President Phil Seipp welcomed everyone to the luncheon meeting. The invocation was given by Dave Anderson and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by John Carroll.
Visitors and Guests were introduced by Randy Lichtman:
Roberto Ruvalcaba is a member of the Rotary Club of Miami Brickell and is our District Assistant Governor;
Imelda Medina belongs to the Miami Airport Rotary Club and is the club’s president;
Sailasya Munamarty and her parents joined the meeting today to share with us a passion of hers;
Gary Scott is with us as a guest of Norby Rudel. He part of Right Path Adventures and a mountaineer;
Victor Rodriguez came to the meeting as a guest of Bunny Uriarte and works at Infinity Insurance as a business development representative;
Angela Deggs and Amelia Bonilla joined us again. They work with Scott Richey at Northern Trust and are potential members;
Leslie Forrest was back with us as a guest of Diane Landsberg.
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Bunny Uriarte:
Dave Skinner was happy to see the enthusiasm at today’s meeting;
Randy Lichtman shared that his son, Eddy, now has a full-time job in software development in the music business;
Norby Rudel was happy to see the “Red Badgers” doing such a great job. He was also happy to have his friend, Gary Scott, visiting;
Robin Shelley shared that networking is one of the best things about Rotary. Through Rotary he got to know Leonard Pardon who used his talent to restore an antique mirror for the Shelleys;
Virgilie Aliu is happy to finally be a Rotarian;
Angela Deggs was thrilled to have stumped Norby on a Rotary knowledge question and was also pleased with the A+ her nephew earned on his spelling test;
Bunny Uriarte was so glad to be back in Miami from a trip to Arizona for the holidays. She has realized that she now has a new home here in Miami and is excited about the future.
Announcements:
The January board meeting was held this morning. Norby Rudel was added to the board as a result of the resignation of Juan Torres. Juan’s workload has become very busy and he can no longer participate in the club. He will be missed;
Those receiving invoices for dues and meals are encouraged to promptly resolve these open invoices;
Plan to spend Valentine’s Day with your Rotary Family. We will be celebrating at Robin and Susan Shelley’s Cloisters clubhouse venue. The Crepemaker will be there along with the usual mix of appetizers & drinks. An R.S.V.P. is required. Members will be charged one of their luncheon meals, their spouse will be $20. Other guests will be $50/couple;
NO LUNCH MEETING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15;
TBM pinning ceremony will be held at FIU on Friday, February 23 at 4:30pm. FIU always makes this a lovely event, please try to attend;
TBM interviews will be held on Saturdays March 10, 17 and 24. Be sure to hold some or all of those dates on your calendar. It is a special club responsibility and it is definitely an experience you do not want to miss;
RLI will be held in Miami-Dade County on April 21. Save the date and register to attend the appropriate leadership level program;
January 18 was the last chance to purchase tickets for the Rotary District 6990 Chris Morrison Helicopter Golf Ball Drop. The drop will be made February 1 at the Biltmore Hotel;
Two donations were received for the TBM trust from TBM alumni. Contributing back to the trust were Dr. Robert Kelly, an orthopaedist in Atlanta and Dr. Arlene Jacobs of Plano Women’s Healthcare in Plano, Texas.
Today’s Speaker was introduced by Tim Ryan:
Dr. Imelda Medina practices Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. She is President of the Rotary Club of Miami Airport and is the Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery District 6990 Ambassador. Her current project is human trafficking awareness;
Sailasya Munamarty is 12 years old and a student at Archimedean Middle School. A school project on child exploitation turned into a passion she continues to speak about to create awareness on the issue;
Child trafficking is a major crime in the United States. The innocence of the child is used to the advantage of the perpetrator. The main sites for child trafficking are Georgia, California, Texas, Florida, Ohio, New York, and North Carolina;
Child exploitation is a big problem all over the world. This includes child trafficking, organ trafficking, drug trafficking, forced labor etc. Through deceiving and dishonesty, child exploitation ruins young children's lives;
We need to be aware of the situation, unite on working together and support programs to resolve the issues;
Our 50/50 pot is growing weekly. Bunny Uriarte unsuccessfully drew for half of $439, but instead will have $25 contributed to her EREY. Next week, we start at $414 and should reach around $500.
Jaime Tobin led everyone in the 4-Way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do.
