The Rote – September 21, 2017
The Miami Yacht Club
President Phil Seipp welcomed everyone to the meeting. It had been a while since the Club had gathered due to Hurricane Irma and it was really good to see everyone in attendance and “normal” life returning for most.
Jay Almeida gave an invocation and Scott Richey led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Visitors and Guests were introduced by Dave Anderson
- Mehmet Ugur is from Turkey and an attorney. He is studying for an advanced law degree at the University of Miami;
- Ryan Hegarty works with U.S. Trust;
- Jace and Luca Landsberg, grandsons of Diane Landsberg, joined us for lunch.
Birthday and Anniversary Greetings
Birthday wishes were given to those celebrating birthdays in September. Those aging another year (as the rest of us are not) were Norm Kassoff, Robert Bull, Marcos Menendez, Arlene Terrinoni, Phil Seipp and Jace Landsberg (the only one who will gladly share his age with excitement).
Rotary Anniversaries were celebrated for Dave Anderson (15), Arlene Terrinoni (1) and Norby Rudel (5).
Announcements
- President Phil announced that the board has approved a $5,000 donation to the District’s Robbins Fund. This donation will be earmarked for Keys relief;
- There are still openings for RLI Training on October 7;
- There will be an evening meeting at the US Armed Forces Military Lounge on November 9 in celebration of Veteran’s Day. Members of the new Interact Club at MDC will be attending. If enough Rotarians plan to attend, the club will charter a bus to leave from Diane’s house;
- Bed Bath & Beyond goods have been donated to Texas and are also going to help those in shelters at FIU.
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$ was the subject of today’s meeting. We were all so glad to be together to share our collective stories after the storm:
- Diane Landsberg spent her storm days and quality time with her children and grandchildren;
- Shirley Pardon was without power for over a week and was thankful for friends who shared their power and a/c. She had to do some traveling to get to her friends but got to see the neighborhoods of Doral and Miami Lakes along the way;
- Juan Torres was glad that the local damage was less than it could have been;
- Ted Malinin was thrilled to have 3 patents approved;
- Tim Ryan spent hours on the road heading to Orlando. On his return, he got to use his chainsaw – and survived the effort. He also helped out the Rotary Club of Ft. Lauderdale in collecting and loading supplies that were sent to those in need in the Keys;
- Susan Shelley was happy to get her power back and that her four grandsons, that she loves dearly, have all now been able to go home;
- Robin Shelley enjoyed the time with his son and grandsons. After the storm subsided, they went to their boat and got the generator running and spent three nights with 7 people and a dog on board;
- Brian Tschirhart was happy he stayed at home and didn’t make any long drives to stay with friends/family up north. Those folks also had storm issues;
- Renel Noel was happy that once he received his power back, he was able to share his two generators with others. One helped to save most of the large koi in a pond and the other generator helped an elderly man deal with the heat;
- Marcia Brod was happy that the dead battery on her generator was noticed and replaced two weeks before Irma popped up on the map. She also reported that a carbon monoxide detector went off in the middle of the night during the storm. As the night sentry she read the back of the device and realized that it only effective for 7 years and we were now up to 10 years of use. Guess purchase of a new one is in order;
- Mehmet Ugur spent his first hurricane out of Miami on a trip with friends in Tennessee;
- Ryan Hegarty was relieved that Irma did not make a direct hit in Miami and he is also glad that his clients in the Keys are all ok;
- Dave Skinner responded to relatives calls and he got on the road and traveled 16 hours to Atlanta, only to have the power go out at the hotel he was staying in;
- Linda Singer noticed on the trip to Atlanta with Dave that there was a tremendous number of dogs making rest stops along the way. She shared a story of a circus tiger getting out of the truck hauling it and appearing on the front lawn of a resident in Georgia. That was quite a surprise!;
- Dave Anderson talked of the many emails he received from other Rotarians after the storm and one from an Interact student talking about how he realizes the value of Service Above Self more now. He is also in the midst of dealing with condo issues as the president of their Association. He will be glad when the management team are back on site;
- Norm Kassoff shared that a neighborhood weather station monitor reported 137 mph gusts in his area. It appeared that perhaps a tornado took down the screen enclosed patios from 5 houses in a row;
- Rick Miller was happy for a ride to the meeting with Norm. Also, that his son who his working for a hockey team in SC said that Ryan Hegarty, a former player on the team, is still remembered there. He’s happy that things are returning to abnormal and he is looking forward to his trip to Haiti in October with Renel;
- Rick Hernandez was glad that his parents got out of Key Largo and their home appeared ok. He also was frustrated with FP&L and the way they dealt with the transformer on his property. Four times they came in and put in a new fuse and four times it blew. He now has a new transformer;
- Scott Richey was looking forward to coming to Rotary. He and his family traveled first to Tampa and then back to Miami when Irma changed course. He now is finally home after a week in various hotels in downtown;
- Cory Gittner was without power for a week. He said that mother nature can change things so much, it is a mystery of life and we need to go with the flow to do the best we can;
- Oliver Ruiz was happy that his new fence held up. He shared that he picked the fence company through the County Best Picks Report. He is glad that FSU continues as only 0-1. Hopefully they hit .500 on their next outing;
- Arleen Terrinoni evacuated to her daughter’s home and was surprised by the many calls she received from folks all over the world. She is also happy to be leaving Friday for a trip to Russia – an item on her bucket list.
Members were encouraged to reach out to Marcos Menendez whose family is in Puerto Rico.
Shirley Pardon shared that Ted and Lucia Eldredge went to Philadelphia before the storm. Their home here in Miami was damaged by a tree and was also flooded. They returned to pack up what they could and will be relocating to Philadelphia on a permanent basis. Ted and Lucia – we are all so sorry for your troubles and hope that the move goes smoothly. There will be a large void made by your leaving….Ted – at least now others will be able to claim wine bottles during the 50/50!! Our best to you both – please keep in touch – you will both be greatly missed.
50/50 - Once again no one drew the lucky card and the 50/50 pot is nearing $2600 with 14 cards to go.
Rick Miller led everyone in the 4-Way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do.
