October 21, 2014

LUNCH BEGINS AT NOON ~ MEETING BEGINS AT 12:30

Welcome Dennis Kelly
Regional Vice President & General Manager, TraPac

Dennis has 46 years of experience in the Maritime industry and has held various manager positions.  He has relocated to numerous ports with Dole Fresh Fruit Company and other stevedoring/maritime companies.

In 2000, Dennis was promoted to Vice President of Operations, U.S. Ports and was responsible for Dole’s six (6) port and terminal operations in the Caribbean, and the East, Gulf and West Coast.  Dennis worked to coordinate the efforts of Dole’s production, logistics and sales groups to maximize efficiency with Dole’s transportation infrastructure.  He was responsible for long-range planning, selection of new ports and services and negotiation of strategic contracts relevant to port operations.  In addition, Dennis represented Dole’s interest within the port community in relations to governmental agencies, transportation companies, customers and the public at large.

After 33 years of employment with Dole he joined TraPac in January 2006 as Regional Vice President & General Manger to develop and operate Jacksonville’s, Dames Point Marine Terminal a $300 million project. In January 2009 TraPac opened for business on schedule and on budget and is now operating one of the East Coast newest & automated container terminals.

With New Orleans family roots, he is a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and he presently resides in Jacksonville, FL.

Our International Exchange Student - Pierre Vidal 

Please  include Pierre in local activities and events while he is here.

You can reach Pierre at 1-904-307-3806

Month	Event Date	Event Description
July		No Event
August		No Event
September	09/09/14	Lunch meeting at Courthouse with Tour (coordinated by Greg Anderson)
October	10/23/14	Happy Hour with Rotaract, 5:30 – 6:30pm at HighTide Burrito
	10/26/14	Rotary Jags Game
	10/28/14	GA/FL Meeting (Regular Club Meeting) – Football/Tailgate Themed Lunch & Speaker *Encourage club members to wear team colors!!
	10/31/14	Oyster Roast @ San Jose Country Club (contact Barry Covington)
November	11/13/14	Birthday Party/Dinner for Pierre @ Jason Burnett’s House
December	12/16/14	Family Holiday Luncheon
January	01/29/14	Wine Tasting @ River Club (with Rotaract), 6:00pm – 8:00pm
February	02/12/15	Speech / Oratory Contest
	02/26/14	Happy Hour with Rotaract, 5:30 – 6:30pm @ HighTide Burrito
March	03/17/15	St. Patrick’s Day Lunch Meeting
	03/26/14	Hour Hour with Rotaract, 5:30 – 6:30pm @ HighTide Burrito
April	04/23/14	Alhambra Event
May	TBD
June	TBD	Hail & Farewell

Florida Georgia Oyster Roast

After adding gratuity and tax, the price per person is $47.50, which includes complimentary beer., music and dancing with a good band.

  Jaguar Fund Raising Opportunity

 The Jaguars and the Rotary have joined together again to bring you this special fund raising opportunity to support your club's charity projects.  Go to the Rotary District website (www.rotarydistrict6970.org) and click on the Jaguar logo in the left hand column. Be sure to let your friends and family know about this-everyone can go to the site and order tickets for any game!

Select (click) your club's name, then input the Promo Code "Rotary53" and purchase tickets to support your Rotary club today!  For each ticket purchased, our club receives $9.25.

•   No minimum number of tickets required for purchase -Available for all Home games

•   FREE Shipping on all orders
•   In 2014, we have created specific Rotary Seating Sections. These sections are Sections 231, 436, and 433 allowing Rotarians from all Clubs throughout District 6970 the ability to sit together. Click on the section and then select the seats to see the pricing for the seats being selected.  Ticket prices are $45, $50 and $55 per ticket, depending on location and availability.  South Jacksonville's promo code is Rotary53
For more information contact Brad Fain @  (904) 633-6534 or email  fainb@jaguars.nfl.com.
Make sure you are in attendance to support this year's Rotary game on October. 26 vs. the Miami Dolphins.  

Oyster Roast October 31st
 PP Barry Covington announced he is putting together a group (reservation) for the annual Oyster Roast at San Jose Country Club on October 31^st.  Interested members are to contact PP Barry at bacov@hotmail.com or call him at 287-6222.

Ring the Bells

Salvation Army - bell ringing on Wed. Nov. 26 (day before Thanksgiving) from 10 till 8p at Publix - 2875 University Blvd. 

We will have 2 kettles and the time slots are for 2 hours each.  

We like to have at least 2 people per time slot.  With an additional kettle this year, we'll need at least 4 people per time slot-2 for each kettle.  

Be sure to sign up and participate in this worthy project.

Rotaract Mentoring Program

PP Hobart Joost and PP Jay Plotkin along with Will Torres have begun a program that will partner our members with a Rotaractor in the same profession.  These young professionals are the future of our city and our businesses.   This program offers the opportunity to meet with them once a month perhaps at lunch or after work (or a time that is mutually agreed upon) to discuss the issues they are facing as they work their way through today's corporate environment.  If you are interested in participating in this program, sign up at the next meeting.   

____________Welcome New Member ________________

Bill Traer has been providing tax and investment advice for more than thirty-five years.  He

is a managing partner with Merit Financial Advisors with offices in Jacksonville, Alpharetta, Ga and Birmingham, Al.  Prior to attending college, Bill served two years in the Army where he was a parachutist with the 82nd Airborne Division. After his military service, he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of North Florida, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1974. Bill obtained his CPA certificate in 1975 and his Certified Financial Planner certificate in 1999.  Bill is a member of the Southside Businessman’s Club, and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants where he has served on the Financial Planning Committee.  Bill and his family are active members of Christian Family Chapel . He is also an avid cyclist in the warm months and snow skier in the cold months. He enjoys reading, sports, and staying in shape. Bill and his wife Ann have four adult children and 5 grandchildren.

Minutarian Minute Week 16

As you know, every 4th week is recap time for the previous three weeks, so here we go!

Week 13: This week’s minute turned into a recap of weeks 9, 10, 11 and 12 because of the special announcement in week 12 about nominations due on November 1 for District Governor. So I will take this opportunity to remind you that all clubs should be sending in their nominations for District Governor to serve during the 2017-2018 Rotary Year. Let’s get going and send in those nominations.

Week 14: This week’s Minute was a reminder that October is Vocational Service Month in the Rotary year.  Through our vocations we join together to do good in the world. And you were all encouraged, as we transitioned monthly themes from September and New Generations to October and Vocational Service, to take this opportunity to share our passion for doing good with our Rotaract Clubs, Interact Clubs, Rotary Youth Exchange students and RYLArians. Make the effort to spread the good word and light up the family of Rotary to the next generation of Rotarians.

Week 15: This week’s Minute served as an announcement to sign-up for our District’s Rotary Days event: A luncheon at the Jacksonville Omni Hotel to hear RI President Nominee John Germ and Pakistan’s National PolioPlus Chair Aziz Memon talk about Rotary’s epic project to end Polio worldwide. I hope you are able to be there.

Event Reminders:

November 15 and 16: We need volunteers to help conduct interviews for the outbound applicants in our Rotary Youth Exchange program. A lot of help is needed to make sure that we select the best representatives from our District to spend the 2015-2016 school year studying abroad. We will be interviewing over 60 applicants to fill 17 slots. Go to our District website (www.rotarydistrict6970.org) to find out how you can sign-up to help for a half-day, whole day or both days. It’s a very rewarding experience.

Yours in service to Rotary,
Percy  
District Governor 2014-2015
Rotary International District 6970

Photos From Our Recent Rotary Event

Members of the South Jacksonville Rotary Club volunteered at the Sulzbacher Center Monday Oct 13th. We cooked and served dinner for over 500.  The menu was stir fry chicken, rice, green beans, cole slaw, bread and watermelon.  
 Looks like fun was had by all :-)