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March 20, 2007 No. 23
Vol. 85
Today’s Program: Tim Ramsberger, Honda
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Honda
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is a three day event
featuring the
IndyCar Series,
Indy Pro Series
and American Le
Mans Series, as well as concerts, interactive
attractions and family entertainment. Our speaker, Tim Ramsberger, is
the unifying force behind the event who ensures that thousands of
spectators have a terrific day at the races.
Born this month in
1962, Ramsberger, a St. Petersburg native, was educated at Florida State
University, receiving his BA in Business Administration in 1984 and his
Juris Doctorate from the FSU College of Law three years later.
Ramsberger worked as an attorney in private practice in Orlando, Tampa
and St. Petersburg, then changed his career path to the World Cup USA
1994 (FIFA World Cup, Orlando, Florida, to the Centennial Olympic Games
in 1996, to Disney Sports & Disney’s Wide World of Sports (Lake Buena
Vista, Florida) and Outback Sports in Tampa. In 2000, He received his
MBA from the Rollins College of Business. Tim went on to work for Dover
Motorsports/Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the Champ Car World Series and
is now Vice President of Andretti Green Promotions – Honda Grand Prix of
St. Petersburg.
Although he leads a
busy and exciting life, Tim still finds time for involvement in his
local community, serving on the Board of Directors of two worthy
nonprofits – All Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Pediatric Cancer
Foundation. He has his USCG Captain License and holds a Florida Real
Estate License. He lives on Treasure Island. Welcome, Tim! We’re
eager to hear about the Grand Prix.
Last Week’s Program
We were honored last Tuesday to have as our guest
the Ambassador of Lithuania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, Vygaudas Ušackas. The ambassador thanked us for our
participation in the Lithuanian Golf Tournament, citing the programs it
makes possible for the children of mostly rural Lithuania.
Our speaker, who has an impressive history of
service, noted that his country of 3.5 million people only achieved
independence 17 years ago but has already become a member of NATO. After
WWII, NATO was a key element in preserving the peace and helping to
foster relationships among countries. The Baltic States were deprived of
that peace, stability and prosperity enjoyed by Western nations. He
hopes that Lithuania will have that benefit now and is interested to see
how relationships between his country and others will evolve.
As here, security is a priority in the European
Union. He referenced the common perception that Americans are addicted
to oil which keeps us in an uneasy relationship with Arab states. To the
extent that that is true, Ušackas said it is even more true of
Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, which are 100% dependent on Russian oil.
It is also becoming true of Germany. When Russia calls a halt to oil
exports, the impact is great throughout Europe. The United States and
Lithuania need to work together to solve that problem.
The Iraq war caused a deep conflict among the
Baltic countries with Lithuania in support and others opposed. Lithuania
has troops in Iraq. Despite some philosophical differences, Ušackas sees
real progress in relationship between Europe and the US. He also sees a
strong EU presence in peace planning in the Middle East.
Regarding Iran, Ušackas points out that the EU has
always been more in favor of diplomatic solutions rather than
militaristic ones, which is a major difference between EU and US; he
hopes we will listen to and respect the EU’s opinions on issues of
conflict. He feels we lack information about Iran that would better the
prospect of forging a relationship.
On a final note about Russia, the ambassador said
that Yeltsin was a very pro-West, whereas Putin is closing the doors and
dismantling human rights protections like freedom of speech. People can
be imprisoned for criticizing policies of the government and citizens no
longer feel safe in Moscow. Ušackas feels that many Western leaders are
too naďve about Putin and that his country and ours must work together
to ensure that human rights are respected around the world.
Ambassador Ušackas provided us with a unique
opportunity to see the US through Eastern European eyes and his talk was
both informative and entertaining. Thank you, Ambassador. Please join us
again.
Guests and Visitors
In addition to our speaker, three visitors joined
us Tuesday and 48 members. Frank Ranieri brought his new graphic
designer, Aaron Lukosavich. Maryann Lynch introduced us to Dave Kool,
her friend from Verizon and Louis Murphy brought his son, Louis, Jr.,
our favorite athlete!
March Fast Facts
March is Women’s History Month,
but today, the 20th of March, boasts three different
holidays. It’s International Earth Day (celebrate by staying home and
watching An Inconvenient Truth), it’s Extraterrestrial Abduction
Day (keep an eye on the sky and your feet on the ground!) and it’s
Proposal Day (if you missed out on Valentine’s Day, here’s your
chance). You can celebrate all three at once by proposing that you and
your significant other spend an evening at home watching ET and
Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary!
What’s Happening?
Al Muter Scholarship Fund Committee
JC Russell announced that there will be a
committee meeting tonight at 5:15 at Fisher & Sauls to go over
applications for scholarships.
Name That Bank
Following the recent escalation of the bank name
change trend, Kevin Kelso would like us to take note that Signature Bank
is now Whitney Bank.
Nothing Is Certain But Change
Cynthia McGowan would like you to note that her
contact information has changed since the directory was published. You
can now find her at American Stage, 211 3rd St. South in St.
Pete, 823-1600, ext. 203,
cmcgowan@americanstage.org.
You Snooze, You Lose
…out on the cruise, that is. Weyman
Willingham announced Tuesday that the 98-foot yacht is booked up
with Kiwanians who will enjoy the three hour cruise Thursday, April 26th.
If you’d like Weyman to put you on the waiting list, please let him
know, but chances are slim that the yachtsmen and women already signed
up will stay ashore. It might be better to lobby for another cruise…are
you listening, Weyman?
Florida District Mid-Year Conference
The Florida District Mid-Year Conference is being
held in Lake
City
on Friday, March 30th and Saturday, March 31st.
For more information, go to the Florida District website.
Women’s History Month Famous First
In 1849,
Elizabeth Blackwell
received her M.D. degree from the Medical
Institution of Geneva, N.Y., becoming the first woman in the U.S. with a
medical degree.
TODAY’S QUIZ:
1. What is the name of the first underwater park in
the United States and where is it?
2. Name four of the 28 sponsors of the 2007 St.
Petersburg Grand Prix.
3. What is the origin of “March Madness?”
4. Who was the first
woman to conduct at New York's Metropolitan Opera House?
(a first in 1976!)
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God, Creator of
Mystery, in the growing revelation of reality evolving around us, we
rise with gratitude into an ever larger and larger world. Our personal
life has its meaning, and is dovetailed in all its co-evolutionary ups
and downs into the larger meaning that encompasses us. None of us can go
it alone: each has innate energies needed by all. We give thanks to be
conscious of the awesome narrative of which we are a part, paradoxical
and baffling as it is and must be. Amen.
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ:
1. The thing before the penultimate thing
is the antepenultimate.
2. Lithuania
had only one king – King Mindaugas, crowned in 1253.
3. The ZIP in “ZIP-code” stands for
“Zoning Improvement” code.
4. An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its
brain.
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