March 18, 2014

WE MEET AT RIVER CITY BREWING COMPANY
Lunch opens at 12:00pm (noon) - Meeting begins at 12:30pm

 Alan Worley, CEO, Money Pages

 A recognized marketing business leader known for his strategic vision and tireless business pursuits, Alan Worley offers a unique blend of savvy business marketing, creative solutions and a charismatic charm to a diversified clientele.  With a focus on strategic solutions analysis, Alan has built a successful business known as Money Pages, a marketing and advertising company, by partnering with clients, sharing creative ideas and solutions and consistently delivering positive results. Money Pages specializes in direct mail campaigns, interactive marketing solutions as well as design initiatives and print.  

A head for business and a heart for family and community, Alan serves on several Boards, he and his family volunteer their time to many local organizations and are active in their church.  

 Save the Date for The Alhambra Fund Raising Event - June 5th! 

 Social Security starring Barbara Eden 

Save the date for the Rotary Fund Raiser at the Alhambra dinner theater.  

     "When a well-known art gallery owner and her husband receive a visit from her  mother,   all seems to be going smoothly until they find out the visit may not end. Panic and mayhem ensue as life takes a crazy turn in this hilarious comedy starring the always enchanting Barbara Eden."

A Note From Rotaract 
South Jacksonville Rotarians,

I want to thank the South Jacksonville Rotarians for sending me to Rotary PETS this past weekend. It was very motivating and rewarding. It really helped me to understand the grandness of Rotary and how we fit into it. I thoroughly enjoyed the speakers and the breakout sessions. I was even able to meet the incoming district governors for 6970, Percy Rosenbloom and Fel Lee, along with several other Rotarians from our district.

Our Rotaract breakouts were well attended with over 30 Rotaractors from many college and community based clubs. I took a lot away from the breakouts and the ensuing discussions, and will work to implement that into my year as Rotaract president. 

These seminars also allowed me to network with the many Rotaract leaders in Jacksonville and throughout the state. We are working together to better organize Rotaract to increase communication and possibly form a district council.

Again thank you for sending me to PETS and all of your involvement with our club.
-Lucas Hildebrand 

Minutarian Update,  Week 37

Rotarians of 6970,

Does your club need a speaker? How about your club President Elect? They just completed a weekend at PETS, and can share some great information. Give them the opportunity to share the experience that is PETS. Congratulations and thanks to all those PEs, Assistant Governors, Rotaractors, Trainers, Governor Elect Percy, Governor Nominee Fel and Governor Designate Marshall, all of whom helped make it a great PETS weekend.

Next up, District Assembly! March 29th in Palatka. Two simple words for anyone in our District, BE THERE! For those that have District Grants or Global Grants currently or hope to apply soon, three simple words, MUST BE THERE! Club representation must participate in grant management seminars which will be offered at District Assembly. Here’s two more reasons to go, it’s just plain fun and ends with great food.

Club Presidents and Awards Chairs, keep those applications coming in!
Have a Great Week, and thanks for all you do!

Engage Rotary, Change Lives

  
Meeting Photos

March 11, 2014

Welcome Rotaract of Florida's First Coast

WE MEET AT RIVER CITY BREWING COMPANY

Lunch opens at 12:00pm (noon) - Meeting begins at 12:30pm

In recognition of World Rotaract Week, our Rotary club invited our Rotaractors to join us for lunch.  Rotaract President Brett Bell and others will make a presentation of this year's past and future activities.   

Of course, we are proud of our Rotaractors year-round, but this is the week to honor them with your attendance.  This meeting is also an excellent time to invite your prospects, ages 22 to 32, to learn what our Rotaract club has to offer: 

• Opportunities to serve our community.
• Social and business networking.
• Great speakers.
• Connection to the international community of Rotary.

The Rotaractors' excitement and energy are contagious.............in a good way!!  Come see for yourself!!

Members of Rotaract of Florida's First Coast

Minutarian Update,  Week 36

March is Literacy Month in the Rotary World. For clubs in 6970, many of you make every month, Literacy Month. It starts with dictionaries to elementary schools, but it’s so much more. Club members mentor elementary age kids, middle school, high school, and even our young adults in university based Rotaract Clubs. Your mentoring, gifts of books, time, and often funds, helps ready these students for life after school. 

DGE Percy Rosenbloom, Trainer Mike Darragh, thirteen Assistant Governors and a cadre of volunteers, along with your club President Elects, head to PETS for this coming weekend. Please wish them the best, and thank the many volunteers that help make PETS a success.

This week's fundraisers included a basketball game with the Fernandina Club, and a Wine and Food tasting gala with Amelia Island Sunrise. They were in a word, fantastic, and I share all these great events with all clubs, in hopes that an idea pops for those of you that struggle with fundraising. Put the FUN in fundraising, and you can make it happen.

This is the last announcement and last chance to apply for the Rotary Public Image Award! They are due now! District website, awards tab! 

Have a Great Week, and thanks for all you do! 

Engage Rotary, Change Lives 

District Governor Art

March 4, 2014

WE MEET AT RIVER CITY BREWING COMPANY

Lunch begins at noon - Meeting begins at 12:30 p.m.

Meet Jamey Peacock
Director of Customer Development, TMM Inc.

Jamey has been working in the transportation logistics / supply chain management industry for 20 years, along with launching a couple of small business start-ups in the retail world.  He spent ten years with the nation’s largest third party logistics company, C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), before joining the TMM team at the end of 2010.  Jamey’s principal roles prior to his move were Business Development Manager, Sales and Marketing Manager, and Senior Sales Executive.  He was also a member of CHRW’s National United Sales Team.  Jamey has experience in developing and expanding modal divisions that broaden capabilities and services to better benefit clients.  His strength lies in increasing and growing customer bases, while at the same time training and motivating his team.  Two important aspects of his life are his faith in God and his family.  He currently serves as the Executive Level Adviser for the TMM Cares Club and is an adviser to the Board of Directors for Harvest Time International in Sanford FL.  Jamey has a passion for leadership, less fortunate children, fatherless boys, and his country.

Jamey is married to his bride of eight years, Sheena.  They have six children,  Alena (eight-year-old adopted daughter), David (four-year-old son), Benaiah (two-year-old son), Reece (twelve-year-old legal guardian of) and Tony (six-year-old legal guardian of).  The family also has 2 pets,  a dog, Montana and a cat, Dakota.

Happy Birthday Rotary

Rotary celebrated a Birthday on February 23, 2014.  For more information use the following link:   http://www.rotaryfirst100.org/711/

Minutarian update, Week 35

Rotarians of 6970,

February 23rd, is an anniversary. On that day, 108 years ago, Paul Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele and Hiram E. Shorey gathered in Loehr’s office for what became known as the first Rotary meeting. Celebrate Rotary!

Our clubs have been doing great with their polio commitments. The US Government has joined the fight again this year providing $205 million to the Centers for Disease Control, in January.

Last week I mentioned it was the fundraising time of year in Rotary. Gingie and I were blessed to be invited, and witness what I suspect will total well over $100 thousand in funds for great things in our communities. The events included: Daytona Beach West Stock Car Hall of Fame, Palatka Sunrise Wild Game Feast, Jacksonville Riverside first ever Riverside Craft Beer Festival, and an all Marion County Club effort with their Ocala Discovery Fest. WOW!

Just a reminder, keep those awards applications coming in!
Have a Great Week, and thanks for all you do!

Engage Rotary, Change Lives

District Governor Art

February 25, 2014

We meet at River City Brewing Company

Lunch opens at noon - Meeting begins at 12:30pm
 
Dr. Nikolai Vitti, Duval County School Superintendent

Dr. Nikolai P. Vitti was selected as Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), the 20th largest district in the country, in September of 2012. Dr. Vitti and the School Board initiated a new strategic plan focusing on developing great educators and leaders; ensuring an equitable and efficient use of resources; engaging parents, caregivers, and the community; and developing the whole child. 
Using the new Strategic Plan as a guidepost, Dr. Vitti developed a School Allocation Plan that equally distributed resources across over 160 schools, passed a $1.7 billion dollar budget, and completed a reorganization of the District Office shifting resources to schools, including the expansion of music an art programs at each elementary and middle school.  

The 2013-14 school year brought about new programs and resources including:
•    Overage centers to assist students who are more than two years out of their age cohort and the   GRASP Academies focusing on dyslexic students.  
•    Reading Coaches were placed in all schools and math coaches were allocated to lower performing schools. 
•    Successful legislative lobbying led to a hybrid high school diploma that aligns to the District’s goal of preparing students for college and the workforce. 
•    Career Academies, culminating in Advanced Placement, Industry Certification Exams, and Dual Enrollment Courses have been expanded and internship opportunities have been increased.  This was made possible through the expansion of the secondary schedule to incorporate eight periods in all middle and high schools to offer additional elective classes to all students.
•    A revamped curriculum and assessment team developed new Curriculum Guides for all courses along with assessments directly aligned to the Guides. This was completed with teachers. 
•    A Teacher and Coach Academy were offered to build the bench of future leaders as well as to train teachers on inquiry based instruction rather than teaching to the test.
•    An agreement was made with the Teachers Union implementing Common Planning in all secondary schools which allows for job embedded professional development as well as the opportunity to share best practices. 
•    Another major initiative was the creation of the Parent Academy which offers courses throughout the county to assist parents to advocate for their children academically, become better parents, and build personal and job skills. 
•    In less than a year, Dr. Vitti has worked with the city’s leading educational philanthropists to raise over $35 million dollars through the Quality Education for All fund to focus on recruiting and developing human capital.

Prior to being named Superintendent of Duval County, Dr. Vitti was the Chief Academic Officer of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) which won the Broad Prize for Excellence in Urban Excellence in 2013.  As the Chief Academic Officer, he led the 66 lowest-performing schools in the county while also driving the work of Language Arts/Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies, Career and Technical Education, Early Childhood Education/Head Start, School Improvement, Title I, HIPPY, Title II and Summer Programs district-wide for over 320 schools.  

Prior to serving as the district’s Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Vitti was the Assistant Superintendent of the Education Transformation Office (ETO) where he autonomously led a region of 26 schools identified as “persistently lowest-achieving” by the USDOE/FLDOE. Under his leadership, the 26 ETO schools increased in almost all areas of school accountability and all previously identified Intervene Schools (lowest performing category) improved and avoided sanctions.  In addition, each of the 10 high schools improved their graduation rate by an average of 12 percentage points and participation and performance in Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment and Industry Certification courses significantly increased through an emphasis on infusing a college-going culture in secondary schools.  Under his leadership, ETO was recognized as a model for urban education and turnaround by both the USDOE/FLDOE. 

Before returning to Miami to lead ETO, Dr. Vitti served as Deputy Chancellor of Schools Improvement and Student Achievement at the FLDOE as well as Bureau Chief of School Improvement/Executive Director for Region One/Lead Director for Differentiated Accountability.  In these roles, he led statewide professional development for superintendents, district administrators, principals, and teachers on school improvement initiatives.  He also guided the work of five regional offices that directly served the state’s lowest performing schools and their districts.  He managed the Bureaus of School Improvement, Federal Education Programs, Family and Community Outreach, Federal Programs, Early Learning, Just Read Florida!, and Equal Educational Opportunities.  
Before joining the FLDOE, Dr. Vitti served as principal of Homestead Middle in M-DCPS, where he moved the school from a “D” to a high “B” and improved the school in each accountability area.  Before his appointment as principal, Dr. Vitti joined the cabinet of M-DCPS as the Knowledge Management Officer, where he was responsible for coordinating multiple district-wide initiatives. Prior to working in Miami, Dr. Vitti played an instrumental role in transforming the educational culture of a 4,000 student high school in the Bronx, New York.  Dr. Vitti began his educational career as a teacher at both the high school and middle school level in North Carolina and New York where he notably raised student achievement at each school.

Dr. Vitti received the prestigious Presidential Scholarship from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and was a member of the Urban Superintendent Program, which has developed a number of successful superintendents throughout the country.  In 2012, he completed his doctorate from Harvard in Education, Administration, Planning and Social Policy.  He received his masters in the same field from Harvard.  Dr. Vitti also holds a Master's in Education from Wake Forest University where he was awarded a Master Teacher Fellowship, and a B.A. in History.  As an undergraduate, he earned Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa recognition. 

Dr. Vitti is married with four school-age children who all attend public schools.

  

Minutarian update, Week 34 

Rotarians of 6970,

WOW! 

The reports are still coming in, but you really made Rotary Has A Heart have a major impact. Our week of food projects was topped off with Fletcher High Interacts fourth Annual Stop Hunger Now event. In all there were about 200 volunteers packing food, enjoying the fellowship and having fun. Interactors from New Smyrna Beach, Palatka, Daytona, Ponte Vedra Beach and Jacksonville along with Rotaractors from the Jacksonville area and Rotarians from all over packed 24,000 meals in less then 2 hours. What a blast, all for a great cause.

It’s fundraiser time! There are wonderful events going on in Ocala, Palatka, Daytona and Jacksonville, and that’s just this week. Check the District Website Calendar for information.
The registration form for District Conference will be available this week on the District Website and from your Club Presidents. Please register early.
And lastly, the first application for the Presidential Citation has been received. Congratulations to Club President Ed Book, and the Rotary Club of Downtown Gainesville! Great job!

Have a Great Week, and thanks for all you do!

Engage Rotary, Change Lives
District Governor Art

Rotary Has Heart - Food Drive

A thank you from Jacob Dobbs: 

First of all, the First Coast Rotaract Club would like to thank the Rotary Club of South Jax for their commitment to this project and to getting their members involved! 

Altogether there were 17 awesome volunteers, 8 of them Rotarians, working shifts from 9 in the morning to 6 in the evening for the Rotary Has Heart Food Drive. We worked very hard soliciting food donations, weighing bags of food, and packing it up for the Children's Home Society in an effort to tackle child hunger here in Jacksonville. Not only did the local community's response exceed expectations, but I'm pretty sure Publix will be coming to us next year to do it again. Pat yourselves on the back - we've raised 2,018 pounds of food!

Photos from the Event