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January 15, 2008 No. 14 Vol. 86
This Week’s
Program:
Green Buildings / Sustainable Design
by John Toppe
John Toppe is the founding president of Florida’s first chapter of the
US Green Building Council, the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter. He was one of
the original members of the organizing group that initiated discussions
in May 2003 that culminated in the formation of three USGBC chapters,
including Central and South Florida. He is a registered architect in
Florida and North Carolina and is a LEED ® Accredited Professional. Mr.
Toppe’s 35 years of experience includes master planning, programming and
design of institutional and public projects. His work includes major
buildings for universities, state and local governments and public
libraries, museums and theaters throughout Florida. He is President of
Toppe Consultants, Inc., a St. Petersburg firm that specializes in the
programming and design of libraries, museums and theatres. He is also
President of The Cultural Alliance, a planning and management
consultancy and is the two-term past President of Partners N Progress
for the Arts, the supporting foundation of the Largo Cultural Center. He
serves on the Board of The Manatee Players in Bradenton and is a member
of the University of Florida School of Architecture’s Advisory
Committee.
The mission
of the Florida Gulf
Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council is to lead the region
toward sustainability by encouraging and advancing environmental
friendly knowledge and values as they pertain to the built environment
and its relationship and impact on nature and human kind. Their
vision is to hand the next generation a healthy,
self-sustaining Florida.
Mr. Toppe will speak
to us today about what green building is, its cost-effectiveness,
sustainability and how to improve quality of life while conserving
resources. For more information, visit the Gulf Coast’s chapter at
www.sustainabletampabay.org.
Last Week’s
Program:
Marc Topkin, Sports Writer for the Times
Kiwanian-of-the-Day
Bob Byelick introduced our returning friend and speaker, Marc
Topkin.
Baseball, Marc said,
was now launched into an off-season filled with controversy,
uncertainty, suspicion and rumor. “We love that in the news business!”
he chuckled. He said he’d come intending to give us answers, but
actually had more questions, which he posed to our group to remind us of
the issues facing baseball this year. Would the Mitchell Report continue
to be a hot subject? Do we believe George Mitchell and trust his
research and standards? Or do we believe the players mentioned in the
report who used the “I didn’t inhale” defense? Would the report have an
effect on induction into the Hall of Fame coming up? Mark McGuire isn’t
getting in.. How much should drug use affect a body of work and a
legacy? If Roger Clemens and others get in, shouldn’t Pete Rose finally
be inducted, too? Marc said he was firm in his conviction last year that
he would vote Clemens in and that he still would, but Clemens’
arrogance, bullying and question-dodging caused Marc’s commitment to
slip a little. But really, how much do performance-enhancing drugs
enhance, especially if it was only a few times and why penalize players
who used them before the prohibition took effect? Marc asked.
The questions
continued. Did the Rays do the right thing by trading Delman Young? he
asked. Marc agreed they needed to make some kind of move, but was this
the right one? He thought it probably was. How about trading Elijah
Dukes? Yes, he said. Troy Percival, an aging veteran, thought his career
was over because of injuries, but the team has faith that Percival will
be able to turn things around. Questions were raised about the proposed
new stadium. Would it come to pass without state funding? Would voters
vote it in if it didn’t have State funding? Parking and the heat would
be a problem, Marc felt, and attendees were suddenly making noises about
liking Tropicana Field, seemingly more than they had ever liked it
before. Our members were split on the issue when we held up our hands -
yay or nay. If the Rays can’t get approval from the voters this
go-round, they could always stay at Tropicana Field for a year or two
and then give it another try. If they get voter approval, it will be an
incredible boost to the franchise and more revenue, Marc suggested. Late
in his presentation, Marc took questions and comments from the floor and
offered up his opinion about specific players and teams, but the
questions he raised at the beginning of the luncheon remained unanswered
Only time will tell, it seems, and Marc was fine with that.
Guests And Visitors
58 members and 7
guests turned out Tuesday to hear about all things Rays. Kim Horstman
brought her mother, Martha Hiestand, Doug Lampe hosted an
attorney friend, Jim Bogus from Tampa and Nick Gizzarelli
introduced Gary Jennings. We welcomed members from the Kiwanis Club of
Pinellas Park who joined us for an InterClub. Attending were Bill
Vannatta, Bill Cleary, and Ray Hoeneisen.
Kiwanian Of The Week
We’re including a
new feature to help members new and old get to know each other better. A
short biographical “portrait” and a picture of a fellow Kiwanian will
appear in each issue as we receive them.
Name: Maryann Lynch
Company / Title Times Square
Properties / slumlord
Joined Kiwanis because: Cathy said I had to.
Your single favorite Kiwanis experience/event: My 3 minute speech.
Tell us about your family, including pets. 1 kid, 1 dog.
Perfect day away from work: Go to the office and work.
Best vacation ever: Alaska.
Last book read or favorite movie: Don’t read. Soylent Green.
Sports or art walks? All sports suck.
Beach or Mountains? Both.
One thing most people don’t know about you: Let’s keep it that way.
Quote to live by: “What goes around, comes around.”
If
you were on Kiwanis Survivor, who would you vote off the island?
Myself.
What’s Happening?
The Latest From Lora
In Ukraine
Lora wrote President
Markus twice recently, once to update our Club on the Ukrainian Kiwanis
programs for children at the holidays and more recently to confirm her
trip to Tampa Bay in February. Lora and her family will visit our Club
on Tuesday, February 12th. Please plan to attend and show her
how our Club welcomes fellow Kiwanians from around the world. Are you
interested in hosting Lora and her family? They need a place to stay
while in the area which offers Club members a great opportunity to
introduce them to our great city. President Markus can give you
specifics regarding length of stay and so on. Selections from Lora’s
holiday update follows. In it, we learn a great deal about Christmas and
New Year’s traditions in a former Soviet country. Not so different from
ours, as it turns out, and full of the same spirit of rejoicing and
renewal.
Hello Markus
Mittermayr
The first New Year's
tree was lighted in Russia three hundred years ago, when Peter I issued
a special ukase (or edict) to the effect that the New Year celebrations
will be held each year on the night of the first of January. During the
decades of Soviet power, when Christmas was not observed, New Year's
personified the Christmas holidays as well as the arrival of the New
Year. In Russia, the New Year is marked once again--on the night of
January 13-14. It is called "The Old New Year" and it is marked
symbolically. New Year's is considered to be a family holiday and is
celebrated at home with family members and near and dear
friends..Obligatory to the holiday celebrations is the fir tree...The
house or flat is immediately set in order, floors are washed, and
carpets are cleaned. The day before, it is the rule to array the fir
tree, to decorate apartment with fir or pine branches with cones,
garlands, snowflakes, and the ribbons of paper streamers. Snowflakes,
cut from white paper, are glued onto windows. The snow man, the fir
tree, and winter hares are drawn with watercolors. Hanging from fir tree
are toys cut from fine glass: many-colored balls, figurines of animals
and fairy-tale personages, beads, "gold" and "silver" streamers. Under
the fir tree are placed the toys delivered by Grandfather Frost and the
Snow-Maiden. The kindly Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter
Snow-Maiden, with her long light brown plait of hair, visit good little
ukraine children at New Year's. Often during the festivities, with
theatrical performances in schools, theatres, and circuses, one can meet
Winter, Baby New Year, and many fairy-tale personages like the scary
Baba Yaga (the witch in ukraine folk tales). On the evenings before New
Year's, young children sing and dance in a ring around the tree, telling
rhymes and singing. The elder children go to kolyadovat, that is, they
go from house to house to perform the ancient Christmas rite of the
glorification of the holiday through the singing of songs. They wish
happiness, health, and good luck, and in return, they are given nuts,
apples, cookies, sweetmeats, and a small coin.
On New Year's
Eve…supper usually begins at ten or eleven o'clock in the evening, and
it will last for three hours. At exactly five minutes to midnight, the
Ukraine President delivers his address to the ukraine people. And
exactly at midnight, the chimes strike twelve times. People hold their
breath and wish for what they most want to see happen during the
approaching year. Then they fill their glasses with sparkling champagne
and wish one another happiness throughout the New Year. Outside, on the
street, many-colored fireworks are ignited. Shouts of "Hurrah-ah-ah!"
and other joyful cries are heard…If the streets are full of snow…the
people leave their houses and head for the nearest hill or square and
there go tobogganing and behaving like little children. For the duration
of the New Year's festivities, there is no school. School boys and girls
build snow men and toboggan down icy slides. Level fields near the
houses are flooded and a skating rink is made ready. At the town skating
rinks, one can whirl on skates to the music and play hockey…In villages,
children skate on the ice of frozen rivers or ponds. They also go skiing
over the fields and across the glades. With fresh freezing air, deep
silence, and chunky snow under one's feet---it is wonderful!
I love this holiday
Lora
TODAY’S QUIZ:
1. By age 60, most
people have lost half their a. minds b. income
c. tastebuds d.
hair.
2. Arrowroot, used
as a thickener in cooking, is also an antidote for what?
3..French was the
official language of what country for over 600 years?
4. What kind of
material was used for the bandages in which mummies were wrapped?
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ:
1. Coretta Scott
King established the King Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, her late
husband’s home town.
2.
www.majorleaguedowntown.com is the website where
you can go to get updates on the Rays’ plans to build a downtown
baseball venue.
3. Elvis Presley was
born January 8, 1935.
4. Anna Nicole
Smith said “Marrying into money was not a good thing for me.”
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Respect for the
Earth
Grant us a spirit of
concern for the future of our environment;
Bring an end to the exploitation of the earth’s scarce resources;
Encourage us to be responsible stewards of your creation.
Lord, make us prophets of our time.
Grant us a spirit of
respect for the value and integrity
of each person;
Encourage us to be accepting of ourselves and of others.
Lord, make us prophets of our time.
Grant us a spirit of
openness to see God within and around us;
Help us rejoice in the good we have experienced as we move
forward to the future;
Help us use our senses to celebrate beauty and creativity in the world.
Lord, make us prophets of our time.
Grant us a spirit of
truth to recognise failings, which have hurt us,
others and the world;
Give us the humility to ask forgiveness for our part in any wrongdoing;
Lord, make us prophets of our time.
Grant us a spirit of
generosity to reach out in trust to those we encounter;
Help us to embody God’s love in our relationships with one another.
Lord, make us prophets of our time. Amen.
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