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October 16, 2007 No. 3 Vol. 86
This Week’s Program Dave Abbey –Personal Injury
Protection Insurance Debate
David J. Abbey, a long-time fellow Kiwanian, is a
Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar, as well as a
Circuit Civil Mediator certified by the Florida Supreme Court. Born in
Fairbury, Illinois, Dave attended Illinois Central College (A.A. 1972),
Illinois State University (B.S., 1973), and Stetson College of Law
(J.D., 1977). He was President of the Stetson Student Bar Association
and President of the Florida Federation of Student Bar Associations in
1976 and was a member of Phi Delta Phi.
Dave was admitted to the bar in 1977 in Florida
and Illinois, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th
Circuit, 1977, United States District Court for the Middle District of
Florida, 1977, and the United States Supreme Court, 1988. From ‘87’-‘91,
he served as an adjunct professor at Stetson College of Law teaching
courses in Insurance Law and Damages.
Since 1979, Dave Abbey's primary practice has been
representing insurance companies, their insureds, and other parties in
civil litigation. He has tried in excess of one hundred jury trials and
has participated in numerous appeals. His professional experience in
civil litigation, arbitration and appeals includes bad faith, motor
vehicle liability, trucking defense, uninsured motorist claims, coverage
litigation, industrial accidents, machine and equipment failures, gas
explosions, wrongful death, premises liability, and products
liability.
Dave, a Partner at Abbey, Adams, Byelick, Kiernan,
Mueller, Marone & Samis, L.L.P. since 1982, has been listed in the Guide
to Leading Florida Attorneys, Outstanding Lawyers of America, Florida’s
Legal Elite, Florida Trend Magazine (2003), and Florida Super
Lawyers - 2006 and 2007. They fail, however, to list him also as a
master gardener and Indy 500 fanatic. His secretary tells me he hasn’t
missed a race since eighth grade!
Dave will speak to us today on the personal injury
protection controversy. Welcome to the podium, Dave. The topic should
appeal to everyone, but we’ll be the judge of that!
Last Week’s Program:
Kelsi Oswald, Manager, Solid Waste to Energy
Program
Kiwanian-of-the-Day Tom Nelson introduced
our guest speaker, Kelsi Oswald, a representative of the Solid
Waste Department of Pinellas County Utilities.
With a million tons of waste a year collected from
Pinellas County, forward-thinking individuals have devised sophisticated
measures to convert waste to energy. No tax dollars are used to fund the
program, but it is an Enterprise Fund. The program’s sources of revenue
are disposal fees, which have not increased since 1988, and the sale of
energy to Progress Energy for our use.
The days of dumping solid waste in landfills only
are gone. Now programs like PCU’s manage waste in a variety of ways with
an eye toward a hierarchy of best to least desirable options. The
highest level in the hierarchy is to reduce waste. Don’t buy things you
don’t need, buy products with less packaging, reuse, recycle (within
your home or in exchange with others) and donate what you would normally
discard. The next level of preference is to recycle on a bigger scale.
That requires that the County collect waste, process it and that we buy
the resulting recycled products. While better than waste dumping,
recycling still requires more resources than waste reduction. The third
level is converting waste to energy. This is preferable to the least
desirable option , landfill dumping, and has benefits to us, but is
process-intensive and expensive. Ms. Oswald went into detail about this
aspect of waste management as it is the primary activity of her
department within PCU.
Converting waste to energy requires a multi-step
process from the collection of 4,000 tons of waste a day delivered by
trucks, storage in a massive pit and stacking areas, crane-feeding of
waste into feed shoots to move it into a burner and a mass burn facility
(the biggest in the State) where an 1800 degree fire processes it on a
gross level. Water is run through tubes in the fire that converts it to
steam which they use in their plant and to produce electricity for
Progress Energy. Because pollutants are released in the waste burn,
chemicals are added to render them harmless and the fly ash is processed
for metals and is then used to cover the landfill. The clay-lined
landfill pit keeps waste from leaching into groundwater and waste water
mixed with storm water is put into the slurry wall and kept at a level
lower than the outside water tables so that water can only come in, not
out.
Ms. Oswald’s presentation on the complex processes
required to dispose of our waste and to light and cool our homes was
more interesting than the topic might have seemed on the surface. And
the more we understand about the measures the County has to take to deal
with it, the more likely we are to make better decisions about how we
buy and use products.
Guests And Visitors
48 members and 8 visitors came to hear about the
waste-to-energy program Tuesday. Steve Koch brought Ed Montanari,
Tom Nelson, our Kiwanian of the Day, hosted Jerry Little,
Reverend Murphy introduced two guests, Ross Prevale and Sean Kelly
and we were joined by two Key Club members, Shaily Desai and Yamini
Patel. Welcome, friends! Come back anytime!
Kiwanians Just Want To Have Fun
Lorin Bridge reminded us that the Social
Committee meeting will take place directly after today’s luncheon.
President Markus made it clear that fun is key this year, so you
have your mandate. Entertain us!
Project Save A Smile Takes A Spooky Turn
Kathy Condon announced that, as in past
years, Dr. Ron O’Neal and his staff will provide free teeth cleaning and
dental exams on Saturday, October 27th for the children from
Help A Child and the Salvation Army Sally House. Children must
pre-register and complete medical forms prior to the event. This year’s
event theme is Halloween and children are encouraged to come in costume.
St. Pete High’s Key Club will provide activities and crafts, Chick-Fil-A
will provide breakfast and lunch and there will be prizes and give aways
during the event. A DJ, clowns, a bounce house, face painting, a Bucs
player and a K-9 dog will keep children entertained, but your help is
needed. Please come help children with activities and crafts and to
soothe those who become frightened by the dentist or the costumes!
Adults are needed in many capacities, so call Kathy at 823-6500, ext.
306 or speak to her at today’s meeting.
What’s Happening?
Field Trip To The
Florida Holocaust Museum – October 23rd
Don’t forget – our
Kiwanis Luncheon next week will be held at the Holocaust Museum at 55
Fifth Street South in St. Petersburg. This is a great opportunity for
all of us to acquaint ourselves with or revisit the esteemed collection
and exhibition space that honors the memories of those lost in the
Holocaust and its survivors. Please join us for a moving program and
tour and if you forget and go to Orange Blossom, just reroute yourself
and come late to the Museum! We’ll be looking for you.
Communiques from
Lt. Governor Terry Carr and Governor Mark Taylor
President Markus
Mittermyer and Charles Stuart received the following email from Lt. Gov.
Terry Carr who shared thoughts from Gov. Mark Taylor with us.
“Team 13 leaders,
I thought
I would share with you an e-mail I received from Governor Mark Taylor.
Are any
Division 13 clubs supporting Key Leader? If so, please let me know.
MMMM was
a great success in our Division. Thanks so much for all who
participated. As a result of your endeavors, we have 12 new members who
were not Kiwanians before. I am told there are several more new members
pending. Thanks for getting this year off to a great start.
You are all super
models!” Terry
“Dear 2007-2008 Lt.
Governors:
Here's this week's 3
things:
1. Key Leader. If you
are within 200 miles of Lake Wales, please send a request out to all
clubs to consider sending some young people to Key Leader in Lake Wales
October 26-28. This is the last push and you won't hear me ask again. We
have enough kids to make it work, but really need 20 more to make the
session great. Let's go from good to great. Register at
http://key-leader.org/about/
2. Guardian Ad Litem.
Sharon and I are amazed at the help you are giving us with this project.
The Guardian Ad Litem offices are almost in tears of joy with contact
they are having. Thank you. Governor's visits start this week and all of
you seem to have been in contact with the GAL offices.Thanks. We are
inviting a GAL representative to be at each visit. It is not your
responsibility to pay for their meal, unless you just feel the absolute
urge and have plenty of money. Sharon and I will make sure the meal is
paid.
3. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
My phone rang from midnight until 1 a.m. and then it quit so I could go
to bed. So far, we have reports of 129 members inducted on October 1st.
I am so proud. Several divisions are still counting. I think we will go
over 150. Thanks. The next phase of membership growth is Special Guest
Day. Please start pinning clubs down for the date. Most clubs will say,
‘we will do it.’ I want to know when. And then we are going to hold them
accountable.
Thanks for a great
start,”
Mark
“P.S. Our Schedule
this week takes us to Division 2 and Division 7. Please keep our
travel in your thoughts and prayers.”
October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
We as Kiwanians do so much to help children in the
world, especially those who have family, health or educational obstacles
to a brighter future. October reminds us not to forget our faithful
companions who have also found themselves in unhappy circumstances and
cannot give voice to their pain or loneliness, shelter dogs (and cats,
birds, rabbits, hamsters, etc.). If you’re considering getting a pet,
please check out your local shelters and rescues before going to a
breeder (and never buy dogs from pet stores). A place to start?
Petfinder.com lists thousands of dogs by breed, size, age and location.
Shelter dogs cost less, even for purebreds and depend on human
intervention to prevent their untimely deaths. Raising children and dogs
together teaches children empathy and responsibility and prevents later
allergies in kids – a proven fact!
TODAY’S QUIZ:
- Today is Noah
Webster’s birthday. After Webster's death in 1843, the rights to the
dictionary were purchased by whom? (Hint: The new company and its
successors continued the work with many subsequent revisions.)
- How can one easily
determine the percentage of alcohol in a bottle of liquor?
- Which country has
the only national flag that is flown differently during times of
peace or war?
- What is the name
of the St. Petersburg businessman and philanthropist, who with his
wife, founded the Florida Holocaust Museum? What was the name of the
Museum before its name was changed in January 1999?
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ:
- Pinellas County
residents and businesses discard one million tons of solid
waste each year.
- Theodore
Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his work
in the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Portsmouth ending the
Russo-Japanese War in 1905. This made him the first American to win
a Nobel Prize in any of the categories.
- Among Asian
elephants, only the males have tusks. Both sexes of African
elephants have tusks.
- A cluster of
bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas,
which are known as fingers.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
God help us to
weave a tapestry of love and not hate in our children, a spirit of
tolerance and caring, a dedication to freedom for all and not just some.
God help us to sow seeds of peace and justice in our children's hearts
today.
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