Rotaract Archives

Laura Brock, Jean Barnes and Elaine Shott of Morning Star School will be our guest speakers this Thursday, December 10. Laura, the Development Director, Jean, the Principal, and Elaine, the Assistant Principal will give us an overview of Morning Star, our 2010 Rotaract Black Tie, Blue Jeans Gala beneficiary.

Laura Heimerl Brock was born in Rock Island, Illinois, but has lived in Jacksonville, FL since 1988. She graduated from Stanton College Preparatory with the International Baccalaureate Diploma in 2002. A huge Gator fan, she went on to graduate with a BA in English from the University of Florida. Before finding her niche at Morning Star School, Laura worked in both the advertising and healthcare fields. Employed as Development Director at MSS since the summer of 2008, Laura oversees all grant writing and fundraising for the school. Laura is married to Daniel Brock, a Jacksonville CPA; they are expecting their first child in February.

Susan Elaine Shott was born in Jacksonville, Florida.  She graduated from Flagler College with a BA in Business Administration and obtained a Certification in Education from the State of Florida from the University of North Florida.  Elaine joined the Morning Star staff as a Junior High teacher in 1997, teaching American History and Literature for 10 years.  In 2007 she was promoted to the Assistant Principal’s position.  Elaine is in the processing of acquiring her master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

After our guests speak, Laura Wharen 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.

Rotaract will be working with Rotary Club of South Jacksonville and Rotary Club of North Jacksonville this year to present the 2009 Ginger Bread House Extravaganza.

Gingerbread creations build by chefs, bakers, architects, engineers, home builders and other professionals will be on display at the historic St. Andrew’s Church.

Admission is $5.00 for adults (17+) and $3.00 for children (3-16). Children under two are admitted free.

St. Andrews Church is located at 317 A Philip Randolph Blvd. Jacksonville, FL 32202.

View photos from last year’s Gingerbread House Extravaganza.

Greg Cole, Senior Development Officer will be our guest speaker this Thursday, October 22. Greg  joined Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville (HabiJax) in August 2009. Greg moved from Newport, Rhode Island to Jacksonville in December of 2008.  He brings with him a background in church ministry, having served as an Episcopal priest for sixteen years.   He received a Master of Divinity from Harvard and has completed his course work for a doctorate at the Virginia Theological Seminary.  Greg has a record of success in raising funds for capital, annual, and planned giving support. Greg has a strong interest in issues of global poverty, including engagement with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.  He is thrilled to work for an organization that combines a local focus with a global reach.

After Greg speaks, Freida Speicher 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.

Dave Faraldo, Rotary District Governor of District 6970 will be our guest speaker this Thursday, September 24. Dave has been a member of the Rotary Club of Orange Park since July 23, 1991. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a member of the Paul Harris Society, and a Foundation Benefactor.  He has served as District Trainer, District Conference Committee chairman, Membership Development chairman and the Rotary – Jacksonville Jaguars Committee chairman.  Dave served on the Board of Directors for his club for nine years and was honored to be the club president during Rotary’s Centennial Year, 2004-2005.  That year, the Rotary Club of Orange Park was named the “Best Large Club” in District 6970.  He credits the enthusiasm, dedication and hard work of his fellow Rotarians for this achievement.

In addition to Rotary, Dave has been active in numerous other community service organizations.  He served on the Board of Directors for Northeast Florida Junior Achievement, as District Chairman of the Black Creek District of the Boy Scouts of America, and on the Northeast Florida Consumer Council.  He was named the NEFCC Consumer Advocate of the Year for 2003.  He was also selected by his Rotary Club as the Clay County Citizen of the Year for 2000 – 2001.  In 2008, he was selected as the “12 Points Award” honoree by the Black Creek Council of the BSA.   He is a member of the Orange Park United Methodist Church.

Dave is a graduate of Northwestern State University and earned his MA degree in Management and Leadership from Central Michigan University.  He is also a graduate of the German Command and General Staff College in Hamburg, Germany.  He served in the United States Navy for twenty-five years and accumulated over 4,000 pilot hours in a variety of military aircraft.  He retired as a Navy Captain in 1993.  Dave is currently serving as the Jacksonville Director of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Sandy is Dave’s wife and partner in life.  Sandy is the president and CEO of Faraldo Consulting Inc.  The Faraldo’s have two children and a granddaughter.   Their daughter, Donna, is the Vice President for Corporate Compliance with T. Rowe Price.  Donna, her husband David, and granddaughter Alena live in Baltimore, MD.  Their son David is a Site Reliability Engineer for Google, Inc.  He and his wife, Annette, live in Freemont, CA.  Sandy, Donna, David, Alena, David, and Annette are all Paul Harris Fellows.

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.

Michael O’Leary, President and COO of The Grimes Companies, will be our guest speaker this Thursday, September 10. Michael will talk to us about the history of his family-owned company, the recent growth produced and the future he sees for The Grimes Companies, JaxPort and Jacksonville as centers for logistics success. To learn more about The Grimes Companies, check out The Jacksonville Business Journal.

After Michael speaks, Toni Duguid 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.

Jeff Davis, President and CEO of Legal Art Works will be our guest speaker on Thursday, August 27. Jeff launched his company in 2003 out of a small studio apartment in Jacksonville, FL. In the 6 years since, Legal Art Works has been featured in Fortune Magazine, on CNNmoney.com, in the Business Journal, Florida Trend Magazine, PBS and NBC. His company’s list of trial attorney clients stretch all the way from New York to Los Angeles.

After Jeff speaks Lucas Trainer 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. the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.

Meg Gaffney, Board Chair of Jacksonville Aboretum and Gardens, will speak on Thursday, August 13th. Meg has been an Aboretum Board member for four years, and the Board Chair for two years. She was born and raised in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. She attended Savannah College of Art and Design as well as the University of Georgia where she received a Bachelors of Science in Horticulture and a Masters in Landscape Architecture. Meg is currently the Owner and Principal Architect for Blue Leaf Landscape. She lives in Murray Hill with her husband, Bruce Cooke.

This Thursday’s meeting (July 23) will feature Darby L. Stubberfield as our guest speaker. Darby currently serves as the Director of Development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida. Formerly, she served as the Director of Development and Operations for the Cathedral Foundation, a local non-profit organization for seniors.

She brings over fifteen (15) years of experience in the non-profit industry and ten (10) years of experience in the development field to her position at the Boys & Girls Clubs. She received her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Jacksonville University in 2004 and obtained the professional designation as a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) in 2005. Stubberfield is a Past President and current Board member of the Florida First Coast Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and served as the Chair for their National Philanthropy Day Event in 2004. She is a member of the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. (JCCI) Forward and a former member of the Community Advisory Board of WJCT Channel 7. In 2005, she was recognized as one of Jacksonville Business Journal’s Up & Comers.

After Darby speaks Lauren Groff will be provide our member craft talk.

Thursday April 23 is our bi-monthly membership meeting. Our guest speaker for the evening is Bonnie Barnes, Executive Director of North Florida Land Trust. She is a former business owner in Jacksonville, FL for 14 years in advertising, marketing and public relations, and now uses those talents to help northeast Florida conserve critical undeveloped lands in seven counties.

Bonnie is a graduate of Harvard’s Executive Leadership program and a recent MBA graduate of Jacksonville University. Bonnie is a Leadership Jacksonville alumni and is in this year’s Regional Leadership Academy. Last year, she was chosen to be a participant in a year-long national Environmental Leadership program out of Washington, DC and recently completed that course.

In 2000, she was “Small Business Leader of the Year” for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. Bonnie serves as Secretary to Theatre Jacksonville Board and is an Advisor for Keiser University.

Our craft talk will be presented by Rotaract member Adrian Delaney.

The 2009 Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala was held Saturday at the downtown library. A $21,000 check was presented to Developmental Learning Center Nurse & Learn.

Don’t forget our membership meeting is this Thursday at the Haskell Building on Riverside Avenue. Our guest speaker will be Tax Collector Mike Hogan.

View photos from the 2009 Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala