The Rote – September 22, 2016
The Miami Yacht Club
President Oliver Ruiz opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. He gave a special shout out to Rick Miller and Maria Van Orsdel, wife of member Don Van Orsdel, it was great to have them both joining us. Oliver reported that a very productive board meeting was held before lunch. He also thanked Incoming President Phil Seipp for filling in last week in his absence.
Dave Anderson gave an invocation and John Carroll led everyone in the pledge.
Brian Tschirhart, the club’s International Service Chair, was happy to present a check for $2,500 to the Friends of Humanity Organization. This organization, spearheaded by member Renel Noel, is doing much-needed work in Haiti providing water and sewage needs to a local hospital and orphanage. We all appreciate the work you and your organization are doing Renel!
Robert Bull received a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. Our other birthday celebrant, Marcos Menendez, arrived late and (luckily perhaps) missed the group sing, but birthday wishes were extended to him as well.
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Phil Seipp
- Rick Miller had a few things to share. 1) a great quote from Muhammad Ali: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”; 2) he is now returning to his “independent agent” status work-wise, and 3) was appreciative of Tim Ryan’s connection to help his daughter get an internship at the Cook County jail.
- Phil Seipp commented that Rick Miller was the first member to submit his EREY contribution for this Rotary year.
- John Carroll was excited to have finally celebrated an anniversary together with Rosa on vacation (their 42nd).
- Marcia Brod thanked Rick Hernandez for his leadership in getting members together to participate in the nation-wide Coastal Cleanup Day. The mangroves were a lot cleaner, if only briefly, after a morning of work.
- John Harrison was celebrating his son’s birthday and also thanked Diane Landsberg for being such a good life-long friend. Diane mentioned that they met many years ago when John and his wife found a small dog Diane had lost.
- Tim Ryan was happy to be home after being in NYC.
- Oliver Ruiz was happy to be celebrating his brother’s birthday.
Rick Hernandez, Community Service Chair, thanked everyone who turned out for the Coastal Cleanup event. He also thanked Diane for providing lunch to the hot and tired volunteers. The next service project will be assisting at the Race for the Cure on Saturday, October 15. In November we will be learning about service opportunities out of the U.S.
Schedule of Upcoming Events
- Thursday, September 29 – Happy Hour(s) at Seasons 52 in Coral Gables. We will gather for networking and fun from 5:30-8:00;
- Thursday, October 6 – Lunch meeting at the Miami Yacht Club;
- Thursday, October 13 – Lunch meeting at the Miami Yacht Club.
- Saturday, October 15 – volunteer service project with the Race for the Cure
- Thursday, October 20 – Lunch meeting at the Miami Yacht Club. The speaker is Jim Morris, Head Coach of the UM Baseball team.
- Thursday, October 27 – Evening social event at Northern Trust in Coral Gables.
- Thursday, November 3 – Lunch Meeting at the Miami Yacht Club.
- Saturday, November 5 – Club sponsored Peace Conference at MDC.
Norm Kassoff shared a bit of history regarding the creation of the UM School of Medicine. UM’s first president, Bowman Ashe, and Bascom Palmer heard the State was going to award a medical school to the University of Florida in Gainesville. They went together to Tallahassee and lobbied for the school to come to Miami – they pointed out that there was a vacant VA building ready and waiting for the new school. They were successful and the UM School of Medicine came into being in 1950. Norm proceeded to introduce today’s speaker – Joshua Kronenfeld, Executive Director of the Department of Community Services (DOCS) at the UM Miller School of Medicine.
- Joshua spoke about how everybody benefits through a DOCS program, which serves as an opportunity for students and institutions to provide necessary healthcare to underserved patients in local communities.
- Patients gain access to vital healthcare services that they might otherwise never receive.
- Students gain hands-on clinical experience, hone leadership skills, and receive mentorship from upperclassmen and volunteer physicians.
- Community partners and DOCS student leaders establish meaningful relationships, and they work toward the common goals of meeting the specific needs of underserved patient populations and improving the well-being of your local community.
- Mentorship is key: volunteer physicians mentor and oversee all students, and upperclassmen have the opportunity to teach and mentor underclassmen.
- These efforts are fulfilled through nine health fairs held in underserved communities and at two health clinics.
- Community organizations, medical students and physicians work together to build a unified and sustainable medical outreach service. DOCS believes in and provides meaningful, enriching experiences for patients, students, and physicians alike.
- Anthony Diaz, a TBM recipient, spoke about his participation in the DOCS program and what it has meant to him. He also thanked the club for the scholarship award he received.
Dave Skinner led everyone in the 4-Way Test.
