New Perspectives to Service Above Self

Rotary's commitment to Service Above Self is channeled through the Avenues of Service, which form the foundation of each club's ongoing activity. 

         
    Club Service- one of four Avenues- is focused on strengthening fellowship and ensuring the effective functioning of the club. The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a multi-district, grassroots leadership development program of member districts organized into regional divisions.

     Carol Nobles and Riesa Lewis will describe their learning experience at the recent Rotary Leadership Institute. Fabia Glockman reports on The Rotary Membership and Branding Symposium.     

     As a Rotarian, what you get out of Rotary depends largely upon what you put into it.

Pedro J. Garcia - Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser

We had a very exciting guest speak to our club - Pedro J. Garcia, Miami-Dade County's first elected Property Appraiser in five decades!

Mr. Garcia took office on January 9, 2009. Prior to his election, Mr. Garcia pledged to ensure complete fairness and accuracy in the County's property assessments which, in part, determine a homeowner's level of property taxes.

His efforts, since being elected, have resulted in him being named the 2009 Civic Leader of the Year by the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches and 2010 Public Servant of the Year by the Minority Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Garcia has worked in the real estate industry for some 34 years as a Realtor, operating his own real estate firm.

Jeri Philips - Costco

Metrozoo Rotary member Jeri Philips spoke to the club today about her career as a Marketing Manager at Costco.

Jeri has to help build and keep Costco's relationships with both Consumers (B-2-C) as well as Business Consumers (B-2-B), which is no easy assignment. Her Costco warehouse is located at 13450 SW 120th St
Kendall, Florida 33186-7393. The services that they provide include a food court, gas station, hearing aids, optical department, pharmacy, photo printing, auto buying program, bakery, membership, deli, meat and produce.

One of Jeri's key B-2-B relationships is with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. Among the most influential trade associations in Florida, it includes the entire hospitality industry: lodging, restaurants, and thousands of industry suppliers.

Costco's B-2-C membership programs give Jeri a constant challenge. Jeri's talk helped members focus upon activating their own marketing activities, along with a profitable Q&A session.

Rob Schroeder - Safespace Foundation

Rob Schroeder spoke to our club today regarding the Safespace Foundation, the organization which Miami Metrozoo Rotary held a fundraiser for this January to raise funds for a kitchen renovation. The renovation (which has been completed) has opened up a wall so that mothers can cook and watch their children at the same time. Before, the wall prevented mothers from interacting with their children while in the kitchen, as children were not allowed to be in the kitchen.

Mr. Schroeder serves as the Executive Director of the Safespace Foundation, which serves as the advisory Board of Directors of the Miami-Dade County Safespace Shelters and Transitional Housing programs for survivors of Domestic Violence. He has also served on national think tanks with John Hopkins University on the issue of human trafficking and with the Department of Justice on the issue of police community relations. Mr. Schroeder has also been elected to several boards of directors, including serving as President on both the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Human Relations Professionals of Greater Miami.

Did you know that when you get married in Florida, $30 of the license fee is allocated to the 42 certified shelters across the state?

Safespace houses about 200 women at any one time. The occupancy rate is 90 - 92%. There are too many victims.

"One thing I will never understand," Mr. Schroeder said, "is how pregnant women end up here."

The difference between men and women is that when men are walking out the door, they are leaving. When women walk out the door, they are escaping.

One-third of ongoing intimate relationships experience domestic violence. The number one reason for homicide of women is domestic violence related (about 30% of all homicides). Comparatively, the number one cause of homicide among men is a result of associates, business partners, and friends.

Mr. Schroeder sees a silver lining to this cloud, however; when he first started working in this field, 50% of women returned to their abusive household. Today, that number is down to 12%. Society has finally come to embrace domestic violence awareness.

You can help! Please consider donating your used cell phones to their thrift store, located at 20710 South Dixie Highway (305) 253-5743. They are currently running a cell phone drive to provide phones for women in their shelters.

The Induction of William Riera

Congratulations to William Riera, our newest member!

William Riera is the owner of Hi-Tech Computer Management, which provides computer and network security solutions.

President Carol Nobles, Secretary Phil Cabase, and Membership Chair Al Smith lead the induction.

 

William Riera displays his framed copy of Rotary's Four Way Test

William Riera's wife, Jessica, performs the pinning ceremony.

Upcoming Rotarian 2 Rotarian Mixer

Save the date for the second R2R "Monday Mixer". It's on September 12th at 5:30 PM at Season's 52 on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables.

Please contact District 6990 Membership Chair Joe Roth for more information