Coral Gables RotaryGram: Vol. 66 No. 21 Notes from the Podium

President's Time

President Debbie reminded us all that there is no meeting next week at the Country Club but you can join us at the Partnership for the Homeless where a whole lot of us will be serving Thanksgiving Dinner.

November is Foundation Month and The Rotary Foundation has just changed how you can donate to Rotary. Now it's possible to designate what type of project you would like to support, Literacy, Water, Hunger, Polio. For more details see Abe Horowitz, 2011-12 Foundation Chair.

A little reminder about Rotary etiquette ... for the hour or so that we are all together every week, leave people's titles at the door. When we're here we're all just Rotarians. Don't bother or badger your fellow Rotarians to engage in discussions about your particular issues. We all really appreciate the consideration.

Nominations Open for the 2012-2013

Officers and Board of Directors

Past President Kelly Sastre reviewed the requirements of our Club's By Laws and announced the slate of Officers and Directors proposed by President-Elect Walter Alvarez and the Nominating Committee:

OFFICERS

President - Walter Alvarez

President-Elect - Donald Trombly

Vice President - Greg Martini

Secretary - Rodney Langer

Treasurer - Bill Quesenberry

DIRECTORS

Community Service - Deena Bell-Llewllyn

International Service - Carol Brock

Club Service - Steven Spann

New Generations - Pat Morris

Membership - Bill Martinez

Development - Fred Baddour

Retention - Ana Fournaris

At Large - Dan Scipione

Nominations are open from the floor. The second reading will be at the meeting on December 1st. If an election is required it will be held on December 8th. The Rotary year goes really quickly. Seems like only yesterday that Debbie Swain took the reigns and now we're already at the halfway point!

We're at the cusp of Scorpio and Sagittarius this week. Natives tend to be optimistic, intellectual, exciting, compulsive and restless. Say Happy Birthday to Gene Mariutto on the 19th, Julio Velis on the 20th, Felix Pardo on the 23rd. Next week we move right into Sagittarius and jovial, good humored, philosophical folks like Keith Phillips and Alfredo Iglesias both born on November 26th and Tom Dixon who celebrates on the 28th.

Only one Rotary Anniversary this week, Luis Sardinas has been a member of our Club for six years this week. Thanks for your service Luis.

Introduction of Visitors & Guests

The figures are in - we had 116 people at last week's meeting with the GSE Team - so many, we didn't have a chance then to introduce everyone. But there's not too many people visiting this week. Gene Witherspoon brought his friend from Washington DC, Dean Bottica. Keith Phillips brought him mom and dad - Keith Phillips Sr., once the Mayor of the City of Coral Gables. Mead McCabe brought Dennis Doucette, General Manager of The Biltmore Hotel.

City of Coral Gables

Employee of the Month

Meralva Asensio is the Assistant to the Director of Human Resources for the City of Coral Gables. She has held this position for the past five years. Her supervisor, Frank Dilorenzo said that she was recognized for more than her work performance. She is honest, has integrity and understands the responsibilities of a public employee. She does her best to always help the people with whom she interacts to the best of her ability. Congratulations to Meralva. Keep up the good work.

Coral Gables' Newest Member

Macdonald West

Rick Tonkinson introduced us to Mac West today. Mac has been a Rotarian since 1977. He is a former member of our Club but moved to the Rotary Club of Miami when his professional life took him out of Coral Gables as Executive Vice President for the Graham Companies. Mac got his MBA from Columbia. He's the Chief Operating Officer for the Allen Morris Company and was involved in the construction of Morris' beautiful Alhambra Towers office building. He's been in commercial real estate in South Florida his entire life. Be sure to give Mac a warm welcome back to the best Rotary Club in town! It's really nice to have him back.

Third Place Winner of the Rotary

District 6990 Golf Ball Drop

Margarita Tonkinson

The Prize?

Sunday Champagne Brunch for Four

at The Biltmore Hotel

Congratulations Margarita!

Happy $$$

Diva filled in for the ever-missing Dr. Randy this week. President Debbie allowed us to have 30 seconds of happiness again this week. Among those experiencing this brief thrill were Yoli Woodbridge who had $10 of happiness, $5 to thank everyone that participated in the GSE Team's visit and $5 to Frank for spending time with one of them. Pastor Arnie Perry has returned to us and he is really happy to be here. He said it was quite an experience, traveling backwards down US 1 in the ambulance. He had a small stroke but the doctors tell him that he can expect to be back the way he was - no better - in no time at all. Kelly Sastre was beaming with happiness for the third time this year. She became a Grandma again, this time to James Cameron Sastre who was born last week after 32 hours of labor! Dick Golden told a story befitting Bill Martinez ... at least he could have used the punch line for an advertisement ... Ed Morris was happy to tell President Debbie's "favorite" joke (she denies it of course!). It was about a lady at a prayer meeting who was happy that her husband was okay after his bike accident but she had the wrong body part that was injured. Even 30 seconds of happiness pays. Keep on Smiling.

Working Rotarians - November 17, 2011

Greeter - Steven Spann

Registration - Aaron Glasser

Collections - John Porro

Head Table - Rodney Langer

Special Needs - Lan Nghiem-Phu

Open the Meetign - Jack Witty

Invocation - Steve Magenheimer

Pledge - Dick Golden

Singers - Ed Morris & President Debbie

DeWitt Law Silver Dollars - John Porro

Given to - Aaron Glasser & Rolf Frankfurther

Pin Drawing Gift - Rodney Langer

Pin Drawing Winner - Trish Hoffman

50/50 Raffle - Fred Baddour & Gloria Burns

50/50 Winner - Joe Witz

4 Way Test - Andrea Covre

Today's Program

Wendy Kallergis, President & CEO, Hotel Association of Greater Miami & the Beaches: "The Biltmore Hotel - Crown Jewel of Coral Gables"

Wendy pretty much grew up in the Hotel business in South Florida. Her career prior to representing the industry put her in most of the finest hotels in the area, from The Biltmore to the Intercontinental and more. But she's had a personal and professional relationship with The Biltmore over the past 20 years.

Miami Dade County has 165 hotels, 70 of which are located on Miami Beach. Of all these hotels, the senior executive team of Seaway Corp., is the most active in town. Gene Prescott, it's President, is very active both locally and globally. Dennis Doucette, General Manager of The Biltmore is well known throughout the Coral Gables community including the Chamber of Commerce, Dade Heritage Trust, Coral Gables Community Foundation and more.

The Biltmore Hotel has succeeded in branding Coral Gables as a world-class destination. American Airlines ranks The Biltmore as the number one hotel in Miami and number six in the nation. Conde Nast Publishing ranked it the best in the US and among the world's best hotels. These kind of accolades don't just "happen", they were earned through dedication and hard work. The signature restaurant, Palm D'Or has received the five diamond award repeatedly. It is rated as one of the top restaurants in the country and has been awarded the Golden Spoon award every year since 2000. The Biltmore Hotel has an economic impact of more than $300,000 a year for Coral Gables.

The property, given back to the City under the administration of Keith Phillips, Sr., is on the National Registry of Historic Places. More than 13,000 people just visit the hotel every year. That's in addition to the 200,000 guests they entertain annually. Since taking over The Biltmore some 20 years ago, Seaway has spend more than $63 million in capital expenses and repairs.

It is not an easy property to run. It's not an efficient building. The average hotel room is 750 square feet per key. At The Biltmore it's 1,500 square feet per key. They have 600 full time staff and 370 additional contract personnel. The costs of renovation are astounding because of the age and complexity of the property. Costs of operating are also not the standard business model for hotels. In addition to their mortgage they have a land lease as well as the costs for Historic Preservation and those costs are complicated by the fact that Federal Grants and resources they used to depend upon are no longer.

The Biltmore Hotel is the Crown Jewel of Coral Gables. It is everything that George Merrick envisioned and more. It is the centerpiece of our community, the Gateway to the Americas.

NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: "How to Grow Your Business" Ronald Roman, Esq.