The Rote – October 18, 2018
The Miami Yacht Club
Immediate Past President Phil Seipp called the meeting to order while President Dave Skinner was on a short vacation. Shirley Pardon gave an invocation. Norm Kassoff led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Guests and Visitors were introduced by Rick Hernandez:
- Macey Markowitz – is a Development Director at the Salvation Army. One of the goals of the Salvation Army is to get homeless individuals permanently housed; they are in need of volunteers;
- Jennifer Dillon – is an Executive Director at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Jennifer says we are all invited to come visit, they are located on Virginia Key. There are cool things to see including hurricane simulators;
- Christine Gudaitis – a guest of Robin and Susan Shelley. She is a partner at Ver Ploeg & Lumpkin where she specializes in insurance litigation. She is also the co-founder of South Florida Clothiers;
- Brett Prieur – also a guest of Robin and Susan Shelley. He is the co-owner of South Florida Clothiers.
Announcements:
- Noreen informed us that there will be a Heart Walk on November 18th in coordination with the American Heart Association. Jamie is helping to coordinate. Please sign up for this walk for a good cause;
- Noreen also informed us that our club is now booked with speakers through February 14th. She encourages all to look at the schedule for programs and provide feedback;
- We had an excellent turnout last week to hear UM Women’s Basketball Coach Katie Meier speak about her program;
- Tim Ryan was the high bidder for an autographed basketball and his $100 will be put toward his EREY and another PHF;
- UM also donated other items that were auctioned off at the meeting to benefit the End Polio Campaign;
- In lieu of a meeting this Thursday, 10/25, we are having a special End Polio Sunday Brunch at Diane’s house on 10/28. We will be accepting contributions from all. If you put your name on an envelope or leave a check, you will get Foundation giving credit for your contribution. You must sign up or let Diane know ASAP if you are coming and how many are in your party. This is a great opportunity to introduce someone to our Club and showcase the good things we do and the good times we have. We will have a special End Polio presentation;
- Membership reminder - Please share what we have here with a friend, neighbor or client. To keep the momentum going, we need to induct a few more new members by year end;
- Our program on November 1 will be presented by Director Frank Fernandez and Dr. Marcus St. John of the American Heart Association.
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Rick Miller:
- Rick Miller was happy to see Renel back from Haiti. There was an earthquake near Port-de-Paix while he was there working on a project. Rick was also happy for the mangoes Marcia Brod gave him earlier this year that he froze and is still enjoying;
- Marcia Brod was happy that Lenny had his second eye done and cataract removed. Her older daughter is getting married in April in Gainesville;
- Renel Noel was happy to be back with his Rotary friends and happy to be back in one piece from experiencing an earthquake in Haiti. Despite the earthquake, they still were able to install the digital x-ray machine in a remote area in Haiti;
- Randy Lichtman is happy that there are three Rotaracters going to Chicago. Their project on mediation is considered one of the top 100;
- Noreen Timoney says that on behalf of Tim, Shirley and her, they would like to thank everyone for their suggestions for the club’s programs. She also thanked Tim for all his funny jokes last week;
- Robin Shelley was happy for his friends and speakers that attended today. Robin is happy we’ve got a world class program. Robin says - because Rotary allows you to meet the most wonderful people you wouldn’t otherwise meet. On a recent trip to Dallas, he met a world-class shark researcher and today we were fortunate to have him as our speaker. Robin encourages us to ask people what they do and make those connections!
- Oliver Ruiz was happy to have representatives from the Rosenstiel School at our club today. He is familiar with the Rosenstiel campus as he says he worked at Sunday’s on the Bay a few years back;
- Tina Moore is very happy to be back in town and with her Rotary Club.
Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, our speaker, was introduced by Robin Shelley:
Dr. Hammerschlag is a marine ecologist and Research Associate Professor at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science and Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy. He also serves as Director of the Shark Research & Conservation Program at the University of Miami.
Neil’s research centers broadly on the behavioral ecology, conservation biology, and movement ecology of marine predators, particularly sharks. His current research has three core themes: (1) understanding the ecological and evolutionary effects of sharks; (2) determining the biological drivers and conservation consequences of shark movement patterns; and (3) examining how urbanization affects the behavior and health of coastal sharks. He has projects currently underway in Florida, The Bahamas, and South Africa.
A few points from his presentation:
- Hammerhead sharks are one of the least understood species. They embody the ocean as they are a mysterious, exciting and threatened species. Sharks help keep the food web in check by removing weakened individual species.
- Neil works at Rosenstiel and also photographs sharks during his spare time.
- Sharks are being significantly overfished for their meat and fins. Sharks, like humans, reproduce very slowly. 100 million sharks are being overfished each year.
- Toxins like mercury have been found in the sharks. This can cause neurological diseases and people that consume the shark meat are at risk.
- Sharks are highly migratory and it is important to protect critical spots for sharks.
- There is a need to come up with innovative science to figure out where the pregnant sharks are going in order to study these migratory animals.
- Tiger sharks are the largest predator in the world. They can grow up to 20 feet long. They have serrated teeth and are highly migratory.
- One tool used to watch sharks in real time is satellite tagging. This helps to figure out where sharks spend most of their time.
- They are developing a way to pinpoint where sharks give birth.
- There is a great Shark Research and Conservation program where kids are invited to go on the tagging trip. They bring over 1,000 kids on these trips every year to get them excited about marine biology. The youngest is age 10.
- They also have a Women in Science Program (F.I.N.S.) to encourage girls to get involved in the field.
- You can find more information about the programs here: https://sharkresearch.rsmas.miami.edu/participate/school-group-field-experiences/
50/50
Today we sold $77, bringing the grand total to $288.
4-Way Test
Oliver Ruiz led us in the 4-Way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do.
And that concludes one of the most fun and interesting meetings brought to you by the Rotary Club of Miami.
Scribe: Amelia Bonilla
