Cheryl Grymes from Big Brothers Big Sisters will speak at Rotaract’s membership meeting this Thursday, July 22nd, as we gear up for our annual BBBS picnic on Saturday, August 7th. Join us as we hear from Cheryl about BBBS and prepare for the picnic!
Thursday’s meeting is at the Haskell building in Riverside at 6pm, and dinner at The Loop in San Marco will follow.
The Rotaract Club of Florida’s First Coast is pleased to invite you and your friends to its annual Wine Tasting on Thursday, June 24 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.. Come sample a variety of flavorful wines presented by Riverside Liquors while networking with members of this award winning club. For those not preferring wine, beer, soda, and bottled water will be provided with light snacks for all to enjoy. Afterwards, please join us for dinner, location to be determined. The wine tasting will be held at the Haskell Building located at 111 Riverside Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32202. Admittance to this networking social is free of charge, so come out and have a great time! Feel free to invite people you think would be interested in joining Rotaract!!
ABOUT ROTARACT Rotaract Club strives to develop and enhance its member’s commitment to the community and his or her own personal growth. Community service activities mixed with social opportunities encourage members to learn to work – and to play – as an individual and as team, facilitating collective growth. To find out more on how to become a member visit our website at www.jaxrotaract.org. We’re also on facebook at Rotaract of Florida’s First Coast.
The 2009 Black Tie, Blue Jeans Gala benefiting DLC Nurse and Learn received recognition for Rotary International’s 2009-2010 Rotaract outstanding projects for the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Rotaract of Florida’s First Coast is one of seven Rotaract clubs internationally to receive the award.
2009-2010 Rotary International recognition of Rotaract outstanding projects recipients
• International: Rotaract Club of Manila (District 3810, Philippines) for “Response and Relief Program” (to collect and distribute relief supplies, provide medical assistance, and raise funds to rehabilitate two learning centers for residents of five communities affected by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in the region of Manila,
Philippines)
• Africa Districts: Rotaract Club of Quatre Bornes (District 9220, Mauritius) for “Let’s Change Their Future” (to provide bathing facilities and items, nutrition education, vitamin-rich foods, and school uniforms to 400 impoverished students at Serge Coutet Government School in Baie du Tombeau, Mauritius)
• Asia Pacific Districts: Rotaract Club of Chung Yuan (District 3520, Taiwan) for “Rotary Promises We Achieve” (to raise $10,000 in Taipei, Taiwan towards the global campaign to eradicate polio)
• Europe Districts: Rotaract Club of Izmir-Göztepe (District 2440, Turkey) for “Clean Sea Project” (to raise awareness of the need for and benefits of safe water and sanitation among 7,600 children in 47 primary schools in Izmir, Turkey)
• Latin America Districts: Rotaract Clubs of Puebla de los Ángelos, Puebla Centro Histórico, Puebla Industrial, and Chilpancingo de los Bravo (District 4180, Mexico) for “Centros Rotaract de Iniciación Technológica para Niños Indígenas (Rotaract Technology Centers for Indigenous Children)” (to provide four computer labs and remodel one school dormitory serving 300 indigenous youth in the region of Puebla, Mexico)
• South Asia Districts: Rotaract Club of Women’s Christian College (District 3230, India) for “Stree Suraksha” (to create awareness of domestic violence with the general public in Chennai, India)
• United States, Canada, and Caribbean Districts: Rotaract Club of Florida’s First Coast (District 6970, USA) for “Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala” (to raise $22,000 for a school serving special needs children in Jacksonville, Florida)
Brent Williams, the incoming Rotary Regional Foundation Coordinator will be our guest speaker this Thursday, May 13th. Brent has been an active Rotarian since 1989, and is past president of the Rotary Club of Gainesville. He served as Governor of Rotary International District 6970 in 2006-2007. Brent is a Major Donor and a member of the Bequest Society of The Rotary Foundation.
Brent is actively involved in Rotary Leadership beyond the district level. He will serve as Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator for Zone 34 for a three year term beginning in this coming July, working with the 14 Rotary Districts in Florida, Georgia and the Caribbean Nations to build support for the humanitarian good work around the world made possible through the Rotary Foundation. He represented District 6970 as a Delegate to the Rotary International Council on Legislation last month in Chicago. He is currently serving a two-year term as the Chair of the District Governor Nominee Training Seminar for Zones 33 and 34, responsible for training incoming governors from 29 districts in the Southeastern USA and the Caribbean. Brent is also a member of the Montreal 2010 Rotary International Convention Promotion Committee.
In addition to Rotary, Brent is involved in numerous other community service and civic activities, including service as past president and long time board member of the Alachua County Public Schools Foundation. He is also past president of the Gainesville Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association and is a graduate of Leadership Gainesville.
Brent is Director of Development for the public television and public radio stations licensed to the University of Florida: WUFT-TV, WUFT-FM and WJUF-FM. He has been with the stations since 1977 and has had extensive involvement in national and regional public broadcasting affairs.
Brent and his wife Naomi have two daughters; Jarett, who works for CNN in Atlanta and Catherine, who works for a Marketing Agency in Jacksonville. Catherine is a member of the Rotaract Club of Florida’s First Coast in Jacksonville. Naomi, Jarett and Catherine are all Paul Harris Fellows of The Rotary Foundation.
After Brent speaks, Sara Conrad will provide our member craft talk.
Mr. John Kenny, President of Rotary International sent this letter congratulation Rotaract of Florida’s First Coast on celebrating 20 years of service at the annual Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala.
Below is the text of the letter from Mr. Kenny.
1 May 2010
To Those Attending
The 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Rotaract Club of Florida’s First CoastDear Rotaractors:
I would like to extend my special welcome to the Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala where you will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rotaract Club of Florida’s First Coast.
Your presence tonight in Jacksonville—simply the fact that each of you has chosen to take the time and travel to be at this gala celebration, in itself says volumes about who you are. As Rotaractors, you’ve chosen to spend your time talking about subjects such as water, health, hunger, and literacy. You’ve chosen not to spend time on yourselves, but on others. You’ve chosen to spend it in service. I am proud to have you as part of Rotaract, and proud to have Rotaract as part of our organization.
As the poet Byron wrote, the days of our youth are the days of our glory. And in Rotaract, the days of your youth are the glory of all of Rotary. You are the future of Rotary, and you are the future of your communities. What you choose to do, what you choose to make of yourselves, will not only affect yourselves. It will affect us all.
As you celebrate this important milestone in your club’s history, remember the responsibility for Rotaract (and Rotary) is yours. And once the gala celebration is over, dream great dreams of Rotaract service. And go back to your club and sponsor Rotary Club to discover how to achieve them. The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.
Sincerely,
John Kenny
President, Rotary International
The annual Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala will be held Saturday, May 1 at the Southlight Gallery, 100 North Laura Street, Jacksonville, Florida. Tickets are $50/person and can be purchased at jaxrotaract.org.
Jo Anne McKinney, Co-Founder and President of The Big Fun Foundation, Inc. will be our guest speaker this Thursday, April 8th.
The Big Fun Foundation, Inc., 501(c)(3) is a charitable organization that raises funds to create activity boxes, “Big Fun Boxes,” that are donated to children in hospitals around the country. Knowing from 26 years of experience with her son, Grant’s health issues, regardless of the reason for the hospitalization, it is a stressful time for children and their families. Big Fun Boxes are given to children for any illness or injury. To date, 6,250 Big Fun Boxes have been given to 71 hospitals in 31 states and more than 75 hospitals await Big Fun Boxes for their patients.
Prior to concepting and developing The Big Fun Box in 2005 with her late son, Grant, Jo Anne was a copy editor and brand manager at Citibank in Jacksonville. Through this experience, she gained much knowledge in product development and branding, which have allowed the Foundation to own four trademarks for The Big Fun Box.
Since the February 2009 death of her son and co-founder, Grant Prather, the work of The Big Fun Foundation is dedicated to his inspiration and spirit.
Jason Ryan, President of Jacksonville Scene Sports Leagues and Social Events will be our guest speaker this Thursday, March 11. Jason was the head league manager for the Chicago Sport and Social Club from 1999 to 2004. In 2004 he accepted a position with PRI Productions in Jacksonville, FL, where he helped with the coordination and concepts of events for the city, the Jaguars, the Barracudas and Super Bowl XXXIX. In the Spring of 2005, Jason started Jacksonville Scene. The mission of Jacksonville Scene is to build the community through adult sports leagues, tournaments, social outings and charity events. At the start of 2010, Jacksonville Scene had grown into one of the largest young professional groups in Northeast Florida, with over 5,000 members, 13 different sports leagues and annual events that attract between 400 to 800 guests each. Jason has been named one of the top 40 under 40 by the Jacksonville Business Journal and one of the 50 most influential people by 904 magazine.
After Jason speaks, Nathan Riska will provide our member craft talk.
Anyone is welcome to attend our membership meetings. We look forward to seeing and introducing ourselves to guests. We meet at the Haskell building in Riverside at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.
Lucy Talley, publisher of the Florida Times-Union will be our guest speaker this Thursday, February 25. Lucy was appointed publisher of the Times-Union April 1, 2009. Prior to this appointment, she was the newspaper’s associate publisher. Lucy began work in newspapers in 1979 at The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida, where she worked in multiple advertising roles before rising to advertising director. In 1995, she became the director of advertising for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, and was appointed to general manager in 2000. She was named publisher of the Salisbury Post in North Carolina in 2004. She joined Morris Publishing group in 2006 as vice president of newspapers and assumed responsibility of skirt! Magaine and skirt.com in December of 2007. She is married to Mike Stricklin. His son Alex lives with them in St. Johns, Florida.
After Lucy speaks, Elizabeth Minneci will provide our member craft talk.
Steven Davis, Florida Trail Council member of the East Coast Greenway Alliance will be our guest speaker this Thursday, February 11. Steven is a landscape architect with over twenty-five years of private practice experience. Over the past nine years Steven has been involved with park design and project management for Preservation Project Jacksonville. In 2005, he became involved with multi-use trails and joined the East Coast Greenway Alliance as a Florida Trail Council member in 2008. He is also a member of the First Coast Trails Coalition and the North Florida Bicycle Club. Mr. Davis has ridden the Cross Florida Greenway, The St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop, The Savannah-Northeast Florida Workshop on Wheels, four MS-150 bike events and the Jacksonville Tour de Forts century. For more information about the East Coast Greenway project, visit http://www.greenway.org/
After Steven speaks, David Bravo will provide our member craft talk.
Emily Lisska, Executive Director of the Jacksonville Historical Society will be our guest speaker this Thursday, January 14. Mrs. Lisska is a Jacksonville native and a graduate of the University of Florida and attended Florida State University for graduate studies.
As the director of the society since 1996, she oversees the organization’s projects, including restoration of the 1879 Merrill House and the society’s restored headquarters and million dollar restoration, the National Register Old St. Andrews. She oversees what she believes is the most important work of the society, its archival repository, as treasure trove of documents and photographs of area history.
Emily has taken an active role in local history publications. She spearheaded a reprint of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1873 book, Palmetto Leaves. She wrote the grant to provide seed money for the society’s award-winning publication, The Great Fire of 190l, and she is a contributing editor to the book. Among her credits is the acclaimed Jacksonville Family Album which she wrote and edited along with noted author Wayne Wood.
After Emily speaks, Carter Rosenbloom will provide our member craft talk.
Anyone is welcome to attend our membership meetings. We look forward to seeing and introducing ourselves to guests. We meet at the Haskell building in Riverside at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.
