TheG o v e r n o r ’ s n e w s l e T T e r

RI President 2010 - 2011: Ray Klinginsmith

Issue 9 • March 2011 RotaRy DistRict 6950 • Zone 34 • FloRiDa • Usa

Unlocking a Brighter Future Through LiteracyFor those whose lives are boxed in

by illiteracy, Rotarians offer the key to a brighter future through the many literacy programs developed and supported by Rotary Clubs around the world. Rotar-ians understand that literacy is a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. It is at the heart of a basic education for all, and is essential for eradicating pov-erty, reducing child mortality, curbing rampant population growth, achieving gender equality, ensuring sustainable development, and advancing peace and understanding. We focus on the im-portance of literacy projects during the month of March.

LITERACY IS PRICELESSIn many parts of the world, opportu-

nities for a basic education are limited or nonexistent. To the children of those regions, the ability to read and write is a great privilege that is available only to the wealthy. Though he is now con-sidered a champion for literacy, moun-taineer turned school builder, Greg Mortenson’s passion for literacy began as an epiphany that spurred him to turn from scaling the world’s highest peaks to building schools in the remote villages dotting them.

High in the Himalayas, he learned an important lesson about the value of lit-

eracy from an illiterate village elder. In the book, Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson is outraged at the toll extracted from the village by a local leader before he would grant permission to build the much needed school. The toll, 12 goats, rep-resented half of the community’s total wealth. Mortenson couldn’t believe the village elder agreed to pay this amount. He questioned the elder’s wisdom, his leadership, and his ability to properly care for his people. Outrage turned to understanding when the wise tribal el-der, holding a book of prayer that he himself could not read, stated with quiet conviction that he would have given the entire herd if that was the sacrifice re-quired to gain an education for the chil-dren. This illiterate elder, understood far more about the value of literacy than a well educated American. He under-stood that literacy is priceless.

Mortenson’s struggle to understand the equity of this exchange offers hope for many educated American Rotarians who struggle to understand how im-portant literacy programs are. Literacy programs enable individuals to achieve their goals, develop knowledge and po-tential, and participate fully in a broader cross section of society. It is a gift we take for granted. But it is not a universal right.

LITERACY AS FREEDOM

In 2003, members of the UN adopted the slogan “Literacy as Freedom” and de-clared the years 2003–2012 as the Decade of Literacy. Recognizing that “the promotion of literacy is in the interest of all, as part of efforts towards peace, respect and exchange in a glo-balizing world,” the

ILLITERACY AND FUNCTIONAL ILLITERACY

Pure illiteracy has approximately the same charac-teristics worldwide; it is the inability to understand writ-ten words, sign one’s name, and /or recognize the let-ters of the alphabet.

Functional illiteracy is the inability to read well enough to get by in daily life. The characteristics of functional illiteracy vary from one culture to another. A reading level that might be sufficient to make a farmer functionally literate in a rural area of a developing coun-try might qualify as a functional illiteracy in an urban area of a technologically advanced country.

aim is to “increase literacy levels and to empower all people everywhere.” This is certainly a noble and lofty goal. Many, including me at one time, question if it is attainable and if it should be one of our top priorities. When there are so many problems to solve, so many hardships to face, so many diseases to heal, so many children to feed, so many places with no pure water, so much fighting, misunder-standing, and poverty, why literacy?

Rotary provided the answer I needed. My epiphany came the day I met a fellow DG, Deepa Willingham, whose dream is to eradicate extreme poverty trough the gift of education. As Deepa talked about the levels of world-wide poverty, I was overwhelmed. 1.3 billion people around the world live on less than US$1 per day and 10 million children die each year before they reach their fifth birth-day due to extreme poverty. Deepa, staggered by these numbers said, “My heart aches with sadness.” The magni-tude of problems caused by poverty is overwhelming. But, Deepa, who is “just a simple Rotarian from a small town in Southern California,” was compelled to act. “I believe I can make a difference by doing my share, however small that may be.”

A native of Calcutta, India, she set out to build a school to nurture the educa-tion, nutrition, health, and social devel-opment of young girls in the slums of Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and other ar-eas around the world. This task involved much more than providing the bricks and mortar for a school building. At first very few girls showed up for classes. After making inquiries they learned that feed-ing the students during the school day is a major incentive to gaining parental permission for their daughters to attend school. Later, they were perplexed when eager, bright, young students would sud-denly drop out. They uncovered the

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The Governor’s Newsletter 2011

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reason and began offering economic development incentives, such as teach-ing a mother to sew and providing her with a sewing machine, to replace the income that the family could make by selling their young daughter. Those who live in extreme poverty live lives of quiet desperation. They “live with no hope in their hearts, they have no voice in their destiny, and no ability to determine their future.”

Still, I wondered to myself, why litera-cy? Then Deepa revealed the impact this project has had on the girls of this poor village in India as well as on those at a second location in Africa. In less than one generation, the entire village has ris-en above the ranks of extreme poverty; mothers have begun businesses, both children and adults are being educated, the earliest female students, who are now adults, marry later and have fewer children. The infant mortality rate has decreased dramatically; it is almost the same as first world countries. The cur-rent female students have requested that the school be opened to boys because they don’t want to marry uneducated men when they grow up.

Why literacy? The answer became much more apparent to me. Literacy is freedom. Literacy is the long-term an-swer to the most difficult problems fac-ing mankind. Feeling quite content with finally finding an answer to my ques-tion, I thought that Deepa’s experiences gave me a much better understanding, perhaps even insight, into the inverse correlation between literacy rates and poverty, crime, population growth and infant mortality rates. Literacy reaches beyond the individual, to the family, the community, and society. “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime,” is as true today as it was in Aristotle’s time. Extreme poverty, no matter where it ex-ists in the world, is a threat to all.

LITERACY IN AMERICAThen Deepa made a comment that

blind-sided me. She said she was try-ing to open a school in a third impover-ished area that was in desperate need of a program such as those begun in India

and Africa. Unfortunately, there was so much resistance she was concerned the school would not be started. Another Rotarian asked her where she wanted to put the third school. His tone indicated his confidence that she just needed help from a few more Rotarians. “My answer may surprise you. I want to locate a school right here, in the United States, in rural Appalachia. The need is just as great here as in Africa and India.”

What? What did she just say? That simply can’t be true!

In our country, as in many of the de-veloped nations, a free public education is an established right. Nearly everyone reading this article mastered fundamen-tal reading, writing, and arithmetic skills as a child. Ironically, it may be our own educational experiences that make it difficult for us to imagine what life is like for those who cannot read, write, or do simple arithmetic. We may be shocked to discover that even in the USA, this great land of opportunity, functional il-literacy blocks millions from opening the door to a brighter future.

In the US, a functionally illiterate per-son may have limited reading abilities, but cannot read well enough to un-derstand job advertisements, past-due notices, bank statements, prescription dosing instructions, warning labels, or operating manuals. Others tend to view the functionally illiterate person as ig-norant and fit only for common labor. Functional illiteracy keeps more than 50 million Americans from being able

to learn new or advanced skills needed to improve their occupational standing. Those who are functionally illiterate en-dure greater poverty and are more likely to serve time in prison than their literate counterparts. The functionally illiterate in this country pay dearly and daily with lives of quiet desperation. For them, the American Dream is out of reach.

When we turn a blind eye toward those in our communities who are functionally illiterate, we too pay a dear price. The educational careers of an estimated 25 to 40 percent of American children are imperiled because they don’t read well. Children who are read to are more likely to become better readers, yet about 44 million adults in the US can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child. More than $2 billion is spent each year on students who repeat a grade. It is estimated that the cost of illiteracy to businesses and taxpayers is $20 billion per year. While staggering, the financial cost is only a fraction of the true cost of functional illiteracy, for its link to pov-erty, crime, infant mortality, birth rates, and other ills holds true in the US as in the rest of the world.

BUILDING COMMUNITIES AND BRIDGING CONTINENTS

We are making a difference. To quote Deepa Willingham, “Rotarians’ actions are a perfect example of how the power of one can work, changing the life on one child, one community at a time.” Lynda

Continued from page one

AMERICA’S GRIM STATISTICS ON FUNCTIONAL ILLITERACY

A GROWING PROBLEM:According to a National Adult Literacy Survey:•42 million adult American’s can’t read.•50 million can recognize so few printed words they are limited to a 4th or 5th

grade reading level.•The number of functionally illiterate adults is increasing by nearly 2.25 mil-

lion persons each year.

LINKS TO POVERTY AND CRIME:According to the National Center for Educational Statistics in the US:•Over 60% of adults in the US Prison System read at, or below the 4th grade

level.•85% of US juvenile inmates are functionally illiterate.•Adult inmates who received educational services while in prison had a 16%

chance of returning to prison; those who receive no educational services have a 70% chance of returning to prison.

•43% of adults at the lowest level of literacy live below the poverty line; 4% of adults at the highest level of literacy live below the poverty line.

The Governor’s Newsletter 2011

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Thursday March 24Belleair Rotary’s Wine & Tapas Extravaganza Largo Cultural Center - Parkview Room - 105 Central Park Drive, Largo Fl 33771Sample fine wines from the finest restaurants in the area. Advanced tickets $35 - at the door $40. Casino tables with great prizes an added feature. Silent auction. Music - fun - and it’s all for good causes!!

Saturday, March 26Pinellas Park Rotary Bowl-a-Thon, Silent Auction, Raffle Seminole Bowling Center8668 Park BoulevardLargo, Florida Please contact Kevin Krauss kevin@seminolelanes.com

Saturday, March 2633rd Annual Radio Auction Auction items can be viewed @ www.brooksvillerotary.org and www.hernandoliving.com and www.WWJB.com WWJB AM at 1450 on AM dial and WWXB at 99.5 on FM dial

Saturday, March 26CASINO NIGHT! Largo Community Center400 Alt Keene Rd.Largo, FL 33770DONATION: 50.00 in ad-vance, 65.00 at the door. Don’t miss this Las Vegas Style Gaming. Tickets include 25 gaming chips, Horsd’oeuvers, 2 drinks, en-tertainment. Call Bill Prang727-323-9819 or Virginia Sanderson, 727-430-4906

DIsTRICT CALENDAR

District Governor (10-11) - Lynda VinsonO 727-937-0772 - cpa@thevinsongroup.com

District Governor Elect - Carl TreleavenO 727-388-3511 H727-368-1349ctreleaven.rotary@gmail.comDistrict Governor Nominee - Jamie MickO 727-817-1415 jmick@tbpm.net

DGN-D Roger Proffer, sr. O 352-795-2330rogerproffer@gmail.comChief of staff - PDG Keith KurberO 727-738-5333 C 727-421-8873k.kurber@att.netDistrict secretary - Brenda WendtO/H 352-249-7302 Wendt3@gate.netDistrict Treasurer - Robert AldermanH 727-376-4923ralder917@aol.com

District Rotary Foundation Chair - PDG Tim schuler - O 727-398-0011 tcs@timschulerlaw.com

Membership Chair co-chairsKeith Kurber and Roger Lacy

District Public Relations Chair - Kat silleO 913-495-5190 C 727-224-1972ksille@tampabay.rr.com

District Trainer - Tony PalumboO 352-527-2020apalumbo@hospiceofcitruscounty.orgArea Advisor, south Pinellas - Al ComeyO 727-581-3800 H 727-397-7823drcomey@comeychiropractic.com

Asst. Gov. Area 1 - Will Miller H 727-581-2452 novaeng@tampabay.rr.comAsst. Gov. Area 2 - Laura BrockO 727-572-1400 lbrock@cbizkrmt.comAsst. Gov. Area 3 - Eva JonesO 727-392-2832 H 727-391-3269elmt@tampabay.rr.com

Area Advisor , N. Pinellas - Roger LacyO 727-430-4742 H 727-937-5215lacyrt@aol.com

Asst. Gov. Area 4 - Lynn BurksH 727-725-1213 lynnburks@aol.com

Asst. Gov. Area 5 - Angie MonteithO 727-451-3160 H 727-733-1066angiemonteith@bouchardinsurance.com

Asst. Gov. Area 6 - Mike ChapmanO 727-469-4549 H727-785-6144itsaragtopday@gmail.com

Area Advisor, Pasco - PDG Robin MurrayO/H 813-385-0948 robhome@iname.com

Asst. Gov. Area 7 - Betty BurkeO 352-588-9827 H 352-588-3825eburke1111@aol.comAsst. Gov. Area 8 - Michael WoottonO 727-524-9202 H 813-994-9169mawootter@aol.com

Asst. Gov. Area 9 - Carol KinnardO 727-376-4900 H727-842-9540ckinnard@cap-realty.comAsst. Gov. Area 10 - Jamie MickO 727-817-1415 H727-857-1971jmick@tbpm.netArea Advisor, Hernando/Citrus - steve MartinC 352-634-2686 H 352-795-0486cstmartin01@hotmail.comAsst. Gov Area 11 - Mike HoltonO 813-478-6646Mikeholton34@hotmail.com

Asst. Gov. Area 12 - Tom Feeney IIIO 352-563-3275 H 352-621-3112tfeeney@chronicleonline.com

District Governor Nom-D - Roger ProfferO352-795-2330rogerproffer@gmail.com

As part of a countywide Rotary program, Rotarians from the Ro-tary Club of Spring Hill recently delivered student dictionaries to all third grade students at Westside Elementary School. The project is chaired by the Rotary Club of Brooksville and partners with the Rotary Club of Spring Hill and the Rotary Club of Spring Hill Central to provide the dictionaries to all third grade students in Hernando County. Bookplates noting that the dictionar-ies are a gift from the Rotary Clubs of Hernando County are affixed to the more than 1800 books by volunteers from the three clubs. The books are then sorted by school and delivered personally to the students by Rotarians making a short presentation in their classroom. The project is extremely well received and would not be possible without the partnership of the three Hernando County clubs and support from the District Simplified Grant program.

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President John Hudson and Rotary Foundation Chair Linda Proffer of the Ro-tary Club of Sugarmill Woods presented a check for one thousand dollars to Tim-othy Schuler, District 6950 Rotary Foun-dation Chair. The check will go towards Rotary International’s Polio Eradication program. In two years, the club has con-tributed $2550 to polio eradication. This world- wide effort spearheaded by Ro-tary International and supported by the United Nations has eliminated polio in all but four countries.

Past District Governor Tim Schul-er spoke on the “eradication of polio world-wide,” “sending first responders and shelter boxes containing food, wa-ter, a tent, and cooking supplies to dev-astated areas around the world,” as well as providing support to local communi-ties such as ours. As an example, the Sugarmill Woods Rotary saw a need at their local elementary school, Lecanto Primary. Over the past two years, they have donated more than $4000 dollars in clothing, shoes, books, dictionaries and reward items for the Positive Be-havior program. The Rotary Foundation has helped this community project by providing a matching grant for each of the past two years bringing the total to $7000.

Every member in the Sugarmill Woods Rotary is involved as a volunteer at the

Principal Michael Bohnet introduced the two students of the month for Febru-ary at the regular Friday morning meet-ing held at the Roskamp Auditorium of Freedom Square.

Senior Courtney Thompson has main-tained a 4.26 weighted GPA while tutor-ing students in Math and acting as the wrestling team manager for four years. She is an associate trainer at Panera Bread, Editor of the Yearbook, a mem-ber of the Show Choir and Senior Class Treasurer and National Honor Society President.

Senior Austin “Roman” Bowman has a weighted GPA of 3.8 while having

Kenney Krauss won the $29.00 pot and the jackpot of $594.00. He generously split the cash win-nings and donated $295.00 to the Ro-tary Club of Pinel-las Park, Florida Foundation, Inc. Congratulations Kenny!!!!!!!

school or in fund raising for the project. One member is personally providing a washing machine and drier to be used at the school. Many other community proj-ects and organizations are supported by SMW Rotary. Thanks to the community and The Rotary Foundation, many good works can be carried out by our Rotary club.

At the same meeting Russ Miller, Past District Governor of District 6950 and currently a member of the Rotary eClub, exchanged club banners with John Hud-son, President of the SMW Rotary Club. PDG Miller was governor during the chartering of the Rotary Club of Sugar-mill Woods.

Anyone who is interested in becoming

News from Sugarmill Woods

all Honors Classes. He assists with the Boys and Girls Club of Pinellas Park and is the Yearbook Art Director

Pictured (L-R): Principal Michael Boh-net, Courtney Thompson, Austin Bow-man

Seminole Lake Rotary recognizes Students of the Month from Osceola High School

GSE Team Member to Chile Candace Chalker is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Trinity. She had the opportunity to attend a few of the club’s famous and fun club fellowships - The Blue Cup Social. The monthly social is held at different restaurants in West Pasco that is open to club members, their families and guests. Candace asked the club to pose with the blue cups at a weekly meeting in February as she wanted to include it in her part of her GSE presentation talking about the club who sponsored her.

Photo: John Hudson and Linda Proffer present $1000 check to Tim Schuler for Rotary International’s polio eradication program.

Trinity Rotarians Sporting the Blue Cups

a member and helping to support our community should contact the club’s membership director George Meadows at 503-6173.

by Shelby Weingarten

The Governor’s Newsletter 2011

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Celebrity Golf Classic was a winner for everyone!

A great time was had by all at the first annual celebrity golf classic at Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club. A full field of golfers and celebrities challenged the course in San Antonio on Feb 12 in cool but beautiful weather conditions. The golfers and celebrities had a great time giving their efforts and dollars helping two very worthwhile community orga-nizations - Relay for Life and the Rotary Club of San Antonio. A catered meal was provided after the event with roast beef, grilled shrimp, etc.

The first Celebrity Golf Classic was a winner for all of our sponsors as well. Our two Title sponsors, Jazzercize of Dade City and KHovnanian Builders, have firm commitments in our commu-

The winning team of (from left to right) Rich Unger; Rich’s dad, Mr. Unger; Da-vid Greenwood(retired Buccaneer); Jack Mariano Sr.; Jack Mariano

nity for Relay for Life and Rotary. Kris Dail, owner of Jazzercise Dade City, also sponsors a deep sea fishing tournament to help Relay for Life. Both Title sponsors Believed in the efforts to help our com-munity and were eager and willing to assist. The Classic raised over $13,000 which included an auction of donated items by many area businesses.

The tournament also brought people together that had never have met before but have now become friends.

Celebrities included retired 4 Star General Doug Brown, WDAE Sports An-imal show host Steve (Big Dog) Duemig, Retired Buccaneers Shelton Quarles, Mark Carrier, David Greenwood, Calvin Simon-retired rock and roller, Jay Feely- Arizona Cardinal kicker, TJ Tucker -re-tired pitcher Nationals, Anthony Becht

The GSE Team outbound from District 6950 (which consists of Clubs in Cit-rus, Hernando, Pasco and Pinel-las Counties) are on their way to Chile, District

4360 (Concepcion). They have been preparing for months to dialogue with the Chileans to discuss their professions and careers and exchange ideas. The Team will be there to share each other’s cultures, traditions and most important peace and friendship. A lot of prepara-tion goes into a trip of this caliber. Some of the preparation involves preparing a presentation in Spanish to present to the Rotary Clubs of District D4360 in Chile.

Ready For ChileThe Team has been studying Chile’s, cultures, foods, customs, district make-up, demographics and much more. The Team has an unusual make up for a Latin American trip. Except for one member Lindsay Cross, the rest of the team is studying hard their Espanol. While this preparation goes on they are getting passports, inocula-tions, outfits, gifts and much more.

Several Rotary Clubs are spon-soring the team members. Lind-say Cross is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of St. Petersburg. Lind-say’s background is she manages envi-ronmental research projects for the Tam-pa Bay Estuary Program. Lindsay lives in St. Petersburg with her significant other Ben.

Candace Cooke is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Trinity. Candace’s background is she works for HCA as an operating room analyst. Candace re-sides in Spring Hill with her significant other Glenn.

Jim Morrow is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dunedin-Waterside and is a C-130 pilot for the USCG Air Sta-

tion in Clearwater. Jeff has a home in St. Petersburg.

Jeff Reese is starting a new career and is the early stages in the hospitality field and is currently focusing on develop-ing his culinary management skills. His previous career was in the technology sector. Jeff is being sponsored by the Ro-

tary Club of Wesley Chapel. Jeff resides in Valrico with his wife Jamaela.

The Team Leader is Bob Memoli who is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Seven Springs. Bob has started his eigh-teenth year in Rotary.

He has held many positions in the club including being president twice. Bob has been a Broker/Realtor for the past eighteen years in Pasco County. Bob lives in Trinity with his wife Phyllis.

The Team leaves Tampa Airport on April 1st, 2011 (no kidding) at 6:30PM and arrives in Concepcion the following day. They will be there for over 30 days and will arrive home on May 3rd, 2011 at 9:00AM.

Let’s support this GSE Team and meet them there around 4:30PM and send them off with a hurrah.

(TE for the Arizona Cardinals) and many more.

Thank you to all the volunteers, ce-lebrities, and players that assisted with this event. Everyone is looking forward to next year’s event.

Join us for our Caribbean Partnership Celebration Meeting July 21-23, 2011 in Reston, Virginia, and learn how your Rotary club can work with other Rotary clubs in Zones 33 and 34, to establish:

Exciting Fellowship Opportunities with Rotarians living in distant countries.

Enhanced Project Opportunities with a partner who knows the culture, community, and contacts.

Improved Grant Opportunities through matching grants that will make a real difference on an international scale.

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THE GOVERNOR’s NEWsLETTER ROTARY DIsTRICT 6950scott Post, editorSuncoast Printing • 6840 Commerce Ave. • Port Richey, FL 34668Email news to scottrotary@yahoo.comPlease send text as word documents and photos as jpgsDeadline: March 25, 2011 for next issue

For the seventh year Derbylane has sponsored the three Rotary Districts of Western Florida’s S4TL fundraiser, Ro-tary Goes To The Dogs for S4TL. Over 160 high school juniors are given the opportunity to learn leadership skills in a weeklong stay at Florida Southern Col-lege in Mid June every year. Derbylane has helped the funding of this program by donating over $70,000 over the past seven years. The sixth race on the card for the 12th of February event, was the Governor’s Trophy Race, won by USS Gazillionair. Over 250 Rotarians and friends attended the event.

Pictured (L-R): Lynda Vinson, District Governor of District 6950; Ed Odom, District Governor of District 6890; Ken Lesperance, trainer; Gene Stern, Chair of the event; Jeff Fee, Director of S4TL and Leadout, Devin Alderson.

Rotary International Districts 6950 & 7020 Partner to Provide Princess Marga-ret Hospital’s NICU with a Ventilator for Premature Newborns.

Premature neonates can now breathe easy thanks to the generous donation of a ventilator made by Districts 6950 & 7020 and the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. As the only Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit in the Region, management and staff at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Nassau, and the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation were pleased to accept such a generous donation presented by international or-ganization Rotary International.

The donation of the much needed

Seventh Annual Rotary Goes to the Dogs for S4TL

is a Success

The Kings Bay Rotary Club hosted a special volunteer recognition event at the Train Depot in Crystal River on Feb-ruary 10th to distribute $8,660 in dona-tions to 15 charitable organizations who participated in the Third Annual Stone Crab Jam.

This fantastic annual event takes place from downtown Crystal River to the wa-ter and is sponsored by the Kings Bay Rotary Club. Local charitable groups are invited to provide volunteers to assist with the event and they receive a donation for the num-ber of hours provided. The event includes several live bands, danc-ing in the street, local food and merchandise vendors, beer, wine and special VIP accommodations. Festivities begin at 4:00 p.m. and

Stone Crab Jam Benefits Local Charitiescontinue until 11:00 p.m. Although the Jam is geared more towards adults, it is kid friendly!

Ed Wilsek, Kings Bay President and volunteer coordinator for the last event said, “Every year this event gets larger and is more successful because of the volunteers who are willing to work hard to help our community.”

For more information about Stone Crab Jam visit www.stonecrabjam.com

Making a Difference In the Bahamas...

ventilator valued at close to $50,000 was made possible through a Rotary In-ternational Matching Grant in partner-ship with District 7020, The Rotary Club of East Nassau, Rotary Club of Nassau, Rotary Club of New Providence, Rotary Club of West Nassau, Rotary Club of South-East Nassau, Rotary Club of Nas-sau Sunrise, Bahamas; District 6950, Rotary Club of St. Pete Sunrise, Rotary Club of Holiday, Rotary Club of Dune-din, Rotary Club of Indian Rocks Beach, Rotary Club of Dunedin North, Rotary Club of New Port Richey, Rotary Club of St. Petersburg, Rotary Club of St. Pete Sunset, Rotary Club of Hudson, Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, Rotary Club of Crystal River Kings Bay, Rotary Club of St. Pete Suncoast, Rotary Club of Gulf Beaches, Florida, USA; and The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

As stated by Boyd Acklin, President of the Rotary Club of St. Petersburg Sun-rise, Florida, District 6950, “We felt it was important to lend support to such a worthy cause; this meaningful donation to the Princess Margaret Hospital’s Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit is another way to give back to the international commu-nity, and we encourage other persons to become involved and do their part in helping the world. We are delighted to be able to provide this ventilator. It

makes us proud to be Rotarians.”As stated by Michele Rassin, Past Pres-

ident of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, “On behalf of the Bahamas, I would like to thank all of our partners for their gen-erous donation which will help save the lives of thousands of premature babies who would be unable to breathe with-out the assistance of these ventilators. We are delighted to be able to receive this donation and present it to the Prin-cess Margaret Hospital Neonatal Inten-sive Care Unit as no child should have to struggle for that first breath. We would like to say a very heartfelt thank you to all of the Rotary Clubs and District 6950 and the Rotary Foundation of Rotary In-ternational who have contributed to this life-saving initiative.”

Boyd Acklin and Dr. Kathy King flew to the Nassau and joined with Bahamas Rotarians for a dedication ceremony which included attaching a plaque to the ventilator showing it was a gift from Ro-tary. President Boyd and Dr. Kathy gave Sunrise St Pete Rotary a very interesting program highlighting their trip and the year of planning, preparing and coordi-nating that preceded it. Dr Kathy shared that it was an opportunity to volunteer in her special area of expertise in nursing education that led her to join Rotary.

The Governor’s Newsletter 2011

Club MembersMembers Current

Average Attend%

Belleair 35 37 74Brooksville 62 56 70Central Citrus County 31 32 82.05Clearwater 123 124 80.67Clearwater at Feathersound 0 26 75.96Clearwater Beach 20 26 75Clearwater East 43 46 69.28Crystal River 65 60 77.29Crystal River-Kings Bay 45 45 80.84Dade City 49 49 59.69Dade City Sunrise 25 23 66.3Dunedin 61 58 69.37Dunedin North 66 59 82.2Dunedin Waterside 21 32 45.31East Lake Sunrise 32 26 61.11Gulf Beaches 20 24 73Holiday 67 58 70.45Homosassa Springs 23 22 58.1Hudson 24 25 74Indian Rocks Beach 34 34 84.56Inverness 57 66 69.72Land O’Lakes 13 15 61.5Largo 39 35 86.86New Port Richey 129 129 78.34Oldsmar/East Lake 20 21 65Palm Harbor 15 16 86.76Pinellas Feather Sound 0 11 75.75Pinellas Park 30 29 86Port Richey 32 35 74.83Safety Harbor 16 14 75.93San Antonio 20 21 50Seminole 65 66 87Seminole Lake 34 33 83.58Seven Springs 48 54 80.1Spring Hill 12 13 93.18Spring Hill Central 29 23 41St. Petersburg 113 108 67.85St. Petersburg Suncoast 8 8 93.75St. Petersburg Sunrise 27 29 85.34St. Petersburg Sunset 21 26 67.65St. Petersburg West 30 30 85.34Sugarmill Woods-Citrus County 22 17 94.23Tarpon Springs 72 77 81.69Trinity 65 73 73.7Wesley Chapel 22 39 71.43Wesley Chapel Sunrise 8 10 94.74Zephyrhills 42 43 74.7Zephyrhills Daybreak 33 28 95Rotary E-Club of SoutheastUSA & Caribbean

31 38 76.31

Welcome to our new, returning

and transferring Rotarians!

February 2011

BrooksvilleRichard Mallory

Sally RubyCleArwATer

Jason StiffCleArwATer eAsT

Hugh PailleyDuneDin

Mark PhillipsBrett Freistadt

DuneDin norThRobert Sutton

eAsT lAke sunriseAnna HospelhornRobert Gualtieri

e-CluB of se usA & CAriBBeAn

Michael BrazTammy NucciGulf BeAChesKaren Keaton

Sheri McWhorterSuzanne OlsenLarry Thorton

Susan RossHenry Sieloff

invernessKip Younger

lAnD o’lAkesSteven Horne

lArGoSue Osborne

new PorT riCheyGail ArmstrongJeromy Harding

olDsMAr eAsTlAkeAnn Lofgren

PinellAs PArkAlice Mattingly

PorT riCheyHolly Sliz

sPrinG hillManny TsosmelissT. PeTersBurGPreston Faykus

Don KlassenTimothy Gilliam

sT. PeTersBurG sunriseJoe Zunnmataro

TriniTyJessica Arkwright

Susan Lucawesley ChAPelVicki Hamilton

Meeting locations have been updated.Please refer to this list when checking on club meeting days and locations.

Meeting location

Thu Noon - Belleair Country Club (25 Belleview Rd)Tue Noon - Brooksville Country Club (23446 Links Drive)Wed 7:30am - Black Diamond Country Club (St. Rd. 491, Lecanto)Wed 12:15pm - Belleair Country ClubWed 5:30pm - Feather Sound Country Club, ClearwaterThu 12:15pm - The Wave, inside Shephards Beach Resort, on Gulfview Blvd.Fri Noon - Pssghetti’s (26200 US Hwy 19N, Clearwater)Mon 12:15pm - Plantation Inn and Golf ResortWed 12:15pm - Cafe on the Avenue, Citrus Avenue, Crystal River Mon 12:15pm - Dade City Business Center - John Hornbuckle Meeting Rm, 3rd FlThu 7:00am - Kafe Kokopelli (Meridan and Live Oak)Tue 12:15pm - Church of Good Shepherd (629 Edgewater Dr)Wed 7:30am - Dunedin Country Club (1050 Palm Blvd) Wed 6:30pm - Pan Y Vino (369 Main Street, Dunedin)Thu 7:30am - East Lake Woodlands CC (1055 East Lake Woodlands Pkwy)Tue 12:15pm - Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club (400 Treasure Island Causeway)Tue Noon - IHOP (U.S. Hwy. 19, NPR)Thu 7am - Luigi’s (4538 Suncoast Blvd - US19)Thu Noon - CARES Enrichment Center (12417 Clock Tower Pkwy) Hudson, Bayonet Pt.Wed 7:15am Jimmy Guana’s Restaurant, Holiday Inn Harborside (401 2nd St)Tue Noon - Lakeside Country Club (4555 E. Windmill Dr.)Mon 12:15pm - Rapscallion’s Restaurant (US 41)Mon Noon - Alfano’s Restaurant (1702 Clwtr/Largo Rd)Wed 12:15pm - Spartan Manor (6121 Massachusetts Avenue)Thu 12:15pm - Daddy’s Grill, Tampa RdWed 12:15pm - Carabbas (33983 U.S. 19 N Palm Harbor 34684)Tue 5:30pm - Liberty Lanes, LargoThu 12:15pm - Banquet Masters (8100 Park Blvd.)Fri Noon - Whiskey River Sports Grill (5235 Limestone Drive, PR)Fri 7:30am - Safety Harbor Spa (105 N Bayshore Dr) Tue Noon - Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club (St Rd 52)Wed 12:15pm - Lake Seminole Golf & Country Club (6100 Augusta Blvd)Fri 7:15am - Freedom Square Seminole, Roskamp AuditoriumThu 7:30am - Seven Springs Country Club (3535 Trophy Blvd)Thu 7:45am - IHOP Restaurant (US19)Fri 1:00pm - Silverthorn CC (Spring Hill)Fri Noon - Orange Blossom Catering (220 4th St. N)Thu 12:15pm - Gigi’s Italian Restaurant (6852 Gulfport Street, South Pasadena)Tue 7:45 am - St Petersburg Yacht Club (11 Central Ave)Thu 6:00 pm - Midtown Sundries, 200 1st Ave. S, St. PetersburgWed 7:45am - Treasure Island Tennis & Yacht Club (400 Island Causway, Treasure Island)Tue 5:00pm - Sugarmill Woods Country Club, HomosassaThu 12:15pm - Tarpon Springs Yacht Club (350 S. Spring Blvd)Fri 12:15pm - Heritage Springs Country ClubWed 12:15pm - Dempsey’s Restaurant, Saddlebrook ResortFri 7:15am - Lexington Oaks Golf Club, 26133 Lexington Oaks Blvd off SR 54 near I-75Thurs 12:15pm - Zephyrhills Rotary Youth building, Shepard ParkWed 7:00am - First United Methodist Church, 38635 Fifth Ave, ZephyrhillsAnytime at www.rotaryeclub34.org.

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District 6950 Attendance for January 2011 & Club Meeting Location