Coral Gables RotaryGram: Vol. 65 No. 45 Notes from the Podium

President's Time

Today's tale is presumed to have been a true story about a woman who got divorced because of her birthday. Let's just say that the supreme embarrassment of being in such an obviously flagrant position made the story very funny. You had to be there.

And on the subject of idiocy, this week a six-year old Wisconsin boy has been accused of first-degree sexual assault for "playing doctor" with a five-year old girl. Since the boy is too young to face criminal charges, prosecutors asked the judge for state intervention to make sure that he gets the help he so obviously needs ... hmmm.

COMMUNITY SERVICE: Special Olympics will be holding their annual golf compeition at International Links Golf Course ( the old: Mel Reese, see map below) on Monday, May 23rd, Tuesday, May 24th and Thursday, May 26th. They are in need of volunteers to help with the golfers, these will be kids from grade school and high school. Volunteers will need to be there from 9:30am until 1pm and they need to dress comfortably and bring water, a hat and sunscreen as it will be very hot and possibly sunny out on the green. This is a fun and very rewarding event that we've supported the past two years. There will be sign up sheets at our lunch next week or please feel free to email Terry Long as soon as possible if you can assist with this event. You can sign up for any or all of the three dates at your convenience, just let us know when you plan to be there so we can let Mark Thompson know how many Rotary volunteers to expect each day. Your help is greatly appreciated

Back to those cusp babies the first of which is Ed Morris, celebrating his birthday on May 17. Natives of this inclination tend to be witty, placid, self indulgent and restless. Tell Ed Happy Birthday when you see him!

Celebrating Rotary Anniversaries this week are Lloyd Miller for 33 years and Julio Velis for five years. Thanks for your years of Service.

Happy $$

Randy’s back to make Scholarships Groh but he came up short today and wasn’t able to find a lot of happy Rotarians. First up was Terry Long who is happy because a very good friend of hers has been declared “Cancer Free” and her experience led her to have her dog certified as a therapy dog to help other cancer patients. Steve Magenheimer was happy to announce that his eldest granddaughter, Sarah just graduated Suma Cum Laude from Vanderbilt College and will be going to graduate school at the Harvard Business School in the fall! Dick Golden’s back and his really awful joke was deemed to be worth $20 in fines today. J Guarch has returned but only for today. Next week he’s gone again, this time to watch his daughter graduate from NYU with highest honors. Ed Morris was happy to point out that William Isaias needs to purchase the $2.3 million Bugatti Veyron Super Sport which has 1,200 hp with it’s 16 cylinder engine and a top speed of 268 mph. It has a 26 gallon gas tank which, when the car is run at top speed lasts 12 minutes and tires that cost $30,000 and last six minutes at top speed. And last but not least, dandy Randy was happy to see his old friend Al Smith at the meeting today and also pleased to announce that his middle daughter just graduated from Palmer Trinity as Salutatorian and she will be attending Georgia Tech next fall. Go Bulldogs! Happiness pays so keep on smiling!

WORKING ROTARIANS – MAY 12, 2011

Greeters – Rodney Langer & Rolf Frankfurter

Registration – Deena Bell

Collections – Abe Horowitz

Head Table – Chris Morrison

Special Needs – Frank Sexton

Open the Meeting – Dick Golden

Invocation – Joan Reitsma

Pledge – Debbie Swain

Singers – Bill Quesenberry & Dan Scipione

DeWitt Law Silver Dollars – Abe Horowitz

Given to – Ed Morris & Ana Fournaris

Pin Drawing Gift – Dan Scipione

Pin Drawing Winner – Dan Scipione given to Gloria Burns

50/50 Collections – Gloria Burns

50/50 Winner – William Isaias

5 Way Test – Chris Morrison

Today’s Program

Martin Hughes Coral Gables

Citizen of the Year Award Winner

Roxcy O’Neil Bolton

Roxcy O'Neal Bolton, pioneer feminist, was born in 1926 in Mississippi. She was active in Democratic Party organizations. She married Commander David Bolton U.S.N. who later acted as president of Men for ERA. In 1966, Bolton helped form Florida's National Organization for Women, serving as charter president of the Miami Chapter and National Vice President in 1969. She founded Women in Distress, a non-profit agency providing emergency housing, rescue service and multi-discipline assistance to women in situations of personal crisis.

In 1974 she was instrumental in establishing the Rape Treatment Center, the first of its kind, at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. That same year Bolton organized Florida's first Crime Watch meeting to help stem crime against women. She has served on many boards and commissions and has been the recipient of numerous awards relating to her work in women's rights.

In 1994, Channel 10’s Molly Turner summed up Bolton’s life as follows: “Roxcy was not a woman of her time…she created her time. She blazed a trail…put the spotlight on women…showcased their problems…and encouraged other women to take action and expand the fight for equal rights.
She is a remarkable woman…a formidable adversary, a persistent advocate, a woman of courage and conviction who is not afraid to go it alone if need be…and she is a loyal and staunch friend.

Florida is a much better place for women…and men…because Roxcy Bolton widened the gate to equality.”
Rotary Club of Coral Gables is PROUD to award the Martin Hughes Citizen of the Year Award to Roxcy O’Neil Bolton.

NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAM: David Lawrence, Chairman, Children’s Movement of Florida.