President Dave Skinner welcomed everyone to the first Rotary Club of Miami meeting for 2019. Randy Lichtman gave an invocation and John Carroll led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Visitors and Guests were introduced by Dave Skinner:
Bob Cartlidge is a visiting Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Toronto. He was proud of the work his club had done as hosts of the 2018 Rotary International Convention. He shared that he loves visiting Miami and its beautiful palm trees;
Walter, Rose, Regine and Rosane Rabanal were visiting Miami for a family reunion. They also represented the Rotary Club San Miguel in Lima, Peru;
Lee Phares joined us for our meeting today. She is the District 6990 Foundation Fundraising Chair. Lee is a member of the Rotary Club of Ft. Lauderdale and a PDG;
Rita Herrera, a broker with Shelton and Stewart, came to the meeting as a guest of Diane Landsberg.
Announcements:
Raffle tickets for the TRF Chris Morrison Memorial Golf Ball drop are being sold. Today is the last day to purchase your opportunity to support the District and win a big prize;
Save the date – March 28, 2019 – the Rotary International President Barry Rassin will be in Ft. Lauderdale for a dinner. We are hoping to have a good club turnout at the event;
A special surprise presentation was made. The Club has always relied on Norm Kassoff as our club historian. Well, now it’s official – he was presented with a certificate proclaiming him “The Rotary Club of Miami Historian” – Congratulations Norm!!!!
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Rick Miller. Everyone – with the help of a freshly printed dollar bill provided by the club had seed money to be part of the sharing:
Rick Miller expects 2019 to be a great year – his kids are all well and earning a living and one of his daughters has announced her engagement;
Renel Noel was happy to see his friends in the new year and shared a very long journey he made to Haiti because of an extended stay stuck at the gate because of mechanical difficulties at Miami International Airport;
Diane Landsberg was thrilled to spend the holidays will all her family;
Rita Herrera was glad 2018 was behind her and was looking forward to a brighter 2019;
Arlene Terrinoni had a wonderful holiday with her family;
Jaime Tobin’s daughter has taken the required tests and will be applying to Andover. She is also looking forward to RYLA;
Jay Almeida thanked everyone for the many bags of food that was contributed to the food drive over the holidays. He shared also that Norby Rudel is going to run a half marathon and his daughter Stephanie is now engaged;
Shirley Pardon was happy to say goodbye to 2018 and also happy to wear her English clothes in the cooler weather;
Elihu Phares congratulated Norm Kassoff on his award and was relieved that his drive down to Miami was uneventful;
Angela Deggs feels great to be a Rotary Club of Miami member for a year now and was happy her mom was out of the hospital and doing better. She also got to see her family over the holidays;
Renel Noel is now officially retired;
Norby Rudel will be doing a marathon with his daughter on March 27;
Marcia Brod spent part of the holiday in Gainesville with her daughter and future son-in-law. She also recommended Night Gardens at Fairchild;
Norm Kassoff stated that at 88, bad breath is better than no breath at all (an understatement I believe);
Phil Seipp is looking forward to counting up all the one dollar bills from Happy $$$$. The funds will go to TBM;
John Carroll was happy to learn that his daughter is engaged (even though he didn’t know she had a boyfriend);
Lee Phares congratulated Norm and reminded everyone that Norm was the first District 6990 chair of the Polio Plus Committee;
Our Visitors from Peru were all happy to be in Miami for their family reunion and also to be meeting other Rotarians;
Oliver Ruiz enjoyed a trip on the Brightline to Ft. Lauderdale with family and friends;
Scott Richey had a great holiday in Orlando, despite the fact the Airbnb he booked was not available – he needed to do some quick rearranging and in the end everything worked out. He also mentioned that member Amelia Bonilla had a really bad fall over the holidays but is doing well and recovering;
Bob Cartlidge is happy to be visiting and became aware of Rotary through an uncle many years ago;
Linda Singer had a wonderful time spending part of the holidays in Sarasota;
Dave Skinner is proud to be a Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Miami;
Cory Gittner had a great time at a small (150 people????) gathering for his mother’s 90th birthday;
Diane Stieber recommended a wonderful book – Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman;
Randy Lichtman had a great vacation and added some walking at Zoo Miami. He congratulated Norm and was glad that Norm reminds us who we are and where we come from;
Marcos Menendez was happy to start the year (and end Happy $$$$$$$$$) with free money!!
Program
Elihu Phares is a member of the Rotary Club of Lauderdale/Cypress Creek. This year he has also taken on the role as Endowment Fund Chair of the District Rotary Foundation Committee 2018-19;
More than 100 years ago, Rotarians took bold action to ensure success and empower generations still to come — they established The Rotary Foundation to secure a better future;
Everyone can make a difference contributing in any way they can. The areas that are focused on by the Foundation are: 1) providing clean water, 2) improving education and literacy, 3) fighting disease, 4) saving mothers and children, 5) growing local economies, and 6) promoting peace;
You can plant a seed to bear fruit in the future by contributing to:
The Annual Fund – which is returns to Rotary Districts three years after the funds are collected to be distributed;
The Endowment Fund – where the principal is never spent and only the earnings are used for direct donation;
There are numerous options on how to plan now on leaving Your Rotary Legacy – be sure to reach out to Elihu or Lee Phares.
50/50
Oliver Ruiz was the first lucky draw for the 50/50. Today’s pot totaled $203 – but it was not Oliver’s day to be the big winner. Funds will be rolled over until next week.
Angela Deggs led everyone in the Four Way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do, bringing the first meeting of 2019 to a close.
