The Welfare and Benefits Association is an organization of which many readers are members. Our constitution states that part of our purpose is to, "promote and encourage recreational and social activities and to serve the best interests and welfare of all association members and their families…" among other things. Some of the ways that we accomplish this are through donations made to member’s sports teams, police-related causes, and by giving financial aid to members that fall on difficult times. There are many current and past members that have received assistance in some form from the Association.

Probably the best-known event that the Welfare and Benefits Association sponsors is the yearly picnic at the Fun Plex that usually occurs in early June. It has always been an extremely popular event that has been enjoyed by many members and their families as well as retired members and the Association is committed to continuing sponsoring this event. However, due to the changing financial climate, we have found it increasingly difficult each year to finance the event at its current high level of quality and continue to support the Association’s other responsibilities. As a result of this, myself and the other board members have agreed to some price changes as well as changes in how we organize the picnic.

The first change is that we will be holding the picnic on July 7^th this year with July 8^th as the rain out date. The reason for the move was to increase our odds that we will have decent weather on the day of the picnic and ensure that no one will be afraid to enjoy the water attractions due to cool weather. As we all know, the weather in early June in Nebraska can be iffy at best. We also changed the dates because of activities being held in the city such as the CWS and the Olympic Swim trials. These events require a large amount of resources from OPD and we want to ensure that all members can attend the picnic if they want to.

Changes for members and their families will concern activity passes, meals and guests. In the past, we have had members pay $5.00 for activity passes for every person that wanted to use the Fun Plex pools and rides. We will now be charging $10.00 for every person, which is still a very good deal, compared to what is normally charged. Also, all members and their family members will still get a free meal but the change will be that all meals must be pre-ordered. It is imperative that all members and retirees return the forms sent out with their meal orders so we can order the exact amount of meals needed. We will no longer be selling meals at the door and will in fact be attaching your ordered meal tickets to the forms you send back to us and we’ll keep those at the front gate with your price pre-calculated. If we don’t have a form for you prior to the event, you won’t be able to get a meal. Don’t worry, if you forget to order a meal, you can still come and enjoy our world famous hot dogs for free!

There also will be changes in the price of admission for guests. We will now be charging $10.00 for guests to get into the park and get unlimited hot dogs and drinks. If the guest would also like an activity pass, it will cost $20.00 for the pass and the unlimited hot dogs and drinks. If you want a meal for your guest, it will cost an additional $8.50 and the meal must also be pre-ordered. One of our biggest areas of loss has been with the guests of members.

Retirees will still get a free meal for themselves and their spouse; however, their meal also will have to be pre-ordered. Retirees will have to pay $20.00 for an activity pass and the rates mentioned earlier for guests also will apply to them. Guests for retirees consist of anyone beyond the retiree and their spouse.

As board members, we have been kicking around a lot of ideas of how we can reduce the cost of the picnic. After much discussion, we feel that these are the best ways to provide a quality event to our members and their families, as well as retirees, and still be able to support our other functions. Want to go to the picnic, which any member will attest is a fun event, and you’re not a member? You can always JOIN by contacting any board member or me for membership. We also take payment for membership at the picnic gates. If you are a member and need any assistance, please contact us and see what we can do to help you. We look forward to seeing you all at the Fun Plex!