Hats, Bow Ties & Horseplay - A Great Evening for Charity!!

Fabulous Casino Night 

Benefiting 

Orphans in Haiti

NPH USA

More than 150 people crammed into the Courtyard Marriott on Saturday evening April 26 to test their luck at games of chance and win great prizes.  All proceeds benefit NPH USA's orphanage and hospital in Haiti.

The evening was sponsored by Bacardi, USA, Mercedes Benz of Coral Gables, CRB Environmental, Kahn-Carlin Insurance, Sam's Club, Walmart, Community Newspapers and a host of businesses and Rotarians from throughout the community. 

The evening was full of fun and games.  Horse Racing films were running all evening and fanatics could bet on one race or six.  A fantastic silent auction was held outside the casino with more than $9,000 in goods and services to bid upon.  Casino prizes included a 45" LED Samsung Television, an LG Sound Bar Woofer, iPad Mini, Google Nexus and even a digital smoker for the Rotarians who love to cook.  

The casino was expertly operated by A Hot Party and Rotarians and friends spent a lot of time on Poker, Black Jack, Craps and Roulette.  

The fund raising committee would like to thank everyone who worked so tirelessly to make this event such a tremendous success.  We ate, we drank, we gambled and we won.  And so did the children in the care of NPH USA in Haiti.  Thank you one and all!

Serious about Black Jack

Just a few of the lovely hats!

Community in Schools Program

 

“School to Work”

April 22^nd & April 23^rd

Miami North Western Senior High School

1100 NW 71^st Street,  Miami 

Our Club was contacted by the Community in Schools program to speak to high school students about our professions and offer "pearls of wisdom" to graduating seniors.

Two groups of Rotarians spoke on Tuesday and Wednesday morning at Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Liberty City. They serve 1800 students. It was founded in 1955 and the current school building was completed in the 90’s. They are best known for their achievements on the sports field in football and track, but recently have made the headlines by becoming the first inner city school in Miami to go from an “F” class school to an “A” class. Their graduating class used to be 40% and now it’s over 80% receiving high school diplomas. The principal and staff are very proud and the students were respectful and attentive.

We met the students in the college resource center. The lobby is plastered with college acceptance letters all over the walls along with a national map showing the students name and the school they’ll be attending. 

The Rotarians who volunteered their time for this community service event were Carol Brock, Dick Golden, Felix Pardo, Keith Phillips, Jim Skinner and Diane Thurston.  They were both entertaining and informative.

Carol Brock spoke about her career in Broadcasting and Media. 

Dick Golden spoke about his career as the owner of an ambulance company. 

Jim Skinner spoke about his career in law enforcement and serving as a police chief for three different cities including Coral Gables. 

Keith Phillips shared his path of multiple careers, beginning as an aviation pilot and then pursuing a  career in the insurance industry which took a turn after Hurricane Andrew. Then one day his air conditioner broke and decided that may be a good career path.

Diane Thurston shared her pursuit of many fields in college, until one day she met a psychologist. Her interest was piqued and she spent  years studying to become a PHD.

Felix Pardo spoke about his career in architecture. He knew that was the career for him before he even entered high school.  He told the students to follow their dreams and pursue what felt right in their hearts.

I spoke about the interior design industry and showed a power point presentation of spaces before and after remodeling.

We all enjoyed sharing these pearls of wisdom with the students.  We tried to offer inspiration as well as a glimpse of reality into the outside world. We also learned more about each other and I can easily see why each of these people are Rotarians. Serving our community is just who they are.

 This is the final Community Service Project for this year.  I hope more of you will join usnext year.  Our final event will be a wine paring dinner on June 10^th at Angelique Euro Cafe to raise funds for Civic and Charity events next year.            Lorraine Sheldon, Chair

 

2014 Scholarship Awards Presentations

Group Sc holarship Winners Photo

Front Row Left to Right: Maria Ceballos, Mavil Cordoba, Diana Galiano, Annelise Hernandez,

Kelley Rendon, Nataniah Trujillo, Wanda Bravo, Ana Chacin

Back Row Left to Right: George Monjarretz, Jose Melendez, Cole Scanlon, Michael Hammond,

Edward Torgas, Daniela Alvarado

At the April 10th meeting and for the 27th year, the Rotary Club of Coral Gables presented $20,000 in scholarships to 14 graduating seniors from Coral Gables Senior High School who are pursuing university degrees.

The students were selected based on community service, high academic performance and demonstration of leadership. The winners included Senior Class President, Cole Scanlon and Interact Service Club President, Nataniah Trujillo. 

The scholarship funds are sponsored by the Rotary Foundation of Coral Gables, Inc., and funded by the money collected weekly from Happy Dollars.  Additional Scholarship Donors include Dan & Donna Brandt, Terry C. Long, Joan Reitsma, Carlos & Cathy Ruiz de Quevedo, Elizabeth Silverman, Debbie & John Swain, Rick & Margarita Tonkinson Foundation and Yoli & Fred Woodbridge.

The Club is grateful to the Marilyn K. Gaylord Charitable Trust (Kenneth Lancaster, Trustee and Charles L. Gomes, Co-Adviser) and the Jules Zentner/California Community Foundation Fund for their ongoing support of our efforts.  They provide funding that, when matched by the private donors, gives the Club the ability to make significant awards to these talented young people.  In many cases, these scholarships are the difference between being able to afford college or not.

The Rotary Foundation of Coral Gables has opened an endowment for the purpose of providing additional funding and growth for scholarships in the coming years. Donations made to this endowment will assure continued growth and make it possible to fund such scholarship presentations far into the future.  The Endowment Donors to date include The Rotary Charity Golf Classic for Scholarships, Terry C. Long, Bruce Kerestes, Dick Golden, Debbie & John Swain and the Jules Zentner Fund/CCF Fund, David Sanchez, Trustee.  

Members of the Scholarship Committee, all who worked so diligently to make these awards include the Chairperson, Terry Long, Walter Alvarez, Dan Brandt, Dr. Phil Boswell, Bruce Kerestes, David Mitchell, Patrick Morris, Joan Reitsma, David Sanchez, Andrea Stone, Debbie Swain, Margarita & Rick Tonkinson and Donald Trombly. 

For more information on Rotary Foundation of Coral Gables Scholarships, to get involved or to donate, please contact Terry Long, Chair, Scholarships Committee at terryclong@bellsouth.net. 

Scholarship Chairperson Terry Long Recognizes Endowment Donor Bruce Kerestes,

Rotarian and Past-President of the Rotary Club of Coral Gables

Charles L Gomes Representing Donor/Advisor Marilyn K. Gaylord Charitable Trust with Terry C Long

 

Scholarship Presentation to Senior Class President, Cole Scanlon

Rotarian and former Coral Gables Senior High teacher, Joan Reitsma presents

scholarship to Cole Scanlon, as Rotary Club President, Donald Trombly looks on.