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June 24, 2008 No.
36 Vol. 86
This Week’s Program:
Coach Jim Leavitt, USF Bulls
Coach Jim Leavitt is a
longtime friend and supporter of our Club and one of our most popular
speakers. Raised in St. Pete and a graduate of Dixie Hollins High,
Jim is the current (and only)
head coach
of the
University of
South Florida
Bulls
college football
team, having been with the program since its inception.
After
signing his first class in 1996 (all redshirted) for the first varsity
season in 1997, Leavitt has guided the team through the
Football
Championship Subdivision ranks into the
Football Bowl
Subdivision, into
Conference USA
and finally into the
Big East
Conference.
Jim’s
on-field success, drive and dedication to the university have produced
significant improvements in athletic facilities, such as a new athletic
training center that includes an Academic Enrichment Center for student
athletes, new administration facilities, and new practice fields for the
football team.
On
September 16,
2007,
Leavitt's Bulls team cracked the Top 25 for the first time in the
program's history. On September 28th, 2007, Leavitt's USF Bulls stunned
the 5th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at
Raymond James
Stadium, which is perhaps the biggest win thus far for the
USF football program. On
October 14th,
USF received its first ever
BCS
ranking as the #2 team in the nation behind only Ohio State University.
That week the team was also ranked #2 in the AP poll and #3 in both the
Coaches and Harris polls.
On
March 11,
2008,
Leavitt signed a two-year extension to his original seven-year,
$7
million contract that he signed in 2006.
We
couldn’t be happier to have Jim stay in Tampa Bay as our favorite coach!
Welcome, Jim. We look forward to your enthusiastic predictions for
2008-2009.
Last Week’s Program:
Bill Foster, Traffic Signal Coordinator for the City of St Petersburg
The Stormwater, Pavement and Traffic
Operations Department maintains the city's drainage, sidewalks, roadways
and traffic signal systems. Bill Foster has worked for 35 years
in the City Traffic Signal division and is currently the Director of
Traffic Control.
Bill’s presentation
started off with an informative slide show that explained how traffic
flows in St. Petersburg. Bill and his staff of nine work to try to
minimize traffic stoppage through judgment and experimentation. He
described two types of traffic lights in the city, “free” lights which
we as drivers experience randomly when we pull up to an intersection,
and “coordinated” lights which operate on a predetermined schedule.
Computers aid in coordinating 40 schools’ flashing lights and also in
adjusting the total time of lights on each street, which is called
“cycle link.” Bill said if a driver hits more than three lights in a row
that means that street does not have synchronized lights. Why is this
important? Bill explained that synchronization of lights save drivers
an estimated $27,000,000 in gas expenditures per year based on
current gas prices.
Recent completed
projects include pedestrian countdown signals to ensure that walkers are
alerted to upcoming light changes, and 70 mast arm lights which are
designed to be hurricane resistant. Additionally, all signals have been
changed to LED lights, which cost $450,000, but save $100,000 in utility
costs. Their department is also finishing the Pinellas Trail in St.
Petersburg from 34th street to downtown.
Guests and Visitors
We welcomed four guests
last Tuesday, among them Greg Foster, introduced by Ron Braun, and the
lovely Audrey Lampe, hosted by son Doug Lampe. Our speaker Bill Foster
and his son rounded out the guest list. Forty-seven members attended as
well. Welcome, all, and join us again.
What’s Happening?
Update On Bruce
McKelvey Recuperating In California
Al Karnavicius called
Bruce at the hospital in Los Angeles where he’s recovering from his
recent heart attack. He’s doing well and is eager to come home. Bruce
had a heart attack at LAX, en route to a reunion. Fortunately, two heros
came to his aid. One administered CPR while the other applied a
defibrillator. Their quick thinking and action in the busy airport saved
Bruce’s life, for which he, his family and all his friends here at home
are most grateful.
InterClub
Opportunity This Week
Harvey Ford announced
an InterClub meeting with the Sunshine City Club this Friday, June 27,
at noon, at the Picadilly restaurant on 34th Street North. If
you have not attended at least one InterClub since October and gotten
your new sticker, please take advantage of these great opportunities to
experience other Clubs in our District.
Birthday Bash
Entertains and Raises Funds
Bob Byelick announced
that the Jim Fischer Scholarship Fund birthday party at St. Pete Country
Club drew over 125 fun-loving guests. Although the final take for the
night is not in, over $13,000 was raised from the six live and 43 silent
auction items, all of which were donated by Kiwanians. Corporate
sponsors covered all the food and the party expenses. Today’s speaker,
Jim Leavitt, was the auctioneer, which made for lively entertainment and
an excellent fundraiser.
David Abbey donated
$120 to the Jim Fischer Fund as a thank you to Bob Byelick and the rest
of the committee for a job well done. Our scholarships are now projected
to help 120 students.
Thanks to everyone who
participated in any way to make this Club event such a success!
Boys and Girls
Committee Awards Grant To Girl Scouts
Grant Wallin presented
a $1,000 check to Susan Al-Abed of the Girl Scouts of West Central
Florida, courtesy of the Boys and Girls Committee. Girl Scouts of West
Central Florida serves more than 28,000 girls ages 5-17 and 10,000 adult
volunteers in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas,
Polk and Sumter counties. Girl Scouts aims to build girls of courage,
confidence and character, who make the world a better place. We’re proud
to support such a fine organization through our grant program.
Today’s Holidays
June 24th is
both UFO. Day (commemorating the first sighting of a UFO in the U.S.)
and Museums Come Alive Day. How to celebrate? Rent “A Night In The
Museum” with Ben Stiller and eat Unidentified Fried Objects from KFC!
TODAY’S QUIZ:
-
1.
Who
holds the record for the
longest field goal in USF’s history at 63 yards?
-
2.
Who was the first U.S.
president to be a Rhodes Scholar?
A: Woodrow Wilson B. Richard Nixon C. John F. Kennedy D. Bill
Clinton
-
3.
Where are the Grand
Tetons?
-
4.
What is a proscenium?
Bonus Question (for
today’s UFO commemoration): What former presidential candidate was
reported in The Cleveland Plain Dealer to have had a UFO
encounter in Washington State?
LAST WEEK’S
QUIZ:
-
1.
Myanmar is the country
that, prior to 1989, was called Burma.
-
2.
An
android is an artificially or synthetically created
robot
designed to resemble a
human,
usually both in appearance and behavior. A cyborg
("cybernetic organism" or "bionic man") is a creature that is a
combination of organic and mechanical parts.
-
3.
You can you tell a
roach is about to lay eggs because she will carry a rectangular
egg case, called “ootheca” on
the end of her abdomen.
-
4.
Brad Pitt played the
warrior Achilles in the movie “Troy.”
PRAYER OF THE DAY
(Prayer to live with Grace)
May we discover through pain and torment,
the strength to live with grace and humor.
May we discover through doubt and anguish,
the strength to live with dignity and holiness.
May we discover through suffering and fear,
the strength to move toward healing.
May it come to pass that we be restored to health and to vigor.
May Life grant us wellness of body, spirit, and mind.
And if this cannot be so, may we find in this transformation and passage
moments of meaning, opportunities for love
and the deep and gracious calm that comes
when we allow ourselves to move on.
----
Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro ---- |
