President Phil Seipp called the meeting to order. Past President Dave Anderson gave a special invocation. Angel Rodriguez then led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag.
Rick Hernandez welcomed & introduced our visitors & guests:
Diane Stieber, an applicant for membership in our Club;
Charlene Lang, a founder of The Madison Collection;
Luis Machuca of PSA Constructors, a frequent visitor;
Adriana Strimbu, DPM, a podiatrist & guest of Dr. Percy Nelson;
Addis Hunter, marketing director of Florida Endovascular which does interventional radiology, also a guest of Dr. Percy Nelson;
Shamora Maduro, a student at FIU and a member of the Rotaract Club of Tortola;
Natalia Sagaille, also a student at FIU & friend of Shamora;
Emanuele Boccongelli, a Rotarian lawyer from Rome, Italy. He invited us to contact him if we are planning to visit Rome. His address is Corso Trieste, 10-00198 Roma, telephone 06.44 25 07 33, cell 339.21 91 121, emanueleboccongelli@libero.it
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Tina Moore:
Diane Landsberg was happy as always;
Rick Hernandez had a great ski vacation in Lake Tahoe, but had quite the ordeal getting home;
Amelia Bonilla felt very welcome by her induction at the Valentine’s party;
Robin Shelley thanked Scott Richey for being a great resource. He also visited with our former member, Bill Robbins, at a Biscayne Bay Yacht Club event. Robin said that meeting people who stay in your life is a Rotary blessing;
Norm Kassoff is happy that his son is okay after piloting a Delta flight from Africa to New York. At 12,000 feet, one of 2 engines caught fire forcing their return. All 374 passengers escaped by evacuating by slides and were safe;
Shirley Pardon was happy to not be in cold England;
Angela Deggs was happy that she passed her Trust certification exam;
Maria Soccaras’s daughter is getting married in Mexico;
Tina Moore left her purse on top of her car in her parking garage & was happy that it was still there when she returned to her car 7 hours later;
Bunny Uriarte praised our members for welcoming her & making Miami a real home;
Phil Seipp was happy to see such a great turnout.
Announcements
President Phil Seipp reported that the FIU TBM Pinning Event was another huge success. As they do every year, the club was presented with a binder of photographs and thank-you letters from all of the FIU TBM recipients;
Diane Landsberg hosted a brunch to honor 3 Canadian couples visiting on a Rotary Friendship Exchange. A small group of Miami Rotarians showed them some real Miami hospitality;
President Seipp also remarked that President-Elect Dave Skinner is away at PETS in Orlando preparing for his coming year as President. He has worked hard and should make an excellent president and have a great year;
Membership Chair Dave Anderson announced a new incentive program. Anyone sponsoring a regular member before June 30th will be awarded 5 lunch vouchers or 2 special event tickets;
Everyone needs to participate in our TBM interviews this month;
Also, in lieu of the 3/22 Thursday lunch meeting, we will be meeting at Miami Senior High School for our annual lunch with MHS Interact on Friday, 3/23;
RLI is still scheduled for Saturday, April 21. Call Diane to register;
April 28 will be the date of the District Assembly at Margaritaville in Hollywood Beach. All new members & officers are encouraged to attend. There will be sessions that are of benefit to all members.
Our Program – The City of Miami Police Marine Patrol
Past President Tim Ryan introduced our speaker, Officer Del Castillo of the City of Miami Police Department’s Marine Patrol. The Marine Patrol office is on the second floor of the Miami Yacht Club. Our speaker advised us that the City of Miami Marine Patrol consists of 8 officers. Their mission is to enforce marine laws and to help rescue people in the bay. They patrol Biscayne Bay from about NE 84th St. to Cocoplum and the Miami River up to NW 27th Ave. They monitor VHF radio for distress calls. They dive under cruise ships at the Port of Miami to search for explosives before they embark on a cruise;
They receive a lot of calls about manatees that have been injured or have died;
A question everyone must have and one of our members voiced was what is happening with all those derelict boats on shore that washed up during Hurricane Irma? The speaker responded that they have a procedure to find and notify the vessel owners to remove the boats, but many of them do not respond or do not have the funds. There is a state grant to assist in the cost of boat disposal.
50/50 tickets were sold by Jaime Tobin. Prospective member Diane Stieber had the lucky ticket but did not pick the lucky ace of spades. She will have $25 contributed to EREY in her name when she is admitted to the club. There being no winner, the near $700 jackpot will roll over to next week.
