In early 1924, Dick Donavan of the International One Hundred Percent Club, with headquarters in Los Angeles, contacted a group of Omaha businessmen with the idea of organizing a club in Omaha. He met with Art Fales of the J.P.Cooke Co., I. A. Medlar of the Medlar Co., Rip Walters of Western Paper Co. and Jack Vette I of Remington Typewriter Co. With the help of this group, Donavan hand picked the first 25 members. The first meeting was held at the Fontenelle Hotel on May 10, 1924, and the Omaha One Hundred Percent Club was organized. Shortly after the first meeting, 15 more firms were signed as members. These 40 firms comprised the association's original membership. Today, J.P. Cooke Co. and Chicago Lumber Co. are the only firms that have remained members from the beginning.
The Association's Original Officers
• President - Jack Vettel- Remington Typewriter Co.
• 1st Vice President - E. L. Holland, Orchard and Wilhelm Co.
• 2nd Vice President - Murray Thomas, The Pantorium
• Treasurer - Dale Clark, Omaha National Bank
• Secretary - Jack Meyer, Ernst and Ernst
By 1926 the club had grown to 75 members and it was decided to drop out of the 100 Percent organization and formally change the name to the Omaha Executives Association and incorporate in the State of Nebraska.
The constitution and by-laws that were set up in 1924 are about the same as those which we still operate under today. The main change was in 1931 when the policy of electing a full slate of candidates was changed to electing only the 2nd Vice president, secretary, and treasurer. At this point the 1st Vice President moved up to the President's position automatically.
The last of the charter members to be active in our association was Charlie Reed. Charlie Reed was a lawyer who had been a member or the original Panama Canal civilian board that took over from the Army. This group of businessmen finally put the Canal on a paying basis. Charlie was famous for his off color stories and jokes. He passed away in the mid 1980’s.
This is a very brief history of our association. We are working on a more complete history. We would like to hear from you on any interesting items from the past that we can include.
An emeritus membership may be established at the discretion of the Board of Directors of by a majority vote of the Board. Such a membership shall be limited, however, to a charter primary representative of the Omaha Executives Association which preceded the formation of this Corporation, or who has served 30 years or more in this Corporation or the said predecessor Association, or both and has provided outstanding meritorious service and dedication to this Corporation and the said predecessor Association. An Emeritus Member is entitled to all the rights and privileges of a associate representative. An Emeritus Member shall pay no dues to the Corporation, but shall pay for the luncheons and events he or she attends.
Omaha Executive Association Presents Emeritus Membership for providing outstanding meritorious service and dedication to the Omaha Executive Association for 30 Years to Scott Dye with Baird Holm Law Firm on March 6, 2008.
Omaha Executive Association Presents Emeritus Membership for providing outstanding meritorious service and dedication to the Omaha Executive Association for 42 Years to Eugene Valasek, Sr. with Weathercraft Enterprises, Inc. and to Marvin Jelinek with Accurate Locksmith for 41 years on July 19, 2007.
Omaha Executive Association Presents Emeritus Membership for providing outstanding meritorious service and dedication to the Omaha Executive Association for 34 Years to Karen Wilson on January 14, 2016. Karen served as the 150th President of OEA. She has been the membership and classification chair since 2001 and continues in that position.
Omaha Executive Association Presents Emeritus Membership for providing outstanding meritorious service and dedication to the Omaha Executive Association for 31 Years to Mike Berlin on January 24, 2019. Mike is a past President of OEA, having served in that role in 1995. Mike served the OEA Treasurer beginning in 2005 and served in that role until 2015 or for 10 years. Mike has also served as a director of OEA, and has also attended many Board meetings as a past president.