March 31, 2015

Lunch is served at Noon, Meeting begins at 12:30p

Welcome Paul McElroy
 

Paul McElroy is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of JEA – Jacksonville, Florida’s municipally owned electric, water and wastewater utility. The JEA Board of Directors named Paul the company’s seventh Chief Executive Officer effective October 1, 2012. From January 1, 2006 to October 1, 2012, he served as JEA’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that, he served as JEA’s Vice President, Financial Services.

Paul currently serves on the boards of The Energy Authority, Inc. (“TEA”), Colectric Partners Inc., Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, Northeast Florida Safety Council, Inc., and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the American Public Power Association Board’s Executive Committee and serves as Treasurer, as well as a member of the Large Public Power Council CEO Roundtable.

Mr. McElroy holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana and a certificate from the Advanced Management Program of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and pursued graduate level studies at the University of Bridgeport and the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

Before joining JEA, Mr. McElroy served as a Vice President and General Manager for Bombardier Capital Corporation in Jacksonville, Florida and Colchester, Vermont. Prior to that, he served in a variety of management positions with Pitney Bowes Credit Corporation, including Controller, Director – Marketing and Vice President, Internal Finance Division in Norwalk, Connecticut.


Our Club Easter Bunnies Wrapped and Delivered!

Our Easter Bunny Helpers did a Great Job!

Chris, Richard and Odette served as Easter Bunnies and Delivered the baskets of goodies...

Rotary Speech Contest goes DIGITAL!

The Rotary Club of South Jacksonville organized 6 semi-final Speech Competition events held in January at different Rotary Clubs across the five counties of NE Florida where students representing 25 high schools gave 5-minute speeches on the topic of Financial Literacy in competition for college scholarships. Five other Rotary Clubs hosted semi-finals: Fernandina, Oceanside, Westside, Orange Park and St. Augustine. The winner of each semi-final competed at the UNF Final Event Feb. 12.  Rotary Club of South Jacksonville raised the $33,000 funds for the events including paying for all the school guest lunches, dinners and scholarships.  The Final Event at UNF was emceed by Arthur Crofton of WEJZ-FM 96FM and Mary Baer of WJXT-TV4.  We look forward to doing this again in Jan. 2016.

For information about how you and/or your Rotary Cub or high school can participate, contact Doug Matthews, Event Chair at doug@teaching-point.net.

This is a link to the 4 minute interview on WJXT-TV4 of March 21, 2015:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/rotary-oratory-competition/31939644

The following are links to the Final UNF Competition held February 12, 2015:

This is the link to the 4 minute highlight video link:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQI7YdCtzWE

This is the link to the 30 minute summary with “snip-its” of the six 5-minute speeches:
http://youtu.be/T-dMWSCDF4g

This is the link to the entire 90 minute program with the six complete 5-minute speeches:
http://youtu.be/UKoF2xBiw6Q

Also, posted below are images for two digital billboards displayed on major roads:

Winner: The first board is at 95 on Airport Rd. This board features Jolene Stubbings of W Nassau HS the Final Event winner at UNF and Semi-final winner at event hosted by the Rotary Club of Fernandina Semi-final

Runner-up: The second board is on San Jose at Kori Rd. in Mandarin. This board features Abby Murphy of Creekside HS the runner-up at the UNF Final Event and the semi-final winner from the Rotary Club of St. Augustine.

Thanks Doug for all your work!

Making Media Memories

PP Odette Struys provided our French exchange student, Pierre Vidal, with a media experience by arranging for him to sit-in and observe an entire "Morning Show" with Light 96.1 and Gator Country. Thank you to Renda Broadcasting morning personalities Arthur Crofton, Yvonne Velasquez and Steve Sutton for accommodating Pierre!

 

The Journey Continues for the Bus!

A retiring bloodmobile has a new home and is now officially transformed into a Mobile Health Clinic belonging to Zanmi Lasante Haiti.  The Blood Alliance’s CFO, Jack Wolcott, signed over the title deed to Zanmi Lasante in the presence of his staff, and South Jacksonville Rotarians.  

The Bus was shipped last week, courtesy of Crowley Maritime, to Port-Au-Prince on March 22 and should arrive on March 25, ready to begin service to the community.

Thank you, to everyone involved, especially President Bill Cody of the Rotary Club of Deerwood for connecting us with Zanmi Lasante, and for those who supported this wonderful little suggestion that will now touch the lives of more than 3 million Haitians!

Other On-Goings!

    

 

April 23rdOn Golden Pond:

Mike Farrell of MASH stars in On Golden Pond, the Tony Award winning play by Ernest Thompson. The play explores the often turbulent relationship of a young woman and her father, and the difficulties faced by a couple in the twilight years of a long marriage.

  Rotary Club of South Jacksonville is hosting a blood drive! 

April 28th!   There is always a need for blood, and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community.  Nationwide, someone needs blood every 2 to 3 seconds, and most of us will need blood at some point in our lifetime. Rotary Club of South Jacksonville Tuesday, April 28th (12:00 pm - 2:00 pm) 835 Museum Circle River City Brewing Company - Bloodmobile Jacksonville, FL 32207

   

Shop on Amazon - help raise money for our club! 
AmazonSmile Foundation Donation Disbursement
 

Do you shop through Amazon? If so, you can help increase our Charity Foundation's donation potential by spreading the word about AmazonSmile.
Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.

Sign in to http://org.amazon.com and click on Marketing Tools to access customized online tools to let your supporters know that their AmazonSmile shopping can support Rotary Club Of South Jacksonville Charities Inc.

Share this link with friends, family, employees and volunteers:
 http://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-3750282 and ask them to choose Rotary Club Of South Jacksonville Charities Inc.

March 24, 2015

Lunch is served at Noon, Meeting begins at 12:30p

Welcome Sheriff John Rutherford,

John Rutherford is a career law enforcement officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He has served as Duval County Sheriff since his election to the office in 2003; his current term expires in 2015.  He was born in 1952 and has lived in Jacksonville since 1958. He earned an associate's degree in police administration from Florida Junior College, then received a bachelor's degree in criminology at Florida State University. Later, he attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and graduated in session 171. Also graduate of National Executive Institute.

In recent years, Rutherford instituted programs in which officers walked the beat downtown, Operation Safe Streets, Gun Bounty Rewards and a Public Awareness Campaign with Billboard, Radio and TV commercials.  Initiatives also include; Intelligence Lead Policing, Community Problem Solving and Continuous Improvement through LEAN concepts. By 2011 the City of Jacksonville was enjoying a forty year low in crime.

John is married to his wife, Patricia. They have two children (Alicia and Michael) and five grand children, Michela, Hannah, Maria Vittoria, Kiera and John-Carlo. In an interview prior to his first election in 2003, he was asked what voters would be surprised to know about John Rutherford. His reply: "I'm still a surfer."

Easter Basket Literacy Project - Volunteers Needed

March 24th @ 11:30am (Tuesday)
Before our regular meeting at RCBC.  Please join us to help pack Easter baskets.  Come as you are...come a little early...all supplies provided. 

The BUS is sailing to its new HOME!!

A little vision…realized.

The collaborative efforts of the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville and Rotary Club of Deerwood partnering with The Blood Alliance to donate its retiring bloodmobile with a $230,000 replacement value is about to see their combined efforts depart as cargo bound for the Caribbean. A retiring bloodmobile has a new home and is now officially transformed into a Mobile Health Clinic belonging to Zanmi Lasante Haiti.  The Blood Alliance’s CFO, Jack Wolcott, signed over the title deed to Zanmi Lasante in the presence of his staff, and South Jacksonville Rotarians Chris Bouton, PP Barry Covington, PP Odette Struys, and Rebecca Walden (wearing a blue ball cap), President of First Coast Signs who donated all the new logo signage for the bus.  Also donating their services, Crowley Maritime, who will ship the bus to Port-Au-Prince on March 22.

It all started with a small idea to extend the life of a retiring bloodmobile to continue enriching and saving lives. It’s hard to imagine that what used to patrol Northeast Florida streets daily, will do the same throughout catchment areas in Haiti!

Thank you, to everyone involved, especially President Bill Cody of the Rotary Club of Deerwood for connecting us with Zanmi Lasante, and for those who supported this wonderful little suggestion that will now touch the lives of more than 3 million Haitians!

I am deeply grateful for Rotary. This is what Rotary is about. We are Rotary!

Humbly,

Odette

Other On-Goings!

  

Rotary Foundation

Jersey Mike’s “Month of Giving” Campaign 2015 

March 25 - Jersey Mike’s Subs locations will promote Day of Giving

Since 2010, our devoted franchisees and team members throughout the country, supported by our generous customers, have raised nearly $10 million for worthy local charities and distributed more than 1 million free sub sandwiches to help numerous causes. 

One of our most successful fundraiser's is Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving.  Last year we raised nearly $2.1 million for 100 different charities nationwide.  Now in its 5th year, we are looking forward to making the program bigger than ever.

From coast to coast, more than 120 charity partners have been chosen, from hospitals to youth organizations, which are excited to join with us on this initiative.  The 31 days of “Month of Giving 2015” will peak with “Day of Giving” on Wednesday, March 25.   On that day, 100 percent of sales will be donated to our partner charities.

There’s a lot we can do locally to get the best possible fundraising results for those who will benefit, so below you will find helpful tools and ideas for getting the word out.

Program Summary:

Jersey Mike’s Subs stores will offer fundraising support in several ways during the month of March:

·      Month-long fundraising campaign contributions.  Month of Giving is intended to raise money throughout March. Customers can select $1, $3 or $5 donation tear off sheets located near the cash register.

·      Day of Giving.  Nationwide, Jersey Mike’s Subs locations will promote Day of Giving (March 25), encouraging customers to contribute to a local charity, including your chosen charity, raising significant funds in one day.  Each restaurant will donate 100 percent of that day’s sales to the chosen charity.  Our Chosen Charity is End Polio Now

   Donations from local Jersey Mike’s restaurants.  As always, our franchisees are known for their generosity and many organizations will also benefit from their direct contributions.

 

 

April 23rdOn Golden Pond:

Mike Farrell of MASH stars in On Golden Pond, the Tony Award winning play by Ernest Thompson. The play explores the often turbulent relationship of a young woman and her father, and the difficulties faced by a couple in the twilight years of a long marriage.

  Rotary Club of South Jacksonville is hosting a blood drive! 

April 28th!   There is always a need for blood, and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community.  Nationwide, someone needs blood every 2 to 3 seconds, and most of us will need blood at some point in our lifetime. Rotary Club of South Jacksonville Tuesday, April 28th (12:00 pm - 2:00 pm) 835 Museum Circle River City Brewing Company - Bloodmobile Jacksonville, FL 32207

   
Shop on Amazon - help raise money for our club! 
AmazonSmile Foundation Donation Disbursement
 

Do you shop through Amazon? If so, you can help increase our Charity Foundation's donation potential by spreading the word about AmazonSmile.
Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.

Sign in to http://org.amazon.com and click on Marketing Tools to access customized online tools to let your supporters know that their AmazonSmile shopping can support Rotary Club Of South Jacksonville Charities Inc.

Share this link with friends, family, employees and volunteers:
 http://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-3750282 and ask them to choose Rotary Club Of South Jacksonville Charities Inc.

Our International Exchange Student - Pierre Vidal

             Please include Pierre in local activities and events while he is here - 1-904-307-3806

Minutarin Minute

Week 37. Rotary Minute for week beginning

March 16, 2015.

What’s the difference between a District Conference and a District Assembly? For new Rotarians, and maybe even for a few of our not-so-new Rotarians, this is a good question. So here’s an answer, at least from my perspective. The District Conference is geared more toward experiencing and celebrating the object and mission of Rotary. The District Assembly is geared more toward the training and preparation of club and district leadership; and also a review of the various programs, events and functions that take place within the District.

More important than knowing the difference is to understand what the District Conference and District Assembly have in common. For starters, both are intended for all Rotarians regardless of their positions within their clubs and regardless of whether they are brand new or long-time members. Both events will increase your knowledge f and passion for Rotary.   You will leave both events better prepared to give back to your club, your community and the world. And most important of all, both offer the type of fun and fellowship that creates good will and builds better friendships.

So now you know. Learn more about both by going to our District’s website. We will be updating information on both events as we get closer to May.

          Event Reminders:

          May 8-10: District Conference and Assembly at the Flagler College campus. Mark your
           calendar for a weekend of interesting, informative and inspirational sessions, and a lot of
           fun Rotary fellowship.

           June 18-21: Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) will take place again this year on
            the University of North Florida’s campus. Each club should sponsor at least one, and
            preferably two, aspiring high school leaders to attend this life changing event.

           June 26-28: Zone 34 Regional Seminar at the Hyatt Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida.
            All District and Club leaders, as well as any Rotarian interested in learning more about
            Rotary, are encouraged to attend. Look for more details soon on our District website.

            For more on these and all other events in District 6970, please go to www.rotary6970.org.

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