Tag: Omaha

Savor the Night: What to Expect

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Join us for our inaugural progressive dinner event, Savor the Night, a seaside soiree!

Friday April 21, 2023

The Holland Center

Experience

Have you  been to a dinner party where you walked from house-to-house in your neighborhood to experience different plate servings, or maybe had appetizers at one place, and then dinner and dessert elsewhere? Get ready for something similar at Savor the Night – all at one convenient location at the Holland Center!

Food

We are excited to welcome Executive Chef Shelley Elson-Roza from Heirloom Fine Foods. Attendees can expect to see multiple “action stations” around the Holland Center, each with different bites of food inspired by the sea.  

The chef has plans to be mindful of multiple dietary restrictions, such as vegetarian and gluten free. 

“I am looking forward to the variety of food features that the event will offer throughout the night,” says event committee chair Liz VanWinkle. 

Attire

This is part of the fun! Guests are encouraged to get creative with their outfits and consider dressing in a seaside theme. Examples of attire include sailor hats, boat shoes, collared shirts, just to name a few. (Be sure to plan for breathing room after enjoying the delicious food!)

Auction 

A variety of enti-SEA-ing items will be available to bid upon in a silent auction. Items to lookout for:

  • Matching jewelry set from Kendra Scott
  • Private shopping event at Four Sister Boutique 
  • Travel packages for destinations including Disney; Berkshires; Rivera Maya; and golf at Myrtle Beach

All event proceeds benefit the Junior League of Omaha and our signature Kitchen Connections Program. 

Tickets

Tickets available for purchase through April 10. information on the event and its afterparty (say what?!) is viewable on our event page.  

Special thanks to the Savor the Night Committee for planning this fundraiser. 

Join Us for The JLO Classic!

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The Junior League of Omaha’s newest fundraiser is taking place Sunday, September 26 at Topgolf Omaha, and sure to be a swinging good time. Contact karinakiewel@gmail.com for a JLO Classic flyer you can post or share.

Throughout the event is a silent auction with door prizes and a hole-in-one prize opportunity. Stay tuned to the Junior League of Omaha’s social media channels for more details on the awesome prizes and silent auction items. If you or someone you know would like to donate anything to this event, please contact our chair Beth Kalal at golfclassic@jlomaha.org.

Don’t know what to wear to the event? We’ve got you covered! This year’s theme is Caddyshack—the greatest golf movie of all time. Fire up Netflix (or do a quick google search) for outfit inspiration. There will be prizes for the best individual and team outfits that feature our theme, so come dressed to impress! Bottom line is you won’t want to miss this event!

Member Spotlight – Alysia Radicia

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Alysia is an Interior Designer at RDG Planning & Design. She’s been there since graduating and really enjoys it. Alysia said the firm treats everyone like family and is extremely supportive in helping individuals succeed and pursue their interests. Like being involved in the community!

Speaking of community involvement, Alysia stays busy! Having been born and raised in Omaha (technically Elkhorn), she has a deep passion for investing in the community and helping make it a better place for everyone. She currently serves as the President of the Friends of Nebraska Children, serves on the Greater Omaha Chamber’s Young Professional Council, sits on Opera Omaha’s Community Advisory Panel, volunteers for the American Heart and Stroke Association … ALL while being an active member of the Junior League.

Alysia considers herself a cat lady, but not a crazy cat lady. Gus is her main squeeze, and she’s constantly teetering on whether or not to adopt another passive aggressive cuddle bug. Check back in a few weeks.

She thoroughly enjoy party planning and dinner parties. Which is also why she enjoys working out. Life is all about balance.

This year she is taking some sort of creative class each month. She previously enrolled in pottery classes at the Union for Contemporary Art and cooking classes Metro Community College. Have any suggestions? Send them her way!

Junior League of Omaha announces new focus area

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The Junior League of Omaha wrapped up the year and the decade with the announcement of an exciting new focus area: hunger and access to healthy foods. On December 2, the Board of Directors decided on this focus area after assessing criteria including membership interest, opportunity in the community to make an impact, sustainability, variety of volunteer opportunities and potential barriers. 

The decision comes as a result of a tireless process led by the Community Research and Development (CRaD) committee. They assessed needs in the Omaha metro in three different areas: hunger and access to healthy foods, abuse of women and children and opportunity youth.

The CRaD committee worked to set up and host around 30 service learning opportunities in these three areas between June and November. Members completed the service learning opportunities and provided valuable feedback which was compiled by the committee. This feedback was critical in making a decision on a new focus area.

“The CRaD team has been working diligently all year to ensure that education and volunteer opportunities were available for members to learn and participate in with the three focus areas. The focus area and research teams have collaborated with local organizations to envision future strategic goals and programming for years to come. We are grateful to have such passionate women involved in this process and for the participation and feedback from all of our membership,” said Emily Barr,| Junior League of Omaha Community Research and Development Chair. 

Building on the impact made over the last 100 years, the Junior League of Omaha is entering this new decade with an exciting area of focus and renewed commitment to voluntarism. 

Tips for running in high heels

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Picture running a race. In heels.

For the participants who sign up for the Junior League of Omaha’s 5th Annual High Heel Dash on May 7th, this is the reality.

High Heel Dash Collage 2

 

High Heel Dash is a fundraiser with event proceeds set to benefit the League’s community projects: The Career Development Series, Project Hope Pack, Done–in-a-Day, and A Book of My Own.

Women and Men are asked to run a 50-yard dash in heels that must be at least 2 inches high.  The race is open to anyone age 19 or older with those registered in the Boomers & Beyond category being allowed to run in flats.  Dashers can compete as an individual or in a four-person relay team.

Costumes are encouraged and prizes will be awarded in a variety of categories with top awards going to dash winners and creative costumes.  Want to attend with feet firmly in place? Community supporters can purchase a Diva/Dude Doesn’t Dash drink ticket for happy hour only.

The dash will be run at Turner Park, located in the heart of Midtown Crossing. Dashers will have the ability to run in a closed course.  For those who find running a challenge while wearing sneakers, this race can be particularly hazardous. Therefore the High Heel Dash Committee has put together several tips to offer before Thursday:

  1. Wedges offer more stability than stilettos.

  2. Non-slip stickers added to the bottom of shoes can increase traction.

  3. Safety over speed.

  4. Running in a heel can put more pressure on knees – a neoprene sleeve could help decrease pressure on the kneecaps.

  5. Utilize some type of ankle support – whether it’s a wrap or lace up support.

  6. Scan the course – watch for gravel and be aware of where your feet are hitting the ground as you run.

  7. Stretch – focus on your Achilles tendon and hamstrings.

  8. Heels must be at least 2 inches high but we recommend sticking with heels no higher than 2.5 inches.

2014-5-1 High Heel Dash - AH (46)

If you go:

Junior League of Omaha 5th Annual High Heel Dash will be held at Midtown Crossing on May 7.

Event registration begins at 5:30 PM with the first Dash starting at 6:15 PM.  Immediately following the Dash, an event happy hour will be held at Brix.

Pre-Register at Active.com.  A t-shirt will be given to the first 75 registrations. Day of registrations will also be available.

 

Connecting with…

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Phyllis Choat

Tell us about your family: 

Norm and I have been married 45 years. He is a retired Spanish teacher. We are so fortunate that our children Laurie and Eric live in Omaha. Our daughter Laurie Webb and her husband Andy have two children, Bella (8) and Drew (6). Eric is single and works at TD Ameritrade. We love to babysit!

Hometown: Omaha

College: University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Sorority: Gamma Phi Beta

Continue reading “Connecting with…” →

Sailing the Seven Seas

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Cruise Ball 1936

These Junior League women took part in the Junior League Cruise Ball at the Fontenelle Hotel in October 1936. Costumed to represent steamships are left to right: Kathryn Hosford as George Washington; Mrs. John Byrne as the Bremen; Harriet Kelly, the President Coolidge; Jean Dudley Gallagher as the Ile de France and Mrs. Hearne Christopher as the Empress of Russia.

Reprinted with permission from the Omaha World-Herald. This photo was part of the history in the 2006 Toast to Omaha A Cookbook Presented by the Junior League of Omaha.

Connecting with …

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Chaley Chandler (1)

Tell us about your family? Married to my husband Eric for 8 years with 2 children – Blake (daughter) who is 5 and Peyton (son) who is 2.

Chaley

Hometown: Omaha

College: University of Kansas

Sorority: Kappa Delta

Job/Business: Owner of Chocolate Peacock Boutique and CP2U

Chandler_Chaley

Why did you join the Junior League?

I actually joined the League because my job at the time was making all of the sales people be involved in at least one networking group.  I was sick of all the other network groups that I had tried so I found Junior League’s website and asked my boss if that would count.  He obviously said yes.  I ended up loving my experience with Junior League and even after leaving that job, I knew that I would be here to stay! Continue reading “Connecting with …” →

Junior League and Children’s Hospital

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The Junior League of Omaha has many strong roots at Children’s Hospital including beginning the Children’s Memorial Hospital Hospitality Gift Shop through their tireless efforts back in 1948. After the league began this program, the turned it over to the Friends of Children’s in 1956 and the hospital gift shop continues to thrive today and serve as a source of income to assist in many hospital programs and services.

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What’s in a name?

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When attending a Junior League of Omaha event, if you say Megan or Sarah, you will likely have several ladies turn around because 9% of our Active and New Members have one of these two names!

Sarah or Sara is one of the oldest names in existence and has remained popular over time.  During the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s the name held single digit popularity. It is almost surprising that we only have 3 Sarah’s who are Sustainers in the Junior League of Omaha.  Continue reading “What’s in a name?” →