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Today's Events:

President Mike Mills presiding

* * * A N N O U N C E M E N T S  * * *

President Mike:

The meeting was called to order by President Mike Mills who thanked Ed Fischer and Diana Phillips for sitting in for the absent Sergeant-at-Arms Hampton Booker.

Monday, June 2nd, 6pm at First National Bank of South Miami.

Rotary Club of South Miami

2007-08 and 2008-09 Board Meeting

The Foundation Board meeting will convene immediately after. Please e-mail millsmilke@aol.com any agenda items or if you are unable to attend.

Monday's meeting will be a joint meeting of the the outgoing and incoming (2008-09) Boards.  Please plan to attend.

http://rotary2008.com/la2008hoc/

SOUTH MIAMI ROTARY ARTS FESTIVAL

Saturday & Sunday, February 21 – 22, 2009

President Mike reminded everyone that we still need sponsors for the Art Festival and Past President Linda Kaplan added that now is the time to ask as many organizations are now planning their budgets for the coming year.

www.southmiamiartfest.com  (official site)

 www.myspace.com/southmiamiartfest (unofficial site)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Miami_Rotary_Art_Festival (wiki encyclopedia article)

$$$ PRINTER CARTRIDGES FUNDRAISER $$$

Our club goal is 100% Attendance!

If you miss a meeting, it can be made-up within 2 weeks, before or after, of the missed meeting date.

For online make-ups:

http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/downloadcenter/pdfs/eclub_list.pdf

For make-ups anywhere around the world when traveling internationally: http://rotary.org/support/clubs/index.html

2007-08 RCSM OFFICERS:

President:  Michael Mills
millsmike@aol.com

President Elect:  Bill Enright

bill@handsonmiami.org

Vice President: Linda Kaplan

lk@lindakaplan.com

Secretary:  Doreen Reitnauer

dhiker217@aol.com

Treasurer: David Jacobs

david@jnccpas.com

Sergeant at Arms:  Hampton Booker

Hg262@bellsouth.net

To send an E-mail to the Rotary Club of South Miami’s Board of Directors, board@southmiamirotary.org

South Miami Rotary Club:
www.southmiamirotary.org

Rotary District 6990:

www.rotary6990.org

World Organization:
www.rotary.org

Mission Statement

The mission of Rotary International, a worldwide association of Rotary clubs, is to provide service to others, to promote high ethical standards, and to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

THE 4-WAY TEST OF THE THINGS WE THINK, SAY OR DO:   

Benefits of Being A Rotarian (Membership)
Rotary membership provides the opportunity to:

¨       Become connected to your community.

¨       Work with others in addressing community needs.

¨       Interact with other professionals in your community;
assist with RI's international humanitarian service efforts.

¨       Establish contacts with an international network of professionals.

¨       Develop leadership skills.  Involve family in promoting service efforts.

Renewing or Joining
To Renew ($250) or to become a New Member ($300) contact

Asaad Massoud, at www.racharters.com

Fundraisers
Interested in putting together a fundraiser? Contact Club Service Chair Linda Kaplan at lindakaplan@lk.com

Ed Fischer, May’s Programming Chair and Past President, introduced today’s speaker

COL. Lettie Bien, US Army (Ret.)

Fisher House

1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 600

Rockville, MD 20852

(888) 294-8560 / http://www.fisherhouse.org/

Colonel Lettie Bien, U.S. Army (Retired). Lettie, known to many of the Club members for her role as President of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, is a native Floridian who earned her undergraduate degree at Florida State University, her Masters' Degree at Webster University and her Juris Doctorate at The University of Miami's Law School, currently serves as the Marketing Director for a major investment company. Her thirty years in the Army saw her in many roles, including that of Battle Commander, Relocation Officer for the Southern Command on their move from Panama to Miami, and West Point Admissions Officer for South Florida as well as a tour of duty in Iraq.

Lettie spoke about The Fisher House, funded by the Elizabeth & Zachary Fisher Foundation. The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military. The Public portion occurs when the local Veterans Hospital provides adjacent land for the construction of a hotel-like facility for construction of no cost housing for the families of hospitalized veterans going through long-term care or rehabilitation. Recognizing the psychological advantage of having family nearby while recuperating, these living quarters enable family members to be close to a loved one.

Supporting America's military in their time of need, we provide "a home away from home" that enables family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time -- during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.

Miami is one of ten cities on the drawing boards for the construction of a Fisher House. However, the local community must raise $2 million of the $4 - $6 million required to build the facility. Lettie was asked to take the lead role in the fundraising, and thanks to the generous support of several local foundations coupled with private contributions including a $1 million contribution authorized by the Miami-Dade County Commission for the budget year beginning July 1, 2008, is just $600,000 shy of reaching the goal. Lettie also talked about new regulations that repay families for hotel. Stays of the local Fisher House is booked solid. Lettie also pointed out that the Miami Veterans Hospital has received the highest rating for two years in a row.

Lettie closed her remarks with a reminder that the current economic impact of the military in South Florida is $3.5 billion which includes the Homestead Air Force Reserve Base, the various National Guard and Army, Navy and Marine Corp. Reserve units, the U.S. Southern Command as well as the 7^th Coast Guard District which is the busiest in the District in the U.S. havingvto provide drug enforcement and immigration duties along Florida's coastline as well as marine rescue services to boater in distress.

Upon completing her remarks, Marty Rosen proposed that today's Happy Dollars be donated to the Fisher House Program.

From http://www.fisherhouse.org/aboutUs/aboutUs.shtml

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House™ Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times - during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

There is at least one Fisher House™ at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment. Annually, the Fisher House™ program serves more than 10,000 families, and have made available nearly 2.5 million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990. By law, there is no charge for any family to stay at a Fisher House operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Fisher House Foundation uses donations to reimburse the individual Fisher Houses operated by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. No family pays to stay at any Fisher House!

In addition to constructing new houses, Fisher House™ Foundation continues to support existing Fisher Houses™ and help individual military families in need. Families and friends of patients at any of the military's hospitals can now receive up-to-the-minute reports on a loved one by going to the patient's own customized web page, thanks to new services provided through CaringBridge. We are also proud to administer and sponsor Scholarships for Military Children, the Hero Miles program, and co-sponsor the Newman's Own Award.