The Rote - May 18, 2023

Via Zoom

Scribe: Linda Singer

 

President Brian Tschirhart presided over the meeting held by Zoom.

Invocation: Jay Almeida

Pledge of Allegiance: Marcia Brod

 

Events:

Last Saturday: There was a graduating Officer recognition and new officer installation dinner for the Miami High School Interact Club held at the Renaissance. Rotarians Diane Landsberg, Noreen Timoney, Jay Almeida, and Brian Tschirhart represented our club providing pins, and well wishes for all the students present. The highlight of the evening for us was to present Interact club adviser Samantha Chouza Lara with an Honorary Rotarian membership which resulted in tears of joy and gratitude. Samantha is doing an incredible job with these young people and we are proud of their accomplishments! We also presented awards for the three winners of the Grace and John DeLury Four Way Test essays:

1st Place Claudia Masmitja

2nd Place Kevin Suarez

3rd Place Camila Fuentes

 

and the two winners of the The Rotary Club of Miami-Seguros Avanza Stingtastic Scholarship.

1st Place Ashanti Mizrahi

2nd Place Claudia Masmitja

 

Steve Dutton, sailing near Norway, introduced today’s speaker:

Kris Hartley, the Director of Public Policy at City University of Hong Kong, Department of Public and International Affairs. Mr. Hartley was speaking to us from Seoul, South Korea on a topic of utmost importance to us: Ensuring Miami Lasts: Sustainability in a Coastal City.

Miami is number 1 of the world’s metro areas in terms of vulnerability to climate change. See the interactive map located at https://coastal.climatecentral.org. Sea level rise is just one factor in affecting Miami’s sustainability. Also one must factor in the infrastructure (water, sewer, and electricity), number of days of extreme heat and flooding and building impact risk. A property may be elevated enough not to experience sea level rise for some time but may not be reachable due to lower lying land nearby.

Already Miami is experiencing climate gentrification: values of property at higher elevations are increasing. This will impact certain minorities’ neighborhoods.

 

Next weeks Program:

Our next meeting will be in person at 50 Biscayne Blvd. on May 25^th, 2023. The speaker will be a surprise.

If you have ever asked someone at home “weren’t you listening” or if communication at the office needs improvement, then you will want to be at the next in person meeting! Make a special effort to come join us for an enjoyable experience. Test your skills, collaborate and evaluate with each other. This will set the stage for another session sometime in late July or August. Also if you have a May Birthday be there for us to celebrate it.

 

4-Way Test was led by Cathy Cahill.