125 years of inventing the future together!
In this new series, we’re celebrating the past 125 years – remembering our roots, showcasing the accomplishments we and our members have made and highlighting our role as an agent of change in this community. #InventingTheNext125
Excerpt from Pathways to Prosperity by Louise Gilmore Donahue
Signs of economic depression were everywhere in Omaha in 1893: crops failed, farmers fled the state and businesses struggled to survive. But one group was able to look past the soup kitchens and charity stores to a better future. It was on March 17, 1893, that about 25 businessmen decided to form the organization. This visionary group was the Omaha Commercial Club, later to be known as the Greater Omaha Chamber.
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- Herman Kountze, First Chamber President
Herman Kountze was elected president of the new group. The Commercial Club’s statement of purpose reflected the determination of its 200 founding members. The organization planned to seek cooperation from “all classes of people in the community.” Its aim was to work for the common good in all matters touching the general welfare of the city of Omaha; to secure the location of manufactories and other business enterprises in the city; to promote commercial progress and increase trades and industries; to acquire and disseminate valuable commercial and economical information.
The Commercial Club quickly got down to the business of resuscitating what had once been touted as the “Wonder City of the West.”
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- Report of the Secretary for 1893
