January 7, 2014

WE MEET AT RIVER CITY BREWING COMPANY

Lunch begins at noon - Meeting begins at 12:30pm

E. Zimmermann "Zim" Boulos

World Cup Soccer

Zim Boulos is the owner of Office Environments and Services (OES), a provider of business furniture since 1981. OES is a $15 million business with 27 employees, based in Jacksonville, Florida.  Zim is also a past chairman of the City of Jacksonville Economic Development Council.

Zim is a board member of Greenscape of Jacksonville, a nonprofit tree planting organization. More than 25 years ago, he founded the annual flowering tree sale, a spring event that sells thousands of small trees at huge discounts to the public. He was the force behind the renovation of San Marco Square, a neighborhood business district near downtown Jacksonville that has become a crown jewel in the rebirth of an aging neighborhood.  

Zim is a retired International FIFA soccer official, having refereed in the preliminary rounds of the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and 1996 Olympics. He graduated from Jacksonville University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Zim is married and has one daughter.

Student Speech Contest and Dinner

Be sure to mark your calendars for January 21.  We will not have lunch that day, but will instead be meeting for a special event that evening.   The student speech contest will feature a student from each school:  Bishop Kenny, Douglas Anderson, Bolles, Episcopal, Wolfson and Stanton. First prize is a $2,000 scholarship.  Second prize is a $1,000 scholarship and each of the other participants will receive a $500 scholarship.  The competition involves a five minute speech on the topic of Rotary International's theme for the year:  Engage Rotary Change Lives.

Minutarian Update, Week 27

It’s another short week for many of our Rotary Clubs, with New Years Day a Wednesday. Family, friends, celebrations, and football will fill the week. Many will reflect on this past year, and ponder what can be for the coming one.

New Years marks the half way point on the Rotary Calendar. We have done so much, but have so much yet to do. Please take the time to recharge, and let’s make the next six months, even better than the first.

Please stay safe out there! Happy New Year! 
Engage Rotary, Change Lives

December 25, 2013

THERE WILL BE NO MEETINGS ON December 24th or December 31st

Enjoy the holidays with your family and friends!

Membership Update

Please remember to take a look at the boards at the entrance to the weekly Rotary Luncheon. About half of the Companies /Organizations have a member's initials or name next to it. This means that one of our fellow Rotarians knows someone at that company who may be a good Rotary candidate. It is impressive to us that our members are so connected with the broader community that we have possible Rotary candidates at about half of the company names on the board.  We would love to see a Rotarian's initials next to EVERY COMPANY/ORGANIZATION on the board. Now that would really be a feat! Please give it some thought and fill in the blanks.
 

Christine Goldsmith. Co-Chair, Membership Committee
Neil McGuinness, Co – Chair, Membership Committee

Supporting our Foundation thru Amazon 

As you finish your last minute shopping please remember a simple way to help our club!
On-line shoppers who use Amazon can designate a (very) small percentage of the proceeds
from their purchases to a 501(c)3 of their choice. Simply shop thru smile.amazon.com
instead of Amazon; select Rotary Club Of South Jacksonville Charities Inc from a list of
charities, and 0.5% of the purchase price will be donated to the Foundation. It may not
seem like much, but the cumulative effect might be considerable, especially with holiday
shopping underway.

Minutarian Update, Week 25

 

Rotarians of 6970,

It’s not to early to start thinking about RYLA. This years Rotary Youth Leadership Awards event will be held in June at the University of North Florida. Help break the attendance record, let’s average two students per club this year. Please start lining up and interviewing candidates for this great opportunity. For more information on RYLA, please visit the District Website.

I have a solution for those of you looking to cut that tax burden a little bit; it’s not too late to make a donation to our Rotary Foundation. Save some money while at the same time improving and saving lives.

Many of our clubs are having their holiday parties. Please stay safe while having a great time!

December 17, 2013

HOLIDAY FAMILY LUNCHEON

Welcome Member Family and Friends!

WE MEET AT RIVER CITY BREWING COMPANY

Lunch begins at noon - Meeting/Fellowship begins at 12:30pm

We hope to see many of our family and friends for this special holiday celebration

Community Service Project - Literacy

The week of December 2nd was Dictionary Distribution Week!  More than 20 club members distributed dictionaries to over 900 students at the following seven elementary schools:  Kings Trail, Greenfield, Spring Park, Hendricks Avenue, San Jose, Southside Estates and Holiday Hill.

The students were very excited to receive their own dictionary.

In the words of one student, "We get to keep this. Forever???"


Welcome New Member, Meredith Porter
Meredith Porter with President Harlan Bost

Member News

Ken Wilson is in Brooks Rehab recovering from a broken leg; his son, Stephen came by the meeting to let us know Ken's condition.  He is in room 2636, 2 East.  His number is 345-7566.

PP Vicki-lynne's husband, Rod, is home from the hospital after a short stay and doing a little better.

In Honor of our Rotary Speakers

In honor of our 2013 Rotary speakers, the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville will donate books to San Jose Elementary School.


Minutarian Update, Week 24

Marshall Butler is the new District Governor Nominee Designate, and will serve as 6970 Governor the Rotary year of 2016-17. Please join me in congratulating Marshall and all the nominees that interviewed.

The auction of two owner’s suite tickets to the JAGS game December 15th is CLOSED. Congratulations to Don Blackburn, Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach. Don’s $2,000 bid, along with the accompanying Gates Foundation Match means 10,000 children will be immunized from polio. Thanks to all those that submitted bids.

I hope to see a bunch of Rotarians on Sunday, December 15th, JAGS versus the Bills.

Remember, we can all make a difference, give to polio and help wipe out this disease.

December 10, 2013

Welcome Lawrence M. Hills, Jr., Program Manager Duval County Teen & Truancy Court

WE MEET AT RIVER CITY BREWING COMPANY

Lunch begins at noon - The meeting begins at 12:30 p.m.

Meet Lawrence M. Hills Jr.

Program Manager Duval County Teen & Truancy Court

Lawrence is the current Director of Duval County Teen & Truancy Court programs within the Office of Court Administration, Fourth Judicial Circuit, FL.  Current responsibilities include managing court personnel and 40 + volunteers from the legal community.  He is also responsible for developing a curriculum and guidelines for Duval County’s Neighborhood Accountability Boards (NAB) process.  

Prior to being assigned to the Office of Court Administration, Lawrence worked for ten years at the State Attorney’s Office, Fourth Judicial Circuit where he served as Referral Reduction Coordinator in association with the State Attorney’s Juvenile Diversion Programs.  In that capacity, he expanded the Civil Citation process in Duval County and developed Civil Citation procedures in Clay and Nassau counties.  Notable accomplishments include directing the first Florida Department of Juvenile Justice’s assignment center in 1998.  This privatized juvenile correctional facility was charged with assessing committed youth for appropriateness of commitment classification.  

Mr. Hills is also an Air Force veteran who served in several capacities to include mental health counselor, substance abuse counselor and Equal Opportunity and Treatment monitor.  He holds a Masters of Science Degree in Human Resource Management with an emphasis on Public Administration.

Teen Court is based on the philosophy that a youthful law violator is less likely to continue to offend when a peer jury decides the punishment. Teen Court attempts to interrupt developing patterns of criminal behavior by promoting feelings of self esteem and healthy attitudes toward authority. The program places a high priority on educating teens about citizenship and accepting responsibility for their actions. In some cases juvenile participants are given stern consequences for those actions.

In January of 2009, the Duval County Teen Court program was transferred from the State Attorney's Office, 4^th Circuit to the Office of the Court Administrator, 4^th Judicial Circuit. Teen Court accepts arrest and Civil Citation cases from the State Attorneys Office. Truancy Teen Court accepts referrals from the Duval County School District.

Thanksgiving Greetings

from

Anna Zimmermann

Dear host families, dear Vicki-lynne, dear Rotary Club of South Jacksonville

Wow! I can't believe it's been over 4 months since I left Florida! My Exchange is so far away for me, like a dream, but I can still remember so many details as if I only left yesterday. I did a good job with keeping myself busy, so I didn't really experience reverse culture shock but during my fall break, when I didn't have anything to do, I really missed Florida a lot! I know I'm pretty bad in keeping contact but I want to write you a little repot every now and then, cause there is a lot to tell you! 

This summer I did a lot of hiking and did many other typical Swiss things and especially during the first two weeks I took pictures of everything, because I wanted to show you everything! I can't wait until one of y'all is coming over and I can show you around because during this exchange I realized how lucky I am to live in such a prosperous, organized and beautiful country like Switzerland and I'm sure you would love it too :)

Going back to my family and friends was so crazy! I think I've never been so nervous and excited in my life, even more than when I came to Florida. It was a partly cloudy day and when we approached Zürich airport, I could see the Alps, that was great! First thing I noticed when I left the airplane was the smell, it smelled like home. I got my luggage and I was one room away from my family and friends I was a wreck but holding them again after a year was amazing! So many people came with flags and posters and cowbells and then my family invited everyone to a garden party at my mom's house. I had pretty much no jet lag, so I started working two days later. I went hiking for a week with my grandparents and I went to France with my dad and my sisters. And then, on August 12th school started again. It was really nice to see all the people in school again, but I have a lot to catch up. I also have to decide, what I wanna study. I also help my dad to plan our family vacation next summer. Originally my sisters, my dad, my uncle and me wanted to go to Samoa again for four weeks, but since we have to fly around the whole world anyways, we thought we could stay in some cities where we have to change planes anyway so we will spend 2 nights in Shanghai, 5 nights in Auckland 18 nights in Samoa and 5 nights in New York. I'm so excited and I wish I could take one or two years off before I start studying and backpack through Asia, but if I wanna study music, I have to keep it up... 

Other than that I was busy doing all the things you gotta do as an 18 year old person: register for taxes, register as organ donor, go to the bank, the doctor, the dentist, register as blood stem cell donor, register in my village,... I'm also a member of the club young of the Opera Zürich, that means I get last minute tickets for 15 CHF which is really awesome! I saw Don Giovanni and I sat in the third row! 

School really starts to annoy me, I'm ready to do something else. But I only have one a half years left so that should be doable. I'm visiting different Universities now and my favourite school as now is ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) in Zurich. The teachers are awesome, the courses are very diverse and the city is just stunning. I wish you could see Zurich around Christmas. In the main train station hall is a christmas market where you can buy crafts and all kinds of christmas presents and bakeries. In the middle of the market is the "Swarovski tree" Which is a huge Chrismas tree which is decorated with thousands of Swarovski crystals. Over the main shopping street they hung up the christmas lights called "Lucy" which are numerous little LED lights which look like stars. And the historic part of the city is also stunning! The streets are so narrow, no cars can drive there and there are cute restaurants and stores or bakeries. Zurich is definitely the city I want to live in. 

I also started to work at Mc Donalds ;) I work seven hours a week so I earn a good amount of money, since we get about three times as much as you do in America. 

Two weeks ago I had my presentation in my rotary club and it was so nice to look at all the pictures again. Epecially right now, at thanksgiving, I miss Florida and you and DA. Unfortunately I'm sick right now, I have an angina and can't even eat solids, so enjoy your thanksgiving dinner for me :) 

Thank you again for this amazing year in Florida and I wish you an amazing Christmastime and I hope, I see you soon!

Love

Anna

Board News

 The Board of Directors has approved Will Torres for your consideration into membership.  Will's classification is Political-Leadership Liaison.  His sponsor is Rick Morales.  Anyone having an objection, please submit it in writing to the Board within ten (10) days.

Minutarian Update, Week 23

December is Family Month on the Rotary Calendar. Bring together mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other members of your family to learn more about our great organization. Include them in your projects and holiday get togethers. It’s a wonderful time of year to celebrate Rotary's commitment to family! 

Fantasy of Lights
Looking for a family evening in the Flagler area, visit Fantasy of Lights in Palm Coast’s Town Center. The lights were turned on the 1st, and they will brighten the night sky all month long. This is an annual fund raising event of the Rotary Club of Flagler County.

Jaguars
One last reminder that December 15th is Rotary Day with the Jaguars. The Buffalo Bills will be in town and you can buy your tickets from the District website. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary working with the JAGS. Let’s show them we value their commitment to us!

Suite Jaguar
Want to view the game from the owner’s box? Shahid Khan and the JAGS have provided us two seats for auction. Proceeds will go to polio eradication. Contact Cynde Covington, if you would like to bid!

Engage Rotary, Change Lives
 

December 3, 2013

Welcome Kevin Hyde

Speaking on Jacksonville Pension Issues

Kevin E. Hyde is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is managing partner of the firm’s Jacksonville office, and chair of the Labor & Employment Practice. He is also a member of the Automotive and Food & Beverage Industry Teams. Mr. Hyde represents employers in a variety of human resources matters. His practice focuses on day-to-day employment counseling and workplace safety. He has represented employers in numerous charges of discrimination, employment-discrimination cases, wage-hour and management-union matters.

Mr. Hyde is a past chair of the Florida Bar Labor and Employment Section (1998-1999) and the Florida Bar Labor and Employment Certification Committee. He has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system and has been named the Best Lawyers’® 2011 Jacksonville Labor and Employment “Lawyer of the Year,” 2012 Jacksonville Employment – Management “Lawyer of the Year,” and 2013 Jacksonville Labor Law - Management "Lawyer of the Year." Mr. Hyde is listed in Who’s Who Legal USA – Management Labor & Employment, The Best Lawyers in America® since 1999 and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers (2008-2013). He is recognized as one of Florida’s Legal Elite™ by Florida Trend magazine and was selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers® (2006-2013).

Mr. Hyde served on the Jacksonville, Fla. City Council from 2003-2011 and is a past president of the City Council. Mr. Hyde speaks regularly at various programs and seminars, focusing on employment issues. He has served as keynote speaker at more than 30 state, regional, and national business and civic organization conventions.

Mr. Hyde is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Law (J.D., with honors, 1988), and the University of South Florida (B.A., magna cum laude, 1984).

Mr. Hyde is a member of the Florida and Tennessee Bars.

Mr. Hyde and his wife, Kathi, are long time residents of Jacksonville.  He is a Florida native.  He is the father of two daughters – Virginia, and Michal (pronounced Michael).

  

Membership Update

What a Connected Group! If you look at the boards at the entrance to the weekly Rotary Luncheon, you may have noticed that about half of the Companies /Organizations have a member's initials or name next to it. This means that one of our fellow Rotarians knows someone at that company who may be a good Rotary candidate. It is impressive to us that our members are so connected with the broader community that we have possible Rotary candidates at about half of the company names on the board.

As you arrive for lunch each week, please focus your attention on those Companies where we have not yet identified a potential Rotary Candidate. We would love to see a Rotarian's initials next to EVERY COMPANY /ORGANIZATION on the board. Now that would really be a feat! Please give it some thought and fill in the blanks.

Christine Goldsmith. Co-Chair, Membership Committee
Neil McGuinness, Co – Chair, Membership Committee

Proposed Board Slate for 2014-16

Tom Ranney, Jr, Dean Scott, Robert Harris, Jeremy Miller, Pepe Hill
There will also be some by-laws changes presented for your consideration.

December 15th is the Jacksonville Jaguars / Rotary Game Day 

We are excited about celebrating our ten year anniversary with the Jaguar/Rotary relationship. The Jaguars are going to be making a special announcement game day about all the money this partnership has raised. The Jaguars are committed to making this a win/win relationship for Rotary and the Team.

We need to do our part to keep this relationship going and that means selling tickets. Remember our club gets $15.00 of every ticket purchased through our District Website. 

Tickets are $55 each. It is a great way to enjoy the game and fellowship while supporting your club!

Please join your fellow members at the game against the Buffalo Bills!
Please reply by Thursday December 5th to Patti and President Harlan with the desired number of tickets.  President Harlan will place the call with the Jags office so that all tickets will be together.

The Jaguars were the first to agree to an arrangement like this with Rotary and got the NFL to approve the sale of tickets to their games allowing us to keep $15.00 of each ticket. At the time, this had never been done; we need to continue to sell tickets so that we can maintain this unique relationship. We have raised well over $100,000 while enjoying fellowship at the football games.

A SuiteJaguar Invitation / Auction
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, 2013. 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. All proceeds will be sent to The Rotary Foundation for the End Polio Campaign in the name of the winning bidder; 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.

Minutarian Update, Week 22

The National Immunization Day (NID) trip to India is in the planning stages for the 3^rd week of February. If you have interest, please contact Cynde Covington or DG Art. 

Foundation Month  DG Art thanked the Rotary Clubs of St Augustine and Palatka Sunrise for allowing him to be a part of their Foundation Month celebrations, which included the presentation of numerous Paul Harris, Paul Harris Society and Bequest Society commitments.

Rotaract   He recently visited with the Rotaract Clubs of Daytona State, First Coast, Beaches and the Flagler College; you can’t imagine what they are accomplishing in their communities. Sponsoring clubs are encouraged to engage our Rotaractors.

Thanks so much,

Engage Rotary, Change Lives

December Dictionary Distribution

Bell Ringing Fun!