Stories

• Talk about your vocation in your club, and take time to learn about fellow members’ vocations.
• Use your professional skills to serve a community.
• Practice your profession with integrity, and inspire others to behave ethically through your own words and actions.
• Help a young person achieve his or her career aspirations.
• Guide and encourage others in their professional development.

During our August 26th meeting we were happy to host:

• Dan Floryan
• Carol Ann Speer
• Brent Morris
• Seana Baker
• Larry Baker
• Leslie Keener
• Vicky Brown
• Jeanine Hart
• RYE Inbound Student Kaisla Heikkila

• RYLA Rebound Student Hannah Baker
• Clayton Bromberg
• Tim Tyler

The Rotary Club of PVB Sunset was part of a joint venture lead by the PVB Morning club and the Oceanside Club to acquire a refrigerated truck for BEAM.

The dedicated will occur on April 17th at 7:30AM at the morning club's weekly meeting.

Presentation of the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset Service Above Self Scholarship to McKethan Parker,
 a Senior at Ponte Vedra High School on April 2, 2014. 
 

 (Pictured left to right.)
Jeff Hart, Service Above Self Scholarship Committee Co-Chair
Emery Clance, Service Above Self Scholarship Committee
McKethan Parker, 2014 Service Above Self Scholarship Winner for Ponte Vedra High School
Dave Howie, President of the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset, Committee Co-Chair
Stephen Sumner, Service Above Self Scholarship Committee

McKethan Parker received a $1,000 Service Above Self Scholarship towards his college education.
He is being recognized for achieving a high level of academic success with a 4.4 GPA but also
showing leadership and initiative in serving others in the community. McKethan was the Co-Founder of
Kids Helping Kids and has been a volunteer With Helping Hands at PVHS, American Cancer Society-Relay
For Life, Mu Alpha Theta as a math tutor and with the Faithful Servant in Bajo Tejares in Costa Rica.
MeKethan is the son on Kathy and BC Parker of Ponte Vedra Beach.

 

Madison Stenzel of Nease High School and McKethan Parker of Ponte Vedra High School each received a $1,000 Service Above Self Scholarship Award to go towards their college educations. Winners are recognized for their high level of academic success and also for showing leadership and initiative in serving others in the community.

 

Nease High School Scholarship Award Presentation

Pictured left to right: Jeff Hart, Service Above Self Scholarship Co-Chair; John A. Duffy, Master Chief, USN, (Ret.), NHS Naval Science Instructor; Nikki Lynch, NHS Assistant Principal; Margaret Byrns, NHS Math Teacher; Logan Stenzel, brother; Susie Stenzel, mother; Madison Stenzel, Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset Rotary Club's 2014 Service Above Self Scholarship Winner; Kim Hollis, NHS IB Coordinator; Dave Howie, President of the Rotary Club of PVB Sunset; Stephen Sumner, Service Above Self Scholarship Committee; Derek Coghlan, AP literature/IB English Instructor.

Ponte Vedra High School Scholarship Award Presentation

Pictured above left to right: Jeff Hart, Service Above Self Scholarship Committee Co-Chair; Emery Clance, Service Above Self Scholarship Committee; McKethan Parker, PVHS 2014 Service Above Self Scholarship Winner; Dave Howie, President of the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset and Committee Co-Chair; Stephen Sumner, Service Above Self Scholarship Committee.

 

 

Rotary International is pleased to present this five-part webinar series to support the Rotary family in producing sustainable service projects.

The series will highlight different strategies, best practices, and Rotary resources available to help clubs and districts undertake successful, sustainable service initiatives, using real-life examples from Rotarians.

In this webinar (part 4 in the series):

• Learn best practices for implementing your project and leading volunteers 
• Understand how to define and coordinate roles and responsibilities within your project team 
• Learn how to manage your service project budget 

Space is limited to 500 attendees, so register today!  Please note these times are in US Central (Chicago) time.  To see what time this will be in your area, please use the time zone converter. 

Click on the hyperlinks below to register:

English 1: Tuesday, 25 March 2014, 10:00-11:00

English 2: Tuesday, 25 March 2014, 18:00-19:00

Japanese: Monday, 21 April 2014, 19:00-20:00

Spanish: Wednesday, 23 April 2014, 10:00-11:00

French: Thursday, 24 April 2014, 9:00-10:00

Portuguese: Tuesday, 29 April 2014, 14:00-15:00

Please share this opportunity with fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors who may be interested in attending.

Sincerely,

Lifecycle of a Service Project Webinar Planning Team

We as a Rotary Club have an opportunity to raise some funds for Polio Plus through the sale

of tickets to the 2014 PLAYERS, May 5-11, 2014.

How does the Chip in for Youth program work?

The PLAYERS has created a unique ticket for the 2014 PLAYERS Championship (called a "Chip in" ticket)

which is only available for sale by youth organizations. We are representing our Rotary Youth Exchange

program within our Rotary Club. The ticket is a Good-Any-One-Day Grounds Ticket to the 2014 PLAYERS.

Regular daily grounds tickets sell for $58.00 and are day-specific. The Chip in ticket is discounted to $45.00.

The organization selling the tickets keeps $25.00 of every ticket sold!

The remaining net proceeds are donated to the Local First Tee Chapters.

All the information can be found at www.chipinforyouth.com. 

We as a Rotary Club are registered and have signed up to participate.

The following is the code that our supporters will enter on the TicketMaster page when purchasing tickets.  They must enter our

 code for our organization to receive credit for the ticket purchase! The TicketMaster page can be found at www.chipinforyouth.com or you can click here.

Our Code is: EXPERT

 

Jeff Hart had a wonderful surprise when volunteering with the Reads Aloud Program at PV PV Rawlings

Elementary School.  He received 18 " Thank You" notes from the First Graders in Ms. Kathy Bowes classroom.

Jeff has been a Rotary volunteer and reading books each week to their First Grade Class.

 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset celebrated "Rotary Has Heart" by participating in the "Stop Hunger Now" Service project at Duncan U. Fletcher High School on Saturday, February 15, 2014. Sunsetters presented a donation check of $250.00 in advance of the project for the purchase of food for the 24,000 bags put together for the support of the Service Project and Third World Countries.

PVB Sunset Rotarian, John Rutkowski with Underwood's Jewelers:

TAKE STOCK IN CHILDREN EVENT-EVERBANK FIELD

SIR-SUCKER SATURDAY

 

PINK RIBBON BREAST CANCER RESEARCH COCKTAIL PARTY

 

RUTH CHRIS AWARD DINNER

Operating in Jacksonville Florida for over 80 years.

At Underwood's we are devoted to being the best Jeweler in the South. We accomplish this through our long-term philosophy that quality in merchandise, presentation, personal service, and our integrity will bring the customer back to shop with us

 This past week we were honored to have Carole Ann Steiger Vice President of HandsOn Jacksonville join us.

HandsOn Jacksonville inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world.

http://www.handsonjacksonville.org/

February 2014 - World Understanding Month

Feb 2nd, 2014 - Rotary Anniverary

Feb 8th, 2014 - Million Dollar Dinner

Feb 14th, 2014 - Rotary Has Heart Project

Feb 17th, 2014 - 25th Annual Stock Car Hall of Fame

Feb 28th, 2014 - Public Image Award Deadline

Mar 1st, 2014 - Literacy Month

Mar 6th, 2014 - All Florida PETS

Mar 31st, 2014 - Awards Submission Deadline

Apr 1st, 2014 - Rotary Magazine Month

Apr 5th, 2014 - District General Assembly

Did you ever wonder what happens to our Exchange Students once we send them across the world?

Keep up with their activities by followiing their blogs at : http://www.ryeflorida.org/Students/OB/2013-14/outbounds2013.htm

 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset #66794  will  have  volunteers at the "Stop Hunger Now Service Project at

Duncan U. Fletcher High School on 2/15/14 at 10:00 A.M. to 12:30 PM." 

 

-Stop Hunger Now

 This is a project that the Fletcher Interact Club has done for the past 4 years, this year it is on February 15, 2014 at 10 AM -12:30 PM   Last year we packaged 40,000 meals and hope to package as many, if not more this year! That can not be done without the help of other rotary and interact clubs. We would love to have your rotary come and help us package meals! But this can not be accomplished without funds, to put on this project we need donations to make this possible. Clubs in the past have set goals to raise a certain amount of money and would extremely appreciate it if you would think about doing the same.

PVB Sunset Rotarian Ron Mott spoke to our club last week about his experiences during the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornadoes.

Amazing work was done by Ron, the team he was on, and the Salvation Army as a whole.

 

 

dear Rotarian,

This past year was one of exciting achievements and forward momentum for Rotary, as highlighted in the 2012-13 Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation Annual Report.  We launched a bold new chapter in our partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that makes your contributions to the vital polio eradication end game work three times as hard.  We also finished preparing for the global launch of our new grant model, boosting our ability to help more communities secure and sustain a better quality of life. And we carried out our first projects with Mercy Ships, while building on our work with Aga Khan University, UNESCO-IHE, the Rotary Peace Centers, and other partners.  In addition, The Rotary Foundation earned top marks from several independent charity evaluators, including the American Institiute of Philanthropy, Charity Navigator, and the Wise Giving Alliance.  I encourage you to review our annual report carefully, and to share it with others who may be interested in joining, partnering with, or donating to Rotary. You can order print copies of the report at shop.rotary.org. For those who want a more detailed look at Rotary finances, the audited financial statements are available for download.  Thank you for the important role you play in Rotary's work to help meet critical human needs, strengthening the groundwork for a more peaceful world.  Sincerely,  John Hewko General Secretary Twitter: @johnhewko

ONE ROTARY CENTER  1560 SHERMAN AVENUE  EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 60201-3698 USA  ROTARY.ORG

Relief Aid Pours into Typhoon-Struck Communities

For more than three hours, Typhoon Haiyan violently shook the roof, walls, and windows of Edgar Chiongbian’s house. The heavy winds and flying debris threatened to collapse his home to its foundation at any moment.

After the winds subsided and the rain stopped, he emerged from where he and his family had taken cover and inspected the damage.

“We were one of the lucky families,” says Chiongbian, governor of Rotary District 3860 in the Philippines. “There was no major damage to our house.”

The outcome was very different for communities and towns in central Philippines closer to the sea. One of the  strongest storms in history, the typhoon brought overwhelming destruction to coastal towns, killing more than 5,200 people, displacing 4.4 million, and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Soon after the storm, Rotary clubs worldwide began rushing relief aid and funds into devastated communities.

Chiongbian, whose district includes hard-hit Bohol, Cebu, and Ormoc, quickly coordinated efforts with other Philippine districts and clubs to bring lifesaving emergency aid, including food, water, medicine, and clothing, to survivors.

The district also set up a disaster relief fund to channel money where it’s most needed. Chiongbian says they will continue to focus on providing emergency aid, then shift into rebuilding communities.

“To help the victims through the immediate hardship and get them back to having functional lives will take at least one year,” he says. “The rebuilding and recovery phase that follows can be much longer.”

Chiongbian says the typhoon destroyed homes and meeting places of Rotary members throughout the country, “but in spite of their situations, they are working around the clock to aid other victims. We’ve received support from Rotarians all over the world. It is very heartwarming. We are very grateful.”

Other Rotary relief efforts:

·         The Rotary Club of Woodstock-Oxford, Ontario, Canada, raised more than $20,000 in relief funds, which will be matched by the Canadian government.

·         The Grind Earth Project, founded by members of the Rotary Club of Northwest Austin, Texas, USA, is working with the Rotary Club of San Pedro South, Laguna, Philippines, and WakaWaka Light to supply thousands of solar-powered lamps to affected areas.

·         WorldWaterWorks, an initiative of the Rotary Club of Chelwood Bridge, England, has delivered more than 500 Water Survival Boxes to disaster areas.

·         Five Rotary districts in Denmark raised more than $60,000 for emergency aid. The clubs plan to raise more for long-term projects.

·         The International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians donated $30,000 to affected districts. Several fleets are distributing aid packages in hard-hit remote areas.

·         ShelterBox Response Team members are on the ground across five typhoon-struck islands to distribute nearly 600 ShelterBox tents, benefiting more than 4,000 families.

·         Rotary clubs in District 3450 (Hong Kong; Macau; Mongolia) have contributed more than $70,000 toward relief aid. 

·         Disaster Aid International, an emergency relief organization sponsored by clubs in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, has provided survival kits and temporary shelter to more than 9,500 people in Leyte Island. 

Read a blog entry from a member of the ShelterBox Response Team 

By Ryan Hyland

Rotary News

6-Dec-2013

 

 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset woudl like to thank everyone that participated, volunteered, sponsored, and/or attended our Winefest Event this past Sunday 12/8/13.

It was GREAT FOOD, DRINK, and FRIENDS.

 

Dear Fellow Rotarians and Friends, 

In case you have not yet heard, Ms. JoAnn Radcliffe passed away last Wednesday evening.  She was a past member of the Southside Rotary Club and a Charter Member and Past President of the PVB Sunset Rotary Club.  Memorial services will be held at noon Friday, December 6 at Christ Episcopal Church.  There will be a reception immediately following the service, also at the church.

In lieu of flowers, she and her family have requested donations be made, in her name, to the search for an ALS cure at www.alsa.org/donate.

 

 

Owner Shad Khan has given us two seats in the owner's suite to auction off for the December 15th Jaguar/Rotary Game Day!

Description:

Have the football experience of a lifetime when you and a guest receive tickets for a Jaguars home game experience in the Owners' Suite at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium December 15th, 2014.

Your invitation includes two owners suite tickets, VIP parking pass and two pre-game field passes.  All guests must be 18 years or older.

This unique experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that any football fan is sure to love!  Surprise a loved one or splurge on yourself and know that every penny spent is making a difference in the life of a children around the world!  All proceeds will be sent to The Rotary Foundation for the End Polio Campaign in the name of the winning bidder, which means your contribution will also count towards Paul Harris Fellowships.  The Silent Auction begins NOW and ends Midnight, December 6th.  Send your bid to cyndecovington@gmail.com , the winning bidder will be contacted on December 7th. 

Dear Fellow Rotarian's,

We are still requiring assistance with the Rotary Youth Exchange District Final

Interviews being held on Saturday, November 16th and Sunday, November 17th at:

 St. Johns River State College                                                                                                       

Criminal Justice Building                                                                                                           

2990 College Drive (off SR-16)                                                                                                        

St. Augustine, FL 32084

This year we plan to interview 25 students a day in 5 separate rooms and in 4 different sessions. It will be fast and chaotic but extremely interesting. Although it is best if you plan to attend the entire day, a morning or afternoon session can be arranged. We will need a minimum of 25 Rotarian's per day. Please arrive by 8:00 AM for the Morning Shift (8:00 AM to

1:00 PM) and arrive at 12:45 PM for the Afternoon Shift (1:00 PM to 6:00 PM) on both days.  

 

Directions to sign up online: 

>Go to www.ryeflorida.org

> Open up the 6970 District page by placing the courser on 6970 under the map of Florida, Click on it.

>Page will open up to District 6970 Calendar, go  to November and sign up to participate in the interviews

                                                                                               Or

Please use this link to sign up to help with the interviews

 

   http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4EAAA72BABFE3-rotary

Or

 

  

                                                    Contact Jeff Hart at: jhart936@hotmail.com   

                                    Please give: Your Name, Cell #, E-mail address, and time(s) you wish to work.

Thank you in advance.

Yours In Rotary,

Jeff

Jeff Hart
Assistant District Vice-Chair, Outbound's
& District Counselor
Rotary Youth Exchange
District 6970

 

 

 

Doing good in Japan

With generous donations from Rotarians around the world, The Rotary Foundation is working to make a difference in needy communities. Watch a video about efforts to help Japanese communities recover from the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

PVB Sunset Rotary Club members thoroughly enjoyed a perfect evening of cruising along the St. Johns River aboard the beautiful Foxy Lady, which docks next to River City Brewing Company.  Many thanks to Captain Steve Danzig and the attentive and friendly crew of Foxy Lady. 

Check out the pictures at: http://jackiehird.com/rotarypv  Password: JaxLady

A volunteer force of 30, including Sunsetters, Ponte Vedra and Nease High Schools Interactors, Hilton Garden Inn Ponte Vedra team members and friends and families, joined together to help Second Harvest.  They committed their Saturday morning to packing (and some unpackaging), sorting, distributing and checking freshness of donated food. Check out the photo album of the event. 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset

Board Meeting

Tuesday October 8th at 5pm

TPC Clubhouse

Rotarian Luna-tics!

Calling all Rotarians to gather at the bar atop

Casa Marina

October 18th

7PM

Howl at the Full Moon!

And join fellow Rotarians from

Oceanside Rotary

and Ponte Vedra Rotary

For Fun and Libations

Don't be too late- the moon rises at 7:37!

 

 The Rotary Club of PVb Sunset welcomed Denise Chislett, RJ from Underwood's Jewelers.  Ms. Denise is responsible for Underwood's Social Media campaign and reviewed some basic Do's and Don'ts for businesses with the club. 

The Rotary Club of PVB Sunset was happy to welcome Ed Killion as a new member into our club.

 

On behalf of the Rotary Club of Ponte VedraBeach Sunset, we wish to "THANK YOU" for donating

your time, effort and energy to volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity St. Augustine Service Project

on Saturday, 9/28/13 from 7:45 AM until 3:00 PM.

 

Congratulations for a Service Project Well Done!

A BIG THANK YOU goes to the volunteers listed below:

Carol Maurer

Angus Stephens

Jeff Hart

Bill Renner........Chairman of the Habitat for Humanity-St. Augustine Service Project

Dave Howie

Mark Howie (Dave's son)

Cornelius Whitaker

Deborah Whitaker (Whit's wife)

Doug Brown-Teacher / Sponsor of Fletcher High School Interact Club

Doug Speed- Fletcher High School Interact Club

Brad Boyd-Fletcher High School Interact Club

Mason King-Fletcher High School Interact Club 

Bryce James-Fletcher High School Interact Club

Brian James-(Father of Bryce James, his daughter)

 

 

Jorge Parada, head instructor for The PGA Tour Academy, was nice enought to stop by our Rotary CLub meeting last week and give us an update on the Academy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there a better way to "Kick off' this year's football season than by having our ole' friend and former NFL coach, Larry Pasquale, as our speaker?

What a great way to make up for missing a meeting!

Tuesday Sept. 10th at 5pm inside the Champions Room at TPC.

A new Rotary record for Foundation giving!

2012-13 contributions to the Annual Fund reached an all-time high, exceeding US$115 million for the first time ever! Achieving annual contributions of this magnitude is a reflection of the extraordinary work of Rotary leaders, like you, around the world. Thank you! Please spread the word about how every Rotarian can make an impact in their communities and around the world, by supporting our Rotary Foundation every year. With your help, we can reach our visionary goal of US$120 million by 30 June 2014.

 

 

Dear Friends,

 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset has an opportunity to raise monies towards the eradication of Polio. 

What polio eradication costs

Upwards of US$1 billion per year from all sources is needed in donor contributions to fund the final eradication phase. This level of expense is expected to decrease as wild polio virus transmission is interrupted in the four remaining polio-endemic countries and outbreaks in previously polio-free countries are reduced. The budget for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is revised quarterly to reflect changes in epidemiology as well as financial contributions made by Rotary and other donors to the program.

The Web.com Tour Championship is offering the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset through their 501 (c)(3) Ponte Vedra Beach Rotary Sunset Charities, Inc., an opportunity to receive $10.00 of every $15.00 weekly Clubhouse ticket purchased using the code DRIVE.

All monies raised from ticket sales will be donated to End Polio Now. 

Online : Tickets can be purchased online via Ticketmaster. Rotary supporters can visit www.teeitupforcharitytickets.com or 

webtourchampionship.com and click on the "Tee It Up For Charity " link. At this point, you will be directed to a dedicated Ticketmaster page,

where supporter will enter the unique promotional code....DRIVE, select the number of tickets you wish to purchase, and continue with the 

online purchasing process. once completed, you will receive a confirmation email. Tickets can then be printed at home for no additional charge.

Web.com Tour Championship....Tee It Up for Charity........September 23-29 at the DYE'S  VALLEY COURSE  

Located in PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL  FINALS END HERE......FOUR DAYS >50 PGA TOUR CARDS AT STAKE!

What forms of payment for online purchases are acceptable?

All online orders must be paid by credit card payment at the time of purchase. There are no invoices issued and no partial

payments accepted. MasterCard, VISA, Discover and American Express are all accepted.

Do you need a parking pass to park at the tournament lot on CR 210 every day?

No, parking is free in the tournament lot off of CR 210 all week.

Will the ticket purchaser receive a receipt for their charitable donation?

The ticket purchase does not constitute a charitable donation, because of the consumer is receiving something of value

in return. For more information, please consult your tax adviser.

Thank you in advance for your support to assist in the eradication of Polio.  

Service Above Self,

Dave

President Dave Howie

Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset 

District 6970

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rotary Club of PVB Sunset would like to THANK all the volunteers that helped with our Inter-coastal Bridge Clean-up Service Project on Saturday, 8/24/13

1) President Dave Howie

2) Megan Howie (Dave's daughter) 

3) John Mencke

4) Sue Mencke (John's wife)

5) Angus Stephens

6) Elena Castello- NHS Interact Club Member

7) Carol Maurer

8) Waine Banyas 

9) McKenzie Bolin-President of the NHS Interact Club

10) Cornelius Whitaker (new member)

11) Deborah Whitaker ( Wife of Cornelius )

12) John Rutkowski

13) Dr. Rebecca Cooper

14) Clarissa Cooper (Rebecca's daughter)

15) Jeff Hart 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was great to have Madeline and Alaina back with us.

 

 

 

 

Hello Jaguar Fans:

The weekend so many have waited for, the Return of NFL football is upon us.

Your Hometown Jaguars 2014 Season begins with in-state rival Miami Dolphins in pre-season action Friday right here in Everbank field. Take advantage of Rotary discounts and a portion of each ticket  is donated by the Jaguars to a participating Rotary Club. For this year the process is automated and you may use the following link to reserve and purchase your game tickets.

Last year over 1,000 Rotarians and guests visited Everbank field and the district was able to raise over $20,000.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE JAGUARS TICKETS THROUGH ROTARY6970 

When prompted populate ROTARYin offer and at checking out choose Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset to receive the ticket credit.

Any Question don’t hesitate to contact me directly 904-608-2811.

Fellow Rotarians,

Come on out to the baseball grounds to see our Jacksonville Suns take on the Mississippi Braves.

Bring a friend, bring the whole family, its Family Faith Night w/ Jason Crabb in Concert, Bragan

Field Replicia Giveaway and a truly awesome Fireworks display after the game.

Rotarians: There is no charge for admission and parking; additional tickets for family and friends are

$11.50 per person and $7.00 per vehicle.

 AGENDA

5:30 PM Tailgate

7:05 PM Game Time

Please make checks payable to Dave Howie and mail to Dave or give him the attachment at the weekly meeting.

Mail Checks To Arrive No Later Than August 19th TO:

Dave Howie

1813 Falbridge Lane

Ponte Vedra, FL 32081

Any questions call or e-mail Dave: Ph (904) 742-2414, or Work: (904) 396-2202, Ext: 105 or

E-mail:  dhowie@mswcpa.com

 

Reminder: No Meeting at the TPC Sawgrass Club House on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 due to the Suns Baseball Bame Outing on Friday, August 30th.

 

 Ola Grzegorczyk, RYE Inbound Student from Poland arrived on Thursday, 8/7/13.
Featured: (Left to Right in the picture below.)
 
Mckenzie Bolin, President of NHS Interact Club and RYE ROTEX Student
Turner Stells, NHS Interact Club
Jarrett Grant-Host Brother to Ola
Adrienne Lord-Host Mother
Ola- RYE Inbound Student from Poland
Kevin Grant-Host Father
Jeff Hart, YEO, RYE District Counselor 
Carter Grant- Host Sister to Ola  & RYE ROTEX Student  

We were hnored to have Alan Verlander, Executive Director Sports and Entertainment for the City of Jacksonville, as our speaker on Aug. 6th.

In his position, Mr. Verlander, oversees all sporting events, Motion Picture / TV work, and facilities for the City of Jacksonville.  He also is the direct liason for the city to the Jaguars.  

Giving us just a small taste of what the future holds for us, Alan discussed the new NASL soccer team, the 2014 Country Music Fest, the 2015 NCAA Basketball tournament, and the potential for the city to host the BCS Championship game.  

We had several Rotary Exchange students visit out club last week.

First we had Short Term Exchange Student Jannik Procman, from Germany, exchange club flags with President Dave.

....and then we had Rotary Youth Exchange Students Brandon Francis and Hannah Baker practice their Club Presentations.
We wish them luck on their Rotary Exchange Year.

Check out Rotary President Burton's new message on Membership:http://vimeo.com/70212984

 

 

August 17^th, is the rapidly approaching date for our annual Foundation Seminar.  This year, in an attempt to give you more bang for the buck and save a Saturday, we are rolling in the Membership Seminar as well.   We listened to your feedback from the previous year, and this year we’ll have a working lunch.  By doing that, the overall length of the meeting will remain about the same. 

Registration will begin at 8:15AM and the seminar at 8:45AM

We should be done and on our way home by 2:30PM, unless we have so captured your attention, that you want us to keep talking!

• Continental Breakfast
• Great Lunch
• Wonderful Speakers and Presentations
• Fellowship
• Old Friends

All for the low, low price, of $35 each.

Where you ask?  The Thrasher Horne Center, Orange Park.  This is the same facility we have used for several years.

Who should attend you ask?

• Foundation Chairs
• Membership Chairs
• Clubs that didn’t get the grant they asked for
• Clubs that did get a grant (this seminar is a requirement for your club and you must have representation)
• Clubs that want to get involved in grants
• Those that want to know about the changes to Foundation programs
• Those that simply want to learn about the Foundation
• Those that want to hear from clubs excelling at Membership
• Those that may have received a Foundation award (yes we will be doing those at this meeting)

If your club is exceeding all giving goals, has no membership retention issues and is inducting members every week, and if you know all there is to know about the current state of the Polio Plus campaign, you need not attend.  All others, please come!

Please, asap, get an email to our District Executive Secretary, Patti ChapmanRotaryexecsec@aol.com  with a club headcount.  We need to plan the food accordingly.

thank you so much,

Art

We were happy to have Bill Howey as our guest speaker last week at our weekly meeting.

Bill spoke to us on the Battle of Gettysburg.

 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset was proud to have District Governor Nominee Fel Lee on hand to award Paul Harris Fellows to the following Rotarians:

• Dave Howie
• Steve Sumner
• Ron Mott
• Steve Jones
• Kathleen Floryan
• Angus Stephens 

And awarded this past week, Emory Clance!!!!

and Dr. Rebecca Copper July 23rd!!!

 

It was great to have Dan Glod, Vice President of THE PLAYERS and Special Projects as our speaker last week. 

Dan joined THE PLAYERS in April 2013 but has been with the PGA TOUR since 2003.  He will be working closely with THE PLAYERS team to continue enhancing the fan experience, increasing the tournament’s charitable impact and connecting with our local community.  Additionally, he will be working closely with the Web.com Tour Championship team on the inaugural event that will be played on TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course to determine the 50 professional golfers that secure their 2014 PGA TOUR cards.

Check out Web.com at: www.pgatour.com/webcom.html 

 

RYLA Student Mckenzie Bolin was on hand to share here experiences with the club.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary's leadership training program for young people. 

RYLA emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth, and aims to

• Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth
• Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders
• Encourage leadership of youth by youth
• Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities

Week 2. Rotary Minute

District 6970 Rotarians

Did you Know we have a new District Website?  Check it out and kudos to our web guru, Howard Kelly.  Included you will find a Speakers Bureau.  These are folks willing to speak at your clubs, and their contact info. Should your club host a great speaker, and they are willing to visit other clubs, please let me know.  We might just add them to the list.

 

Did You Know there is a RealRotaryRadio.org website?    Listen to recorded interviews with RI President Ron Burton or Vice President Anne Matthews.   Rather hear someone from the past, how about Paul Harris, from a 1933 interview?  In a pinch, any of these would make a great program.   There’s more!  A phone number you can call and record your message, about your upcoming club fundraiser, or project.  Best part, it’s free! 

 

Did You Know August 3^rd is your next opportunity to attend Rotary Leadership Institute?  Please go to the RLI website, find out more and register.

 

Lastly, I Am Sure You Knew August 17^th is our upcoming Foundation and Membership Seminar.   For the fist time, we will combine these two critically important aspects of Rotary, into one meeting.  We hope this will encourage more members to attend, and get engaged.   Included will be updates on all things Foundation and Grants, Foundation related awards, and NO talk about recruiting members.  Instead, best practices on strengthening and increasing your clubs value proposition will be offered. 

Join me as we continue to Engage Rotary, Change Lives

Thanks

Art

Stephens year ends. Howie Begins.

On Tuesday June 25 the club celebrated the 2012-2013 year with the passing of the gavel. President Angus Stephens recognized his Board of Directors: Carol Maurer, Chuck Schoonmaker, Dave Howie, Jeff Hart, John Mencke, Kathleen Floryan, Steven Jones, Waine Banyas.

Stephens also recognized Steve Danzig as Project Chairman for the year heading the charge on Gala Art Auction. Additonally, Jeff Hart and Carol Maurer were recognized to their contributions to this project in addition to the entire club that participated. Foundation Director Jeff Hart was instrumental in obtaining Paul Harris status for the remaining club members that were not at Paul Harris status. These new Paul Harris members will be recognized on Tuesday the 9th.

Service Above Self Scholarship committee including Jeff Hart, Waine Banyas, Rebecca Cooper, and Emery Clance in addition to Angus Stephens were recognized for their efforts. Two $1000 scholarships were awarded to two outstanding Ponte Vedra youth.

Secretary Carol Maurer was recognized by President Stephens for her selfless contributions not only to Rotary and the club's continual leadership but for her efforts above and beyond in assisting throughout the year. Maurer organized many events and coordinated lots. Carol thanks for all you.

President Angus Stephens

Happy Birthday today to a Rotarian ALL of us LOVE dearly.

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset welcomed John Henry November, from Gratitude America Organization.

GratitudeAmerica's mission states that they goal is to "champion an alliance of service & support organizations that partner to provide comprehensive community resources for veterans, their families, and the families of the fallen. These American heroes are owed a debt we can never fully repay, but we are passionate about making a significant difference in their lives."

Check out their website at: http://www.gratitudeamerica.org/

 

Newest member Bill Renner presented his Craft Talk to the club last week;

Highlights:

• Returning Rotarian - Paul Harris Fellow
• Congressional Page
• West Point Graduate '53
• 30 years in Army Signal Corp.
• Worked in Silicone Valley after retirement
• Highlights of Military and Civ Career:
  • Cell phones to the battlefield to improve communications
  • Upgrading systems from analog to digital
  • SDI Launch
• In 2013 he will celebrate his 60th Wedding Anniversary with his wife
• 3 Children / 5 Grandchildren / 6 Great Grand Children
• Hobbies:
  • Genealogy
  • Mystery Reader

We were honored to have Susan D. Brandenburg, President of Susan the Scribe, Inc., as our speaker last week.  

Ms. Susan is a professional biographer, journalist and freelance writer with more than thirty years of experience.  Recently, in response to several requests, Susan has expanded her services to include mini-biographies and unique Memory Booklets for Weddings, Anniversaries, Birthdays, and Memorials.  Susan has also expanded her list of freelance writing services.  

Versatile and imaginative, Susan has won local, state and national recognition for excellence in communication.  In 1999, Susan wrote the text and Mary Fisher Design provided the graphics for the Creative Environs International, Inc. Silver Addy Award winning Project Book. In 2003 and 2004, Susan's Women's Digest Cover stories received the American Heart Association's Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Communication.  Susan wrote the Teacher's Guide for Holocaust Survivor Henri Landwirth's Gift of Life in America DVD in 2007 and compiled the materials and transcriptions for Stetson Kennedy's Key West Memoir, Grits & Grunts in 2008 (www.stetsonkennedy.com).  Susan is President of Susan the Scribe, Inc., and a bi-weekly columnist for the St. Augustine Record newspaper.  She specializes in human interest stories and in writing the life stories of extraordinary people.  She has discovered, through writing articles, columns and biographies, that there are no ordinary people in this world.  Everyone has a fascinating life story to share with future generations.

The club was honored to have PostMaster Beverly Dye has our guest speaker last week.

Ms. Beverly reminded all of us about the power of direct mail advertising to your local community.

https://www.usps.com/business/every-door-direct-mail.htm

As another Rotary year comes to an end, we once again have to say goodbye to the newest "daughter" of the club RYE Student Maurane Schyns. 

She has touch the lives of so many during her brief stay with us and we wish her the best in all her travels.

 

For those of you that weren't with us last week, her touching letter to us is posted above and a picture of the homemade Belgium Chocolates she presented to us as gifts is below.....not jealous are you?  :)

 

 

Don't forget we have 2 R.Y.E. students outbound that will be returning soon.

Check out their postings at:

http://www.ryeflorida.org/Students/OB/2012-13/outbounds2012.htm

 

 

The club would like to send out a big THANK YOU to Belk Ingram for stepping in as our speaker last week when we received a last minute cancelation.

Belk is a PVB Realtor that has been in the market since 1986.  He noted that the market has been "Great!" and that the only obstacle has been the lack of inventory.

 The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset was proud to welcome in new member Bill Renner. 

Bill is a returning Rotarian after a 2 year hiatus.  He is retired from the Army and as a point of interest is a West Point graduate.

WELCOME BACK BILL TO THE ROTARY FAMILY!

What a great meeting last week as we had several traveling Rotarians with us.

Not only did we have returning friends like Kathy Emily from NC, Helge Strom-Olsen from Sweden, Susan Goldring and Horton Hickerson from NJ, but we met our new friends Marshal and Lynda Hartman from St. Thomas who presented President Angus with a flag from their club:

 Our Guest Speaker for the night was also Rotarian Joe Anzalone, who is District's 6970 Foundation Area Governor.

Joe spoke to us about some Club Membership Do's and Don'ts and the need for each Rotary Club to evaluate itself to ensure it is relevant to the younger generation behind us as a solid networking opportunity. 

 

We were pleased to present Kaitlyn Kessler with our Service Above Self Award for Ponte Vedra Beach High School.

Kaitlyn's Community Service efforts included:

• Volunteering with the American Cancer Society as a team captain for the Relay for Life Event as a freshman and then expanded her talents as a Junior, when she was appointed to the Advocacy Chair for the Ponte Vedra Relay for Life Event.
• She heightened her commitment when she was promoted to the St. Johns Executive Unit Operating Board for the American Cancer Society where she lobbied for funding for cancer related programs during the Advocacy Day in Tallahassee.
• Tutored middle school students in Algebra.

Her other activities included:

• Kaitlyn was a recipient of the Academy Award for Excellence during her freshman and sophomore years at Ponte Vedra High School.
• As the founding member of the Future Business Leaders of America Chapter, she won the district and state levels as a freshman and qualified for the National Competition. 
• Her leadership continued as the Captain of the Academic WorldQuest Team and as an active member of Rho Kappa and the Hispanic Society.
• As the first Short Term Rotary Youth Exchange Student to Germany, she represented the United States well and became a citizen of the world.

In her essay, she stated, “ Service Above Self will mean something different to every person you ask. It’s an inspiration to turn your life around, the call to community

service, or the invitation to brighten another’s day. All are noble interpretations but to me, Service Above Self is more than a temporary inspiration, it’s a mantra I try

to live my life by.” 

 

She is certainly an inspiration to all of us. 

 

Rotarians in Maharashtra, India, used funds from their 2011-12 district grant to provide families with clean water and to equip homes with solar energy.

“The overall impact of the district grant on the quality of life in the communities served can be described as very significant,” says Rahul Timbadia, past governor of District 3140. “Since the district awarded grant funds to 45 clubs, the impact was certainly widespread.”

Check out the whole story:  http://www.rotary.org/en/mediaandnews/news/pages/130124_news_indiagrants.aspx

We have a full agenda this evening so PLEASE be on time for our 5pm Call to Order.

ALL are welcome.  If you are looking for a makeup or just interested in what we're up to please join us.

 

 

 

 

 

What a great time we had at the Hilton Garden Inn this past Tuesday May 7th.

Due to the tournament we needed to change venues from the Clubhouse to HGI's banquet room and as usual that team welcomed us with open arms.

We had some great traveling Rotarians with us:

 

One of our Service Above Self Award Winners Cassie Perrela:

 And we had Tom O'Neal, VP of American Funds as our guest speaker:

 Tom spoke to us about Perception vs. Reality in the market recently.  Which table do you think has the most top area?

 

Last week our club was honored to attend the surprise going away party for Sam and Lolly Van Leer. 

What better place to have the party than the place that has meant so much to Sam and his wife Lolly than the Beaches Museum Chapel . These photos show the smiles of the many that attended to let them know they will be missed:  http://beachesmuseum.org/gatherings/2013/SamVanLeerGoingAway/photos.php

 

 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset was honored to have Dr. Maarten van de Guchte, Executive Director of the Beaches Museaum and History Park, as our speaker last week.

Dr. Maarten updated us on a project near to our heart, the relocation of the St. Paul's By-The-Sea/Beaches Chapel, the Oldest Historical Structure on the Beaches, to the Beaches Museum & History Park.  The chapel was the setting of it's 1st wedding this past weekend.

The Beaches Museum & History Park has also been chosen to conduct the HGTV Smart Home 2013 Charity Tours, located in Paradise Key, South Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The proceeds of the charity tours will benefit the Beaches Museum & History Park.  The HGTV Smart Home 2013 is a fully furnished coastal classic design with a modern twist.  The home features a front porch, metal roof, shingle siding, and is contemporary and progressive coastal cottage in nature. Smart home technology connects many of the home's appliances and devices, and allows occupants to monitor energy use and control home systems such as security, interior climate, lighting and other electronics. The grand-prize package is valued at over $900,000.  Check it out at: http://www.beachesmuseum.org/sh/index.php

 

We were happy to have fellow Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset Rotarian Sam Van Leer at our last meeting on Tuesday April 16th.

Sam spent time describing his unique beekeeping past time to the club.

It times like these that we know Sam will truly be missed when he moves away.

 

Cassie Perrella....2013 Service Above Self Scholarship Recipient from Nease High School.
Cassie was awarded a $1,000.0 Scholarship and Service Above Self Plaque from the Rotary Club
of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset. 

 

Congratulations are in order to us! On February 16, 2013 at the North American Youth Exchange Network (NAYEN) Conference, District 6970's Rotary Youth Exchange Program was awarded a Gold Certificate of Achievement. This is testament to all the hard work and commitment to the Rotary Youth Exchange program.  Thanks to all the Rotary Clubs and Rotarians for their hard work and continued support.

 What a great day for a walk it was this past Saturday!

A

ALS Florida Chapter home page:

http://webfl.alsa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FL_homepage

 New Rotarian, Emery Clance, was nice enough to expand on the normal Craft talk and speak to the club last week about his business Tim's Wine Market located right here in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Emery is a native Floridians born in Jacksonville, Fl. He has been married to his high school sweetheart Jean for 40+ years. They have lived in New Orleans, LA (where their children were born); Savannah, GA and Dallas, TX before moving back to Ponte Vedra Beach, FL in 2000. Emery and Jean began enjoying wine in the early 80s. Their enjoyment grew into the desire to open a wine shop.

Tim’s Wine Market operates on a very simple model: provide service, selection and value. This old fashioned, customer oriented attitude has allowed us to be the number one choice for Florida Wine drinkers that want the unbiased opinions of a local expert.

Their website is an extension of this attitude.  Unlike most sites, you won’t see an extensive inventory, wine critic scores or a shopping cart. They prefer personal interaction with their customers, to listen to your needs and help you select the best wine for your budget and taste. Rather than carry every wine made, they try to carry something for everyone’s taste and assure you that every selection is made with an attention to the quality and value of the wine. Because of this, they hope that every bottle you buy from Tim’s exceeds your expectations in both value and enjoyment.

http://www.timswine.com/locations/ponte-vedra/

Sharing Floor Stocking Event  

Saturday - March 23rd 

THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING!!!

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset welcomed Michael J. Womack L.C.S.W. this past week as it's featured speaker.  Michael spoke to the club about the hardships that can occur to a family dynamic when a sudden illness occurs within it.

Michael has been a Clinical Social Worker since 2011 and has been with Mayo Clinic since 2009.  His educational background includes a B.S. and Masters in Social Work from Florida State University.  He has also spent time with the Veterans Administration, is a adjunct professor at UNF, and has just recently opened up his own private practice in Neptune Beach, FL.   

Please feel free to contact him at: mwomacklcsw@gmail.com

Connecting     Guiding     Empowering

This past week the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset welcomed Rotarian and Engineer Dr. Keven Bodge who spoke to us about the environment and beach erosion here on the First Coast.

Dr. Bodge is Senior Vice President of the coastal engineering consulting firm of Olsen Associates, Inc. where he began his life in Jacksonville in  1986.

Dr. Bodge’s undergraduate & mastersdegrees in engineering are from Virginia Tech & University of Delaware, and he received his doctoral in coastal & oceanographic engineering from University of Florida.

He is a resident of Atlantic Beach and a member of Oceanside Rotary.

   

 

 PVB Sunrise Rotarian Neil Powell was nice enough to speak to our club about the economy on Tuesday March 5th.

As a Wealth Advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Neil brings thirteen years of asset management experience to the team.  In his role as Senior Portfolio Manager, he develops and implements the team’s customized investment strategies and proactively manages their tactical investment portfolios.  In addition to researching information from numerous third party sources, Neil works closely with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Global Investment Committee, strategists, and economists throughout the world.

 

Neil graduated cum laude from the University of Florida (UF) with a BSBA degree in Finance.  He worked his way through UF as a part time assistant to the director of the Finance department.  He serves his community through the American Red Cross Volunteer Lifesaving Corps and Ponte Vedra Beach Rotary.

 

Born in Jacksonville, Neil now lives in Ponte Vedra Beach and treasures time with his wife, Kristina, and their two young children, Marin and Davis.  Neil is an avid Gator fan and enjoys the Jaguars, surfing, live music, and golfing.

Nancy and Eric Sandler stopped by the meeting on Tuesday March 5th to present some information on:

• March 2013 is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month
• Relay for Life Event: April 6-7, 2013 at the Ponte Vedra High School

It was a pleasure to have Bill Hughes, General Manager TPC Sawgrass, as our speaker last week.

Bill Hughes turned professional in 1979 after playing golf at Bowling Green State University. A member of the PGA of America since 1984, Mr. Hughes became a member of the illustrious group of PGA Master Professionals in 1995.

Throughout his career in the Club Industry, Mr. Hughes has held the position of Head Professional at Shawnee Country Club in Lima, Ohio and General Manager/Owner of Country Acres Golf Club in Ottawa, Ohio. In 1996 Mr. Hughes was hired by the PGA TOUR as General Manager/Director of Golf at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1999, Mr. Hughes relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio as General Manager/Director of Golf to open the first and only PGA TOUR owned and operated facility in his home State, the TPC Rivers Bend designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer. In 2003, Mr. Hughes was promoted to Regional Director of TPC Operations and relocated to Dallas, Texas to open the 25th owned and operated PGA TOUR facility in the United States working with PGA TOUR Player and famed architect Tom Weiskopf.

In 2006, Mr. Hughes was asked to relocate to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and oversee the final stages of construction and global repositioning of the TPC Sawgrass, the flagship of the TPC Network.

This past year was one of major accomplishments for Rotary and your Rotary Foundation.

Extraordinary progress was made toward the eradication of polio. We made history when India was removed from the list of polio-endemic countries — leaving just Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. A difficult road lies ahead, but thanks to the commitment and generosity of Rotarians and friends, we are confident that Rotary will lead the way toward a polio-free world.

We also expanded Rotary’s reach in new and effective ways by entering into partnerships with Mercy Ships and UNESCO-IHE. And we built on our record of humanitarian service by continuing our strong relationships with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Aga Khan University, Oikocredit and the Rotary Peace Centers.

Over half a million young people worldwide participated in our New Generations programs. Their involvement in Rotary Youth Exchange, Rotaract and Interact clubs, and RYLA events helped them develop skills that they’ll need to become service-minded community and global leaders - and future Rotarians.

In 2012, The Rotary Foundation also earned top marks from several independent charity evaluators, including the American Institute of Philanthropy, Charity Navigator and the Wise Giving Alliance.

As we look ahead, we can be proud of all that Rotarians have accomplished. I am pleased to share the digital version of the 2011-12 Rotary International and Rotary Foundation Annual Report (click here), which offers a firsthand look at how Rotarians are working to improve the lives of people in need. I encourage you to review our annual report carefully, and to share it with others who may be interested in joining, partnering with, or donating to Rotary.

Thank you for helping Rotary achieve lasting change in your community and around the world. 

Sincerely,

John Hewko
General Secretary
Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation
Twitter: @johnhewko

Phil Squatrito, the new owner of Fitness Together in Ponte Vedra Beach, spoke to our club last week about setting personal fitness goals.  By making fitness hard but fun, Phil is currently "whipping" several Sunset Rotarians back into shape. 

   

Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset

would like to Thank everyone that supported our

Gala Art Auction

 

 

Gene Frenette, Sports Columnist for the Florida Times-Union, was our guest speaker this past week at the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset. 

Ironically it was the same day the Jaguars rolled out their new logo and announced plans for the upcoming year.  "Stand United" is the team slogan for the new year that will have a new GM, coaching staff, and potentially a lot of new players.  The team has decided to keep tickets prices at the same rate for 80% of the stadium in the hopes that the already strong fan base supports the team even more.

Gene predictes this offseason for the Jags to be a very interesting one as the team tries to re-build through free agency as well as the draft.  As the team turns over players it also has some very tough decisions to make on key players like Derick Cox and Blaine Gabbert.   

It was a great evening with Mr. Frenette, and we look forward to having him back soon.

 

At the height of prohibition in 1920s Chicago, there was a mob war brewing between the South Side Gangsters and the Northern Chicago Mob Outfit. The two ruthless crime leaders Hal Sapone and Beanie O’Dannon reached a mutual agreement on bootlegging practices in Chicago and decided to pull together resources and undergo a collaborative effort with criminal endeavors. This was similar to bailing out a hole-ridden ship with tin cups as it was only a matter of time before one side dropped the anchor and let the ship submerge.

To everyone’s surprise, gangsters from either side were spotted partying together at various speakeasies around Chicago but the tension in the air was always thick enough to be cut with a knife. However, this newfound relationship between the mob bosses did inhibit gratuitous bloodshed between the two groups as there had been previously. To further aid this new relationship, both crime bosses found new female companions, thereby intertwining more relationships between the two mobs.

However, one fated night at ‘The Grand Gatsby’ Speakeasy proved to be the final straw that broke the camel’s back as the two crime factions gathered together for a good time on St. Valentine’s Day. To everybody’s horror, one of the guests at the speakeasy was murdered! It was not a cut-and-dry case on whodunit so the mobsters decided to work together to solve the crime before a massive mêlée broke out that would certainly rekindle the fatal flames between these two criminal organizations.

The Rotary Club of Jacksonville enjoyed such an abundant success on their Centennial Project, funding a fully equipped mobile health clinic (aka: Heals on Wheels) for the St. Vincent’s Foundation’s Mobile Health Outreach Ministry, that they we will be also able to present a check in the amount of $55,000 to the St. Vincent’s Foundation this coming Tuesday, February 12^th. This check will help fund an electronic medical records system, which will in turn improve efficiency and enable the mobile health clinic to serve even more people in need of its services.

Rotary District 6970 Check Presentation to St. Vincent’s

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

11:30 am

Lake Shore Baptist Church Blanding Blvd, Jacksonville, FL

 

Salvation Army Major Ron Mitt presents the Rotary Club of PVb Sunset the traveling trophy for top charitable club this year.

Community Service Director Waine Banyas organized this years service project.

Mr. Dave Archard was the speaker this past week at the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset's weekly meeting.

Dave Archard was born in 1936 in Rochester, New York. He graduated from the Bergen County school district in 1954 and, after training at Broadcast Coaching Associates in New York City, began his career as staff announcer for WMYB in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In the late fifties, he introduced the exciting Top 40 sound to the west coast of Florida from powerful WALT, Tampa, achieving record breaking audience ratings in both Hooper and Pulse surveys. He moved with his growing family to WFUN in Miami where he excelled as a copywriter and production director. Settling in Daytona Beach in the seventies, Archard handled broadcast duties at several stations in the market including sales and operations for number one easy-listening WWLV (FM). Now retired, he resides with his wife in Florida.

Dave relived with the members the era of radio when mysteries and comedy shows filled living rooms from radios that were more four-legged cabinets.  He also described what happened as the Golden Age of Radio waned at the beginning of Rock 'n' Roll, and FM.  He even described more recent changes that brought about Talk Radio, all sports/news channels, and today's satellite driven market.

Check out his website and book at:  http://www.davearchard.com/index.html

Matthew Rapp, Executive Director of THE PLAYERS Championship, was our club's guest speaker on January 15, 2013.

Matt has worked for the PGA TOUR since 2005. Before taking over The PLAYERS Championship in May of 2010, he worked in the TOUR’s corporate marketing department where he focused on title sponsor sales and was responsible for over $500 million in sponsorship agreements with companies that include: The Greenbrier, Children’s Miracle Network, Transitions Optical, Northern Trust, Norwegian Cruise Lines, the Royal Bank of Canada, Boeing and Regions.

Since taking over as Executive Director of The PLAYERS Championship, Matt has focused on significantly enhancing the fan experience, increasing the event’s charitable impact and reinvigorating its vital connection with the local community. 

Prior to joining the PGA TOUR, Matt held several senior executive positions in public relations and communications with the ATP World Tour, governing body of men’s professional tennis and Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations firm. His first job was working on Capitol Hill with the former assistant majority leader of the US Senate, Wendall Ford.

A native of Louisville, KY, Matt has lived and worked in many cities throughout the United States and around the world including Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, London and Brussels, Belgium but is proud to call Jacksonville his home since 2001.

Matt graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 where he rowed crew and studied international relations.

“Service Above Self”

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset Foundation will be awarding two scholarships in the amount of $1000 each to two high school juniors or seniors who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to community service and exemplify the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self.”  Scholastic achievement is also taken into consideration when selecting scholarship recipients. 

 

To be eligible, a student must be a junior or senior in good standing at Ponte Vedra High School or Allen D. Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida.  Students attending other schools are NOT eligible. 

 

The student should be planning to attend a four-year college, a two-year college, a trade school or a vocational/technical school with a program of study of one year or longer.  Immediate relatives of Rotarians are not eligible for this scholarship.

For more information or an application please see Site Page or email President Angus M Stephens at angusmstephens@gmail.com

The Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset Rotary Club President Angus Stephens and Community Service Director Waine Banyas delivered donated goods to the Mission House at 800 Shetter Avenue in Jacksonville Beach. 

Fellow Rotarians,

We have the rare opportunity to be hosting Maurane Schyns as our Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Belgium this year.

If you have not had the opportunity to invite Maurane to participate with your family in an activity, please consider to do so in the future. Maybe invite Maurane to dinner, a movie, a concert, a theater play or some other fun activity, that you and your family may enjoy.  

We are wishing, that Maurane will gain a better insight of our American culture.

 

Rotarians have been "Bell Ringing" for two weekends now with some great results!

 

Steve Jones prepared dessert tableside (so to speak) for us last weej, using 2 skillets, each containing butter and brown sugar.  Once hot, he added juice and sliced fresh strawberries to the first skillet and then generously sprinkled that with cracked black pepper (yes! black pepper!).  To the second skillet he added bananas and a sweet liquor - to make Bananas Foster.  These decadent concoctions were served hot over generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.  Can a dessert be too yummy?

If by chance you see a Sunset Rotarian this week and think: "Wow! They look fabulous!"  That's all because we were paid a visit from Fitz Opie and Christine Bornmiller from Rosenblum's this past week.  Both Fitz and Christine brought everyone up to speed on the latest fashions from cuts to colors.

Rosenblum's has enjoyed clothing generations of friends for over 110 years by establishing relationships built on trust and their continued desire to exceed expectations.

  

http://www.rosenblumsonline.com/

 

 

The Rotary Club of PVB Sunset joined forces with The Hilton Garden Inn Ponte Vedra Beach and two other northeast Florida HGIs packaging food for distribution to 17 north Florida counties, on Saturday November 10th at the Second Harvest Food Bank. 

This event kicked off Hilton's Global Week of Service, and fellow Rotarian Carol Maurer lead their efforts.  

THANK YOU for your generous Rotary spirit! 

Mark Lamping, President of the Jacksonville Jaguars, spoke to the club on Tuesday Nov. 6th and th PVB Sunset Rotary Club is now ALL IN!!!    

Mark Lamping was named President of the Jacksonville Jaguars on February 13, 2012. A veteran of more than 20 years as an executive in professional sports, Lamping became the Jaguars’ first president since the end of the 1996 season. His professional career includes experience as a marketing executive with Anheuser-Busch, serving as Commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association, 14 seasons as president of Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals and the past four years as CEO of New Meadowlands Stadium Company where he ran MetLife Stadium. The Giants 2012 Super Bowl victory enabled Lamping to become one of the few sports executives to have received both a Super Bowl ring and World Series Championship ring. Lamping earned his World Series ring as president of the St. Louis Cardinals following their 2006 championship season.

 

 

 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset was proud to have Dr. Nancy Price Mendenhall from the University of Florida Proton Therapy Instiute as our guesy speaker.

Located in Jacksonville, Florida, the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute is staffed, situated and structured as a major clinical research facility, and serves as a center for multidisciplinary research involving all interests that touch cancer and its treatment. 

Proton therapy is a relatively new cancer treatment to the Southeast United States. With the availability of proton therapy, Florida residents – and cancer patients throughout North America and the world – enjoy access to one of the most advanced non-invasive cancer treatment tools available.

 

http://www.floridaproton.org/

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach - Sunset welcomed Kirk and Linda Farber from the F.A.C.E. program.

Since its inception in 2003, F.A.C.E. has reached more than 20,000+ students building self- confidence, nurturing broken spirits, growing moral character and instilling a non-defeatist attitude. In addition to the contribution F.A.C.E. makes building a child’s self esteem, F.A.C.E. also helps combat one the greatest new threats facing our next generation, childhood obesity along with addressing anger management issues.

F.A.C.E. achieves holistic personal and academic success by simultaneously:

• Combining exercise and coordination drills with character education development training to enhance the ability to learn in and out of the classroom.
• Targeting at-risk children selected by their teachers and school administration to receive personalized attention through an intensive eight-week program.
• Utilizing a component program of F.A.C.E.,“Building a Community – One Leader at a Time!”, that reaches all students through an assembly presentation.
• Combining mentoring and positive social learning techniques.
• Building confidence and self-esteem that nurture a students’ ability to achieve academically.

Check them out at: http://www.face4kids.org/

This week's regular meeting will be held offsite at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ponte Vedra Beach which is located right at the front gates of TPC.

We wish our friends at TPC good luck as the Winn Dixie Golf Tournament kicks off.

Once again our district is gearing up for another great year in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

In the next 2 weeks "At Home" interviews will be taking place and the RYE program needs you.

Two person teams will interview potential students at their house with their parents.  The interview will take about 1 hour and has a standard set of questions that are asked of all students.  The interviewers simple ask and score the response.

PLEASE contact Jeff Hart if you would like to help out.

It was our pleasure to welcome Major Sam Williams and Detective Dave Rasado to our meeting On October 9th.

The officers introduced the new ILP (Intelligence Lead Policing) process the county is using to the members.  ILP is a proactive process that not only forecasts potential criminal trends but also shares information between separate departments throughout the state.

When asked what the best thing members could do to protect themselves, the officers were in agreement that just locking your car/house would probably cut crime 50%. 

Please visit fellow Sunsetter Steve Jones' Bike MS web site. If you want to, you can help Steve achieve his goal of $5,000 - he's more than halfway there now.

Click here to visit my personal page.

It was a pleasure to host Ken Weise and Kristi Robins from the Youth Crisis Center last week.

It was a great pleasure to host our own local "Certified Beach Comber" Craig Hamilton last week.  Craig was able to fill in at the last minute and kept us all entertained with stories of all the items he has found "washed up" on the 1st Coast.  From unique shells, stones, and camel's teeth to FOUR messages in a bottle, it was clear that one just needs to keep your eyes open to find amazing things locally.

It was our pleasure last week to host Dr. Allen Tilley (Emeritus Professor at UNF) and retired US Navy officer. 

Dr. Tilley taught courses on global warming and organized an interdisciplinary course cluster on the topic.  As moderator of the North Florida Global Warming Study Group he has been producing an online global warming newsletter for years.  Dr. Tilley talked us through not only some basic facts about the subject but also the discourse that has been occuring on the subject.

This past week we had the pleasure to host Emily Hoffman, MSH, RD, LD/N.  Emily currently works as the program dietitian for Jacksonville’s senior
centers, where she plans menus, provides nutrition counseling and conducts nutrition education and exercise classes for the seniors. She received her graduate degree from the University of North Florida and has been working as a dietitian in the Jacksonville area for the past 2 years. Emily enjoys promoting overall health and well-being by teaching and getting others excited about food and nutrition.

Emily talked to our club about focusing on eating the right foods NOT just avoiding the bad foods.

John D. Willis, owner of the Columbia Livestock Market, spoke to us this past Tuesday and did a very good job letting us know exactly "where that steak on your plate came from."

 

What a joy it was for our club to WELCOME BACK our 2011-12 RYE student Jane Viviano from her year abroad in Turkey.

Jane shared with us some great photos taken during her year as well as all of her highs and lows.

We are very happy to have her back.

The Rotary Club on Ponte Vedra Beach - Sunset was proud to WELCOME BACK our RYE Student Victoria Gesell at last Tuesday's meeting.  Victoria did a fantastic presentation on her time spent in Finland this past year.


We also were excited to have Shannon Cantwell, 2011-12 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Ireland and Founder & Director of Athletes for Africa.  Shannon shared with us not only about her time in Ireland but all of the projects she has worked on throughout the year.  We wish her well with the Tim Tebow Foundation.  

 

This past Monday August 13th, Sunset Rotarians set out for Elkton, FL to support the SEA Community Center in their annual Back to School Event at the First Baptist Church Armstrong. Not only only were we able to participate in handing out the school supplies we donated to families in need, but we were also able to see the brand new Rotary sponsored St. Vincent's Mobile Health Clinic.  What a GREAT night! 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset is currently collecting "gently used" clothing for children of ALL ages for the St. John's County Foster Kids Program.

Please feel free to drop any clothing off at any meeting, Tuesdays at TPC,  or at the Front Desk of the Hilton Garden Inn.

August Community Service Project - "Smart Potatoes"

Monday August 13th

The club was honored to host our speakers from The Collaborative Group.

The Group assists divorcing individuals with a cooperative process that gives families resources and options unavailable in traditional divorce models. First Coast Collaborative Family Law is a group of independently practicing family law attorneys, mediators, business valuators, mental health professionals and financial advisors specializing in divorce issues. Each practitioner, while in business independently in their field, has joined First Coast Collaborative Family Law to provide cohesive, multi-disciplinary services to divorcing clients. Realizing that the issues and concerns of most divorcing individuals do not fall into one area: legal, financial, emotional - but rather a combination of all of these, First Coast Collaborative Family Law works to find a better solution to divorcing clients' family and settlement needs.

Check out their website at:
http://www.thecollaborativegroup.com/

RYE Outbound Student Jane Viviano returned to the U.S.A. @ 1:30am Sunday, or is that Monday, the 15th.

Make sure to join us in August when we properly welcome her back and hear her presentation.

 

New Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka: “Peace is not something that can only be achieved through treaties, by governments, or through heroic struggles,  It is something that we can find and that we can achieve, every day and in many simple ways.  Peace and conflict resolution should start at home. The family is the smallest unit of society, so we should start from there. If you are mindful of peace with your partner and your family members, that gives you an opportunity to reflect on your family life and to spread that sense of peace by example. Peaceful families lead to greater peace for everyone ”

see his full story at: http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/TheRotarian/Pages/Tanaka1207.aspx

It was our pleasure last week to host Garry Sasse, Owner of AdLib Luxury Tours & Transportation, Inc. 

AdLib Luxury Tours & Transportation is a licensed Receptive Tour Operator in North Florida.
They offer a custom service for groups of ALL sizes with specialty tours of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Amelia Island, & Ponte Vedra Beach. 
"AdLib" allows customers to be flexible with their itinerary.

AdLib Tour services include: 

• Step-on group bus tours
• Private van tours
• European tasting tours
• Military group tours
• River cruise tours

Their latest idea is the Jacksonville Walking Tour: Jacksonville "Top to Bottom" - You can enjoy the River City's unique sites and untold stories. Discover secret underground tunnels and view Downtown atop the historic Florida Theatre

Check out Adlib tours at: http://www.adlibtours.com or contact Gary directly at gary@adlibtours.com

It was our pleasure last week to host Mr. Kellen Bryant, founder of Law Office of R. Kellen Bryant, P.L. and a Jacksonville, Florida native, as our speaker.

Kellen focuses his law practice on estate planning and elder law with a particular focus on asset protection and preservation from long term care costs, creditors, and predators. Kellen works with families with special needs adults and children, small business owners, newlyweds, octogenarians and their respective parents and children in between.

Kellen’s approach to estate and elder care planning seeks a comprehensive and collaborative involvement, not only with himself and you, but with the important folks involved in your life such as your children, financial advisor, accountant and professional caregivers.

Check out his firm at:
http://www.kellenbryantlaw.com/index.php

http://www.youtube.com/embed/OubRDBUHw14?feature=player_embedded

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset was at it again this past Saturday June 30, 2012 as they were out in force to clean up our lovely intercoastal bridge.  Although small in number this team was able to clean up the entire bridge, gutters included, in under 2 hours.

THANK YOU to ALL that participated - especially those children or friends of Rotarians.

Although officially not taking over as Club President until July 1, 2012, the official gavel passing between 2011-12 Club President Chuck Schoonmaker and 2012-13 Club President Angus Stephens occurred during the club's last official meeting on June 26th, 2012.   

We wish our new Club President much success in the upcoming Rotary Year.

What a great way to finish the year!

2011-12 Club Prez. Chuck had one more game up his sleave for the June 19th Meeting.  The club arrived to find that we were meeting outside the TPC clubhouse on a croquet field.  A quick tournament ensued and RYE inbound student, Miri Sumida, was crowned our champion.

It was our club's pleasure last week to have Robert Peek, Director of Marketing Development for the Jacksonville Port Authority, as our speaker for the evening.  Robert was not only able to give us a small history lesson on the port but also discuss the current strategies and events that are shaping the port's future.



For more information check out: http://www.jaxport.com/home

Don't you love it when you have a speaker miscommunication and a true Rotarian steps up to help out.

WE DO!!!

Especially when that Rotarian is Steve Jones, Regional Director of F&B Operations - Resort Destinations for TPC Sawgrass / PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties and Certified Sommelier.

Steve lead us through a tasting of a selection of wonderful summer wines:

1.  Picpoul de Pinet 2007  ($9 "ish" @ Total Wine) 
http://www.picpoul-de-pinet.com/english/index2.html

2.  Vina Godeval 2010 ($12 "ish" @ Total Wine) 
http://www.wine.com/V6/Bodegas-Godeval-Vina-Godeval-Blanco-2010/wine/111357/detail.aspx

3.  Falanghina dei Feudi Di San Gregorio 2008 ($14-$16 "ish" @ Total Wine) 
http://www.wine.com/v6/wineshop/Detail.aspx?product_id=100158&state=FL

THANK YOU STEVE for a fantastic night!

It was a great joy to see Rotorian and Honorary member Emanuelle Dabizzi stop by our our meeting last week to visit.

He had one message:

What a great time we had last week with our fellow Rotarian Mike Anderson.

Mike is President and CTO of SecureSI, Inc.  His company specializes in providing network design, implementation, and support for Small to Medium Businesses (SMB's) in Northeastern Florida.  Mike spoke to us about the dangers that exist out there on the internet and the security we should take to keep our personal and business information safe.

It was our pleasure last week to have Ron DeSantis as our guest speaker.  Ron Presented his book : "Dreams From Our Founding Fathers - First Principles in the Age of Obama"

Using critical primary sources like the debates at the Constitutional Convention and The Federalist Papers, Ron DeSantis identified the important principles that the Founders relied upon when they created the Constitution and compared them to government practices of today.

Barbara Johnson from the Gun Gallery of Jacksonville was our speaker last week and what a great conversation it was.  A strong gun advocate, Barbara strongly believes in and defended the nt Amendment but also clearly stated that improper gun ownership was almost as bad as criminal activity itself.  Owning a gun comes with a high level of responsibility and requires training and practice.  That's why her gallery provides access to their range for 30 days after purchase. 

Barbara, her husband, and their great staff have been serving the Jacksonville area since 1993, They pride themselves in offering a safe, fun place to shoot as well as only the best in production and custom firearms and accessories. 

Check out the gun Gallery's website at:
http://www.gungalleryjax.com/

This past week we were honored to have our 2012 Service Above Self Award and Scholarship winner for Ponte Vedra Beach High School, Jack McSwain, as our guest.  The $500 scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates exceptional leadership, community service and academic achievement.

In his role as President of PV High School's Interact club, Jack initiated several serviced based projects such as: letters to our troops, cards to children in the hospitals during the holidays, Easter baskets to a children's hospital and a "Relay For Life" event with the American Cancer Society. Jack was also the driving force behind the mentoring program for Exchange Students at Ponte Vedra High School where he planned, organized, and supervised a new program to welcome and integrate four International students more effectively into the student body. 

Jack has served on mission trips with Appalachian Service Project, who's motto is making homes "warmer, safe, drier". On mission trips to Appalachia and Jamaica, Jack repaired roofs, reconstructed foundations and put in floors while building relationships with families.

Jack described, "service is both uplifting and spiritual; compassionate and caring; and always given willing".  

Last week it was our pleasure to have our Service Above Self winner from Nease High School, Alek Abate, present his winning essay.

Alek Abate was recognized for his commitment to and passion for volunteerism and philanthropy both on a local and international level. In the past three years, Alek volunteered building homes at a local Habitat for Humanity chapter in St. Augustine and teaching English and computer skills to youth in Ethiopia and India. He also served as a teacher’s assistant in a preschool in Cusco, Peru. While in Peru, Alek organized an inaugural road race for children in an impoverished section of the city, and distributed toys and clothing. This summer, Alek will volunteer in Iten in Rift Valley, Kenya, where he is planning to work with underprivileged youth. Alek is a co-founder of the Pebble Foundation (IRS 501(c)(3) status currently pending), whose mission is to promote grassroots outreach and encourage meaningful cross-cultural exchange and relationships among children and adults.

Speaker?  Who needs a speaker!

When the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset was faced with a speaker cancelation we broke out the games.  President Chuck lead the group in a friendly competition in which two teams faced off against each other in IQ Tic Tac Toe.  Teams has to decipher word puzzles in a 4X4 grid in an attempt to get 4 in a row.

Some examples would be: 

1) night fly or 2) esroh riding or 3) 9ALL5
Don't cheat but the answers are below.

The competition was fierce but ended in a 1-1 tie.

THANK YOU (and we're sorry) to our RYE students that got caught up in the competition.




Answers: 1) Fly by night  2) horseback riding  3) All in a day's work

We were blessed last week to have St. Johns County Sheriff's Officers Sam Williams, Tommy Aman and our speaker Brian Canova from our county's S.W.A.T. team.  Officer Canova not only described the qualificiation of the officers that our on his team but the role of his team within our community. 

The S.W.A.T. team falls under Support Services Division within the St. John's County Sheriff's office.  This division is the most diverse division within the Sheriff's Office and is divided into a variety of specialized bureaus, units and teams, which includes the Special Operations and Training Bureau, Community Services Bureau, and Communications Bureau, each with its own unique function and responsibilities in the day to day function of the SJSO.  All of the sections of Support Services Division require specialized training, a strong dedication to duty and the best supervision possible. SSVS has around 300 full and part time personnel assigned into the different specialty areas with the majority of the members being the most senior people within the SJSO.

The division is responsible for everything from training each employee of SJSO as well as many other agencies, and is responsible for answering every incoming call for service received in the communication center and dispatching help, to working with our youth in schools and through programs such as ACE, to a high liability deployment of the SWAT team.

We THANK the officers for not only speaking to our club but for there service as well.

After a successful executive career with The Hartford Financial Services Group, Carol moved to Ponte Vedra Beach to "enjoy the sun, sand and amazing coastal lifestyle." She joined the team at Watson Reality and joined the club during our recent Club Assembly on February 7th, 2012.
 
Welcome Carol!

We were delighted to have Dr. Ted Lombardo from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. 

Dr. Lombardo earned his doctorate in psychology in1985 and worked for his first 10 years professionally in Denver Colorado. That is where he caught the bug of working with deaf people, learning sign language and working his way up to being the state hospital's consultant with the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. When he moved to Florida he assumed a variety of management positiions in behavioral health for a central Florida hospital system. In 1999, He made the biggest leap of his professional life when he accepted a position as a full time psychologist working with deaf people in St. Augustine. He has been there for 13 years and in that time, has done a wide variety of activities including evaluation, counseling, consultation, research, etc. A few years ago he began teaching sign language for fun thru Learn Jacksonville. He's also maintained a small weekend private practice in clinical psychology in Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra.

 

The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is a state public school located in St. Augustine, Florida, that is available at no cost to parents and students. They serve eligible students from across the state that are deaf/hard of hearing, or blind/visually impaired. The school maintains full accreditation, and provides pre-kindergarten through 12th grade children with various opportunities for independence, growth and learning. Get the facts about FSDB. 

Which means "Happy New Year" en francaise!  And so started the wonderful letter from Ashley Graveleau, our much-loved inbounder 2 years ago.  She writes, "Dear Rotary Club, May the good home and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow.  Wish you lots of love, joy and happiness for this new year.  As I used to do, I'll give my last bill of one dollar to put in the 'Happy Box' and thank again for the moments that I share with you almost two year ago.  Time is flying, however you remain in my heart.  With a lot of love and hope to see you in 2012!  Ashley"  HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU , TOO, ASHLEY!  Thank you for your beautifully-written letter and your kind words.  It was truly a joy to have you with us for a year, and we look forward to seeing and hearing from you, watching you grow and mature. 

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach - Sunset kicked off the new year with motivational speaker Brad Raney.  Brad has spent most of his life entertaining people. Either on radio, television, or in live events, Brad’s strong charisma, sharp wit, and likeable charm have made people laugh and think.

Brad has over 25 years of experience in sales and sales management in the broadcast industry.  His background is diverse and encompasses success on both sides of the microphone and camera. From a radio DJ to television show host, commentator, and producer, to account executive, sales manager, and small business owner, Brad has seen every side of the broadcast industry.

Brad presented the VOWELS program that he developed in 2009.  The success it brought to his sales team has spurred keynote speeches, workshops, seminars, a website, and his first book “Improve Your VOWELS, Improve Your Career!” was released in July 2010. 

The VOWELS are:

Attitude, Energy, Effort, Integrity, Intensity, Outlook, and Uniqueness

For more information on Brad or one of his exciting programs visit: http://www.bradraney.com/

 http://vimeo.com/25163827

 

January 5, 2012.  Due to near-draught conditions, the price of peanut butter has become cost prohibitive for most families.  So, Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset Rotary Club members decided to help needy families stock their pantries with this excellent source nutrituion that kids love.  The club's past president Jeff Hart delivered 310 pounds of peanut butter to Second Harvest, located on Jacksonville's near northside.  Bruce Ganger, Executive Director, had the following response.  "Jeff, Great to meet you today and thanks a bunch for the peanut butter.  I’m sure it will all be gone before noon tomorrow...  It’s always a hot product and one that provides significant nutrition value for families with kids."  And the very next day, "...half of your peanut butter is already gone.  And it’s a light ‘shopping’ day here.  Make sure to say a special thanks to your group from us and from those who will smile when they receive your generosity."

For those who are unaware of Second Harvest Food Bank and its impact, the volunteers and workers there:

• Processed 20 million pounds of food for local agencies last year.

• Provide an after school food program and a back pack program with food for the kids to take home on the weekends.

• Distribute the Federal Food Program from their building.

• Train local volunteers and develops personnel to join local work force.

• Serve all our local community agencies, including B.E.A.M.. 

• Operate as a distribution center for local agencies who to their building to pick up foods

• Work with farmer's in Hastings to recover foods from farm fields after crops have been harvested (to gather fresh produce that the harvesting equipment missed).

 

 

What a fantastic night!

THANK YOU to EVERYONE that supported this very important fundraiser for our club charities. 

What a great night last Tuesday as Club members, family, and loved ones gathered together to celebrate the holidays.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves so please check out our photo gallery.  ------->

 

 

 

 

 

Deputy Melanie Russell and K9 officer Kahlua from the St. Johns County Sheriff's K9 team were our speakers last week.  They gave the club a small taste of what it's like to be part of this team and how they work together.

Deputy Russell started out with K9's about 12 years ago in Search and Rescue.  Kahlua has been with her for 5 years and is the 3rd blood hound she has had.  She actually has just started training another puppy at home.

The K9's Team is made up of 9 dogs: German Sheppards,  Black Lab, Belgian Malinois, and one Blood Hound (Kahlua).The team not only takes care of St. John's County but has had calls from Clay, Duval, Flagler counties for assistance.  They have assisted with the Haleigh Cummings case, as well as the Somer Thompson case where Kahlua actually the scent to the ultimate suspects house.

Deputy Russell and Kahlua received the 2009 Governor's Tracking Team of the Year Award for their work in finding a lost Eagle Scout that year. The incident occurred on August 11, 2008. A 17-year old male, who was visiting his grandparents, was reported missing in a heavily wooded area behind their home. He had been lost in the woods for nearly six hours before the Sheriff’s Office was contacted.  At 7:00 p.m. Kahlua and Deputy Russell began tracking the juvenile into the woods and continued in knee deep water in the swampy area. At 8:14 p.m., Deputy Russell had fallen during the search and sustained an injury, however, her K-9 marched on through the mud and swamp water; pinpointing the juvenile’s location. It took bulldozers and chainsaws to cut out a track for the deputies and the juvenile to get out to safety.  The juvenile was reunited with his grandparents without any injury. Deputy Russell was transported to Flagler Hospital where she was treated for her injuries and released.

Check out this link for more information: http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/17941379/206340287/name/Scan.pdf

 It was a pleasure to host 2 True American Heroes.

 

 

December 17th

Don't forget your time slot this weekend!!! 

2 hour time slots still available

PLEASE SIGN UP NOW

Our speaker last week, Larry Pasquale, is in his seventh season with the YES Network, bringing 39 years of coaching experience to the network's flagship football programs, "This Week In Football." Pasquale's "Coach's Class" segment and weekly Jets and Giants game plans also appear on YESNetwork.com. 

Pasquale played college football at the University of Bridgeport (Conn.), where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education. He completed post-graduate work at Columbia and Fairfield University.  Prior to coaching in the NFL, Pasquale was the wide receivers and special teams coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1978 and '79. He also coached 11 years of college, with stints at the United States Naval Academy and Boston University, where he coached No. 1 draft choice Bruce Taylor, and four years of high school football at Chappaqua (N.Y.), Greenwich (Conn.), and Danbury (Conn.).

Pasquale entered the NFL in 1979 as special teams coach for the Detroit Lions.

In 1980 he joined the New York Jets as wide receivers coach, then took over the Jets' special teams for the next nine seasons. With the Jets, Pasquale led an impressive run of high special teams rankings. The Jets had the NFL's top-ranked punt-coverage teams in 1981 and from 1986 to '88, and were ranked second in 1989. In 1984, the Jets also had the top-ranked kickoff return team. Under Pasquale, the Jets had an 80 percent success rate on fake field goals and fake punts, while never allowing an opponent to convert a faked kick.

In 1990 and '91 Pasquale coached San Diego's special teams, boosting the Chargers to the top of the NFL in kickoff return average and punt coverage in his first season. He coached Philadelphia's special teams from 1992 to '94.

Serving under current New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin from 1995-99 in Jacksonville. He helped create our home town's new franchise team and turned the Jaguars into one of the most venerable special teams units in the NFL. At this time each coach was responsible for bringing in their own talent and Coach Paquale help bring in: WR Jimmy Smith, DE Clyde Simmons , DEJeff Logarman, P Brian Barker, WR Keenan McCardell.

The St. Louis Rams' special teams in 2000, helping lead the Super Bowl champions to their second consecutive playoff appearance. That season, Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins didn't miss a field goal or extra point, and the Rams led the league in kickoff touchbacks. In addition, punt returner Az-Zahir Hakim led the NFC in average yards per return.

During his coaching career, Pasquale's special team units produced 42 touchdowns in the regular season and preseason, while allowing only four blocked punts. He was one of the most respected special teams coaches in the NFL. He was named Special Teams Coach of the Year in 1990, and was nominated for the award again in 1995 and '97.

Pasquale began his broadcasting career as an analyst for the New York Jets on MSG Radio, and even though, self admitally, he has a "face for radio",  his 4 hour audition for the Yankee Entertainment Sports (YES) network landing him is first position in television.

Coach Pasquale is a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, and his wife, Joann, have two daughters, Lisa and Lauren, a son, Darrell, a son-in-law, Ben, and six grandchildren: Andrew, Carter, Lindsay, Michaela, Amelia Grace, and Juliet Ella.  Currently they reside right here in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

 That was the question asked this past Tuesday night by our guest speaker Dr. John Davenport.

 Jacksonville Beach Chiropractic Physician, Dr. Davenport is a native Floridian who has been helping people regain their health for over thirty-five years. He has worked in traditional medicine, mental health, natural and alternative medicine.

He has an undergraduate degree in human biology, a doctorate in chiropractic medicine, and postgraduate training in sports medicine, automobile accident trauma, and nutrition. Dr. Davenport is board certified in acupuncture and has a Fellowship with the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture.

He has been in private practice in Jacksonville Beach, Florida since 1992 and during that time has had the privilege of successfully treating thousands of clients ranging from 5 minutes old to 103 years old, including athletes from both the NFL and the PGA.

His passion for organic and bio-chemistry has enabled Dr. Davenport to work directly with some of the nations leading authorities on orthomolecular medicine, making him uniquely qualified to provide cutting-edge treatments for acute and chronic illnesses.

Dr. Davenport is an active member of the Florida Chiropractic Association and served on the board of the Northeast Florida Chiropractic Society as its President. He has also served on the Board of Advisors for different organizations, such as the Heritage Institute.

As a chiropractic physician, Dr. Davenport was invited to participate in research to study whiplash injuries using live subjects in controlled rear end collisions.

He has been interviewed on television and by other news publications. He is a contributing writer on health issues and as such has several published articles. He also lectures and provides workshops for groups and organizations.

Presently, Dr. Davenport maintains a busy practice focusing on physical medicine and difficult-to-treat illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, cardiovascular disease, ADD/ADHD, and mood disorders.

As a Chiropractor and wellness consultant in Jacksonville Beach, Fl., Dr. Davenport believes his life’s mission is to help people achieve and maintain their health naturally.

http://davenportchiropractic.com/welcome/ 

 

 

We're were blessed last week to hear from Mark Middlebrook, Executive Director of the St. John's River Alliance and Andrea Conover, Program Manager.

The St. Johns River Alliance (SJRA), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization was formed in 2003. Governed by a regional, 34 member Board of Directors that includes elected officials, agencies, citizens and businesses, the SJRA's board members represent the entire 310 miles of Florida's river that uniquely flows north.

 

Their Mission:

To preserve, protect, promote, restore and celebrate the St. Johns River as an American Heritage River in recognition of its ecological, historic, economic, recreational and cultural significance, so that the public may gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the river's importance to the quality of life for current and future generations.

 Since the alliance was founded, there have been a number of achievements to note, including:

•  Production of the documentary "River into the World: the St. Johns"
• Coordination of 2010 St. Johns River Summit, a 2-day conference with over 3250 attendees
• Passage of the St. Johns River Specialty License Plate, which will provide funds for river research, access, outreach, and grants to community-based organizations.
• Participation in the St. Johns Caucus inaugural meeting in Tallahassee

Future plans include:

• Establishing a research institute to monitor the River's health & coordinate restoration efforts
• Creating a legislative plan for the St. Johns River
• Developing river-focused tourism opportunities to grow small businesses and fuel sustainable economy

 

Rotary Youth Exchange

2011 District Interviews

Here’s our chance to help “share the world with the Sunshine State!”

 

Who: Potential Rotary Youth Exchange “outbound” students and their parents.

What: Ask them questions, to determine who’s best able to represent Rotary.

When: November 11, 12 & 13 (Friday thru Sunday).

Where: at St Johns River State College in St Augustine. 

District Governor Clint Dawkins and Youth Exchange District Chair Bill Learn are asking for volunteers from across our district to help with these annual interviews of candidates, high school students all. Volunteers can be: Rotarians, their spouses, Rotaract members and their spouses, current RYE “outbound” parents, any RYE host parent who has hosted at least one student in the past (but is not currently a first-time host parent), and parents of rebounders.

There will be two shifts on Friday: 11:00 to 2:30 p.m. and 3:00 to 6:30.

Three on Saturday: 8:30 a.m. to noon; 12:30 to 4:00; and 4:30 to 8:00.

Two on Sunday: 8:30 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 4:00

Volunteers may register online by contacting Bill Learn at b.learn@gmail.com with “District Interview Volunteer” in the subject line.

Note: Anyone who volunteers for the entire weekend will be provided with a free hotel room (double occupancy; so we recommend you volunteer with significant other or close friend!); more goodies: free hotel breakfasts; morning and afternoon snacks, and lunch on site.

No experience is necessary! Training and interview questions will be provided.

Questions? Contact our Paula Roderick, paroderick1@comcast.net, 543-2495.

Do you know the origins of Halloween, the writer of the Shining, or maybe what movie the quote "We need a bigger boat" comes from?  If you so, you could have competed last week in the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra - Sunset's Halloween Jeopardy Contest held at their weekly meeting.

The team of JP Diedrich, John Rutkowski, Bryan Goode, and Angus Stephens ran away from the competition quickly as they not only were able to answer their team's questions but were able to steal questions from their competitors as well when they faltered. 

Congratulations not only to the Jeopardy champions, but to all the members who participated and made the night one to remember.  

Since the The Players Championship Clubhouse was at full capacity this past week, due to the Winn Dixie Golf Tournament, the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset once again needed to step off property and enjoy a friendly club social. 

This time we decided to go a lil'green and meet at Mulligans Pub inside their private dining room.  This was not a major inconvenience though as the club kidnaped the best part of TPC, as club member Steve Jones, Regional Director of Food and Beverage Operations for PGA Tour Golf Course Properties and Certified Sommelier, was our guest speaker for the night.  

Steve treated everyone to a "Trick or Treat" wine tasting in which we compared the flavors of different price points without knowing what wines we were tasting.  While it was obvious that some members of the club have a very sophisticated noses and great knowledge of wines,  most of the the members were fooled by the choices presented and many a claim of "my allergies must be acting up" could be heard. 

The theme of the night though was to enjoy the wine that taste better to you because everyone palate is different.  Don't let your selections be purely driven by price.

THANK YOU Steve for a great night!

 

  

IHOP Restaurant

&

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset
2nd Annual ALL YOU CAN EAT Pancake Feast

Saturday November 19, 2011
8am until 1pm
The Players Community Center
175 Landrum Lane

ADVANCE TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE HILTON GARDEN INN - PONTE VEDRA BEACH 

$4.00 Adults advance purchase - $5.00 at the door
Purchase of adult ticket includes an entry into a drawing for a 40" flat screen HDTV
Kids 12 7 under only $3.00

Interactors' Pancake-Eating Contest @ 10am

Email rotarypancakebreakfast@gmail.com for more information.

 

We were blessed to have Edward Burr, Lynn Layton, and  Stacy Pendarvis from the Monique Burr Foundation for Children as our speakers last week.

The Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. was created as a nonprofit organization in 1997 to honor the late Monique Burr, a tireless advocate for abused and abandoned children. Thier mission is to make a positive impact on the community at large, to create change in a family’s life for the better, and to give hope in the life of a child by providing safety and child abuse prevention education that is relevant to issues facing children today, including all forms of abuse, neglect, bullying and internet safety. It is our vision to provide this child safety and abuse prevention education program to all elementary age children within the state of Florida by 2015.

Please see: www.MoniqueBurrFoundation.org for more information.

 

Some quick facts about Dave Howie:

• Born in Massuchuets Dave is a huge Red Sox, Patriots, and Bruins fan.
• Dad was from North Carolina and Mom was from Greece
• Dave met and married Becky in South Florida 17 years ago.
• Becky is a Teaching Tennis Professional
• They have 2 kids:
  • 14 yr old Mark who is a surfer and Skateboarder
  • 12 year old Megan who is a swimmer.
• Dave has been a CPA for 14 years and specializes in business audits.
• He is with Masters, Smith & Wisby, P.A. CPAs and Business Consultants
• 
• Hobbies: Running (Gate River Run Team), Reading.
• Other Volunteer work: Venture Guides where he served several positions, and he was a member of the St. John's County Historic Resource Review Board.

One more step closer to that Blue Badge!!!

THANK YOU to everyone that particiapted by donating your cold weather clothes.  Tonight's meeting (Tuesday 11/8/11) is the last night for any frop offs.

Special thanks to all of our local High School Interact Clubs for their great support for this clothiing drive.  

Our Leader was prepared:

So how did we go from this:

 to this:

 

but yet stayed inside the clubhouse the whole time.  

SWAMPED!  Individual and Team winners Announced this Tuesday night. 

Our Guest Speakers last week were Odette Struys from the Blood Alliance and Kathleen "Bo" Bobak.  They both introduced us to the story of Dr. Charles Drew and some of the details surrounding his life.  How exciting to be working on a local feature film project on such a great American.

  

Today's American Red Cross blood program is the result of the efforts of Dr. Charles R. Drew, an African-American blood specialist, surgeon, educator and scientist. His pioneering work in blood collection, plasma processing and transfusion laid the foundation for modern blood banking.

 

It wasn’t easy for Charles Drew to get through Medical School. As a black man in the late 20’s, his prospects were limited. His prowess in sports guaranteed a scholarship through Amherst; after that he was on his own. But self-sacrifice and determination got him through McGill’s surgical program at the top of his class. Charles' hard work paid off. In 1938, he found himself at Columbia University participating in an advance studies Fellowship with associated blood research. Here too, Charles rose to the top. But World War II was coming. Little known at the time, his research would save millions of lives for decades to come. Balancing love with a killing-pace at Columbia, the completion of his thesis (Banked Blood) launched him into the world limelight. This attention eventually led to the position of Medical Director of the Blood for Britain Project. Here his theories would be put to the test and lead to the largest blood drive in world history. Although at the top of his field, Charles was not immune to the politics of race. Realizing the path to racial equality would be long and hard, he found his true calling as an educator and advocate for young black doctors. A mission he attacked with the same vigor and determination as his research and surgical work. A pioneer in both medical science and racial equality, Dr. Charles Drew is a true American hero.

Let the competition begin!!! 

Past President and current Membership Chair, Jeff Hart, had a surprise for the club two weeks ago when he created 4 teams out of all the club members.  Randomly selected these teams (or tribes) are now in direct competition with each other.  The overriding goal is to grow our club membership with quality individuals.  Each team is being ask to successfully bring in 1 new member in the next 6 months.  The first team to bring in a new member will win $25 Gift Certificates to Mulligans Pub for each team member. 

The teams are:

Membership Teams

Team A:  GRUMPY                                      Team B:  Think About It

Capt. Carol Maurer                                     Capt. Dave Howie

1) Judy Jennings                                          1) John Mencke

2) Carol Maurer                                           2) Jeff Hart

3) Rebecca Cooper                                      3) Waine Banyas

4) Chuck Schoonmaker                                4) Dave Howie

5) Mike Anderson                                        5) Steven Jones  

 

Team C: Money Change                  Team D: Rotary Rocking Recruiters

Capt. David Hess                               Capt. JP Diedrich

1) Sam Van Leer                                 1) JP Diedrich

2) Angus Stephens                             2) JoAnn Radcliffe

3) Kelly Matthews                              3) John Rutkowski

4) David Hess                                     4) Steve Danzig

5) Jud Durel                                        5) Bryan Goode

                                                           6) Kristi Quick

The very first order of business though is that Jeff needs each team to come up with a team captain and a team name.  Please bring those to tonight's meeting.                                                                                                                               

Remember: The #1 reason given by Rotarians on why they joined is: "I was asked"  - Let's start asking!!!                                                                         

Terry Norvelle, Director of Athletic Development at Jacksonville University (JU), is showing that determination in his work towards improving JU Athletics.

Terry is a graduate of Jacksonville University where he played baseball for the Dolphins.  A broadcast veteran of both radio and television in and around the Jacksonville area he has been heard:  as a radio co-host of "Gators and More", as a weekend sports anchor on FOX 30, a television analyst for SportsChannel Florida, as well as many other television and radio projects. Currently he is "on-air" as the "Voice of the JU Dolphins".

The induction of Artis Gilmore into the NBA Hall of Fame has once again brought JU Athletics into the limelight.  Men's basketball however is not the only successful sports program at JU.  This year in fact, JU's baseball program in predicted to go at least to the Super Regional.  JU's Football program is on the cusp of something special but needs help getting there.

JU's Football program plays within the Pioneer Football League (www.pioneer-football.org), which is the nation's only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference.  Although very successful within this league (2008 and 2010 Championships), they have been unable to move on into the NCAA playoffs due to their non-scholarship status.  In an attempt to boost their strength of schedule they have added scholarship programs to their list of opponents, but that puts them in a "High risk - High Reward" situation.  Terry's vision is to bring the JU Football program to the scholarship level so they not only are they able to compete for players but are able to play high revenue producing teams.  To do this JU needs a bigger football stadium than the 5,000 seat Milne Field that is currently on campus.  Terry explained that although this initial investment is needed to put the team on the right growth path, the real sustaining revenue would come from being a visiting team to a larger conference opponent (i.e. SEC, ACC, etc.).  These teams sometimes pay over 1 million per game to the visiting team.

We wish Terry and the JU Dolphins the best of luck on the field this year and in reaching their goals. 

For more information on the current projects underway at JU visit: http://www.judolphins.com/

This past Tuesday Sept. 13th the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach - Sunset went off site of the The Players Championship Clubhouse to the Hilton Garden Inn and enjoyed some light hearted trivia competition.

Host Brandon Crawford, with his scorekeeper Ashton Holloway, from Trivia Throwdown were there to run a shortened version of their normal 2 hour game just for the club.  A great range of questions ranging from comic strips to politics were asked challenging some members memory of basic facts and/or their own childhood.  Throughout the night groans and cheers could be heard as the answers were announced indicating which team's answers were correct or incorrect.  At one point our President even bowed out of his team because his knowledge of State Capitals was WAY OFF.

With a Final Jeopardy style question asking members to rank 4 Super Bowl winners by the date of their 1st Super Bowl (Green Bay, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and San Fran) one team came out the winners.  They were: Judy Jennings, Jeff Hart, Angus Stephens, and Mike Anderson.

Congratulations to the Winners!

They are now the reigning champions of PVB-Sunset Trivia! 

Enjoy those $25 Gift Certificates to Mulligans Pub 

   

The Rotary Club Ponte Vedra Beach was treated this past week to Thomas Napton and his vast knowledge of the past and future of the space program.

     To start with, NASA was incorporated in 1958 when it was  reincarnated from existing agencies.  During WWII the government co-opted national industries but then returned them to the private commercial/industrial world.  The infant space program was kept under government control though.  President Eisenhower set up NASA under a special government relationship with industry.  NASA administers but has no regulatory authority.  The  FAA regulates NASA. 

     Since the beginning over 3600 types of space vehicles have been launched with a lot of them not being successful.  In fact one scary fact is that if the Columbia disaster occurred 3 seconds later it would have hit New Orleans.  From the very beginning one major issue has been how to manage the risk involved in putting vehicles into space. In 126 launches no company was ever willing/able to underwrite the complete launch/landing.  The US Government has stood behind (indemnify) any injuries that have ever occurred and insurance coverage is broken up for every aspect of the complete launch to landing.

 Other interesting tidbits:

• Changes this past year:
  • Space shuttle program scuttled because of costs (500 million per launch).
  • Russian missile exploded putting serious doubts on their program.
  • China, Japan, India, and France can all launch. 

• Space program seems to be going backwards because no one has figured out a better way (cost effective) than putting a capsule on a rocket arian.

• Mayport named "Space Port Florida"
• So far there has been a peaceful co-existence in space, no “Star Wars”, although China blasted a satellite hinting at what could be coming our way.
• The future of the law in space is still to be defined. So far it is pretty much the mundane work of contracts, treaties, etc., but should humankind finally populate space, near and outer, all the aspects of the law existing and to be created, will come to play, and the biggest challenge is doing all of this in a peaceful way

The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset would like to Thank Mr. Napton and his lovely wife for visiting our club and talking to us on a very interesting subject.

The Rotary Club of PVB-Sunset was blessed once again with a fantastic RYE inbound student, Johanna Heikkila.  Johanna visited the club this past Tuesday to make her formal introduction presentation.  Johanna shared pictures of her home and family.

Some interesting tidbits:

•  Johanna hails from Tampere, Finland.  The 3rd largest city of Finland. 

 

 

• She has a sister and a twin brother.

• She is a cross country skier

• Her family has a cottage in Lapland, Finland.

• In the winter after hitting the sauna they roll around in the snow or cut a hole in the ice in lake and go swimming.  In fact, she finds our pool and ocean water a little hot.

• She plays piano and is starting to learn guitar.

• She attends an art school. 

•  She speaks: English, Swedish, German, Finnish, and a little French.

 

 

DISTRICT ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE  

 OUTBOUND STUDENT INTERVIEWS

 NOVEMBER 11,12,13 2011 

Please contact Paula Roderick or Jeff Hart to sign up. 

  

PVB Sunset members 

"BANK" your blood donations to

our NEW

Account #3354.

After many delays and threats of storms, Jane Viviano was able to board her long-awaited flight to Turkey where she will be living for the next year.  According to her father, "She made it safely and had no problems other than some confusion at customs.  She told me the city looks absolutely amazing and she sounded very excited although she's a bit jet lagged.  Given it's the end of Ramadan and a traditional time for celebration there, she informed me she was going to spend this week at her host family's summer house!  What a nice start to her adventure!"

There is no better spokesperson for the effort to eradicate Polio than someone who has been directly affected by the disease.

Ramesh Ferris was born in December 1979 in Coimbatore, located in the Southern State of Tamil Nadu in India.  He contracted polio at age six months and his legs were left paralyzed for life.  With no means or access to rehabilitation for him, Ramesh’s mother placed him in Families for Children, a Canadian-founded orphanage, a year later. Soon after, Ron Ferris, Anglican Bishop of Yukon in Canada, and his wife Jan began the lengthy process to adopt Ramesh and take him back to Canada.  With the support of his new Canadian family and after several operations, Ramesh learned to walk with crutches and braces for the first time at age 3.5 years.

After much reflection about a visit to India, Ramesh was determined to raise money in order to make a difference in the lives of polio survivors and to prevent polio from claiming new victims.  Cycle to Walk Canada was born, with a focus on Polio Eradication, Education and Rehabilitation. In 2008, Ramesh hand-cycled 4400 Miles (7140 kms) across Canada.  Along the route, he participated in 350 media interviews and made over 200 presentations at Schools, Rotary Clubs, Churches and various levels of Government.  This ampaign raised thousands of dollars and increased the awareness of polio dramatically.

Ramesh is a Rotarian with the Rotary Club of Whitehorse Rendezvous. In April 2010 Ramesh released his first book entitled, Better Than a Cure, One Man’s Journey to Free the World of Polio. Books are available for $19.55 online at www.amazon.com, proceeds benefit Rotary PolioPlus for a Polio Free World.