This week police ticketed a 10 years old Texas boy for not wearing his seat belt properly. When the cop stopped the car he issued a citation to the child and asked for his signature. The young man complained that he's only 10 and doesn't have a signature yet! Also this week, a North Carolina teen won a legal battle to wear a nose stud to school. She argued that as a member of the Church of Body Modification, she should be exempt from the jewelry ban at her high school.
JUNE 30TH MEETING is our last one here at the Westin. It is not only the presentation of the Rotarian of the Year, it's also the installation of Debbie Swain's 2011-2012 Officers and Board. It will be a special lunch, wine and everything. Please bring a guest, spouse, significant other or perhaps a prospective Rotarian. Be sure to let Terry know in advance so we can confirm a count to the hotel.
FOUNDATION MINUTE from Foundation Chair, Rick Tonkinson as he awarded multiple Paul Harris pins to Chris Morrison, who received his three-sapphire pin for a total of four PHF's. Also to Hadley Williams who got RUBIES. Hadley has just achieved his seventh PHF which changes his pin from sapphires to rubies. You can't find a better charity than The Rotary Foundation. Every dollar you give goes back out into the world. Give freely and often and give large. The Rotary Foundation.Only two birthdays this week. And like all good Gemini's they come in two's. Miki Spiejers and Luis Sardinas a couple more of these energetic, adaptable, impulsive people. But because they're on the cusp of Cancer they tend to be a cautious and just a little moody. Say Happy Birthday this week to both Miki and Luis on June 21st.
Congratulations to Luis Boue
Celebrating 16 years in Rotary this week.
Thanks for all your years of service.
Employees of the Month
April & June, 2011
April & June, 2011
The City of Coral Gables Employee of the month for April, 2011 was Jacqueline Lewis, the very able right hand of Carmen Olazabal in the Building and Zoning Department.
For the month of June, the award goes to Terrance J. Daniel, an inspector in the Fire Department. Chief Robert Lowman praised him for his outstanding work on behalf of fire safety in our City.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Happy $$
The good Dr. Randy was not available to Groh Scholarships today. He had to work. But Luis Boue stepped up to the plate in honor of his 16 years (and because he's really good at it) and formed two lines ... one line for Coral Gables Interact Scholarships and another line for Gulliver. We're feeding two now and we need to be a whole lot happier! First up was Chris Morrison who brought us an article from the Manley Daily in Sydney, Australia. Seems that the Helicopter Golf Ball Drop that Chris created to raise money for polio has gone viral. They just used it in Sydney to raise $7,000 for the earthquake victims. John Wallace was happy to report that after four long years of trying, he an Louise have finally sold their home and will be leaving us and moving off to Fairhope Alabama on July 16th. Yoli Woodbridge is so happy to belong to our Rotary Club. After the request at last week's meeting for a motorized wheel chair for the Rotarian in Honduras, our own Jerry Santiero found one and donated it to the cause. Walter Alvarez is happy that his middle son has found employment for the summer. He's happy to belong to Rotary too because the research job his son secured is with Hadley Williams. THE Donald Trombly is happy to report that on the 22nd he will have been married 15 years. On a trip with Fred and Greg he recently learned to kayak. Now he's taking his wife on a kayak tour with him. Don Slesnick is happy that the University of Virginia is headed for the College World Series. He'd like to thank the UC Irvine Anteaters! Rick Tonkinson, just returned from Europe, was pleased to report there is evidence of Rotary everywhere.There's a metal map of Rotary International in Cambridge, England, donated by a local club. And John Cameron, the Prime Minister was just quoted in the Economist as crediting Rotary for his own successes in life. Aaron Glasser was happy to see some of the City's finest at our meeting today. He salutes the Fire Department, Chief Skinner, former Mayor Don Slesnick for all their service to the citizens of Coral Gables. The Diva (Susan Guttmann) gave a very emotional testimony of her recent injury and the effect that it had on her life. She spoke of the difficulty she had being confined and having to depend on others and what it was like in a wheel chair. She's sure that this broken ankle happened for a reason and one is that she now understands how being dependent affects your life. She is very grateful to all of her friends in Rotary that have helped her through this ordeal. She's happy she is a Rotarian. Finally Dick Golden. Bad joke today so it's been censored. In closing, Luis admitted that he has missed Diva's giggles and he's really glad that she is back.
Working Rotarians - June 16, 2011
Greeters - Rodney Langer & Rolf Frankfurter
Registration - Aaron Glasser
Collections - Carlos Bolado & Abe Horowitz
Head Table - John Wallace
Special Needs - Frank Sexton, Chris Morrison & Lan Nghiem-Phu
Invocation - Lan Nghiem-Phu
Pledge - Walter Alvarez
Singer - Bill Quesenberry
Pin Drawing Gift - Donald Trombly
Pin Drawing Winner - Rolf Frankfurter
50/50 Raffle - Donald Trombly
50/50 Winner - Gary Rovin
5 Way Test - Dr. Phil Boswell
Today's Program
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County’s Public School District is the fourth largest in the country, and the 2nd largest economy in the State. In the past three years, a plan has been implemented that has elevated our school districts to one of the top four large urban school districts in the Country.
When Carvalho first accepted the position three years ago, Miami-Dade Schools were facing the worst catastrophic economic conditions in its history. A $130 million liability was disclosed, the health insurance provider announced a $73 million price increase, and there were no contracts with any of the unions. MD Schools was almost put into state receivership. Carvalho’s plan included reducing administrative costs by 52% by putting 400 administrators into schools, and firing 100 that were responsible for the financial problems. A line by line budget review identified an additional $30million cost savings, and the health insurance provided was eliminated and the Schools became self-insured. Nine county schools were slated for closing due to consistent F scores. At the town hall meetings with parents and students of those schools, Carvalho asked if they were satisfied with the results – the schools had winning athletic teams, but students read at the 5th grade level. The principals and 60% of the teachers were removed, and now, for the first time, all nine schools have received C grades. For the first time Coral Gables High School received an A grade.
Today MD Schools continues to launch new models and reinvent itself. Two new MAST Academies will be launched – one each in Homestead and Hialeah. An International Program (ISPA) will be opening in the fall. Funding for arts and music programs will be enhanced using funds donated to a 501c3 formed by MD Schools. The Schools’ reserves have been increased from $4million to $131 million. MD Schools has become better with less money. FCAT scores are higher than ever before, and the number of graduates has increased. Based on a nationwide test, MD Schools has ranked at the top. Miami-Dade Public Schools is now one of four finalists eligible to win an award characterized as “The Nobel Prize of Education”. The winner will be announced in September.
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: Judge Jeri B. Cohen, Drug Dependency Court
Thought for the Week By Debbie Swain
"It's easy to make a buck.
It's a lot tougher to make a difference."
Tom Brokaw
Scene Scenes
Join us next week.
Same time, same place
and same great bunch of Rotarians.
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