Fifth Friday in May a good reason to party

Kelly Garces, Greg Martini and Bonnie Blaire attended the Coral Gables Rotary’s Fifth Friday Social at 2655 LeJeune Rd., home to offices of many of the Rotarians hosting the event.
Fifth Friday in May a good reason to party
Richard DeWitt, Owen Freed, Yolanda Woodbridge and David Mitchell are pictured at Rotary Fifth Friday Social.

Coral Gables Rotarians celebrated their most recent Fifth Friday Social on May 29, hosted by several members who work in the same building at 2655 Le Jeune Road.

This was a great way to celebrate the upcoming close of the Rotary year, a year that included some incredible outreach projects as well as a very successful fundraiser that netted almost $20,000 to be divided between Westin’s Colonnade’s favorite charity, Give Kids the World Village, and the many programs of the Rotary Foundation of Coral Gables.

By the way, visiting Rotarians should note that the club, which meets every Thursday at noon, will be meeting Thursday, 12:15 p.m., at the La Jolla Ballroom, 301 Alcazar Avenue, instead of the Courtyard Marriott until July when some construction work at the Marriott is completed.

On the international front, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami, with offices in Coral Gables, hosted a VIP cooking demonstration and tasting at San Ignacio College for the Doral Overseas Chinese Business Chamber in conjunction with the Overseas Community Affairs Council Republic of China (Taiwan) May 26.

A cocktail reception followed the demonstration by international award-winning Asian gourmet chef Pan Meng-jen and chef Tsai Wan-Litop who were flown over from Taiwan to create dishes for several events including the sixth annual Asian Gourmet Gala on May 30 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Doral.

Fifth Friday in May a good reason to party
Kelly Garces, Greg Martini and Bonnie Blaire attended the Coral Gables Rotary’s Fifth Friday Social at 2655 LeJeune Rd., home to offices of many of the Rotarians hosting the event.

More than 100 guests gathered for an affair that included a seven-course dinner that was over the top delicious. Among the many helping coordinate and enjoying the night were Charles Chang, Nubielena Medina, Juan Casamiro, and Marilyn Chou. Of course, Philip Wang also was on hand as the director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami as well as Bruce Siddens, the chair of the Doral Business Council; Pete de La Torre and Sally Villalba of the Pete de la Torre Hour on 880 Biz Radio, and Kent Crook, founder of the new Christian Chamber of Commerce of Greater Miami.

PARK (Perform Acts of Random Kindness) Advisory Council enjoyed an Appreciation Breakfast get together at Park Grove in Coconut Grove. This year’s race promises to be better than ever and, as in the past, will be benefiting multiple charities. Race day is Oct. 3 on beautiful Virginia Key.

Charities wishing to participate may register as a non-profit and receive half of the registration fees their team collects for their own charity.

For any non profit thinking about holding a 5K to raise funds, think again. This is a way to have a race for your charity with no risk. For more information on this, visit www.5KParkFest.org.

Yvonne Elejalde, a very talented graphic designer and marketing professional for Douglas Elliman Real Estate, stepped up as a new member of the Coral Gables Woman’s Club to conduct a painting class that was both fun and educational. Best of all, the activity which was one of the club’s monthly fun nights helped raise funds for the club’s free children’s dental clinic that serves the working poor throughout Miami-Dade County. Members of the club come from all over Miami-Dade and even Broward counties. Those wanting to serve the community and meet new people are welcomed to visit www.gfwccoralgableswomansclub.org.

Until next time, keep making each day count.

If you want to submit information for this column, please send your news via email to gloriagalburns@aol.com.


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A graduate of the University of Florida with a major in Spanish, Burns has an extensive background in advertising, marketing and reciprocal trade, travel , non profit consulting and management. Before joining Miami's Community Newspapers as a columnist and marketing specialist, Gloria was the Executive Director of the Jr. Orange Bowl Committee (6 yrs.) and first Executive Director of the Coral Gables Community Foundation (14 yrs.) and the Pinecrest Community Foundation (1 ½ yrs) . Burns' volunteer activities led her to become a columnist for Community Newspapers writing Gloria’s Gab, that focuses on the non-profit activity, and a host of an online show, Gloria's Gab LIVE. Gloria serves the board of the Rotary Club of Coral Gables as Civic and Charity Chair, and is involved in the club's International Committee. She is an active Life Member of the Jr. Orange Bowl Committee and is Secretary of the Merrick Festival. She serves on the board of directors of the Coral Gables Woman' Club as Publicity Chair and also coordinates the club's monthly fundraiser for various charities with Gringo Bingo at Clutch Burger. In addition, Gloria participates in numerous other charitable events and is a member of the Business Forum Group, Profit Inc., the Greater Miami Festival & Events Association and the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce. In other volunteer activity, Gloria helps Miami Christian School with fund-raising and PR; is an Ambassador and volunteers for events for A Safe Haven for Newborns. She is an active member of the Music Ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church where she enjoys singing in the choir every weekend.