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Or-nah'a Ar'nbassadorsThe First Faces Visitors See

by Heather Akerberg I photos by minorwhitestudios.com

11lt 's the People. People," answered Jim Vose, a volunteer of one-and-a-half years

I with Omaha's Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), when asked what he most

I enjoyed about his volunteering job. That sentiment is unanimous among all

of CVB's volunteers; it 's the opportunity to meet and assist all kinds of folks from CVB's two

booths at Omaha's Eppley Airport. In addition to the two visitor information booths at theairport, the Convention and Visitors Bureau operates a visitor information center on thesouthwest corner of 1Oth and Farnam Streets. All the centers are manned by volunteers,kindly referred to as Omaha Ambassadors.

The volunteers that assist at Eppley, called Airport Ambassadors, are all members of oneof the three Golden K Kiwanis Clubs here in Omaha. The Kiwanis chapters involved are the

Omaha Golden K Club, Loveland Golden K Club, and West Omaha Diamond K Club. The

Airport Ambassadors program has been a project of the Kiwanis Clubs since 1984, lt startedwith 11 volunteers and only one booth at the airport. The program now has 50 volunteersfor the airport centers

"To date, we've logged 93,124 volunteer hours," says Don Egr, chair of the Kiwanis Airport

Ambassador project.

The volunteers work on a rotating schedule- each working a four-hour shift every other

week. The two airport booths are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The downtown visitor information center is open seven days a week-closed on major holi-

days. On an average day, Airport Ambassadors assist approximately 100 people. However,

on busier days, l ike during the College World Series or Berkshire Hathaway's annual confer-

encer an Airport Ambassador is l ikely to help 120 people in one shift. Since its inception, the

Ambassadors have assisted nearly 850,000 visitors to Omaha."l l ike to help people," said Egr, who has volunteered since 1997. "1 enjoy meeting *-

the errcounter I july/august 2008 | f3

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people, and it gives me an opportunity to learn more about my

community."

All the visitor information centers have a large selection of

maps and brochures, which include information on Omaha's

attractions, such as Henry Doorly Zoo and Lauritzen Botanical

Gardens, and special events that they offer to visitors. The two

airport booths are located on either end of the first f loor at the

airport and are easy to find due to their bright blue and green

d6cor. The booths feature 42-inch TV screens that play an infor-

mational video about Omaha and its attractions, as well as the

current forecast. The Convention and Visitors Bureau also pub-

lishes a 96-page Omaha 2008 Visitors Guide, which gives visitors

the scoop on local accommodations, dining, attractions, nightl ife,

and annual events. The guide is free and available at any of the

centers or online at www.visitomaha.com.

Frank Webber, who has been volunteering as an Airport Am-

bassador for more than 22years, got involved when his Kiwanis

Club asked for volunteers. A retired schoolteacher, Webber

taught at Tech High School for 35 years. He agrees that meetingpeople is one of the bonuses of working at the airport. Many

times, his volunteering has allowed him the chance to reunite

with former students.

"They'l l walk by, and then they'l l turn around and say,'Mr. Web-

ber!"'

Omaha's Ambassadors answer a variety of questions each day,

from where to eat or stay, to where to go fishing or how to spend

an afternoon. Webber says he's helped people from all over the

world, and even assisted people in a few sticky situations. For

instance, on one afternoon, he noticed a man standing in one of

the airl ine's ticket l ines.

Nothing unusual about that, right? Until Webber and the man

, both noticed the man's suitcase began to rock back and forth

; on its own. When the man opened his suitcase to investigate, he

discovered that his cat had climbed in there to take a nap while

; he had been packing. The gentleman's fl ight was leaving shortly,

so Webber helped him secure a carrier for the feline and call the

man's brother to come and retrieve the animal. All in a days work

for Webber and the other Airport Ambassadors.

Don Egr says the airport is a flurry of activity with all kinds ofpeople coming and going, from governors and state senators

to musicians and athletes. Egr remembers one afternoon when

he assisted a young man from Venezuela who was new to the

United States. The young man had come to Nebraska to play for

the Lincoln Sal tdogs, a minor league basebal l team. Egr helped

r the young man make a few phone calls and eventually connected

, him with other players that had just recently arrived and were in

the terminal .

, So, beyond directing visitors to hotels and helping tourists de-

cide what to do during their stay, the volunteers also offer visitors a

taste of Omaha's hospitality. They're willing to help out in any situa-

tion, which truly makes them ambassadors in euery sense. [In

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Lower Level Old Market Passaqewav . 402.345.8980 . vmertz.com

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Saddle Orook RccordsIndie Music Label Owners Keep Turning the Tablesby Heather Akerberg I photography by minorwhitestudios.com

andlord. Bar owner. Developer. Label manager. While Jason Kulbel of Saddle Creek

Records expected a few ofthose tit les, he could never have foreseen the others.

Kulbel moved back to Omaha in 2000 with the intent of assisting Robb Nansel,

a friend from college, in opening a rock club. Nansel had been operating Saddle Creek Re-

cords since '1998. Together, Nansel and Kulbel have worked to grow the label into an inde-

pendent music dar l ing.

When they first started throwing the idea around, Kulbel and Nansel were focused

wmjulylaugust 2008 | the encoLrnter

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on building-a permanent rock venue, a thing they felt Omahalacked, and a home for Saddle Creek's offices and warehouse.The project went through many changes and possible locationsuntil they decided on the plot on 14th Street between Cumingand Webster. Besides being home to Slowdown, the duo's rockclub, and Saddle Creek's headquarters, the mixed-use complexalso houses Film Streams, a nonprofit theater, as well as retailspaces and apartments.

With the bricks and mortar in place, Saddle Creek now has apermanent home in Omaha. Though Omaha seems an unlikelyplace for a record label, many of Saddle Creek Records' choicesare unconventional. Unlike many major labels that give artists asmall percentage from the sale of their music, Saddle Creek offersits bands a 50/50 split.

"We certainly don{t follow a lot of the industry patterns andpaths. lt's good to be away from it for that reason, and [Omaha]is just a good place to hole-up and get some work done," Kulbelsaid.

During the early days of the label, their band roster consistedsolely of Omaha artists. Now the roster features several bandsfrom other cities. No matter where the band is from, the quality ofthe music has remained the main focus.

"Our approach has always been to get a band in the studio,have them record a record, work on the record and have them outon the road," Jason said.

The label has several bands on tour, including Neva Dinova,Maria Taylor, and Tokyo Police Club, which played to a Slowdowncrowd in May and recently released their debut record. Kulbel is ahuge supporter of offering live music to the fans. This passion forlive music is what spawned the idea for Slowdown, which markedits first anniversary June 7th. Kulbel is pleased with the receptionthat the club has received.

"ln the last year, l 've put so much into this lclub] that l 've kindafallen out of a lot of things that I was used to doing. There can bea hundred people in here, and I won't know anyone but the bar-tender," Kulbel said.

Slowdown is definitely a labor of love for Jason. He lives inone of the apartments in the complex and often finds himselfspending much of his t ime workinq.

"At this point that's just not my job-to know everyone in theroom," Kulbel added. "lt 's more providing the room-making surethat something's going on."

Take one look at Slowdown's calendar of events (www.theslow-

down.com), and you'll know that Jason's doing a fine job. [In

the encounter I july/august 2008