The Rotary Club of Pensacola held its regular meeting on August 5, 2008 under bright summer skies.
President Keith called the meeting to order and Randy Butler led the club in prayer and the pledge to our flag.
President Keith reminded the club that our Sunshine Committee was founded in 1934 by Dixie Beggs. Ron Martin was then called to the podium to present the club with banners that he obtained from Rotary clubs in Paris, France. There was some mention of reimbursement for the expense of the banners (the French do not believe in giving the flags away!) but there was difficulty computing the currency exchange.
President Keith reminded the club that our exchange student will be arriving at Pensacola Regional Airport on August 11 and 11:20 am. Members are invited to join the Mills and Sallis families greet Fredric as he begins his journey into American culture.
John Shaffer then introduced our newest member, Scott Sallis. Scott is a local architect and is a member of Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church and active in Big Brothers – Big Sisters. He is also active in the Rotary Group Study Exchange. Welcome to the club Scott!
The raffle pot was a whopping $67 and was carted off by Mort O’Sullivan. Alan Bookman then stepped to the podium for Sunshine – Is this what Dixie Beggs had in mind when he formed the committee? Alan regaled the group with one very tasteless joke then introduced 1 military guest, 2 guests of Rotarians and
3 visiting Rotarians. Alan then redeemed himself with a good joke about Aunt Karen and her drinking.
John Shaffer introduced our program – Judge Ross Goodman speaking on behalf of Big Brothers – Big Sisters. Ross and his wife have been involved with BB/BS of Northwest Florida (the local agency covers the panhandle from Pensacola to Panama City) for several years and Ross remains in contact with his first “little” who is now enjoying a successful career thanks to the mentoring that he obtained in his formative years. BB/BS was originally formed by a clerk working in a juvenile court in New York who sought volunteers to serve as mentors. The organization now has offices in over 1,000 US cities and many locations overseas as well. The local chapter was started by a Naval officer with a goal of reaching 100 children per year. That goal has grown to a target of 1,000 per year. Judge Goodman stated that he found a new appreciation for the services provided by BB/BS upon becoming a circuit judge in the juvenile system and encountering children from broken homes who have too much time on
their hands due to lack of participation in extra-curricular activities. Judge Goodman encouraged participation that requires a small time commitment of about 1 hour per week.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.
Jack Williams had almost 150 at his 50th birthday bash, where he was duly roasted.
If Ron Labrato misses a meeting or two, it’s understandable. The announcement by Gulf Power that rates will go up has generated many questions.
When the Independent News had a special section of “Those Who Inspire Us,” four of the fifteen persons noted were our members: John Clark, Andy Poppel, Roger MacDonald and John Appleyard. The reasons why were widely divergent!
Maybe you saw the news photos or drove by as the long-time Blood Bank building on 9th Avenue fell to the wrecker’s ball. That structure was the project of our member Dr. W. C. Payne, Sr., forty years ago. Right now the bank’s celebrating its 60th birthday, as Betty Miller and Rodger Doyle will tell you.
Charles Gund – August 12 – Pensacola, FL – 6 years
Lee Little – August 12 – Baltimore, MD – 1 year
Scott Paul – August 14 – Fort Huachuca, AZ, 2 year
Henry Cary – August 16 – Pensacola, FL – 63 years
Randy Butler – August 16 – Century, FL – 6 years
Don Rushing – August 16 – St. Petersburg, FL – 31 years
Roger Brown – August 17 – Schenectady, NY – 17 years