President Dave Skinner called the meeting to order.
Jay Almeida gave an invocation and encouraged everyone to say an extra prayer for member Tim Ryan who is in the hospital. Randy Lichtman led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Guests and Visitors were introduced by Bunny Uriarte
Dolle Green joined us today for lunch with her sister, Suzette Price. Suzette is an attorney in New Jersey and a Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Trenton, NJ;
Lucia Galeano came as a guest of Diane Landsberg. She is working as a marketing assistant at Miami Kid’s Magazine and is the recent recipient of the Miami High Interact 4-Way Test Award for her essay;
Olesya Lesina is a guest of Norby Rudel. She is an interior designer, originally from Russia;
Verona Garcia joined us as a guest of Randy Lichtman. She is Chair of World Languages at Miami Dade College;
Joe Longueira is an honorary member of the club and is Miami PBA president;
Camille Dircks is an advisor with Coastal Wealth and was joining us again;
Jasmine Johnson came to the meeting with Camille and is an Asset Manager with S&A Property Investment Services.
Announcements
The 50/50 pot starts anew today, since Renel Noel was the happy big winner last week;
Thanks go out to Miami Interact students, with the guidance of Diane Landsberg and Rick Miller gave our meeting room and patio area a thorough cleaning. Norby Rudel also spoke to the students about our upcoming Peace Conference;
Rotary University is coming up on August 25. There are many useful courses, including one on Public Image. It’s all free, so sign up today;
The City of Miami Chief of Police Jorge Colina will be our speaker next Thursday. Don’t miss it!
A special surprise for Diane (the birthday girl!) Landsberg came in the form of a delicious cake and a passable rendition of Happy Birthday to You (We should all not give up our day jobs to become singers!)
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Renel Noel
Renel Noel started things off by sharing how happy he was to win the 50/50 raffle last week. He is using his winnings to make his EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) donation, help with his trip to Haiti and also is sharing with his family in Haiti – congrats Renel!!
Marcia Brod shared that she finally broke down and paid to have her car washed and it then proceeded to rain for 3 days. She also was happy to bring in some mangoes from her tree to share on the raffle table of goodies;
Linda Singer enjoyed lunch with Amelia Bonilla and Angela Deggs. She is happy to be working with them as a mentor so they get the most from their Rotary experience;
Randy Lichtman was glad to have Verona Garcia at the meeting. He also is excited for his son Leo, an attorney, who is moving to a new law firm in DC;
Noreen Timoney was thrilled that Renel was the big raffle winner, especially because he does such meaningful work in Haiti. She was also happy to see our visitors from New Jersey and is just glad to be at the meeting, as always;
Robert Bull shared an amazing coincidence – he happened to have lost his parents when he was very young – they disappeared on a plane trip and were never found. He was speaking with a client and found that they went through the same exact event in their early life. He was amazed at the chance meeting;
Jay Almeida was so happy to have both daughters, Jessica and Stephanie, here at the meeting. He loves to see them both wearing their crowns – Jessica is Miss Miami and Stephanie is Miss Florida Everglades;
Diane Landsberg was happy to be at the meeting;
Verona Garcia was also happy to be at the meeting;
Joe Longueira is happy to be living a great life!
Bunny Uriarte has enjoyed her two years in Miami and is thankful for the support Miami Rotarians gave in her transition to the community. She will be starting graduate school in August and thanked the Almeida girls for their assistance participating in the reading program she promotes for Infinity Insurance;
Suzette Price is happy to be in Miami from New Jersey with her entire family;
Marcos Menendez was glad to have his business partner, Martin Gaido, with him at the meeting today;
Norby Rudel was happy to have Olesya at the meeting;
George Arias was glad to be here today as well.
New Member
Dave Anderson, as membership chair, was honored to induct George Arias into the club. He is now our 58th member. Welcome aboard George!!
Program
Diane Landsberg and Norby Rudel spoke about the Club’s new challenge – creating an atmosphere of extreme community service. They highlighted the many things those in attendance were doing for the community:
Joe Longueira serves as Miami PBA president;
Shirley Pardon and Noreen Timoney are deeply involved with the Miami Women’s Club;
Jessica Almeida is an Ambassador to Habitat for Humanity;
Stephanie Almeida works with Feed Miami;
Red Badgers participated in a $100 service challenge eagerly.
A $100 Service Challenge is being created. Every member will be allotted $100 to either create or participate in a community service program of their choosing. Ideas for this project should be submitted by August 15 and the work needs to be completed by Valentine’s Day in 2019.
The program is called Have a HEART (Helping Everyone Attain Rotary goals Together).
Diane was proud to present awards for community service to the many folks who already go above and beyond. She said that “The Presidential recognition sets you apart from your peers. It is a tremendous honor. Even though you may not seek recognition, your example can deliver a powerful message that encourages others to take action.”
The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes those that volunteer in their community and make a positive impact:
Bronze - 100 Hours
Arlene Terrinoni, Sue Ryan, Gregory Herman-Giddens, Maria Rudel, Bunny Uriarte, Trina Menendez, Nelly Anderson
Silver - 250 Hours
Marcos Menendez, Mara Almeida, John Harrison, Susan Lichtman
Gold – 500 Hours
Renel Noel, Don Van Orsdel, Randy Lichtman, Susan Shelley, Marcia Brod, Rick Miller, Noreen Timoney, Scott Richey, Oliver Ruiz, Tim Ryan, Shirley Pardon, Ted Malinin, Robert Bull, Linda Singer, Dave Skinner, Norby Rudel, Lucia Galeano, Stephanie Almeida, Jessica Almeida, Angel Rodriguez, Joe Longueira
A Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Past President and Treasurer Phil Seipp.
The 50/50 raffle started over today with a fresh deck of cards and a $71 pot. No one drew the Ace of Spades so the pot will carry over till next week. Let’s buy LOTS of tickets and get that pot growing!
Amelia Bonilla led everyone in the 4-Way Test to conclude another terrific meeting. See you next week!
