Coral Gables RotaryGram: Vol. 66 No. 16 Notes from the Podium

President's Time
We were in the big room with a small crowd today. Debbie urged members to move up to the empty tables to better engage in the meeting!

Under the heading of "just a few announcements", she updated us on the status of Golf Tournament Sponsors. Add to the list Luis Boue and his firm, Withers Transportation Services, LPL Financial, David Mitchell and Martini & Sacher, P.A. Thanks for your support. We still have plenty of tees left that need sponsors. AND please sign up to play at the tournament on November 3rd too. Golfers are what makes a great tournament.

If you haven't already purchased your tickets for the Golf Ball Drop, get them from Rolf now. The money that you contribute to this District Fundraiser for the Annual Programs Fund gets credited to your Rotary Giving Account and counts towards your next Paul Harris Fellowship. The Ball Drop will be held on the afternoon of the Golf Tournament at The Biltmore Hotel.

REMEMBER, Sunday, October 23 is Gables Bike Day. We need more volunteers so if you haven't already signed up to help out do so NOW.

It's good to see that our members are returning from their summer homes (now that it's snowed in the Carolina's). Welcome back to Hank Collins. Also back today is Hank Langston. Our condolences in the recent passing of his sister.

Introduction of Guests &Visitors

Apparently Mr. Bullman was out of the room so THE Donald Trombly took over for him today. We had a visiting Rotarian from Amsterdam and Joe Roth from the Weston Club (he's also the District Membership Chair). Yoli Woodbridge brought Commissioner Ralph Cabrera (a former member of our Club - if there is such a thing as a "former" Rotarian) and Frank Sexton brought Rosie Diaz once again. Welcome! Come back again.

Easygoing, sociable and self-indulgent are just a few of the traits of Libra natives. Say Happy Birthday this week to some very "well balanced" Rotarians ... Joe Witz today, John Wallace on October 15 and Guillermo Villar on October 16.

Only one Rotary Anniversary this week - and what an anniversary it is! Ron Robison celebrates 41 years in Rotary this week. Thank you for so many fine years of Service Ron!

New Members Installation

Say "hello" to our new member, Reza Ray Dehbozorgi. Ray comes to Miami by way of Chicago but originally from Iran. Formerly a Rotarian in Chicago, he missed the organization so much he's rejoined. Ray is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in engineering. He then got an MBA in hospitality, worked in the food and beverage industry and owned a restaurant. He left Chi Town and moved to Miami 20 years ago and never looked back. Now he owns Minuteman Press in Doral. He has a wife and two daughters of whom he is very proud, one is a lawyer and the other a dentist. In his spare time he teaches Tai Chi and is active in several sports. He's anxious to get involved in Community Service and all things Rotary once again. Ray will be a great addition to our Club.

Lorraine Sheldon is the first ASSOCIATE MEMBER to be inducted in our Club. RCCG is part of the RI Pilot Membership Program. We are testing out the Associate Member Program wherein someone can join Rotary on a trial basis for a set period of time to determine if they want to remain in the Club.

Lorraine originally hails from the Pacific Northwest. She fell in love with Coral Gables while completing her last year at University of Oregon's School of Architecture and moved here as soon as she could in 1993. She worked as an interior designer for several large firms in Coral Gables and launched her own firm 10 years ago. She loves the outdoors, plays soccer and likes to garden. She is also a member of The Villagers and supports restoration of historical properties throughout South Florida. She's also Deena Bell's best friend!

Welcome to both of our new members!

MEMBERSHIP MINUTE

Greg Martini, Membership Chair, and President Debbie took a few minutes to recognize the people who have brought in new members since the Rotary year began. The Rogues Gallery above is who we have to thank for their efforts; Gloria Burns sponsored Ray Dehbozorgi, Tom Dixon sponsored Joe Witz, Yoli Woodbridge sponsored Andrea Fusero, Andrea Fusero sponsored Andrea Covre and of course Deena Bell-Llewellyn sponsored Lorraine Sheldon.

Happy $$$

Susan Guttmann

The good Dr. Randy wasn't here today to Groh Scholarships and so the Diva tried her hand at it again. But apparently either she's out of practice of there was little to no happiness to be found in the room today! Abe Horowitz was happy that Lorraine Sheldon has joined our Club. He's known her for many years as Lorraine #2 but now that she's in Rotary she's #1 in his book. Pat Morris was happy to see Commissioner Ralph Cabrera here with Yoli today. He recalled some years ago when Ralph was active in our Club that he tried (at that time unsuccessfully) to get Pat to join Rotary. Diva made us promise not to tell Dr. Randy about her poor performance at fundraising today. But it ain't her fault!!! Keep on smiling. Happiness pays!

Working Rotarians - October 13, 2011

Greeters - Rolf Frankfurter & Steven Spann

Registration - Aaron Glasser

Collections - Frank Sexton & John Porro

Head Table - Rodney Langer

Open the Meeting - Jack Witty

Invocation - Steve Magenheimer

Pledge - George Reeves

Singers - Dan Scipione

Pin Drawing Gift - George Reeves

Pin Drawing Winner - Rob Hatfield

50/50 Raffle Sales - Gloria Burns & THE Donald

50/50 Winner - Dan Scipione

4-Way Test - Gene Mariutto

Today's Program

October is Vocational Service Month in Rotary. What does it mean? Presented by Past President, Vocational Service Chair Frank Sexton.

Frank promised a short boring talk but as usual he was long winded, very entertaining AND informative. He said that Vocational Service has its roots way back to the beginning of our Country. Jefferson and Washington were out searching for Rune stones one day and while taking a break had a conversation about how someday they both envisioned Vocational Service happening all across the land (!?!?!). It was a good way to get our attention ...

Frank explained that he accepted the position of Vocational Service Chair because he was promised that the position carried little or no responsibility. He wouldn't have to do much. Now, after researching exactly what Vocational Service IS, he thinks he should be fired!

Vocational Service is one of the five Avenues of Service in which Rotarians are expected to engage. The other four are Club Service, Community Service, International Service, and new this year, New Generations Service (that's YOUTH!).

When you joined Rotary, you joined with a Classification. That Classification is based on your profession. Rotarians are urged to always maintain high ethical standards in their business or profession. They recognize the usefulness of all occupations. Rotarians contribute their vocational talents to the betterment of the world and Rotary. That's a pretty tall order. But as usual, Rotary gives fine examples of what we as Rotarians can do to promote Vocational Service within our Club.

First of course is to allow our members to give Classification Talks (Frank really likes engage people in these little interviews at our weekly meetings). Another thing is to offer tours of our members businesses which is what we do when we are hosted by our members at a 5th Friday (such as Snow's Jewelers last week). RI suggests that we might want to hold a Career Fair or Workshops. We might want to mentor young people who are interested in learning more about our vocation. We should promote ethical behavior in our profession and our workplace. The 4-Way Test is the cornerstone of that ethical behavior. Perhaps you would like to volunteer your vocation to fulfill a need in the community, i.e., attorneys who volunteer to handle foreclosures pro-Bono for those who cannot afford to hire an attorney to represent them. And Clubs can create a vocational awards program, much like our Employee of the Month programs for City Employees who have served the community well.

In his book, "My Road to Rotary", Paul Harris, who founded the organization in 1905, speaks about the importance of doing business with your fellow Rotarians. Who better to refer for goods and service but someone with high ethical standards? Don't you really want to do business with people whom you know you can trust because they operate just like you? That's Vocational Service.

For more information on Vocational Service and what is its role in Rotary, don't hesitate to visit the Rotary International Website. It is a treasure trove of information and you'll learn more than you ever thought possible.

NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: The East Coast Greenway: 3,000 miles from Canada to Key West. Dennis Markatos-Soriano, Executive Director, East Coast Greenway Alliance.