Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch News 3.9.23

ROTARY CLUB OF LAKEWOOD RANCH NEWS

MARCH 9, 2023

2022-23 Leadership

RI President Jennifer Jones

District 6960 Governor Neil Snyder

Club President Carmen Spagnola

THIS WEEK

Jennifer Orsi will talk to us about "The Local News Landscape in a Digial World." She is executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and vice president/ content overseeing 21 newspapers and more than 350 journalists in Florida and Georgia who are part of the USA Today Network Before taking that role in July 2021, she spent 30 years in various roles at the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St Petersburg Times), rising to become the first woman to be managing editor in 2014 In 2018, she left the newspaper to oversee content marketing and communications for an asset management subsidiary of Raymond James in St Petersburg, but returned to journalism last year She grew up in the Clearwater/Dunedin area and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from Indiana University She is married and has two adult children, including one who is a student at the University of South Florida She lives in Manatee County

LAST WEEK

Charles C. Reith, Ph D , is a retired professor and consultant in the sustainability field He was a professor at Tulane University and American University of Nigeria Dr Reith has been instrumental in creating microforests via Suncoast Urban Reforesters in several Manatee-Sarasota neighborhoods and invites others to join the efforts He also is a board member of Solutions to Avoid Red Tide (START) and the Sarasota Bay Rotary Club Charles Reith

MARCH 9

AT LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB JENNIFER ORSI, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, SARASOTA HERALDTRIBUNE/FLORIDA-GEORGIA REGIONAL EDITOR, GANNETT

MARCH 16

AT LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB

JULIE POULIN, BOYS AND GIRLS

CLUBS' YOUTH OF THE YEAR

MARCH 23

AT TARA COUNTRY CLUB

ALICIA CHALMERS, MANATEE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

MARCH 30

AT LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB

SUNCOAST FOOD & WINE FEST GRANT AWARDS EVENT

APRIL 6

AT LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB

JESSICA ROGERS, VICE PRESIDENT OF CHILDREN FIRST

CHECK US OUT!

Jennifer Orsi

CALENDAR

March 9-12: District 6960 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards; ask Anne Ross for details

March 18: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rotary Leadership Institute Parts 1, 2 and 3 at the Out-of-Door Academy, 5950 Deer Drive, in Lakewood Ranch, and also at Keiser University in Naples. Registration is required on DACdb.

March 25: Seventh annual Suncoast Walk for Water, our club's fundraiser for clean water and sanitation projects.

See Pages 8-9 for details.

March 29: Club board meeting, 6 p.m. at the River Club at Waterlefe, 995 Fish Hook Cove, Bradenton; meetings are the last Wednesday of each month. Info: President Carmen Spagnola at carmenspag1@gmail.com.

March 30: Save the date for our club's annual Suncoast Food & Wine Fest grants award luncheon.

April 5: Wine Down Wednesday social at 5:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month at McGrath's Irish Ale House, on Lakewood Main Street. RSVP by April 3 with Lang Wooddy at lang66@comcast.net.

April 22: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. District Assembly, Leadership Training and PETS makeup at Lemon Bay High School, Englewood. The cost is $25 and includes lunch; registration is open on DACdb.

May 13: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rotary Leadership Institute Parts 1, 2 and 3 plus Graduate-Level sessions in northern and southern district locations; registration info on DACdb.

May 27-31: Rotary International Convention, Melbourne, Australia; for details, click here

June 16-17: Save the dates for the District 6960 Conference at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Estero; details to come

Lakewood Ranch

Rotarian Chris Fils, who recently became the Chicagoland complex manager for Raymond James. was honored by his alma mater The University of South Florida Alumni Association selected him as one of this year's six young alumni members who have achieved success in their professions. The reception will be April 20 at USF in Tampa. Click here for more.

Pre-order your Florida Rotary license plate at FloridaRotaryTag.com or by clicking here. For each order, $25 goes toward Rotary youth programs.

MEMBER CELEBRATIONS

BIRTHDAYS

Paul Oakes 3/6

Carmen Spagnola 3/7

Susan Courter 3/9

Ken Kaplan 3/15

David Jack 3/20

Steve Gottlieb 3/21

Duane Saunders 3/23

Glynis Grawburg 3/27

Griff Griffiths 3/27

Peter Azzopardi 3/28

Nora White 3/31

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

Pres Olinger and Cecelia Abruscato 3/13

John Bodenburg and Nancy Helmer 3/17

Christi Womack and Greg Villalobos 3/20

Ryan and Carla Brems 3/22

Steve and Bobbie Bordes 3/28

CLUB ANNIVERSARIES

Jim Isherwood 3/1/18

Sheila Halpin 3/4/21

Gris Bettle 3/5/20

Carey Leichter 3/5/20

Izzy Pollack 3/5/20

Vince Cera 3/10/11

George Lewis 3/10/22

Govind Singh 3/28/19

Vonda Johnson 3/29/12

KNOW YOUR FOUNDATION

I have had quite a few members ask about the difference between a Paul Harris Fellow and the Paul Harris Society

As you give each $1,000 to the Annual Fund, Polio Plus or a Global Grant, you progress to the next Paul Harris level These donations are given whenever you, the member, decide to give

Members of the Paul Harris Society, however, have agreed to give $1,000 each Rotary year to the Annual Fund, Polio Plus or a Global Grant

The difference is that The Rotary Foundation can count on $1,000 each year from the Society member The Paul Harris Society is only a pledge; if something changes, no one is going to bang on your door to collect Paul Harris Society members are given a blue chevron to add to their Paul Harris or other Rotary pins

If you are interested in becoming a Paul Harris Society member, let me know and I will sign you up No other paperwork or signatures are needed

District 6960 Past District

Governor Sandra Hemstead captured this image of Lakewood Ranch Rotarian Susan Courter, Susan, the incoming Zone 34 Public Image Coordinator, shared her Rotary story along with details of Public Image over the past weekend at the Peach State PETS session in Georgia.

--John Bodenburg, Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch Foundation Chair

Image and text from the Being Rotarian Facebook page; visit it by clicking here

VOLUNTEER TO HELP RENOVATE HOMES TO GIVE TO DESERVING VETERANS

Great news! We have a recipient for Unit 63 in Pescara Lake, 570 57th Ave. W., Bradenton, announced Greg Kisela, Our Next Mission's president and CEO. Special thanks to Bradenton VFW for their assistance in identifying deserving veterans. Chaplain Raney was instrumental in finding the veteran who will move into this home. The dedication is planned for 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, at the home. If you are attending, go by the office on your right to the T intersection and take a right. Unit 63 is on the left and parking is available in the maintenance yard just down the street.

Rotarian Terry Byce worked several days last week with ONM on a mobile home at 206 Holland St. in Colony Cove in Ellenton. The renovation is going great (see the photos above; the hole is the kitchen). Last week I used the term "easy peasy" to describe this project. Some of our "volunteers" teased me about this description. Well, in three days of work, the necessary components of the unit were demolished on Monday, interior painting started Tuesday, and the floor joists in the kitchen area were almost completed Thursday. Our electricians, plumber and HVAC technicians inspected their respective systems and repairs have been identified and started We will paint the bathrooms and closets on Monday and plywood the kitchen floor with kitchen cabinets and snap-in vinyl by the end of the week

If you are interested in sharpening your painting skills, wanting to learn how to install a new kitchen or have been yearning to learn to install vinyl flooring, this is your week to participate We will work 8 a m to noon Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (except for Tuesday

when we will break at 11 for the Pescara Lake dedication).

Candidates for homes are “at-risk” veterans who has at least an annual income of $25K-$35K per year with a good credit score. If you know of a veteran over 55 who is looking for a home, let us know. The applicants are required to to pay the monthly ground rent/fees of $900/$1,000. The park does the background check and Our Next Mission verifies their veterans status.

Check with your friends, neighbors and work associates to see if anyone meets the criteria for future homes that will be renovated. If you have a candidate, let me know and ONM will interview him or her.

Thanks (and looking forward to seeing you at the work site),

Terry Byce

Rotay Club of Lakewood Ranch Veterans Committee

Home: 941 351 0092

Cell: 703 627 7765

Email: terry byce@verizon net

Our Next Mission's volunteers are hard at work renovating a donated home in Colony Cove in Ellenton that will be given to a deserving veteran

Marine's widow thankful for the ramp at her home

We a had a great morning on Feb 25 helping out the Veterans (Families) in Need group with a project in Windmill Manor in Bradenton

We installed a 22-foot aluminum ramp provided by a Rotary grant and Lakewood Ranch Rotary matching funds for Mary Nolan's home Her late husband, Bill, was a Marine in World War II Club members Jim Wingert, Donna Layrisse, and Terry Byce volunteered on the project along with our partner Our Next Mission volunteers

On completion, Mary came outside to test the ramp out and had tears of joy in her eyes She is thankful to our Rotary club for contributing the ramp and helping to install it with ONM

A separate project file will be established on DACdb to track volunteer hours for ramp projects If you are interested in placing your name on a contact list for a future ramp install/tear-down, send me a note and I will contact you If you are tied up, I will just go to someone else on the list

These short jobs may occur every four to six weeks

There is also a possibility that you could help repurpose a wooden ramp that we may get from another home I would like to get two to three Lakewood Ranch Rotary volunteers on each ramp job These ramps may/may not be installed at an existing ONM home

--Terry Byce

Rotay Club of Lakewood Ranch Veterans Committee

Home: 941 351 0092

Cell: 703 627 7765

Email: terry byce@verizon net

Who's up for a fun baseball game?

Club member Russ Sexton is organizing a club social to go see the Bradenton Marauders play baseball vs. the Daytona Tortugas. Please sign up during an upcoming club meeting or contact him at drsexton45@gmail.com or 941-773-7280; RSVPs are due before April 1. The Marauders. based in Bradenton, are the Minor League Baseball team that is part of the PIttsburgh Pirates organization. The Tortugas are affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. Tickets include admission, food and drinks; you will pick them up at the will call window. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., food (hamburgers, hot dogs, mac 'n' cheese, sodas and water) will be served at 6 p.m. and the first pitch is at 6:30 p.m. We will be in a private area of the ballpark. For details about the team, click here.

Are you familiar with our club's Small Group Meals Program?

Our club offers an ongoing way to get to know other Rotarians in a meaningful way and include spouses or partners so they can also appreciate the value of being involved in Rotary A sign-up sheet to be a host, guest or both will be distributed at our club meetings

As a host, you decide how many guests (four to six is common) for any type of meal that fits your entertaining style Suggested guidelines for a Small Group Meal and a guest invitation template will be sent to all hosts As a guest, you give the host $25 per person or a check made out to the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch This money goes into our club’s discretionary fund If you have questions please contact Dorothy Bodenburg, Small Group Meals coordinator, at 941-714-0971 or Dorothy@Bodenburg com

All Rotarians who give $50 or more will have their donation matched and earn double PHF points. Register for the virtual walk or make a donation at suncoastwalkforwater2023.eventbrite.com.

For more information about this clean comedy fundraiser, contact club member Bill Porter at 941-527-3400 or bill@portercs.com. Read about the featured comedians by clicking here.

CLEAN COMEDY! ONE NIGHT ONLY! TWO SHOWS!

Help raise $10,000 for The Players Centre for Performing Arts Join supporters for a hilarious evening on April 1 featuring top talent who are clean comedians from around the nation. Event proceeds will help Sarasota's original theater.

Event organizers want patrons to join them to sit back and laugh with your friends! There will be two shows, one at 5 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m. at the Grove restaurant on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch.

Come early and socialize with light appetizers, wine, beer, soda and water. Included in your ticket is one of the above beverages. (A cash bar also will be available.) Should you purchase an $85 ticket, you will receive two beverages.

After the show, take advantage of the chance to meet the comedians.

In appreciation for supporting The Players Centre for Performing Arts, each attendee will receive a gift bag with gift cards for local businesses' products and services! This bag is valued at over $2,000.

To purchase tickets for the 5 p.m. show, click here. To buy tickets for the 8 p.m. show, click here.