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August 28, 2007 No. 47 Vol. 85
This Week’s Program: Florida Representative Bill
Heller
Having served in the Korean War as
an army paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne, Bill Heller went to college on
the GI Bill and became a teacher in 1959. He went on to earn a masters
degree and doctorate, and became a professor of education.
Bill became Dean and CEO of
USF-St. Pete in 1992. He led the fight to make it a four-year campus so
local students could get a degree here at home. When he stepped down in
2002, the City of St. Petersburg declared August 21 “Bill Heller Day”
and honored him for a “Decade of Excellence.”
A tenured professor in the College
of Education, Heller has trained a new generation of teachers for
Florida’s classrooms and administered more than $6,000,000 in grants
over the last fourteen years. Recently elected Representative in the
Florida House, defeating long-time friend Angelo Cappelli, Bill has
promised to use his experience as a community leader and educator to
improve our public schools. He is committed to finding a solution to the
property insurance crisis and to use what he learned as Chair of the
Bayfront Health Systems Board of Trustees to assure high quality and
affordable health care for all.
Representative Heller’s community
involvement has been extensive and he has received numerous awards, more
than we can print here. Highlights, however, include his involvement in
key leadership Board positions with Bayfront Health Systems, Community
Foundation of Greater St. Petersburg, Great Explorations:The Children’s
Museum, YMCA, Pinellas Association for Retarded Children, Family
Resources, SPCA of Tampa Bay,
Mahaffey Theater Foundation,
Family Services, Inc., and Resurrection House, among others.
Awards he has received include:
2004 - Community Service Award for outstanding service to the community
by the Leadership St. Petersburg Alumni Association.
2004 - Pinellas County Urban
League’s Chairman’s Award for outstanding support and service to the
Urban League.
2002 - Honored by the Council of
Neighborhood Associations (CONA) with a special appreciation award for
services to the neighborhoods of St. Petersburg.
2002 - Honored by the Pinellas
County School System with a special award for “making a difference in
the lives of children.”
2002 - Recipient of the Florida
Suncoast Opera Guild Award for contributions to the Cultural Enrichment
of the cities of Pinellas County.
Bill has been married to Jeanne,
his high school sweetheart, for 52 years. They have three children and
three grandchildren. Welcome, Representative Heller! We are grateful for
your commitment to our community.
Last Week’s Program: Gary Carnes, CEO, All
Children’s Hospital
Kiwanian-of-the-Day Markus Mittermayr introduced
our guest speaker, Gary Carnes, who gave us a slide presentation tour
through All Children’s Hospital. Gary told us that the Hospital has been
in a $410 million capital campaign to add to its buildings and programs
and that the seventh floor had just been added that day. Floors will
continue to be added with all the new construction projected to be
finished in 2009.
In 1926 the All Children’s was known as the
American Legion Hospital for Crippled Children and was basically an
institution where children were sent to die. Over the years, as
technology and reconstructive techniques improved, the hospital evolved
into the life-saving community partner it is today. Carnes showed us a
map indicating all the centers and programs that comprise All Children’s
today. There are eight Special Care Centers on the West Coast of
Florida, one Surgikid Center, three Therapy Centers and ten hospital
affiliates. The hospital currently occupies a 30 acre campus and enters
into mutually-beneficial arrangements with a number of other hospitals.
For instance, Bayfront’s obstetrics program will be relocated to All
Children’s as a tenant and they already share adult cardiac and
pediatric services. Ronald McDonald House has 14 rooms in the hospital
for family members of very ill children. The State of Florida has
recognized them as a great example of community cooperation.
All Children’s has completely revamped its
formerly overcrowded neonatal unit, pediatric intensive care unit and
surgical rooms.
Gary Carnes’ concerns for the future currently
revolve around the implications of the State not requiring personal
injury insurance, since they can’t and won’t ever refuse to treat
injured children. Numbers of uninsured patients will skyrocket and it is
hospitals that will take the hit. Thank you, Gary, for showing us what a
valuable resource we have in All Children’s.
Guests and Visitors
The 55 of us attending last week were joined by
six great guests: Susan Doll introduced Doug Linder from the Y, Tom
Nelson brought two Key Club co-presidents – Keeley Lawner and Tyler
Payne – and Harry Benjamin visited from Birmingham, AL. Joel Momberg and
Mike Sexton accompanied our speaker, Gary Carnes. Great company all
around!
Speaking of Tyler and Keeley…
Tom Nelson shared some inspiring information about
the two Key Club co-presidents that demonstrate the kind of young people
that are shaping the Kiwanis of tomorrow.
Tyler is a senior in the International
Baccalaureate program at St. Petersburg High. He joined Key Club in his
sophomore year and coordinated the Annual Induction Ceremony for new
members at the Dali Museum last year. He supports monthly blood drives
and is involved with the Race for a Cure. Tyler’s goal is to strengthen
Key Club’s relationship with our Kiwanis Club and to promote more
community activity within his school He hopes to attend the University
of Florida…or UCF…or Rollins.
Keeley is also a senior in the International
Baccalaureate program . She has received three varsity letters in speed
swimming and is a senior captain this year for the St. Pete High Green
Devils. Keeley’s first love is synchronized swimming. Last March, her
team of eight girls won the Senior Gold Medal in Dallas, winning them
the title of The Best Team in the Southern Zone. That win qualified them
for the International US Open competition in Honolulu last month, where
they took fourth place behind Canada, Taiwan and California. But lest
you think Keeley is just a fantastic swimmer, she has also played
concert piano for most of her life. She just returned from Sacramento
where she participated in an international piano recital for ten
pianos.
Kiwanis can only get better and better with
winners like Tyler and Keeley leading the way for the young businessmen
and women of tomorrow!
Our Loss Is New York’s Gain
We are sorry to say goodbye to our youngest member
Dennis Sitarovich! He’s been offered a job in New York, but promises to
visit us at lunch whenever he’s back in the area. All best to you,
Dennis. We enjoyed your participation in our Club!
More Life-Changing Dollars From Kiwanis At Work
Susan Doll presented $1,000 check from the Boys
and Girls Committee to Doug Linder from the YMCA in support of
low-income children’s programs at the Y. Our Club has supported the Y
since 1926 and Kiwanians have served as Board Members at the Y as well.
What’s Happening?
Who's Who
Big Al Karnavicius passed out information update
sheets at the last meeting for our updates or revisions before the new
Kiwanian Directory comes out. Edit sheets will continue to be put on the
tables for the next two weeks. Many of us rely on the directory to stay
in touch, so please ensure that your entry is accurate.
Four Wild and Crazy Guys
Our Club’s “Men About Town” Mitch Cochran,
Markus Mittermayr, Biff Baker and Charles Stuart attended
the Florida District Convention in Marco Island last weekend. Let's hear
that report, fellas!
When Talking With Prospective Board Members...
When you bring a guest or talk to friends and
colleagues about Kiwanis, hand them a brochure with an application right
in it! See Charles Stuart or anyone on the Membership Committee
to get brochures to accompany your Kiwanis “elevator speech.”
Sign Here!
Please sign in when you attend our Tuesday
luncheons. Our tracking system is useless if only some members check
in. If you don’t see Trent Shadwick and the sign-in sheet at the
lobby table, please look for him in the dining room and let him know
you’re there, even if you’re not all there ; - }
TODAY’S QUIZ:
1. Has the Florida Legislature ever adopted a
State Motto? If so, what is it?
2. What are the three primary colors and the
three secondary ones?
3. What do crocodiles swallow to use as ballast
while diving?
4. What is the oldest, continuously inhabited
city in existence?
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ:
- In 1967, at the
dedication of the new hospital, trustees quoted the poet Carl
Sandburg to explain the hospital’s new name: “There is only one
child in all the world, and that child’s name is All Children.”
- Libra,
(The Scales of Balance), is the only symbol of the zodiac that is
inanimate (it is not represented by an animal or person).
- The breed of
chicken determines what color the eggs are.
- Fingerprints serve a function - they
provide traction for the fingers to grasp things.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God, bless our State.
Guide its governors, show them the path to take,
make their actions conform to the way of nature.
Knit together the many peoples into one tribe;
unite us, make us a family, as indeed we are under your loving gaze.
Amen.
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