten kfab It's
Scott four Heats.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much for being a part of our program.
This week, we welcome back to the show with the
Monroe Meyer Guild. That means it's garden walk time. Lou
Anne Raby is here and lou Ann, it's great to
have you back on the show. Welcome to Community.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Matters, Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
It's a right of spring, is it is?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
That means the flowers are blooming.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
So a couple of weeks from this weekend, what are
we doing.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We're having six private gardens here in Omaha open up
to the public for a fundraiser for the Monroe Meyer Institute,
which is at sixty nine oh two Pine Street. And
the gardens with this weather are lush and the garden
are so excited to share it with all of you.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
For those who have joined our community or are just
kind of plugged in over the last year and aren't
familiar with this, this is so much fun because it's
actually illegal and trespassing to just wander into someone's gated
backyard and start walking around and going, wow, this is
great landscaping. But for this opportunity, it's select sites around
(01:24):
our community. You are invited, you are encouraged to do
just that, and you won't get arrested. So tell me
about how we find out what the map looks like
for what we're doing on Garden Walk Day, which is
on by the Way Sunday, June eighth, in just a
couple of weeks, it will.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Be from nine to four rain or shine, and about
one thousand people will attend. They will buy twenty five
dollars tickets or thirty dollars day of and yes, the
gardeners open their gardens. And the exciting thing also is
that we have vendors, and the vendors have garden art.
We also have Tom's Traveling Coffee truck, so you can
(02:03):
come get hot drinks if it's cold, you can get
cold drinks if it's hot.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
And you've thought of everything.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
We're trying to do. Everything we're trying to at the vendors,
we have garden art, nature photos, jewelry, plants, master gardeners
to answer questions, pastries. Also at each garden we will
have master gardeners, so you can ask questions or the
owners are very knowledgeable. One of the gardens has all
(02:32):
of her plants labeled. Another garden is all in the
Nantucket style. In fact, their home is called the Kissmet Home,
which is like Nantucket, and the house will look like it.
The gardens are like Nantucket, and so there's just so
many different things that you're going to get to see.
(02:54):
Another garden is to try Faith Hope Orchard and that's
one hundred and three second in Pacific, and they have
more of a orchard types and they'll be master gardeners there.
Another garden has more natural They have fruits that they
make into jams, They have butterfly gardens. It's just such
(03:18):
a different variety of gardens that a homeowner or a
want to be homeowner can come and pick up one
or two little ideas and go home and say I
can do this, or they can pick up some garden
art and beautify their garden instantly.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, that's part of what this event is for. Of course,
the biggest thing is it's a wonderful fundraiser, and we'll
talk about that in just a moment. But it's both
admiring what someone else has done with the landscaping and
the gardens and everything that they've cultivated on their property
right here in an urban setting. But it's also ideas
you can take and in many instances homeowners and master
(03:55):
gardeners you can talk to and go, all, right, what's this?
How do you do it? Is it harding and enough
for this? Will it blend? Will with this? Does it
need sun shade? Whatever? You can ask all of your
questions and you can get those answers right there. Now
a lot of times with this garden walk, there have
been instances where you can walk between some of the
different homes. Doing this sounds like we're more West Omaha
(04:18):
for this, so it's not exactly a real walking tour.
So how do we find out where everyone is so
we know how to have a good plan of action
that day?
Speaker 3 (04:28):
You can buy tickets at high V It's going to
be mid to west Omaha. So we're in the Eagle Run,
the Tri Faith Unity Garden, the Sterling Ridge estates the Brook,
Westchester and Loveland areas, So if you know anything about Omaha,
that's the area. You can also go online to purchase
your tickets and get more information and that online addresses
(04:54):
go period you and MC period edu slash garden walk.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Go dot UNMC dot edu slash garden walk. You can
also of course search garden walk Omaha and this annual
fundraiser for the Monroe Meyer Guild will pop right up
there and on your ticket there's a map there on
the ticket showing all the different sites. You just pluging addresses.
Your GPS mindlessly directs you there. You don't have to
(05:23):
go do I turn left here the phone, the car
will tell you how to do it. It's so easy,
but there's always a nice flow to the garden walk.
You're not like going We have to go from Crescent
to Gretna. It's usually within just a few miles of
each other, so it's a real easy trip. And lou
annraybi with us here. And you've been a part of
(05:44):
this garden walk for so many years, and I know
you're passionate about the gardens, the landscape and the people
who are so nice to open up their homes and
also the Monroy Monroe Meyer Guild as this is a
nice fundraiser for this organization. Tell me about the Monroe
Meyer Guild the Guild.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
This will be our fifty sixth garden walk. So we've
done this a few times and the money one hundred
percent of the ticket sales goes back to Monroe Meyer
to provide innovative equipment programs or projects. What we do
is we fund the initial idea for a project or
(06:24):
a program, and then they can take that money, have
that success, and then they can take that success and
apply for bigger grants. We also are providing scholarships to
Camp Monroe. And just to let you know that, when
you put an address into one of the garden addresses
into your GPS, it will come up and say Monroe
(06:46):
Meyer Guild Garden Walk. I just programmed that last night.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Oh good. It can actually map out a whole thing
for you there, potentially if you're handy with the technology.
But don't worry. If it sounds scary, don't worry about
all that. It's very easy and the address is right
there on the ticket. It's very easy to figure all
this out.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And there will be signs. There will be flag signs
that will be directional signs, so if you just get
in the area, we'll get you to the house.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
The garden walk is Sunday, June eighth, from nine to four.
You said, rain or shine cross parts of midtown to
West Omaha. It's not only an excellent way to spend
a day, it's also a fundraiser for the Monroe Meyer Institute.
Lou Ann Raby with us here from the Monroe Meyer Guild.
They put on this garden walk because they have for
fifty six years. That's an impressive run. How is it
(07:37):
that people are selected as to being on the garden
walk map? How do people get a chance to show
off what they've done with their landscaping.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
On the ticket. There's a place to recommend gardens. So
if your garden is beautiful, or neighbors or somebody you know,
we look at those, we take recommendations, and we're not
too proud to see a great garden. Go up and
knock on the door.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
You have done that, haven't you.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
We have stopped out gardens.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Please let us have a bunch of people come through
your backyards. And some people are obviously very anxious to
be able to do this. Some people are a little
anxious about it, and so they say, I don't know,
but I'm guessing there are a lot of people who
turn you down the first year you ask them. Then
they go to the garden Walk, they see how it
all works and say, oh, yeah, I've got to be
a part of this, and so the next year they're
(08:27):
a part of it. Right.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
We just find so many different ways to find gardens,
and we try and go to a certain location and
find gardens in that area. Ask neighbors lots of different ways.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Are there other are there ever neighbors like next door
neighbors that say come over here and take a look
at my tomato plants? There anything, and they try and
get on the garden walk when they're not officially on
the garden walk. What do we do about those people?
Is there jail for them? Is there a fine? How
does that work?
Speaker 3 (08:57):
We usually just say no, yeah, try and be polite
and say nope.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It's it's a lot of fun, and the neighbors often
have a lot of fun. You might see some kids
with a lemonade stand in the vicinity, which is very sweet.
It's all coming up here in just a couple of weeks.
The fifty sixth Annual Garden Walk Tour on Sunday, June eighth,
from nine to four Rainer Shine a fundraiser for the
Monroe Meyer Institute Lounrabi with the Monroe Meyer Guild. Everything's
(09:27):
online and this is all through UNMC, the Monroe Meyer Institute.
That's why the website is go dot UNMC dot edu
slash Gardenwalk all one word, go dot UNMC dot edu
slash Gardenwalk, or just do a search for Gardenwalk Omaha
and you'll find all the details about this fun annual event.
(09:48):
Lou Ann, you got a couple of weeks left. What
do you have to work on between now and then
to make sure everything's ready? Are you good?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I'm head of advertising, so I'm going around doing just
what we're doing here today, and then I'm also the
chair of a house, so I need to line up
volunteers and logistics for that.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Good. Well, tell people again how to get tickets and
if it's day of, can they just go to the
first house that they stop at and buy a ticket
at that point.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Yes, you can go to any of the houses and
purchase a ticket the day of. Otherwise you can go
to our website, purchase it online or high V stores.
Many of the nurseries have them. Benson Plant Rescue, Westlake
ur Westlake Ace Hardware at one hundred and fortieth and
West Center.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
All right, this coming up Sunday, June eighth, the Monroe
Meyer Guild's fifty six annual Garden Walk Tour. Lou N Raby,
You're always such a passionate and knowledgeable person to talk
to about promoting not just what the Monroe Meyer Guild
does for our community, but this garden walk where people
can have fun providing funds for a very important cause.
(10:55):
Lou Anne, thank you so much for what you're doing
for our community, and thanks for telling us about it
on Community.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Matters and thanks for promoting it.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And that's what we do here. And next up, we
are doing this with the assistant director of Marketing and
Communications for Food Bank for the Heartland, Stephanie Sullivan, is
back here on Community Matters. Stephanie is good to see you.
Thanks a lot for coming in, Thank you so much
for having me here. We are the onset of summer
Memorial Day weekend. A lot of people very excited, but
(11:24):
there are also some realities which you know all too well,
about summer hunger being a thing. We tend to talk
about this a lot around the holidays. Well, this is
a holiday, This is the start of the summer season.
What are the realities here for the Heartland on summer hunger, Stephanie, Yeah,
you make.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
A great point there. A lot of people are really
excited for summer, but for many in our communities, summer
means one thing, and that's hunger. Right now. Based on
Feeding America's map the Meal Gap latest report which just
came out, one in seven individuals across the Heartland and
one in five children right now don't have the necessary
(12:02):
means to feed their families. One in seven are facing
hunger and that is an increase from the year before,
and with children, it's nearly a fifty nine percent increase
over the last two years. And so unfortunately, we're seeing
the need continue to rise, and the summer months make
it even harder for families who are already on strange
(12:24):
budgets because they're not getting free and reduced breakfast and
lunch for their children as they would during the school year,
and that just amplifies the problem. Right So, we're seeing
heartley neighbors across Nebraska and Washington, Iowa who summer can
be a really difficult time and a lot of the
times we focus on it, like you said in the
winter time, and it's also a time at the food
(12:46):
bank where financial donations decrease. So it's this juxtaposition where
financial donations go down, but the need actually increases. And
that's why it's really important that we work with partners
and volunteers to help our neighbors right now are really struggling.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I know that there are some people that say, like, well,
don't a lot of these schools offer some breakfast, some lunch,
some food there throughout the school year. Yes, they do,
but this radio show doesn't just encompass midtown Omaha or
anywhere Omaha proper. We talk about food Bank for the heartland.
Some of the schools in the heartland are miles and
miles away from where these families live, and it's the
(13:26):
reality is you can't get there exactly.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
We serve ninety three counties, seventy seven in Nebraska, sixteen
in western Iowa, and for some of our rural counties,
they may not have a grocery store in the entire county,
so they could be driving fifty to sixty miles just
to get to their local Walmart. And then when you
take the food away that they would get in the schools,
that it really puts a damper on these families of
(13:51):
how they're going to get food. And that's why we
have programs such as our mobile pantry program that delivers
food to communities with the high need and limited resources
for some families that maybe they're only access to fresh food.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
And so logistically, how difficult is it to when you
hear someone who has need and they're in a rather rural,
rather remote area, to be able to set up getting
them what they need when they need it. That's got
to be really really hard.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
Yeah, And luckily the Food Bank has amazing partnerships. We
work with over five hundred network partners that includes pantries,
mobile pantries, churches, schools, emergency shelters, other nonprofit organizations. We
get the food into our warehouse and then it gets
distributed to these network partners who are then on the
ground serving our neighbors in need. And right now, with
(14:39):
the need being as high as it is, it's really
overwhelming our pantries who are already seeing higher levels of
people needing food assistance, and that, paired with economic uncertainty
and federal cuts is it's really putting people in a hard.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Spot right now talking here with Stephanie Sullivan food Bank
for the Heartland online at Foodbankheartland dot org. That's a
really important thing that the food Bank does, and that
is partner with some of these organizations to where someone
doesn't have to come to food Bank headquarters or one
of the Omaha pantry locations. You work with some of
these churches, schools, businesses, and some of these more rural
(15:18):
areas to make sure that people in those communities are
getting what they need. Now, you just mentioned some of
the cuts, some of the political news which changes by
the hour anymore. Here, what are the current realities as
it relates to cuts affecting families here in the areas
served by Food Bank for the Heartland.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Stephanie, Yeah, Unfortunately, the resources available to local food banks
such as ours don't match the growing need that we're
seeing across Nebraska and western Iowa. And then recent announcements
from the USDA to roll back various programs, it's a
significant setback to how we try and reduce food and
security across our service area. In fiscal year twenty twenty four,
(15:58):
twenty four percent of the food so by the food
Bank came from the USDA, So any cuts, that is
a significant cut to the food that we would distribute.
And the recent cuts have resulted in cancelations of truckloads
of healthy food for Hartley neighbors and needs, which which
actually would have distributed more than five hundred thousand meals
(16:20):
between March and July.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Of this year.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
And those are the items in those trucks. We're healthy food.
We're talking produce, protein, protein, and dairy, and we know
because of the high cost of these items, we can't
turn around and purchase truckloads of those items. And at
the same time, it's the same items that our neighbors
have cut from their budget because it's too high to
(16:45):
afford right now. So we are committed to ensuring that
our neighbors have access to healthy food, but when we're
seeing cancelations of these healthy food items, it becomes a
lot more difficult for us to deploy our mission. Now.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I know that your execut of Director, Brian Barks, he's
no shrinking flower. He knows people in high places, does
he What do you think needs to be done here?
To get on the phone with some of these officials,
whether it's local, statewide, national, and say, look, we want
to save taxpayers money. We want to make sure that
waste and fraud is eliminated. But here's the realities of
what we're dealing with. Work with us here. How is
(17:22):
all of that coming here? Can you snap your fingers
and make it all better?
Speaker 4 (17:26):
We wish we could, right We'd be in a much
better spot if we could. But our advocacy team and
our executive team, we are constantly communicating with local delegates
and federal delegates to make them aware of the issues
happening in our communities, the rise and food and security.
If you think of what our nation has experienced over
(17:47):
the last five years, I mean right here in the heartland,
we've seen catastrophic flooding, and then the pandemic, and then
inflation and now federal cuts. And when you look at
the last couple of years, we've been operating in crisis
mode for the last couple of years. But it is
amplified the rise in need, and right now we are
(18:07):
seeing levels we have not seen in our food bank history.
We're expected to serve more than five hundred and eighty
thousand individuals this fiscal year. That's the highest we've seen.
And so that's why our communication in our partnership with
those local and federal delegates to educate them on what's
happening right in their own backyard and that any additional
cuts could be catastrophic to the scope of hunger in
(18:30):
our communities.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
I want to be optimistic because there's been so many
things where a political official says, here's what we're doing,
and then people who are automatically opposed to whether it's
the party, the person, or whatever, say, Nope, that's going
to be the worst thing ever, it's all going to
be terrible. Well, when the dust settles after a matter
of days, weeks, months, or whatever, there's either a gap
(18:52):
that's filled or a course that's reversed. I want to
be optimistic that people are doing the right things to
the right people. That's all for down the line. In
the meantime, Stephanie, if someone is in need now and
you can't wait for certain dust to settle in this example,
what can our friends and neighbors listening to this program
(19:13):
here today and this iHeartMedia Omaha Radio station do to
help their fellow people. And in some cases they know
I'm just a missed paycheck away from being in the
situation where I might need this help. What can people
do today to help your cause?
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Thank you for that, because that's really important and we
want to let people know there are several different ways
that they can take action in the fight against hunger.
First and foremost, cash is king, and every single donation
helps us provide that healthy food to neighbors so they
have the resources they need to thrive. They can go
to our website Foodbankheartland dot org and make a donation.
(19:51):
Ninety six cents of every single dollar goes directly back
into our communities. If they may not have the extra
funds to donate, because we know funds are tight for
every everyone right now, they can get involved by giving back.
We have eleven different volunteer shifts throughout the week, and
so volunteers are the backbone of our mission. They are
the ones packaging all the food that goes out to
(20:13):
our neighbors in need, and so they can go to
our website Foodbankartland dot org to sign up for a
volunteer shift. And another great way to get involved too
is through advocacy. Right now, more than ever, we need
your voice. It's important in the fight against hunger, and
you can help us by reaching out to your local
senators and telling them that they need to do the
(20:36):
right thing to help our neighbors in need to ensure
that they have consistent access to healthy food to thrive,
because everyone deserves access to healthy food and unfortunately right
now not everyone has it.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Great information and it's a wonderful thing you provide for
whether it's friend groups, family groups, church groups, whatever, to
be able to go to the food bank and volunteer
your time. If, as you said, money is a little
bit tight, you can all always give it a couple
of hours and put some onions in a bag or
whatever it is that needs to be done. And you think,
well I don't know what I'm doing, you don't have to.
(21:08):
Just have a great attitude and be willing to help.
Someone will tell you what to do.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
We problem.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Someone will make sure that it's being done the way
it needs to be done. So there's really very little
way you could mess that up. Great thing you can
do and all the details are at food Bank Heartland
dot org. Talking here with the assistant director of Marketing
and Communications with Food Bank for the Heartland, Stephanie Sullivan. Again,
they're online at Foodbank Heartland dot org. Stephanie, great information
(21:37):
great conversation. As always, thank you very much for what
you're doing to fill the needs of people here in
our community, and thanks for telling us about it on
Community Matters.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Thanks so much for having me. We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You're listening to Community Matters. We welcome now Michael Ellison
onto the program. Michael is doing a really fun event,
a golf event for a great cause. Michael, tell me
what we're doing in North ben Nebraska on Saturday, June
twenty eighth.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Hey, thanks Scott. Saturday June twenty eighth, I am hosting
my third annual golf Veterans Golf Scramble. It's a four
man scramble for the am Vets and the VFW Post
in North Bend. We're trying to raise money. We give
out scholarships to our high school seniors. We put money
(22:24):
toward veterans funerals any veteran in need in town. A
few years ago we had a member who lost the
house to a fire. It's nice to have those kind
of extra funds to help people out in need around
the community as well. We also donate a little bit
to our Veterans Memorial Park in town, which coincidentally I'm
the president of.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
So.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Yeah, it's a lot of stuff, just veteran oriented that
we're trying to keep, maintain and promote in town and
whatever little bit we can make always make things easier
to spread around.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Very cool. Tell me about the organization am Vets aments.
Speaker 5 (23:01):
It's just the American veterans. Yeah, so some people. Obviously,
each organization has this restrictions. The VFW has to be
a veteran of a foreign war. You meet a certain criteria,
the certain engagements, whether it's Korea, World War one, World
War two, Vietnam, et cetera. The lesion has its certain
(23:24):
requirements you must meet, have to be in there this time.
I I couldn't tell you exactly what they are, but
every branch of every organization has their requirements. Well, the
AMVETS is just American veterans. If you've ever served, if
you've ever been in you're able to join the Amvets.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Yeah, and one's not better than another. They're all just
a little bit different. And the purposes of this event
on Saturday, June twenty eighth is to create a really
fun day of golf for a fantastic cause, not just
taking care of our veterans and some of these needs
or the Veteran Park, but all so scholarships for local
seniors in the community. It's a really fun day for
(24:05):
a great cause. Michael Ellison with us here on community matters. Michael,
For those who have not played the golf course there
in North Bend and think, what is this like? Five holes,
sand greens? What are we doing there?
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Man?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Are you in for a treat? It is a wonderful
golf care course there in North Bend.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Oh, it's absolutely beautiful Scott's. We get compliments all the time.
We have people on our I play Wednesday Night League.
We have men's leagues Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Women's Night League
on Tuesday, couples Night League on Friday, and I mean
we they're full. We have people coming from Fremont, Omaha, Lincoln, even,
people come from all around. It's a beautiful course. It's
(24:44):
very well kept. It's a short course. It's got its
challenging aspects. It's a really fun course. If you haven't
played it, I recommend it. If you have played it,
you probably want to be there.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Yeah. I played out there with really really good golfers.
I've played out there with people who are more in
the beginning stages. Everyone just has so much fun playing
that golf course. So for those who want to put
together a group, you said, this is a golf tournament
for veterans. You don't have to be a veteran to
play in the event. So what do people need to
do right now, Michael? So they can play in this
(25:17):
event on Saturday, June twenty eighth, they're in North Bend.
Speaker 5 (25:20):
They could reach out to me or the golf course. Okay,
the best way to get a hold of me would
be email. It's Michael m I c Cha E L
dot l dot last name Elifson E L O S
S O N at gmail dot com. Or just call
the North Bend Golf Course and they can get you
(25:41):
signed up.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Probably easiest just to contact the golf course. Let them
handle it. Michael, you got enough going on preparing for
all of this. So what about I mean, do people
need to register as a foursome? I'm imagining that would
be helpful. What probably wouldn't hurt to call the golf
course and say, look, I got just me or there's
a couple of us us up with someone if you
need What is the best way of going about that?
Speaker 5 (26:04):
So Yeah, preferably if you come in with a foursome,
get a team together. It's a nine am shotgun start.
We try to put two teams on a box and
you know, can make it random because personally, I really
enjoy playing meeting some meeting another team and playing eighteen
with them. It's a good way to kind of check
each other and it's also a good opportunity to meet
(26:26):
some people. I forget what the question was, but keep
on rolling.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Yeah, No, it's just just if you wanted to register
as a single, you can always check. But really get
your friends together, register your foursome for this event and
go out there and have a really fun day of golf.
Probably some good food as well, right.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
Yes, we always have a steake meal following the event. Uh,
there's pen prizes and raffle items. We're always working on
more things, looking for sponsors, looking looking for more so
to make it a more enjoyable oubting.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah, so if you if you wanted to play in
the golf if you wanted to play in the golf event,
contact the golf course. If you wanted to be a
whole sponsor or volunteer, or just throw a bunch of
money at it. That's where people need to contact you,
right absolutely, Okay, So it's Michael dot L dot Elfson
(27:23):
at gmail dot com, E L O F s O N.
And if you're driving right now, go on, Scott. I
can't remember all of that. As I always say on
this show, no matter what radio station you're hearing this
program on, just contact the radio station and say there
was a guy talking to a guy about a thing.
At some point. That will get back to me and
(27:44):
I can set you up. I can connect you with
Michael and make sure that all of your needs are met.
We're happy to do that here on this iHeartMedia, Omaha
radio station. But again Michael's email is Michael dot L
dot Elfson E L O F as In, Frank s
is In, Sam Oennison, Nancymichael dot L dot Elifson at
(28:05):
gmail dot com. Michael's the one putting together this event,
and Michael, great job with it again. This year third
annual event for Amvets, the VFW Scholarships for high school seniors,
taking care of veterans, park assistance for vets and needs.
You've got a lot of different things going on here.
It's going to be a really fun day of golf
(28:26):
to throw hopefully a whole bunch of money at these
great causes. Michael, thank you for everything you're doing there
with this golf event on Saturday, June twenty eighth at
North Bend's Short Course Golf Course, and thanks for telling
us about it on Community Matters.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
Absolutely Scott, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
This has been Community Matters, a weekly public affairs special
on Cat one O three, Omaha's Greatest Hits, ninety nine
point nine kg R News Radio eleven ten KFAB Country's
Greatest Hits ninety three three The Wolf and ninety six
to one Kiss FM. Thank you so much for listening,
and enjoy the rest.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
Of your day.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
God or He's here with a message of hope from Sheepgates.
Donate an unneeded vehicle to Sheepgate and you'll benefit a
great cause and earn a tax deduction. A faith based
program that helps people in the Greater Omaha, Lincoln and
Council Bluffs area struggling with addiction. Sheepgate makes it easy.
Donate that old clunker in your yard or garage. It
(29:20):
could be running or not, and Sheepgate will schedule a
pickup time that works for you. They'll remove your old
plates and take care of all the paperwork. Just give
them the keys and a sign title easy right. Businesses
with the revolving fleet of vehicles are encouraged to donate
to Sheepgate two. Just call Sheepgate at eight eight eight
three four four hope, or go to myshepgate dot org.
(29:43):
Get rid of that old vehicle, get a tax deduction,
and help a person in our community rebuild his or
her life. It's a win win, it's easy. Just go
to myshepgate dot org or call eight eight eight three
four four hope. That website again is my sheepgate dot
org ga
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