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 The
Oasis has been a vital part of the senior citizen community in
Lincoln and Logan County since 1983. In that year, the organization
was formed and began growing its membership and services. The Oasis
applied for a 501c3 not for profit status and received that
certification on July 2, 1984, which is the official “birth date” of
the organization.
On Tuesday during the ribbon cutting ceremony the
first speaker of the day was Rebecca Drake. Drake was the first
executive director at the Oasis and played a key role in pulling it
all together. She spoke humbly saying that she was indeed there, but
it was a wonderfully supportive board of directors that enabled the
Oasis to move forward. She said the board had a purpose and was
willing to keep driving everything forward. She said she was pleased
to see what they started still going on today. She said, “It was a
wonderful experience, and I was very honored to be chosen as that
first director.”
The second person to speak was Dom Dalpoas. Dalpoas was the
executive director when the downtown location was struck by
lightning and gutted by the subsequent fire.
Dalpoas remembered how that he had more or less
accidently applied for the director position. He said he had retired
from his profession and was going to seek out supplemental
employment at Sherwin Williams. He walked past the Oasis downtown
building and saw a sign in the window and stopped in. The person at
the desk asked him to leave his name and phone number, and he
remembered thinking to himself that had not been much of an
application process, but whatever it was, he was soon offered the
position and decided to take it.
Speaking about the aftermath of the fire, Dalpoas also gave a great
deal of credit to his board of directors. He recalled the late Wally
Reifsteck had been the president that year, and they had talked
about the future of the Oasis. It was then predicted that while this
had been a hard blow, the Oasis would come back bigger and better
than ever before. He said that indeed it had.
Nila Smith with Lincoln Daily News was serving as the
emcee for the ribbon cut, and noted that there had been a number of
executive directors at the Oasis, but these two had been chosen
because the were in their positions during milestone events at the
Oasis.
She said that the third person to speak was not a past director, but
a present, and that many knew she was indeed a gift to the senior
community in Logan County. Current Executive Director Krista Miller
was asked to say a few words.
Miller kept her commentary short, saying that she was
appreciative of the support of the community and the seniors and
happy to be a part of this milestone birthday.
Also on hand behind the ribbon for the Oasis was the
current board president Debra Pollock. She was asked to speak and
also thanked everyone for being there. She said that she felt that
everything that needed to be said had been, so she would not
duplicate.
Representing the city of Lincoln, Mayor Tracy Welch was on hand
along with alderwoman Wanda Lee Rohlfs.
Welch congratulated the Oasis on their 40th year and
commented on the value of the organization to the senior population
in Lincoln and all of the county. Welch commented, “Obviously there
is a lot of history with this organization, 40 years is remarkable.
Every member of this organization does a wonderful job, both past
and present.”
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Rohlfs shared a personal experience saying that when
her mother was living, she had been active at the Oasis. Rohlfs said
it was comforting to her to know that her mother had this venue for
socialization. In enabled Rohlfs to feel good to see her mother
enjoy the time she spent at the Oasis. Rohlfs said as a result, the
Oasis has become important to her even more so now that her mom has
passed, which is why she tries to be a part, volunteering and
helping out whenever she can. And, she has also participated in
several of the programs that are offered through the oasis including
line dancing, dinners, and bus tours. She congratulated the group on
their 40 years and thanked them for their service to the community.
Standing beside Miller at the front of the ribbon was
Jolie Lercher, the program director for the Oasis. It was mentioned
that the day of activities, the plans for the ribbon cut and the
reception afterward had been accomplished with a lot of help from
Lercher.
Others behind the ribbon included volunteers at the Oasis, and
Lincoln City Clerk Peggy Bateman. Logan County tourism Director
Alice Roate and Karen Castelein with Lincoln Daily News held the
ribbon for the cut.
With the speeches concluded, the group stood for the
posed picture with several people on hand wanting to get that shot.
Then there was the countdown to the snip, with Miller and Pollock
doing the honors.
Immediately following the cut, Miller accepted a
$2,000 donation from Jim Clark with Invenergy. The donation will be
used to cover the everyday costs involved in keeping the Oasis open
and available to Logan County’s senior citizens.
The ribbon cut was performed in the formal sitting a game area on
the east wing of the Oasis. Following the cut, in the west wing
dining area, guests gathered for cake and beverages along with a
candy and snack bar.
There was a table with albums that depicted the past
40 years of Oasis history in photos. The large screen televisions on
the walls were playing slideshows of that same history.
Tim Harmon and Mike Trapp provided live music throughout the next
two hours.
The Oasis Senior Center is located at 2810 Woodlawn Road in Lincoln.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Special activities and health and wellness events take place almost
daily. To see what is going on at the Oasis view their online
newsletter at
https://www.oasis
seniorcenter.com/newsletter.html and visit their website
at https://www.oasis
seniorcenter.com/.
The Oasis relies heavily on membership dues and donations to keep
their doors open each day. To become a new member or make a donation
visit
https://www.oasisseniorcenter.com/
membership--donate1.html.
[Nila Smith]
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