Halloween brought thousands of youngsters to Sunset Drive on Halloween for a great family friendly street party with children dressed in adorable costumes accompanied by many parents doing the same. Closing off Sunset Drive to traffic offered the crowd a perfect place to stroll with their children and enjoy the afternoon. Of course, many had house parties as well that offered kids a safe Halloween experience. Five year old Ryan Barna, who loves skeletons, decided he wanted his birthday party on that day. Luckily his Grandma, Tania Stern, loves Halloween and was happy to host a bash like few others with more than 30 kids and many more adults in attendance.
Coral Gables Rotarians also took advantage of the Halloween theme with a Fifth Friday Social on Halloween Eve where they entertained a Group Study Exchange Team visiting from Peru Team Leader Raul Sanchez, a Rotarian from “Lima Colonial” and a past resident of that Club, surprised the party goers with his talent as a singer while others from his team gave a folk dance exhibition. Sanchez was joined by Milagros Mesones, an educational psychologist from Santiago; Elvira Gonzales, a CPA from Lima; Carlos Lechuga, from Brena, a graduate in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration and Karla Nunez, an advertising executive from Santiago.
Helping spearhead a welcome and arrange meetings for the GSE visitors was Yolanda Woodbridge. Among the many stops was one at Coral Gables City Hall to meet with Mayor Don Slesnick, also a Rotarian.
Speaking of Rotary, there are still spots open for The Rotary Golf Classic will be held Thursday, November 12, at The Biltmore Hotel, to benefit the Rotary Club of Coral Gables Charitable Foundation and The Rotary Foundation. Enjoy a great day of golf with lots of prizes. Entry fee of $150 for individual golfers includes green / cart fees, refreshments on course, gift bag, continental breakfast, lunch and awards presentations. There will also be a golf ball drop with lots of fabulous prizes for the lucky ticket holders. To purchase tickets, to sign up and/or request sponsorship information, call Chris Morrison at 305-582-7690 or Florida Team Golf at 305-255-3500.
In other news, the “Principal for the Day” program welcomed The Honorable William Thomas, Federal Public Defender Kathleen Williams and Suree Rambo, Assistant Manager at Cool-de-Sac: Play Café in South Miami, as participants on October 21. A program designed to help community leaders better understand the complex role of the school principal, also gives them a better perspective of the school system from within.
South Miami Rotarians and others looking for a make up meeting, check out the new Rotary Club at MetroZoo. They meet every Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. and we believe it is the only Rotary meeting in the world that actually meets in a zoo. Until next week, keep making each day count.
Gloria Burns is Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Pinecrest., a 501 (c ) (3) non profit organization, as well as a columnist for Community Newspapers. Keeping abreast of community activities is a challenge. If you would like to submit information for this column, please send your news via email to < galburns@aol.com >.
