The Artist, Malcolm Rae

A fellow Rotarian, Malcom Rae is known as "The Artist" at his rotary club;

"I try to capture the beauty of the Bahamas before the politicians, preachers, and progress destroy everything...I fear that I am losing."

Mr. Rae paints with a variety of media, including acrylics, watercolors, and pastels. His styles range from traditional to abstract, with a bit of sculpture thrown in. He is a self taught artist, although he enjoys visiting museums. Originally he studied medicine at the University of the West Indies, but discovered that he had a greater passion for art. Over the years, Mr. Rae has participated in eight street shows in Florida.

He is also a 2011 Ambassador to the Bahamas for the Portrait Society of America.

At Mr. Rae's Rotary club, he is responsible for the Bahamas' Annual Government House "Art of Thanks", held during Thanksgiving. They received permission from the Governor-General to hold the show in the ballroom for a black tie event. Artists were assisted by the members and sold their works with the club handling the sales. A percentage of the profit was given to various charities. New artists learned that art can be a serious business.

Mr. Rae graciously donates his artwork to the seven Rotary clubs in Nassau to raise money for their various charities. He also generously allowed our club to pick out one of his paintings for a fundraiser!

If you would like to learn more about Mr. Rae's artwork, please visit his website. He may also be emailed at stingrae@batelnet.bs

 

Mr. Rae discusses his artwork with various members.

Presenting one of his latest works of art.

Bill Tuttle, Exhibits and Graphics Coordinator at Zoo Miami, was asked to pick a painting from Mr. Rae's collection, to be used for fundraising purposes for the club.

President Jack Courtright presents Mr. Rae with a certificate of appreciation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Induction Ceremony at Papichi

Today an induction ceremony was held at Papichi in Pinecrest to welcome the new Miami Metrozoo Rotary Club leadership team. District Governor Todd Dayton presided over the ceremony.

2011-2012 Board:
President: Carol Nobles
Treasurer: Riesa Lewis
Secretary: Phil Cabase

Restaurant where the ceremony was held (location: 9619 South Dixie Highway Pinecrest, FL 33156)

In

Menu

Inside of Papichi

 

Rotarian Bill Maer (of Maer Automotive) and his wife, Secretary-Elect Phil Cabase, and Dr. Nita Lewis

Rotarian Al Smith (Fast Signs) smiles at the camera

Rotarian and former Rotary President Bill Tuttle, and his wife Pat

Rotarian Al Smith (far left), Rotarian Dorothee Rubin and her husband

President-Elect Carol Nobles gives a speech to the club

Now Past President Jack Courtright congratulates Newly Elected President Carol Nobles

President Carol Nobles presents Past President Jack Courtright with a pin

Riesa Lewis and Phil Cabase are inducted as Treasurer and Secretary by District Governor Todd Dayton.

2011-2012 Board

Carol thanks her husband, Charlie, for his love and understanding.

Carol Nobles presents her husband Charlie with a Rotary pin.

Guest Speaker: Rick Tonkinson

Our guest speaker today was Rick Tonkinson, a Senior Associate of Rick Tonkinson and Associates, Inc. He was a volunteer instructor for finance for SCORE and served on the Board of Directors of the Children's Home Society Foundation and Florida Endowment Fund for Education. He was president of the Miami Rotary Club and currently is on the Board of Directors. Mr. Tonkinson is a member of the University of Miami Citizen Board.

Rick and his wife Margarita are trustees of the Rick Tonkinson and Family Charitable Fund. Since 2004, this charitable fund has donated to many organizations. 

We would like to thank Rick for sharing his story of how he came to be involved in Rotary.

 

Rick Tonkinson addresses the club.

President Jack Courtright presents Mr. Tonkinson with a certificate of appreciation.

Rotary moves meetings to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum

On Wednesday, April 27th, the Rotary Club of Miami Metrozoo met at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, in a rail car! From now on, lunch will be held in Lounge Car #254 on Track #1.

Our very first speaker was Michael David Hall, the Executive Director of the Gold Coast Railroad Museum. He spoke about "New Directions for Modern Museums".

Mr. Hall has 27 years of experience in the museum field, beginning as an intern in the decorative arts department of the Illinois State Museum. Once receiving his BA in American History and Business Administration in 1984, Mr. Hall went on to become the site manager of a 3,000 acre National Register of Historic Places farm and wildlife site in Illinois. After graduating from Western Illinois University in 1987 with an MA in American History, Museum Studies, and a minor in European History, he went into historic preservation work.

Mr. Hall then moved to Indiana, where he became a curator, then assistant director and finally the executive director for fifteen years of the Montgomery County Historical Society; a 120 year-old accredited museum within the Indiana State Museum System.There he oversaw five National Register listed antebellum structures with restored grounds and gardens. During that time Mr. Hall completed additional postgraduate coursework at Purdue University in Museum Studies and American History while completing a fellowship at the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio where his final doctoral dissertation was published.

From 1990 to 2001, Mr. Hall published four biographies on historical American figures, including Civil War era Senator Henry S. Lane, Second World War era aeronautical engineer Alfred C. Loading, and Cold War era aeronautical engineer Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt.

In 2002, Mr. Hall was hired as the executive director of the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, a fifty-four year-old South Florida landmark utilizing the National Register listed grounds of the former Richmond Naval Air Station. There, he has overseen a working railroad museum spanning over fifty acres with sixty-three pieces of historical railroad engines and cars, three of which are listed on the National Register as well as the former presidential rail car Ferdinand Magellan; Miami's first National Historic Landmark, which served four sitting U.S. Presidents. At the Railroad Museum, Mr. Hall pioneered a new emphasis for the organization in preservation and restoration projects. He also added a new dimension in children's-related events and interdisciplinary and inter-generational programming focusing on mechanical engineering and industrial arts displays.

A special thanks to Costco and Jeri Phillips for providing a special Railroad Sandwich Platter.

 

Club President Jack Courtright standing next to the Rotary banner in the railway car.

 

Mr. Hall presenting to the club.

 

 

Jack Courtright presenting Mr. Hall with a certificate of appreciation from the Rotary club.

 

President-Elect Carol Nobles presenting Rotary club member Jeri Phillips with a certificate of appreciation for her assistance with the Safe Space fundraiser held in January.

 

Carol Nobles presenting Al Smith with a certificate of appreciation for providing signage from his company, Fast Signs, for the Safe Space fundraiser.

     

Welcome to our blog!

We at the Rotary Club of Miami Metrozoo have decided that it's high time we started a blog. We are rather unconventional in that we are the only Rotary club affiliated with a zoo. The Rotary Club of Miami Metrozoo was established on October 23, 2009. Our first president was Bill Tuttle, Zoo Miami's (formerly Metrozoo) exhibits and graphics coordinator.Currently, Jack Courtright of Northwestern Mutual holds this distinction.

The Club meets every Wednesday, starting at 11:45am ("schmooze time"). Our program begins at 12:15pm. Please visit our website for more information.

Our club's community project is the Safe Space Foundation. In January, we held fundraiser at the Miami Elks' Lodge-948 for the Foundation, titled "Dining, Dancing, and Making a Difference". Mayor Bateman of the City of Homestead was our honorary event chair. President-Elect Carol Nobles, also Vice-President of The Safe Space Foundation, worked diligently to make this fundraiser a success.

Our club motto is: "RC MMZ IS NOT MONKEYING AROUND AND THERE IS NO LION ABOUT IT!"

Links:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/03/1807738/rotary-club-first-to-be-affiliated.html
http://www.cityofhomestead.com/pages/city_hall/news-room.aspx