The Rote May 19, 2021

The Miami Yacht Club and via Zoom

Scribe: Linda Singer

President Noreen Timoney called the meeting to order on Zoom.

 

Jay Almeida gave an invocation.

Brian Tschirhart  led us in pledging allegiance to the flag.

 

We continue to keep those in Ukraine and all those struggling around the world in our thoughts and prayers.

 

THIS DAY IN HISTORY – MAY 19, 1935

T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an assumed name. The legendary war hero, author and archaeological scholar succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six days before.

 

ALSO, ON THIS DAY

 

AFRICA 2016

EgyptAir flight 804 disappears over the Mediterranean Sea

 

GREAT BRITAIN 1536

Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, is executed

 

EXPLORATION 1588

Spanish Armada sets sail to secure English Channel

 

U.S. PRESIDENTS 1864

President Lincoln proposes equal treatment of soldiers’ dependents

 

ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY 1897

Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde is released after two years in prison

 

COLD WAR 1967

Soviets ratify treaty banning nuclear weapons from outer space

 

WORLD WAR II 1943

FDR and Winston Churchill plot D-Day

 

WORLD WAR I 1916

Britain and France conclude Sykes-Picot agreement

 

 

Coral Reef Restoration Project will be on June 12^th off of Key Biscayne to plant corals in the sea or to watch them being planted. Alternatively, you can stay on the boat. Afterwards Diane Landsberg will be providing lunch at her house.

 

Speaker

Norm Kassoff introduced our speaker, Manuel “Manny” Morales, who is the 43^rd police chief of the City of Miami. Chief Morales introduced his Executive Officer David Valentin and his second in command, Deputy Gauz. As part of the police department’s community outreach, Deputy Gauz was entertaining children enrolled in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program who were at the Miami Yacht Club.

 

Chief Morales said that this year there have been only twelve homicides in the City of Miami. He attributes it to the efforts over the last several years to crack down on the worst repeat offenders.

 

The health of police officers is particularly important to Chief Morales. City of Miami police officers now have mandatory psychological sessions regularly to assist them in dealing with the trauma they witness. As police officers exhibit a greater proportion of cardiac problems due to the vocational stress they experience, they receive cardiac screenings.

 

As part of the community outreach program, the police ice cream truck, which is a van with sides that come down, is in operation now. They give free ice cream to children in Miami to encourage a positive relationship with the police.

 

A very thoughtful question and answer session followed.

 

Norm Kassoff then presented Chief Morales with a certificate of honorary membership in The Rotary Club of Miami.

 

Visiting Rotarians and Guests:

Breven Baina is a visiting Rotarian from Punta Gorda, Florida. President Noreen exchanged banners with Rotarian Breven Baina.

 

Happy $$$$ to benefit the Little Haiti Football Club:

• Diane Landsberg was appreciative for our speaker.

• Marcia Brod also appreciated our speaker and enjoyed a documentary film about New York City’s Horn and Hardart Automat, which she visited as a child.

• Phil Seipp was happy to report that member Stephan Schenck generously donated $1,500 for Ukraine relief efforts, which is being handled through the Lviv Rotary Club, and $500 for The Rotary Club of Miami.

• Robert Bull also appreciated today’s speaker and said that his father was a police officer.

• Noreen Timoney, whose deceased husband, John Timoney, was a former City of Miami Police Department Chief, also appreciated our speaker today and the ongoing collaboration and relationship between our Rotary Club and the Miami Police Department.

• Dave Skinner gave happy dollars to commemorate the upcoming birthday of his wife, Linda Singer.

• Brian Tschirhart appreciated the speaker and is glad that we are continuing our club’s long relationship with the City of Miami Police Department.

 

Words to Reflect on

4-Way Test

Oliver Ruiz led the club in the 4-Way Test, which closed another informative and fun gathering of Miami Rotarians.