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Tuesday, October 31, 2006 No. 5 Vol. 85 Today's Speaker:
Terry Tomalin, St. Petersburg Times Outdoors Editor
Terry Tomalin, Outdoors Editor, joins us today from
the St. Petersburg Times, where he oversees the weekly special
section Gulf & Bay. Terry played rugby at American University in D.C.,
then transferred to the University of South Florida, graduating in 1983
with a degree in Mass Communications.
Terry’s career in journalism started early as he
served as writer, photographer and columnist for The Oracle, the
student newspaper at USF. He moved to the Leesburg Commercial
covering local government issues, the environment and law enforcement.
He then covered law enforcement and general assignments for The
Ledger in Lakeland, FL prior to joining the Times in 1986 as
a police reporter. On sabbatical in 1988, Terry backpacked through New
Zealand and Australia where he climbed volcanoes, rafted down white
water rivers and camped on islands near the Great Barrier reef. As
Outdoors Editor, he has lived with witch doctors in the Amazon, explored
sunken Mayan ruins, sailed to Cuba, scuba dived with sharks in the
Bahamas and swam around Key West. He and his wife Kanika are the proud
parents of two children, Kai and Nia.
Terry’s special flair for writing has won him
numerous awards. Among them are: 1993 Florida Sports Writers
Association's Feature Writing Award; 1994 Best News Story award for
investigative reporting: 1995 Sports Writing award from the Society of
Professional Journalists and 14 other writing awards from the Florida
Outdoor Writers Association. In 1997 Terry was recognized by the
Outdoor Writers Association of America with Feature Writing and Best
Page awards.
Despite his rich and busy life, Terry volunteers
his time to benefit many youth oriented organizations. We look forward
to his sharing his stories with us today. Welcome, Terry Tomalin!
TODAY’S QUIZ
1. When does a black cat bring you good luck?
2. What are the Canary Islands named after?
3. What were the names of the Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse, named in the Bible's Book of Revelation?
4. Who bought the first Hummer manufactured for
civilian use in 1992?
LAST WEEK AT KIWANIS
Kiwanian-of-the-Day Cathy Swanson introduced
our speaker, Dar Webb, volunteer executive director of the
Palladium Theater, with kind words and admiration for this true friend
of our community. Ms. Webb, a former software entrepreneur who left
that field about six years ago, has brought much-needed business skills
to the missions of local arts and children’s groups. As a board member,
she became especially impressed with the work of the Palladium, St.
Petersburg’s local performance theater.
Built as a Christian Science Center in 1925, The
Palladium as a performance venue was founded by Paul Stavros in 1998.
His vision of it was to be an incubator facility, focused on emerging
groups, where they could learn stagecraft and perform for large
audiences. Ms. Webb’s vision expands on that to include celebrating
local performers in support of the cultural renaissance she sees taking
place in St. Petersburg as well as bringing in quality groups from
outside the area to enrich our cultural experience. Today the Palladium
is dedicated to serving the citizens of Tampa Bay through the
presentation of performing arts in a state-of-the-art venue that is both
intimate and majestic. The theater features the 880-seat Hough Concert
Hall that has recently been remodeled with state-of-the-art sound and
lights and boasts a full-sized Skinner Pipe Organ.
Ms. Webb emphasized the quality and variety of
concerts and performances – over the 2006 season 163 separate
productions were held, one nearly every other day. 37,000 people
attended during that year, with 1/3 of the events by, for or primarily
involving children. From opera to jazz, from ballet to chamber music,
the Palladium appeals to a variety of tastes, ages and interests. What
used to be the Sunday School room in the old church building is now what
Ms. Webb calls “the coolest cabaret in town,” enjoyed by musicians for
its fine acoustics and by audiences for its top-notch jazz. Her goal is
to grow audiences from its reputation as an enjoyable arts venue and
keep prices low, so that everyone can enjoy Palladium performances.
Like any nonprofit, fundraising is an ongoing preoccupation. To
maintain quality and increase accessibility will require increased
earned revenue through ticket sales and concessions and the support of
“Angels” who contribute to make up the uncovered costs. Currently, the
annual budget is just under a million dollars a year, with revenue about
50/50 earned revenue and contributions. Kiwanians can help by attending
events, sponsoring events (which offers marketing benefits to companies)
and spreading the word about what the Palladium offers. For more
information on programs, times and ticket prices, go to
www.mypalladium.org or call Dar Webb at 822-3590. She’d be happy to
talk with you about her proudest accomplishment to date – acting as an
Agent of Cultural Change in the St. Petersburg community.
Guests and Visitors
Al Karnavicius introduced Interclub guests
Bill Knowles, Past Lieutenant Governor Harvey Bernstein
and Jeff Francis. Governor Elect Mark Taylor joined us from
Brooksville as did Lieutenant Governor Eddie Lee. We were
pleased to host New York City Kiwanian Eunice Harris. Come back
again, Eunice, when you travel to the Sunshine State!
Improved, New, and More Ads, Too
We’re kicking the new Kiwanis year off with a bang with our expanded
Kiwanian Bulletin – more color, more pages and lots more room to
advertise your company. Big Al presented us with the Top Ten
Reasons to upgrade your existing ad or advertise for the first time:
10) If you currently run a small ad, bigger is
better.
9) If you don’t have an ad in the Bulletin yet,
even small is fine.
8) There are no set-up charges…
7) and no charge to upgrade.
6) Advertising in the Bulletin is inexpensive.
5) There is no charge for color.
4) Ads are billed from April to April, but we will
pro-rate!
3) Your ad will be in good company.
2) Your new or upgraded ad will keep the Bulletin
fresh and new.
1) Advertising in the Bulletin serves the children
of the world in one more way!
Membership and MidTown Markus
Mittermayr welcomed Governor Elect Mark Taylor to the podium
who had a few words to say about this year’s membership drive. He
thanked us for our role in boosting membership and asked us to help with
another important initiative – building the MidTown St. Petersburg
Kiwanis Club. He encouraged each of us to suggest one person who would
benefit from and enjoy belonging to the MidTown Club, which will build
support for that Club and increase our overall numbers. Contact the
Membership Committee if you can help achieve that goal.
Bowl Me Over! Do you
bowl? Our Kiwanis Bowling Teams don’t either! That doesn’t mean they
don’t need your participation. Paul Renker reports that
Kiwanis Blue won 2 and lost 2 last week. Kiwanis Red won 0
and lost 4. Join good bowlers and good sports Steve Mattei, Leroy
Williams, Sr., RT Earle, Tilly Earle, BB Slaughter, Bruce Bjorklund, Lou
Averbeck, Jim Beach, Dave Fagen, Bill Knowles, Paul Renker, and Wayne
McKay Mondays at 6:30 at Sunrise Lanes for their InterCivic League.
PRAYER OF THE DAY God who
listens and hears when we pray, we know that you walk with us on our
journey through life, that you are there when we are at work and when we
have no work, in our work at home and in our leisure time. We know that
you are with us always. Help us to believe in a more just world, help
us to dream a new vision, give us the openness to work with others to
make a difference. Hold us up when we stumble, when there are obstacles
and we don't know the way forward. Give us the confidence to challenge
injustice and to nurture the flame of justice until it burns brightly.
Amen
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ:
1. Jockey Frank Hayes had a heart attack
during a 1923 race. His horse, Sweet Kiss, won, making Hayes the only
deceased jockey to win a race.
3. At 840,000 square miles, Greenland is
the largest island in the world. It is three times the size of Texas. By
comparison, Iceland is only 39,800 square miles
3. More than 100 years ago, the felt hat makers of
England used mercury to stabilize wool. Most of them eventually
became poisoned by the fumes, as demonstrated by the Mad Hatter in Lewis
Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Breathing mercury's fumes over a long
period of time will cause erethism, a disorder characterized by
nervousness, irritability, and strange personality changes.
4. James Madison, 5 feet, 4 inches tall,
was the shortest president of the US. Abraham Lincoln was the
tallest at six feet, 4 inches.
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