The Rote – February 6, 2020 The Miami Yacht Club Scribe: Marcia Brod
President Norby Rudel called the meeting to order. Steve Dutton gave an invocation and Bunny Uriarte led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Visitors and Guests were introduced by Dave Skinner
Roberto Ruvalcaba, a Rotarian from the Brickell club, joined us today. He brought along his friend, Memo Margolis. Good to have you both with us!!
Jason Gheissari is visiting us again and is a member of the Rotary Club of McClean VA;
Hunter O’Connor was checking out the club. He is originally from Utah, recently out of military service and is now working in real estate.
Maribel Reyes came as a guest of Amelia Bonilla. She is a CPA and is considering becoming a member – Maribel, we’d love to have you join!!
Birthdays
Bunny Uriarte, Amelia Bonilla and Jay Almeida are celebrating birthdays this month. Hope you all enjoy your special day!!
Happy $$$$$$$$$$$$ were collected by Amelia Bonilla
Amelia Bonilla was happy to have her good friend Maribel Reyes at today’s meeting. She also commented on how wonderful the FIU Pinning Ceremony was the previous week, including the formal induction of the new FIU Rotaract Club;
Marcia Brod was happy to share an article from the Miami Herald Neighbors Section highlighting our Griffitts Award dinner;
Bunny Uriarte thanked the club for being so welcoming to her and also acknowledged how terrific the FIU Pinning Ceremony was;
Jason Gheissari was glad to be attending his third meeting with the Club. He shared how welcome he feels at the meetings. He loves the view from the Yacht Club and informed us that his McClean Virginia Rotary Club has 30 members, of which, 20 are lawyers;
Linda Singer is just happy every time she walks into a meeting;
Robin and Susan Shelley were glad to make it, despite the traffic, to the FIU Pinning Ceremony this year. They are also happy to share that their granddaughter received her white coat at a ceremony at the UF Dental School;
Diane Landsberg was happy several times over: for her article in the Miami Kids Magazine, a wonderful event for the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, the Pinning Ceremony at FIU. She also was pleased to present Jan Figa with points towards his next PHF from the donation of points by the Shelleys. She also shared a booklet of photos from the FIU event that has been posted to the club website;
Renel Noel was happy to be participating in tonight’s official installation of the Rotary Club of Little Haiti. He is acting as an advisor to the group;
Norby Rudel is pleased to be running in this week’s Miami Marathon and thanked the club for his special running shirt with the Rotary logo;
Phil Seipp thanked everyone who participated in the FIU Pinning event, especially Cathy Cahill and the Shelleys for generously supporting the purchase of stethoscopes for the new TBM recipients. He also shared that the Mead Program and our Endowed Teacher Chair accounts at Miami Dade College are both doing extremely well financially;
Jay Almeida was happy for a bunch of things – Marcia Brod’s article fulfilled a requirement of the public image award challenge; he had a wonderful cruise; the generosity of the Shelleys for the PHF points they have made available to the club; and finally, he hopes Dave Anderson will be able to work to keep the club a 100% PHF contributor.
Announcements:
Rotary Youth Services Awards (RYLA) will be held in Islamorada February 20;
Installation of the Little Haiti Rotary Club President will be held tonight;
Robert Bull reminded everyone of the Zoo Miami tree planting project this Saturday, February 8;
NO LUNCH MEETING NEXT THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13!!!!
Friday, February 14–Valentine Event – PLEASE NOTE THE PARTY LOCATION HAS BEEN MOVED TO DIANE’S HOUSE AT 460 SUNSET ROAD 33143.
Regular meetings will be held February 20, 27 and March 5.
RLI Levels 1, 2, 3 and graduate will be held on Saturday March 14. The club will reimburse you for your registration fees;
TBM Interviews will be conducted Saturday March 14, 21 and 28. Be sure to sign up for at least one Saturday, you will not want to miss this important club project.
Program
Club Historian and TBM Co-Chair Norman Kassoff shared some history about Thomas Brown McClelland – the man and the program that the Club administers;
McClelland came to South Florida from Puerto Rico where he worked with the Department of Agriculture. In Miami he joined forces with David Fairchild to benefit the world with innovations in agriculture;
Mr. McClelland was a Rotarian in Puerto Rico and became a member of our club through his association with David Fairchild and Bowman Ashe, then president of the University of Miami;
In the late 1950’s, McClelland began to propose a creation of a Rotary Club of Miami Foundation with the eventual hope of distributing funds to students attending medical school. The Trust began with an initial investment of $2.5 million which was to remain in the Foundation until his passing;
After his death, the court required the Club to create standards by which students might receive funding;
Today the TBM Trust has distributed over $7 million to students aspiring to be physicians. It has truly made a difference in so many lives;
Phil Seipp spoke about the upcoming interviews with students applying for the scholarship. He hopes that every member will participate in at least one of the three interview days.
There were 81 applications received this year and we all look forward to meeting these students and learning more about them. Details about the process was also shared with the group.
50/50 Raffle
The pot totaled $182 today and Renel Noel was the lucky first ticket. Unfortunately, his first draw was not the Ace of Spades – so the pot rolls over another week.
Marcia Brod led everyone in the Four Way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do.
Reminder – No Meeting Next Thursday – Let’s all gather at Diane Landsberg’s house at 460 Sunset Rd. 33143. Please, please, please RSVP and offer Diane your assistance!!
