May 7th, 2020
by Diane Landsberg
President Norby opened the meeting at 12:30 and welcomed everyone. We had some 36 members and guests and we started by sharing a moment of silence to honor our many heroes that have been working on the frontlines during the pandemic.
Once again, Noreen Timoney led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Her introduction was inspirational and worth repeating. A big-time patriotic THANK YOU to Noreen.
“As we reflect on the relationship of the American flag to our history, think about the meaning of freedom, pride, honor, responsibility, unity, and equality. Our rich history has shown the hardiness and valor represented by the red color, the purity and optimism in the white color, and the vigilance, perseverance and justice associated with the blue color. Many heroes have gone before us and paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend us; heroes today are trying to protect and preserve us from deadly pandemics and everyday trials. When we make this pledge, we should not recite it but rather feel it as we salute each and every one of those heroes from the U.S. military to the police and firefighters, to the doctors and nurses, all front liners, to mail deliverers, to grocery store workers, to volunteers and all others working in our country for the good of all. Please join me in reaffirming our allegiance to our country, the United States of America.”
Visitors
- Natasha Metayer – a returning visitor and potential member
- Hans Hasselberg – a returning visitor and former member
- Manohar Mahajan – the President of the Airport Rotary Club
Tidbits
Norby shared an incident that occurred this week. He was contacted to see if he could assist with two Youth Exchange students returning early from Argentina due to Covid-19. They were minors traveling through Miami on their way home to Oregon and needed an adult to check them into a hotel. Norby sent the word out and several members of our club stepped forward to volunteer, including Rick Hernandez, Carlos Bonadies, John Harrison’s son, Chip (a former Youth Exchange student himself), Miguel Divantoque, Steve Dutton and myself.
Norby then introduced President Mahajan, who made arrangements to ensure the safe layover of the young ladies. This was not that easy. As it turned out, The hotel would not allow Manohar to check the young ladies in and leave them so he had to get a room for the night. Then he found out there were five more RE students still at the airport who had decided to hang out all night. He decided he could not leave them there and went back for them. He said he was lucky because one of the students was 19. Now, at least Manohar did not have to stay at the airport! Last we heard everyone got home to their respective States safely. A big THANK YOU! to Manohar.
Amelia Bonilla, Youth Service Chair, gave an impressive update on our Interact and Rotaract clubs. She thanked Randy Lichtman for his leadership at MDC where they garnered several service awards including:
- Community Service
- Outstanding Event Award
- Most Dedicated Organization Supporter - Club President, Catalina Perez de Armignan
Amelia continued to fill us in on the FIU Rotaract Food Insecurity Fundraiser. Here are some of the highlights:
- They have raised over $6,000
- They have provided Walmart gift cards and meals from a local small business called Healthy Xpress to 54 households at this time.
- They just mailed out another 17 cards
- They have partnered with a homemade PPE initiative so each household they’re providing support to is receiving a homemade mask and an information guide listing local resources
- They delivered breakfast from two local small businesses, The Salty Donut and Coffee Talk, in South Miami to South Miami Hospital
- Our own Rotarian, Carlos Bonadies just made a very nice contribution. Way to go Carlos!!
Amelia went on to say that they could not have had such a successful initiative without the support of the Rotary Club of Miami. The Green Family Foundation is using the project as a framework to create a program to further support the families in the coming future.
Yikes…and Amelia wasn’t done yet!! You go girl!
The Interact Club of Miami Senior High submitted 5 entries to the 4-Way Test Scholarship Contest. A big THANK YOU! to Alberto Diaz, Marcia Brod and Oliver Ruiz for volunteering to read and score the essays.
Treasurer Phil Seipp announced the subsidized dues structure for the upcoming year. The Board of Directors made the bold move to support our members during these challenging times. All members have been sent an email explaining the details.
‘While we all may face additional challenges in the year ahead, the Board does not want your Miami Rotary dues to be an economic burden. We see great things ahead as we return to a new normal, and we want you to continue to be a part of what we will accomplish in the future’.
NOTE: Please return the attached forms indicating your decision as soon as possible and submit any updated information for our records.
Our featured speaker was our own historian Norm Kassoff. In recognition of the 33rd year that Rotary permitted women to join Rotary, he shared details how this affected our club. The sitting club President was Robert McDermott and he announced that the Supreme Court ruled that Rotary could no longer be only open to men. A woman, by the name of Ann Houghs submitted her application for review and was accepted as the first woman in our club. A group of eight members were opposed and stated ‘If we wanted to be in a club with women, we would have joined that club’. During her membership induction, the eight men stood up and walked out, never to return. I think they went to the Shriners! (only kidding of course)
The first woman President was Ruth Kassewitz in 
1993, and four other women have followed as President: Marcy Ullom in 1999, Ann de Las Pozas in 2010, Linda Singer in 2011 and, yours truly, Diane Landsberg in 2014. Noreen Timoney will become our sixth woman president in 2022. We have come a long way!
We are fortunate that Jay “Spielberg” Almeida recorded Norm so that we can preserve our history. We are blessed to have Norm. He is a member of over 40 years and, with a wonderful memory! Several people expressed gratitude to Norm, including our visitor, Natasha Metayer.
The Four-Way Test was led by Susan and Randy Lichtman, and it was possibly the first recital of the Test in harmony!
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30pm. Our next meeting will be Thursday, May 14th at 12:30pm.
Hope to see you there.
