History

Please bear with us as we work to gather the details of our illustrious history for this website. We will update our postings as we are able to glean that information from our current members and from our records.

ProTem was founded in 1923 by (four) Omahans who were each very heavily involved in civic causes and charities. Many of the initial members had served on the City Council, or on the Chamber of Commerce, or in other prominent civic institutions. The four founding members were W.F. Noble, Sam W Reynolds, Eugene Holland, and J.L McCrory. They served as ProTem’s first four Presidents, each serving one year, in order.

This group wanted a way to gather for a strictly social purpose and the dues were used only for funding their various social functions. Prohibition ran from 1/17/1920 to 12/5/1933, so the early years were likely social lunches among business leaders.

If one looks through the list of past presidents (link below), he will find an impressive list of leaders and prominent figures in the history of Omaha’s growth and prosperity. In fact, one of ProTem’s “benefits” is that many of those civic leaders’ children and grandchildren are current members.

Over the years, ProTem held their meetings at various establishments. From the Omaha Club to the Omaha Country Club for meals, and from the field Club to the Omaha Country Club for golf.

Today, ProTem enjoys roughly 140 members and hosts five social events each year. Our membership is stable, we welcome from 5 to 10 new members each year, and our events continue to draw large numbers of members and guests.