President Dave Skinner called the meeting to order. Jay Almeida gave an invocation and Incoming DG Ray Williams led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Guests and Visitors were introduced by Diane Landsberg. There was truly an international flavor to today’s guest list:
Jay Ghanem is President of Auto Tech and Body and a Rotarian from the Pompano Beach club. He is involved in the District Scholarship programs;
Michael Harper, Director of Proworld Tennis Academy. He is new to the area and a Rotarian from Washington D.C.;
John Morse is visiting Miami and a Rotarian from the Louisville KY Rotary Club;
Moreno Weilenmann is from Amsterdam and part of a Rotary exchange program;
Gil Velez is President of GV Financial Services and Rotarian from the Philippines;
Cassiomo Lizoham and his wife Luciana were visiting from the Rotary Club de Arapongas Amanhecer in Brazil;
Thomas Boswell stopped by for lunch. He is a member of the Perrine, Cutler Ridge, Palmetto Bay Club;
Fabrice Valere, a computer science engineer, is a member of the Rotary Club de Schoelcher in Martinique.
Happy February Birthday to You– Bunny Uriarte, Jay Almeida and Amelia Bonilla
Announcements:
March 17 – District 6990 Barbeque at Tropical Park, begins at Noon. Admission is $10;
TBM Interviews will be held March 16, 23 and 30. Everyone can hopefully participate on at least one day – this is our signature project and rewarding to all who attend;
Rotary Leadership Institute will be held on March 30. Classes are filling up so sign up right away for whichever level applies;
The Night of 1000 PHF will be held on March 28. Cost is $75 – let Diane know if you plan to attend.
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Jaime Tobin:
Rick Miller was thrilled to have his son home visiting and 2019 is off to a good start;
Amelia Bonilla is on the mend and happy to be celebrating her birthday at Rotary today;
Randy Lichtman’s future daughter-in-law has a new job at Auburn and the MDC Rotaract group is moving forward with its plans through the Clinton Global Initiative;
Diane Landsberg talked about how happy she was to spend time during the last week with so many of her Rotarian family in so many different situations;
Robin Shelley is looking forward to being the President’s Aide when RI President Barry Rassin comes to town;
Renel Noel is always happy when he sees his Rotary friends on the mend – especially Amelia Bonilla and Tim Ryan. He also enjoyed the 3 hour Zumba event (he apparent is quite a dancer!!);
Jay Almeida had a wonderful time at the club’s Valentine’s Day party;
Dave Skinner was glad to see such an enthusiastic crowd;
Phil Seipp was happy to be at the meeting.
PHFs Awarded:
Paul Harris +2: Cathy Cahill, Rick Hernandez, Randy Lichtman, Marcos Menendez, Rick Miller, Renel Noel, Oliver Ruiz and Brian Tschirhart;
Paul Harris +3: Jay Almeida, Tim Ryan and Phil Seipp;
Paul Harris +4: Norman Kassoff;
Paul Harris +5: Diane Landsberg.
Program Part 1
Lia Mayka is Rotary Global Grant Scholar sponsored by District 6990. She is in Miami on break from the London School of Economics;
Lia spent time in Nairobi, Kenya where she focused on community and economic development. She determined that she needed more education to do her job more thoroughly and applied for and received a scholarship to the LSE.
She has almost completed her studies and wants to work on raising funds to help startups in Africa. She thanked District 6990 for the scholarship. She is truly an example of what Rotary International is all about.
Program Part 2
Joe Roth has multiple positions in Rotary and is looking to scale back some of those responsibilities for the next Rotary year. One of his jobs is that of chair of the Finance and Procedure Committee;
He spoke about the many upcoming activities in the district;
The District BBQ will be March 17 at Tropical Park;
Night of 1000 Paul Harris Fellows is on March 28;
April 13 is the District Training Assembly at Jungle Island;
He commented that he always enjoys attending one of our club meetings and today definitely showed how international Rotary truly is.
Program Part 3
Ray Williams is the incoming District Governor for our district. He is looking forward to the upcoming Rotary year;
He spoke about new satellite clubs that are now forming. The District now has three. These clubs generally are comprised of younger members who find it difficult to participate in the standard Rotary clubs. The satellite clubs meet generally in the evening, a couple of times a month and focus on networking and doing good in their community;
Ray spoke highly about the District Assembly and the training opportunities available to all Rotarians in the district. Everyone is encouraged to attend a session;
President Elect Training (PETS) will include president nominees this year in an attempt to get training out early to our future leaders;
There are many openings in the District on many committees. If you have a passion or skill you wish to contribute on a District level – please reach out immediately.
50/50 Raffle – Joe Roth was the first draw for today’s raffle. He did not pick out the special ace of spades so the pot rolls over another week.
Angela Deggs helped close the meeting by leading everyone in the 4-Way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do.
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Happy February Birthday to You – Bunny Uriarte, Jay Almeida and Amelia Bonilla