Notre Dame Club of Omaha

The Fighting Irish will be taking on the Creighton Bluejays tomorrow (Dec. 4) at 1:35. We will be holding a pre-game get together at Billy Blue’s Alumni Grill located in the Harper Center - just up the street from Sokol Arena. If you’ve ordered tickets for the game, you can pick them up at the pre-game event.

It’s time to kick off our 8th Annual Christmas Giving efforts. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE GENEROUS DONORS and your continued support for this program year after year!  This past spring, the Notre Dame Alumni Association recognized our Club with a 2010 Special Citation for our ongoing charitable efforts in the Omaha area; service to our Community is a key tenet in the Alumni Association and Club membership activities.

Before I commit to the number of families we can support, I need feedback from you! We must relay our interest to the involved organizations as soon as possible. We plan to work with the same organizations as above, including Assumption Catholic School this year. Gift donations will be due in ahead of the Christmas holiday in order to allow time to deliver the packages to the families. Cash donations are welcome as well (we will do the shopping for you) or you can donate online through our PayPal Link. All donations will be anonymous. Gifts do not have to be large in scale to make a difference.

The Omaha Alumni Club Board of Directors has generously agreed to match the first $2000 in donations this year!  Please help us make this another record year for our growing program.

Please contact Amy Patterson if you are interested in adopting a family, part of a family, or would like to give a cash donation. If you use PayPal, please add this in the memo when you checkout. I know our efforts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your support!

Amy Hall Patterson ‘98
Amy.Patterson@conagrafoods.com

GO IRISH!!

The 2011 national runner-up, Notre Dame women’s basketball team, will be coming to Omaha to take on the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday, December 4 at 1:35 p.m.  For this event, the club has is purchasing a block of tickets.  If you would like to attend please contact Ed Murphy at ndtkt@cox.net.

The Fighting Irish are taking on Michigan State on September 17 and the ND club of Omaha will host a game-watch at Security National Bank. Come join other Notre Dame fans of all ages, enjoy some food, and cheer on the Irish.

What: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

When and Where: 2:30 pm @ Security National Bank (1120 S. 101st St.)

Please join us for the Notre Dame Club of Omaha

Young Alumni Happy Hour

Come join us for an evening of networking, food, and fun amongst other ND Young Alumni!
Friends, Family, and Colleagues all welcome!

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
5:30PM-7:30PM
Barrett’s Barleycorn Pub
4322 Leavenworth Street

The Club will provide appetizers, and a cash bar will be available.

No RSVP required, but please reply to this email (bdiss1@gmail.com) if you plan on attending
so that we can get an accurate head count for food.

Questions? Brian Diss (’07) at 402.319.4113 or bdiss1@gmail.com

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team, NCAA runners-up in 2011, will play Creighton on December 4. Look for future communications via email and on this blog for club events around the game. For more information on the matchup between the Irish and the Bluejays, go here.

The annual freshmen send-off will be held August 14 at Security National Bank (3 Pacific Place, 1120 South 101st St.).  This event is open to alumni and friends of all ages and begins at 11:30 with a meet and greet, followed by Mass at noon.   After Mass, which does fulfill the Sunday obligation, a light lunch will be provided.

Please help us send-off the Notre Dame, Class of 2015 in style.  RSVP by completing the form below.  If you have any questions please email Brian and Christine Diss at bdiss1@gmail.com or Tom and Jackie Jenkins at jenksfam@tconl.com

Registration for the 2011 Notre Dame Club of Omaha Golf Tournament is now open. Click on the Golf 2011 tab to sign up. All proceeds from the tournament go to the Walsh scholarship, which provides scholarships for local Notre Dame students.

Some of this year’s prizes include a set of Cleveland irons, neon interlocking ND sign, and a golf swing analysis from GolfTec.

Former ConAgra CEO, Charles M. “Mike” Harper, received the Notre Dame Person of the Year award at the 2011 UND night on June 9.  Harper, a former South Bend resident and retired CEO of ConAgra, received the award for his dedication and support of the University.Most recently, his foundation’s $10 million gift, along with a matching $10 million appropriation from the state of Indiana, helped establish the Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute.   Located on the corner of Angela Boulevard and Notre Dame Avenue, the Institute is a joint collaboration between Notre Dame and the IU School of Medicine.

After receiving the award, Harper reflected on the significance of the private and public partnership between Notre Dame and the State of Indiana and the memory of his wife Josie, who died of cancer. Harper praised her amazing support and the outstanding job she did raising their children, who help run the Harper Family Foundation.  He also commented on the importance of encouraging public institutions to work together with private institutions, a centerpiece of the gift to establish the Cancer Research Institute.

The Person of the Year presentation was followed by the featured speaker, Notre Dame Business School professor, Carl Ackerman.  Ackerman has been recognized many times over for his outstanding teaching and support for students.  During his presentation, Ackerman showed several photos of students reading their Finance textbooks in interesting locales (underwater, while snowboarding, in the air) - an homage to his message that they should “always read their Finance books.”  He offered several more stories of his interactions with Notre Dame students, commenting that they were always considerate and grateful for recommendation letters and phone calls that helped them jump start their careers.  Ackerman noted that ND students are consistently  personable and humble.

The evening’s events were attended by over 70 alumni, friends, and representatives of the University. This year also featured ayoung alumni table that included a number of recent graduates.If you are interested in helping with future club events contact club president, Ed Murphy at efm1@cox.net.

The Notre Dame Club of Omaha will host Carl Ackerman for UND Night on June 9 at Field Club Omaha (3615 Woolworth Avenue).  Ackerman teaches financial management and personal finance to University of Notre Dame undergraduates.  He crusades against excessive fees in the investment industry, redirecting them to fight poverty and despair (http://business.nd.edu/carlackermann).

This year’s event begins at 6:00 pm with a cocktail hour and dinner at 7:00.  Register for the event here.  The cost for members and a guest or spouse is $55.00 per person.  Non-members can attend for $65.oo.  Charles “Mike” Harper will be honored as the club’s Person of the Year.

UND Night is an annual event hosted by the club.  Previous guests have included current president John Jenkins, athletic director Jack Swarbrick, and general counsel Marianne Corr.

For more information, contact Bob Mullin at rmullinjr@mcgrathnorth.com.