The Rote for January 11, 2018 (Jan 15, 2018)

The Rote – January 11, 2018
The Miami Yacht Club

President Phil Seipp welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2018. Shirley Pardon gave an invocation and Robin Shelley led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Guests and Visitors were introduced by Jay Almeida:

Joseph Longueira is President of the Miami PBA and an honorary Club member;
Rick Sanchez is a Rotarian from the Brickell Club and works for Edward Jones;
Michelle Shirley is Executive Director of Be Strong and a potential member. She joined us today as a guest of member Linda Singer;
Stephanie Almeida is the daughter of member Jay Almeida. She has completed college and is now looking for a position in the field of social media;
Angela Deggs and Amelia Bonilla were both guests of Scott Richey and potential members. They work at Northern Trust;
Pablo Torres joined us today and is with Coldwell Banker;
Piera Camposeo previously visited us and is now hoping to find employment and settle in Miami. Club headhunters, be on the lookout for positions in education.

President Phil presented a check to Joe Longueira in appreciation for the use of the Miami PBA Hall for the presentation of the Griffitts Award. The dinner and facility were both terrific.

Happy $$$$$$$$ were collected by Dave Anderson:

Funds collected will continue to be designated to the Club’s TBM Trust.

Dave Anderson was glad to say goodbye to a difficult 2017 and is looking forward to 2018;
Randy Lichtman had a great time visiting family in very very chilly Michigan. He reported that Norby Rudel received excellent feedback from participants on a training class he conducted for students at MDC and thanked him for his work;
Dave Skinner was happy to see so many potential members at today’s meeting;
Norby Rudel was glad that the class was finished and was glad Piera was at today’s meeting and hopes the club’s networking skills will be put to good use to help her find a position;
Diane Landsberg enjoyed another great evening at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza listening to Norby play and sing;
Robin Shelley also enjoyed spending the evening at Anthony’s and was also happy that his grandson came in 12^th place overall in the championship round of his sailing event in Hong Kong;
Linda Singer is looking forward to the South Florida Folk Festival this weekend and is excited that she and husband Dave Skinner are seeing results from joining Weight Watchers;
Jay Almeida thanked Phil and Diane for their work in these last six months. He also asked for folks to keep an eye out for positions for Stephanie in social media;
Noreen Timoney was glad to welcome in 2018 and happy to be finishing up a big project she was working on;
Cory Gittner shared an article in Time Magazine (a publication some younger members many have never seen!) about the elimination of polio. The article gave Rotary International credit for its efforts;
Renel Noel was glad to see 2018 and had a wonderful trip with the entire family to visit an ailing relative. He emphasized how important it is for family to gather and celebrate whenever they can.

Announcements:

There will be a board meeting prior to next week’s meeting (2/18). The board meeting will be held at 10:30 and all members are welcome;
Shirley Pardon spoke about the opportunity for a club cruise on Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas on April 5. Those interested should contact her immediately;
We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, February 14 (an appropriate day to celebrate!) at The Cloisters clubhouse with Robin and Susan Shelley;
TBM Pinning Ceremony will be held on Friday, February 23 at FIU. The school really goes all out and we hope many members can attend;
Save the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Saturdays in March for participation in the TBM student interviews;
The next Rotary Leadership Institute will be held on April 21 in Miami-Dade County. Save that date to participate;
November was Rotary Foundation month. Club members continue to work towards their annual giving goals. Another possible way to contribute is purchasing ticket for the District 6990 Chris Morrison Golf Ball Drop. Chances are $25 each and the drop will take place on February 1;
Marcia Brod shared an email recently received from a TBM recipient:

Hello All at the Miami Rotary,

As I near the end of my professional career, just wanted to share with you an award I received this past year.

If it was not for the assistance of the Thomas Brown McClelland Fund, I would not have been able to peruse my medical career without incurring considerable debt.

This allowed me to spend the bulk of my career working with an inner city poor population of patients and in public health.

I am finishing out my career providing primary care to my local community.

All the Best in the New Year.

Lynette McLamb MD

State of the Club Address

Club President Phil Seipp shared with us his thoughts and our accomplishments for the first half of this Rotary year:

Today, I am here to share my gratitude for what you, the members of this venerable Club have accomplished in our first six months of year #101. The purpose of this meeting today is to reinforce why each and every one of you should all be so very proud to be members of this particular Rotary Club.

First and foremost, Membership!

Having begun the year with 41, we have achieved a new high of 55. And, there are more to come. Eight of the new members are in the “Additional Family Member” category. While their attendance at luncheons may be infrequent, these are the spouses who actively attend our evening and social events and contribute in other ways.

Under the leadership of Membership Chair Dave Anderson, we will continue to improve our recruiting and selection processes. With all our new members comes the responsibility on the rest of us to welcome them into Miami Rotary, make them aware of our rich, interesting history and help get them engaged in Rotary activities that they will find both interesting and rewarding. Our Mentoring program led by Norby Rudel will hopefully help us do this. Next to recruiting new members, retaining them is the next vital goal.

To our newer members, it is our goal to make your membership worthwhile and rewarding. Your time, like ours, is valuable. When you take time for Rotary, we want you to always feel that it was time well spent. Please let someone know if you ever feel otherwise.

Fellowship & Social –

We are most fortunate to have in our midst a member who not only likes to party, but, better yet, knows how to successfully plan and execute a great party or event. I would hate to ever imagine our Club without Diane Landsberg. It has been our good fortune so far this year to have had the following fantastic social events:

We kicked off the year with another spectacular 4^th of July party at the home of Don & Maria Van Orsdel.
Many of us attended the District Governor’s Reception at Whiskey Joe’s on Key Biscayne.
A Summer Sale party at Diane’s home followed and raised a substantial amount toward EREY and for the Club.
In October, we had another “Membership Recruitment” party at Seasons 52 which turned into a “Bon Voyage to Haiti” event.
Angel Rodriguez hosted us for an evening meeting at the Airport Military Lounge in November.
On December 7^th, our 50^th Griffitts Award dinner provided another great opportunity to socialize with each other.
And, most recently, the Holiday Party & Sale which not only helped raise additional EREY funds, but brought in a nice amount of “unrestricted” funds that will be put to good use.

These social events are critical. You are limited at lunch as to how well you can get to know your fellow Rotarians. These evening events can help you get better acquainted with the wide diversity of personalities and talents that are within this Club.

Finances –

Not only is our 100th year Club history rich in interesting people and stories, we are also very fortunate to have accumulated over the years a sound financial footing. Also serving as your Treasurer now for several years, I can say that it has truly been a pleasure to work with such wonderful numbers.

On the Club side, we have moved the bulk of our checking to BB&T and that has been most convenient. We still have some funds in our Wells Fargo checking which we are keeping open to facilitate transfers of TBM donations to the Trust account in Winston Salem. We also have a substantial money market account at Iberia Bank (formerly Sabadel). That needs to be put to work so that it can earn something. Saving the best for last, we will have our Wells Fargo CD for another 14 years. It pays 5.92% which gives the Club around $135 a month. All told, the Club now has over $93,000 in funds.

For many years, the Club paid for an Executive Director or a service to operate the Club. When membership declined, that was no longer an option. When we eliminated an office, we also decreased our expenses. Our biggest expenses are Meetings and Social Events, Rotary and District dues and Accounting. Fortunately, we receive a management fee from TBM. Without the TBM fee and our Sale income, we would not have the $10,000+ surplus that we showed at the end of December.

We also have a 501(c)(3) Foundation that has grown steadily over the years. Regardless of your political feelings, the “Trump” stock market has done wonders for our Foundation. We owe our thanks to Scott Richey and Northern Trust for taking us up close to $800,000. Your Board has not been just sitting on this money. As fast as we have been spending, our investments keep replacing.

We began with a presentation of $5000 to the new District Governor for the End Polio effort.
When the hurricanes struck, we made contributions to the District Robbins Fund totaling $9800.
We have sent R.I. over $7000 for EREY, a Global Grant Water project and more Polio funds.

All totaled, your Foundation has disbursed over $38,000 so far this year, and our balance sheet still shows a net worth of $791,000 with two more quarters of growth and income hopefully ahead.

Basically, as a member of Miami Rotary, each of you should feel like a million bucks!

Next, Involvement – in our Avenues of Community Service, International Service & Youth Service

Community – in addition to our Griffitts award, we have supported the Airport Armed Forces Military Lounge, the March of Dimes, the Girl Scout Troop in Overtown & the UM DOCS program with the Foundation funds mentioned earlier. And, our community service goes far beyond our financial assistance. Through the donated merchandise program with our retail partners, numerous charities & non-profits have also benefited from items donated in the name of our Club.

International Service this year included helping member Renel Noel with his Haiti project, helping the Grove Club with their Micro Loan Grant project & contributing to a Mexican Water Global Grant project.

Youth Services consists of our Interact Clubs, our new Downtown Rotaract Club at MDC & RYLA expenses.

TBM –

I believe that our Thomas Brown McClelland Medical Scholarship Trust is what sets us ahead and apart from most of the Rotary Clubs in the world. Currently valued at over $4,800,000, we have given over $6,000,000 to over 600 students since it began in 1983. Getting interested in TBM & working with Norm Kassoff is what got me back active with Miami Rotary. My proposal to provide stethoscopes was just a beginning. The Club is now fortunate to have the TBM Scholar pins and the pinning events. The TBM Society will help recognize those who serve, and we still need to develop the TBM Bequest Society. Far beyond my imagination, working with these students has truly changed my life. Our work ahead is to complete the transfer to our new Trustee and grow the Trust as much as possible to keep up with today’s med school costs. TBM is and will always be a whole Club project!

Rotary International –

It was a great pleasure to attend my first International Convention in Atlanta just prior to starting my year. Your Club was well represented, and we all came home inspired. Because of what we saw & heard in Atlanta, we stepped up & did the Polio donation.

The Rotary Foundation just celebrated its 100^th birthday. Your Club has made great efforts in recent years to achieve EREY recognition each year & we are on track to do it again. Our Paul Harris Fellow numbers are also something to be very proud of. Our Club all-time giving total is approaching $900,000.

Closer to home at the District level, our DG Alan Cohn has been to two of our events and Dave Anderson and Diane Landsberg are serving as AAG’s. I believe we are poised to lead the District in several areas this year.

So, in summation, the state of the Rotary Club of Miami is incredibly sound. If our purpose is to “do good in the world”, then I think we are doing it and you all can be very proud to be part of the Rotary Club of Miami.

Let’s get a few more quality members and see where that takes us.

President Phil Seipp

Dave Skinner led everyone in the 4-Way Test of the Things We Think, Say or Do.