Vol. 66 No. 33 Notes from the Podium

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President's Time

President Debbie ran through our list of projects, parties and obligations and we're so busy that it took the better part of the first ten minutes just to bring us up to date.

This Sunday is the "crack of doom" Service Project for the Tour de Cure.  Volunteers need to report to duty on the registration table beginning at 5:30 a.m.  on Virginia Key.  Contact Community Service Chair Deena Bell for details.

February 23, 2012 
Gulliver Interact 

Fashion Show Fund-Raiser

Dillon Patel, President of Interact at Gulliver High School visited the Club today to promote their upcoming fashion show.  This has been a very successful event for Interact for several years now.  The proceeds will go to fund their activities at the Chapman Partnership for the Homeless.  Buy your tickets now and make plans to attend.

                    Celebrity Sighting!

John Wayne visited again today.  He's helping to promote attendance at the upcoming A Night on the Red Carpet which is being held on March 9th.  Marilyn was here too.  Proceeds this year will be split evenly between our Club's Foundation and Citizens for a Better South Florida. 

Tickets for the event are now on sale.  You can buy them at Registration OR on line through Paypal.  It's $150 per person and includes drinks, dinner and the silent auction.  Everyone should be dressed as their favorite movie star or movie character.  If you're not working on your costume - GET BUSY.

Congratulations to Miki Speijers who celebrates 13 years as a member of our club today.  Rodney Langer has been with us for three years on the 12th and Richard DeWitt celebrates 10 years on the 14th.  Thank you for your years of Service!

Introduction of Visitors & Guests

Dick Bullman was very gracious today, introducing many of the visiting Rotarians twice (since it seems they signed up on both pages!).  Welcome to John Sorgie from the South Miami Club.  Mary Ann Rollins and her husband John are part time members of the Miami Club and part time in Chattanooga.  Hello to Jerry Horowitz from the Weston Club.  Also welcome to Steven Price from the Kennebunkport  Rotary Club.  

Several of our members brought guests today too.  Hank Langston introduced us to his friend Joe Cummings from the Everglades Foundation and also to Michelle Cooper who is the Interact Sponsor at Gulliver AND head of the science department and a physics teacher with a degree in astrophysics.  Busy lady still took on this awesome Interact Club.  With her was Dillon Patel, this year's President who was just accepted at Duke University!  Greg Martini brought Christopher Malter, a former Rotarian from the Weston Club and investment banker with INC.  Lorraine Sheldon introduced Jerry Horowitz's guest Emile.  Dick really likes to have lots of people to introduce, so keep them coming!

  Happy $$$

President Debbie let the fox into the hen house again by asking Dick Golden to stand in for the absent Dr. Randy today.  He didn't do too badly.  People will pay to stop him from telling a bad joke.  He did threaten to just put in $50 and tell 10 jokes and get it over with!

Happy today was John Wallace.  He and Louise finally sold their condo on Key Biscayne and they are off to Fairhope, Alabama AT LAST!  They leave February 29th.  Rick Tonkinson was happy that he and Margarita were given a tour of the Capitol by Illeana Ros-Lehtinen.  He also had kudos for Pat Morris who made it possible, with the help of Al Sanchez (Miami Rotarian) for them to participate in the town hall meeting with Michele Obama in Homestead.  He is also looking forward to treating Margarita to her birthday trip to the Galapagos Islands and Machupichu.  Dr. Phil is happy to announce that while he is not volunteering for the Tour de Cure he will be biking and he's bringing the Spinning Dragons from The Biltmore Fitness Center too. Dan Scipione thanked everyone who helped the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raise $500,000 at the ING Half Marathon two weeks ago for blood cancer research.  With our help his wife raised $1,400 for her team.  Margarita Tonkinson gave Dick $20 because she's going to miss the next four meetings and scholarships are just around the corner.  She's just happy.  Frank Sexton was happy to see Vivian Miller at the club (as our speaker today) and was reminiscing about the time she helped him produce the Promenade (our old fund raiser).  Finally Dick ended with what he called "a thoughtful joke" ... about the Buddhist who asked the hot dog vendor to make him one with everything.  When he didn't get change from his $20 the vendor told him that change comes from within!  Happiness pays so keep on smiling. 

Working Rotarians - February 9, 2012

Greeters - Steven Spann & Rolf Frankfurter

Registration - Aaron Glasser

Collections - Lorraine Sheldon

Head Table - Rodney Langer

Special Needs - Rolf Frankfurter

Open the Meeting - Jack Witty

Invocation - Abe Horowitz

Pledge - Jon Arthur

Singer - Dan Scipione

DeWitt Law Silver Dollars - Margarita Tonkinson

Given to - President Debbie &Lorraine Sheldon

Pin Drawing Gift - Everglades Foundation

Pin Drawing Winner - Carol Alexander

50/50 Raffle - Donald Trombly

50/50 Winner - Mary Ann Rollins

Today's Program

"The Everglades, It's History & Future." Vivian Miller, 
Director of Education and Outreach,  The Everglades Foundation.

Back in 1492, Lake Okeechobee used to run all the way down to Florida Bay, unimpeded.  Then long about the time of the 1928 Hurricane, the Army Corps decided that they needed to prevent future disasters like the awful flooding that occurred from this storm.  So they created the Herbert Hoover Dike all around the Lake and channeled the water into several different sloughs.  They more or less decapitated the lake in the name of flood control.  The system we have was designed to provide quality drinking water for 2.5 million people.  It now serves 7 million.  And all of the quality and quantity is dependent upon the Everglades.  It's the filtering system to the aquifer for the fresh water South Florida needs to survive.

The State of Florida owns all of the water.  Because of this Florida has a great and progressive water policy.  And because water is the lifeblood of our economy, our development and our quality of life.  Water from the Everglades is not only our drinking water, it's for our agriculture, recreation (377,000 vessels are registered here), our golf courses, farming, business and cleaning.  Saving the Everglades is the most important aspect of protecting our water supply.

Some 440,000 new jobs are being created by the pending re-construction of the water flow from the Everglades.  We're building bridges to let the water through and keep the people moving.  
To learn more on how to help to protect our Everglades  go to www.evergladesfoundation.org.

NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM:  Citizens for a Better South Florida, the co-beneficiary of A Night on the Red Carpet. 

Thought of the Week

by Frank Sexton 

Today Frank had some thoughts about his own profession ... 
"Make crime pay - become a lawyer"  Will Rogers
"It's better to be a mouse in a cat's mouth than a man in a lawyer's hands."  Spanish Proverb
"A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a thousand men with guns."  Mario Puzo 
"Woe unto ye also, ye lawyers, for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne."  Jesus 
"Litigation:  A machine that you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage."  Ambrose Bierce 

Scene Scenes 

Hank Langston, Joe Cummings & Sue Irvin

President Debbie with Speaker 
(and former Rotarian)
Vivian Miller.

Deals getting made??

Serious discussions

Some of the Women of Rotary
Yoli, Carol & Diane

Hank Langston & friend Joe Cummings
with the Everglades Foundation.

 

See you next week.
Same time, same place.
Same great bunch of Rotarians.
 

Vol. 66 No. 32 Notes from the Podium

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President's Time

President Debbie tried to get our attention with a Rotary Moment.  February is World Understanding Month in Rotary.  She asked that anyone who understands the world, please explain it to her!

Today was our second "Fellowship" Luncheon.  We didn't have a formal program and we got to talk a lot.  That's something that makes our members very happy. They do love to talk - to each other - themselves - across the room - it doesn't matter. We're a very vocal bunch!

Debbie dispensed with the ever-growing list of announcements as quickly as possible.  She's got raffle tickets, gala tickets, Fat Tuesday Breakfast tickets, anything you'd like to buy.  She's even got tickets to the "Get Motivated Business Seminar" on February 29th featuring such dignitaries as Colin Powell, Laura Bush, Steve Forbes and Dan Marino.  Normally $100 for the day, we've got 35 free VIP tickets.  Just sign up and the first 35 will get to go. We do ask that if you take tickets, please consider making a small ($20) donation to our Scholarship fund.

SPONSORS!  

On the tables today are flyers promoting the sponsors for our upcoming Night on the Red Carpet.  If you'd like to promote your business consider becoming a sponsor.  The benefits are good!

Foundation Minute

Elihu Phares is the District Chair of Fundraising for the Rotary Permanent Fund.  He came to our club today to welcome the newest Rotary Benefactor and  member of the Bequest Society.

A little background .... unlike the Annual Fund, where the money comes back in three years, the Permanent Fund is the $670 million fund that Rotary NEVER spends.  They use only the interest, never the principle.  The Rotary Foundation hopes to have $1 Billion in the Permanent Fund by 2025.  They'll make it with more Rotarians like our own Dick Golden.

Dick was given his Benefactor's Wings today.  Benefactors pledge that The Rotary Foundation will receive $1,000  when the die. It's a gift that never means a think while you're living!  But in addition to the $1,000 pledge, Dick also presented Rotary with a copy of his Estate Plan which qualifies him as a first tier member of the Bequest Society.  So he not only got wings, he got a diamond pin AND a really cool glass monument.  

If any of you are currently making your estate plans, don't forget The Rotary Foundation.  You know that your hard earned dollars will be used for the best causes in the world.  For more information see Foundation Chair Abe Horowitz. 

Meet Rotary's Newest Old Member

Say Hello to Joe Lancaster

Past President of our Club in 1999-2000, Joe's been missing from Rotary for the past five years.  He's back now.  Primarily because he's tired of being stopped on the street and asked when he's coming back!  His sponsor is another old-new member, Ralph Cabrera.

Joe took over his family's business, Coral Gables Laundry & Dry Cleaning in 1992.  A few years ago he purchased the "other" local cleaners, LaSalle and merged the two businesses into Coral Gables LaSalle Dry Cleaners.  Ralph said that Joe will give Rotarians free dry cleaning for the next year.  Joe says no but, he'll give Rotarians great service and prices, always.

Joe's married to a former member of our Club, Jessica and they have two children, Julie and Joey.  They love doing service and so last summer the whole family went on a mission trip to Nicaragua.  He loves to fish, barbeque, run, swim and according to Ralph, bother politicians.  He's a graduate of UM, a staunch Hurricane, and a member of and/or representative for probably every dry cleaning trade organization there is. WELCOME BACK JOE LANCASTER!  It's about time.

Only one Aquarius celebrating this week.  Say Happy Birthday to the loyal, friendly, honest Allan Heard on February 6th.

Patrick Puton is celebrating five years in our Club and Don Vickers 40 years on February 6th.  Kirk Landon has been a member of our Club for 12 years tomorrow.  Congratulations and thanks for all your years of service.

  Introduction of Visitors & Guests

Dick wasn't real happy today because we didn't have very many guests.  In fact he tried to introduce one of our members, Brad Forte, as a guest instead of Brad's guest (who's not really a "guest") Bob DelPozo.  He urged everyone to bring more people so he doesn't lose his job!

 Happy $$$

The good Dr. Randy is working hard to Groh scholarships. He's been gone a lot so we're running behind.  But he didn't do too bad today ... Carlos Bolado is happy to be the Swain Family Official Tailor.  Dick Golden took advantage of his new status to tell a really good-awful joke about a wife who became a lobster trap.  You need to have been there ...Dan Scipione, once he recovered from Dick's joke, was happy that his daughter Giana turns 8 tomorrow.  Ana Fournaris is happy to announce that she's joined Keyes Realty.  She's back with all her old friends who have moved there over the past year.  George Reeves lost at golf last week.  You'll recall that he's one of the founding members of RAGS and he's the one who has to feed the scholarship fund this week.  Donald Trombly listened to Greg Martini and took his 5th grader on a trip to the Everglades, to Hidden Lake. He's really very tired!  But it was awesome.  Frank Sexton had a very hypothetical story about a hypothetical lawyer who was sanctioned because of his hypothetical client by a hypothetical judge.  He was ordered to donate $150 to his favorite charity so he bought a raffle ticket and charged it to the hypothetical client.  Now the ethical dilemma ... if he wins the $20,000 does he have to share it with his client?  President Debbie is happy that her son is getting married.  Since she has no daughter to outfit, she's outfitting all the men in the family at Bolado's Clothiers.  Pat Morris is very happy to see Joe Lancaster is back in the club.  In honor of that he told Joe that he just his first old customer back.  He'll drop off the cleaning tomorrow!  George Reeves returned - still not happy - he wanted to know who was making arrangements to collect the $1,000 on Dick Golden.  Fred Baddour, also glad to see Joe back again, told the hypothetical lawyer that it's fair to all concerned to split it with his client AFTER he deducts his fees.  Bill Martinez, after sitting next to Joe Lancaster, found he needed his jacket dry cleaned! But aside from that he wanted us to know that Joe very kindly presses the flags for all the Veteran's funerals that Stanfill handles ... and they're grateful.  And finally, Dr. Randy himself is happy to announce the 7th annual photo safari to some obscure place in Africa.  This year's trip will be sometime between September and Thanksgiving.  If you want to know how much fun you can have ask Terry Long or Luis Boue.  They've been there and done that and lived to tell about it.  Remember, happiness pays so keep on smiling!

Working Rotarians - February 2, 2012

Greeters - Rolf Frankfurter & Hadley Williams

Registration - Aaron Glasser

Collections - Lorraine Sheldon & Jon Porro

Head Table - Rodney Langer

Open the Meeting - Jack Witty

Invocation - Abe Horowitz

Pledge - Dick Golden

Singer - Dan Scipione

DeWitt Law Silver Dollars - Joe Lancaster

Given to - Lan Nghiem-Phu & Jerry Santerio

Pin Drawing Gift - George Reeves

Pin Drawing Winner - Kelly Sastre

50/50 Raffle - Donald Trombly

50/50 Winner - Carol Alexander

4 Way Test - Bill Martinez

Thought of the Week 

by Frank Sexton

In honor of the primary just passed, and just to prove that the more things change, the more they remain the same, here are a few thoughts from Will Rogers about politics...

"I am not a member of any political party, I am a Democrat."
"Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated."
"A fool and his money are soon elected."

Alexander Hamilton started the U.S. Treasury with nothing, and that was the closest our country has ever been to being even."
"Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate, now what's going to happen to use with both a House and a Senate?"  AND FINALLY ...
"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."

Scene Scenes

See you next week,

Same time, same place,

Same great bunch of Rotarians!

Community Service Committee Update

Dear CS Committee,

Thank you to all who came to our meeting this past Friday at my house. As always, we had lots to discuss, and lots of fun ! I am grateful for the new faces that joined us: Ana, Andrea, and Mead!

 

Below you'll find our updated calendar of events. I have been in touch with the Gulliver Interact club’s president, Dillon Patel. He has invited us to join them at some of their upcoming projects with the Chapman Partnership for the Homeless and also the Easter Seals Alheimers Day Care Center. Both of these projects are on weekdays, so that will make some of our members happy that can’t attend weekend events. I have already put them on our calendar. Read the email chain below for more details on these events.

 

Ana is going to check in with the Heart Association for any potential projects, and I will check in with Lan about Special Olympics. Mead and Judy will talk to Shake a leg about coordinating for the St. Paddy’s event, and also to find out if they could use our volunteers for any upcoming events at their facility.

 

We will not have a formal meeting in February, because that would be my birthday weekend !!! In March, my firm is hosting the Fifth Friday, so I ‘ll ask that each of you come to our party instead of having a formal meeting that month!

 

YIRS,

Deena

 
­­­­­­­­­­­

The Rotary Club of Coral Gables

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Community Service Committee - Calendar of Events 2011-2012

February

12-Tour de Cure-American Diabetes Assoc. Virginia Key 5:30 Am- Registration

18- Veterans Bingo at VA Hospital ­ 1-3 pm

March

17-Veterans Bingo at VA Hospital – 1-3 pm

17- Saturday- St. Paddy’s Day Festival with John Martin’s- 75 volunteers needed

28- Wednesday-Chapman Soup Kitchen- with Gulliver Interact- 3-7 pm
1550 North Miami Avenue  ,Miami, FL 33136

30- Fifth Friday at Bell + Aqui Offices- 6-8 pm- 3360 Coral Way, Suite 5 upstairs

April

21- Veterans Bingo VA Hospital 1-3 pm

22- Sunday- Earthfest Coral Gables City Hall-  Noon-5 pm   

26- Thursday- Easter Seals Alzheimers Day Care Center- 3-6 pm- 1475 NW 14^th Avenue, Miami, FL 33125

27- Friday CS Committee Meeting- Deena’s house 1960 SW 32 Court 

May

5- Saturday- Habitat for Humanity, Liberty City- Meet at Country Club at 7:30 am  to carpool. Lasts until 3pm.

19- Veterans Bingo at VA Hospital 1-3 pm

25- Friday- CS committee meeting location TBD

June

16- Veterans Bingo at VA Hospital 1-3 pm

29- 5th Friday is Walter's Installation – location TBD

END OF ROTARY YEAR 2011-12 JULY 1 !