Coral Gables High Interact Club installs new officers

Coral Gables High Interact Club installs new officers

Rotary Club of Coral Gables past president Greg Martini installed new officers and board of the Coral Gables High School Interact Club on May 29.

Congratulations to all including incoming officers: president Yanik Ariste, vice president Yara Faour, secretaries Alain Perez and Lior Colina, and treasurer Carmen Pelegrino. The Rotary Club of Coral Gables also sponsors Interact clubs at Gulliver and, reinstating their club this year, Miami Christian School.

Interact provides great opportunities for community service and leadership development, and these are just a few of the clubs sponsored by countless Rotary clubs for that purpose.

Speaking of the Coral Gables Rotary, club members and guests were treated to an exceptional program on June 1 featuring a man who knows more about American history than most professors — Frank Sexton. Frank is both a collector of documents signed by almost every American president and a talented storyteller who brings history to life.

His fellow Rotarians are treated every couple of years to one of Sexton’s amazing, insightful presentations on a particular president. This past program’s topic was Andrew Jackson and, as always, it was enlightening and fascinating.

Time for his talk went over but, given the option of continuing another day, Rotarians opted to stay until the conclusion to hear the “rest of the story.” It was like wanting to stay for the end of a movie. Frank has that effect on an audience.

The next week, Coral Gables city manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark provided an extensive update on numerous developments, followed by a Q&A session. From Streetscape to Zika concerns, she covered it all. Many will remember that Cathy was a superstar Economic Development director for the city for years and left for a time returning as city manager.

She is no doubt one of the best city managers anywhere and can field almost any questions thrown at her about Coral Gables where she has been a resident forever. By the way, one of the interesting things Cathy shared was that the Zika carrying mosquito, according to UM research, does not like bromeliads, so, go ahead and water them.

In other Rotary news, several South Florida Rotarians joined many other District 6990 Rotarians for the 2017 Rotary International Convention held in Atlanta, GA, June 10-14. Imagine more than 40,000 Rotarians gathered from all over the world for an exciting, inspirational week sharing Rotary’s positive impact globally including such critical issues as the eradication of polio with its Polio Plus program with guest speaker Bill Gates.

Aside from Bill Gates and Rotary International president John J. Germ, the convention offered a long list of amazing world leaders and philanthropist as speakers including such notables as superstars Ashton Kutcher, Jack Nicklaus and John Cena; U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal; Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, and former Ambassador to UN Andrew Young.

Among the local Rotarians who attended the meeting celebrating Rotary International Foundation’s Centennial were Sally Baumgartner Goodman, Yoli Woodbridge, Carol Alexander, Rotarian from California and a former Gables Rotarian Mike Baird, Carol Alexander, Jon Arthur, Nicholas Eterovic, and Carlos Ruiz de Quevedo.

Finally, condolences go out again to the family of Chris Morrison and to his Coral Gables Rotary family who lost a dedicated, amazing member. He will be missed for his jovial ways, his love of Rotary and for all the work he put into the annual golf ball drop year after year to help our district support Polio Plus.

Until next time, keep making each day count.


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