Coral Gables RotaryGram: Vol. 65 No. 35 Notes from the Podium

President's Time

Only in America this week points out pretty much why the rest of the world thinks American's a nuts! It's a true story. It won first place in last year's Criminal Lawyers Award Contest...a lawyer who bought expensive cigars and insured them for loss including fire. After he smoked them he filed a claim with his insurance company. They refused. He sued. He won because the policy said coverage included fire. The company waited until he cashed the check and then filed criminal charges for ARSON! They won. He had to pay $24,000 in damages and spend two months in jail.

CHANCE & DANCE IS TOMORROW!! And we turn 65. If you haven't bought your tickets, do so NOW. We'd like to thank Eddie Snow for a beautiful pearl necklace he donated as a Casino Prize. Also Dr. Randy Groh who donated a $1,000 towards a Root Canal. To win you've got to go. See you there?

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS COMING! Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 12th and sign up for a day at Habitat for Humanity. See Walter Alvarez for details.

Thursday, March 17th needs no introduction. It's St. Patty's day and we pour beer for John Martin's Block Party from 4:30 until 11:30 p.m.. All shifts are two hours long. The early shift is all accounted for. We need more volunteers to work from 7 until the end. Contact Judy Pantoja.

Gulliver High School Interact Club is holding their annual fund raiser tonight. We heard from their President, Alex and Vice President, Dylan about this very cool event. It's at their campus at 6575 North Kendall Drive. It's a fashion show with models from among the students. Their club has 150 ACTIVE members and more than 70 participate in this event. They have clothes from nine major stores. They charge $10 per person and they use the money for a multitude of service projects they do including Special Olympics and Community Partnership.

More Pisces swimming through our club membership this week. Imaginative, sensitive, compassionate, secretive and idealistic, they make EXCELLENT Rotarians! Say Happy Birthday this week to Dr. Phil Boswell today, Walter Alvarez, Michael Jackson and John Porro on March 6th and Mead McCabe on March 9th.

Only one Rotarian is celebrating his anniversary this week. Congratulations to Andrew Dixon who has been in the club of three years already.

HAPPY $$

The good Dr. Randy has returned to Groh scholarships all by himself. Of course it helps that everyone saved their happiness from last week just to make him look good! Yoli Woodbridge brought us a flag from the Tegucigalpa Rotary Club and told how much she enjoyed the International Committee's trip to Honduras to review our service projects there. Dr. Phil is happy that CGHS Interact is doing the Kidney Walk at Crandon on Sunday. He urged everyone to come out in support of the kids. He's also happy that it's his birthday and that Barbara is wearing feathers tomorrow night! Fred Baddour is happy that Dr. Phil was able to get us information on Diane Thurston and her husband who were in Christ Church for the earthquake but they're okay. He was also pleased to have Franz Botes visiting us today. Judy Pantoja is happy to announce that John Martin's will provide the volunteers with a tent this year for them to enjoy some suds and some food before or after their shift pouring for charity. Franz Botes is happy to be visiting Miami but has to go home to shovel snow. No more new Maritime Museums are in the offing right now but he's available. Ted Pappas isn't happy about anything! Carol Brock announced that our club's International Committee just received $14,300 from an anonymous donor for an Alfalit Literacy Program in Chile. That money becomes $35,000 by the time District and Rotary International matches the money. Mayor Don says he was very proud of his Club last week for the excellence with which they presented the Candidates Forum. Now he's going to take the advice of his "nurse" (Diva's at it again) and take it easy for awhile. Bill Quesenberry had a great time in Honduras and weas most impressed because he had Happy Birthday sung to him in Tegucigalpa by kids in wheel chairs that we provided. The Donald Trombly is selling Camp Cards for the Boy Scouts for $5. The first coupon gets you $5 off at Publix. George Reeves aka Superman issued a warning to prepare to keep your women inside the week of April 25. It's FLEET WEEK and we're invaded by sailors looking for sweeties. So hide your wives and daughters and go visit the Iwo Jima while it's parked at Dodge Island. Dr. Randy said he tried to sign up for Fleet Week but Diva had already taken all the slots!!! Walter Alvarez is happy to see Franz Botes. He urged people to please sign up for Habitat for Humanity. Richard DeWitt is happy to be back from North Viet Nam where he spent time on the Chinese border at the World Heritage Site. He's also happy that he survived a motorcycle ride up the Ho Chi Min trail. Felix Pardo is happy to support the Scouts with The Donald's Camp Cards because his son was an Eagle Scout and they do so much good. Chris Tyson is happy to be able to say the truth, except that it is so limiting. You can't do any creative accounting and you can't lie!

Working Rotarians - March 3, 2011

Greeters - Rodney Langer

Registration - Deena Bell

Collections - Carlos Bolado

Head Table - John Wallace

Special Needs - Frank Sexton

Open the Meeting - Abe Horowitz

Invocation - Frank Sexton

Pledge - Keith Phillipa

Singers - Bill Quesenberry & Ted Pappas

DeWitt Law Silver Dollars - George Reeves

Given to - Lan Nghiem Phu & Hank Langston

Pin Drawing Gifts - Debbie Swain & Sally B

Pin Drawing Winners - Steve Span & Walter Alvarez

50/50 Raffle - Gloria Burns

50/50 Winner - Hank Collins

5-Way Test - Carol Brock

Today's Program

Actor’s Playhouse
“AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY”

David Arisco introduced us to "the most exciting piece of theater Actors' Playhouse has had the good fortune to present." This South Florida regional premiere and winner of 5 Tony Awards including best play and a Pulitzer Prize for drama, will run from March 9, 2011 - April 3, 2011. It is August in Oklahoma and an alcoholic father has gone missing, a mother is caught in the grip of addiction, a marriage has come undone, a romance is brewing and a lie has been uncovered. You are cordially invited to one bitch of a family reunion.

Meet the Westons, a family of unforgettable characters approaching a total meltdown. Ask anyone who’s seen it and he or she’ll tell you – August: Osage County is one of the most UNFORGETTABLE evenings you will ever spend at the theater. Every night, GASPS reverberate throughout the theater as each new bombshell is dropped in this HILARIOUS and STINGING look at an American family in crisis. It's incredible theater and a truly dysfunctional family party. Don't miss it!

NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM Former Green Bay Packer, Alan Veingrad, "Inspiration and Motivation Through Life."