September 16, 2008
No. 47 Vol. 86
This Week at Kiwanis
John Romano joined the Times
as a sports writer in the Hernando County bureau in 1985. He became the
Times beat writer for the University of South Florida in 1987 and
took over the University of Florida beat a week after Steve Spurrier's
hiring in 1990. He later worked on the Magic/NBA, Bucs/NFL and Devil
Rays/baseball beats. He became a columnist in 2002.
Romano was born a stone's throw from
the Times office in St. Petersburg and spent 12 years in Pinellas
County's school system and a good deal of time playing youth sports. As
an athlete, he was very good at standing on the sideline and watching
real athletes perform, which, as it turns out, was a precursor to his
chosen career. John began writing for the now-defunct Evening
Independent as a college freshman and continued until his
graduation. He would later work for seven months at the Palm Beach
Post before returning to the Tampa Bay area. His goal as a sports
writer is simple — to be the companion you would want on the next bar
stool. He grew up adoring Pete Rose and later covered his banishment
from baseball. He cheered for the Buccaneers as a school boy in Tampa
Stadium and later covered their Super Bowl victory in San Diego. He
understands what it means to be a fan. And he knows the thirst for
stories behind the scenes. Television can do a wonderful job bringing
the action home to viewers, but he wants to share the stories beyond the
images: the emotion and the motivation; the disappointments and the
successes; the heartbreak and the humor.
Last Week at Kiwanis
Kiwanian of the Day, Charles Stuart,
introduced Ron Rippo, Postmaster of St. Petersburg, responsible for
twelve postal stations. Ron informed us that when the economy is down,
the volume of mail goes down. Since 2001 the volume of mail in St.
Petersburg has shrunk by 30-40%.
The U.S. Government does not subsidize the postal
service and for this fiscal year a loss of $2 billion is forecasted. The
Post Office service is rated anonymously, carriers and counter people.
Locally 93% of all mail sorting is automated and
98.5% of mail within Pinellas County is delivered the next day.
Recently an intelligent bar code was added to the mail service to help
locate mail in the system. Stamp machines have been phased out as they
became unreliable and there are more efficient ways to purchase stamps,
including purchasing through the internet. It has been contemplated to
have mail only delivered 5 days a week, but Ron feels that this is not
on the immediate horizon yet.
The Post Office controls the air space in your
mailbox. It is against postal rules to have anything in your mailbox
besides mail.
At this time, FedEx delivers all priority mail for
the post office. Currently, the U.S. Postal Service has the second
largest fleet of vehicles in the world, only surpassed by the U.S.
Military.
Ron has worked for nearly 40 years for the Post
Office and is retiring in 3 weeks. His position is now posted nationally
for his successor. The candidate list will be narrowed to five and those
five will be interviewed. On October 4, St. Petersburg will have a new
Post Master.
Congratulations, Ron Rippo for serving St.
Petersburg well during your tenure.
What’s Happening:
Installation Banquet: - Let’s have a
fine turnout to the Installation Banquet to celebrate the beginning of
Biff Baker’s reign as our new President. All members have been sent an
invitation to this wonderful event which will be on Tuesday night,
September 30 at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.
Club Directory: - Al Karnavicius
will be checking with those members who have not sent in updated
membership information for the club directory.
Happy Workers: - Jane Baldwin
reminded everyone to bring books to the next 2 meetings for the Book
Fair on Saturday, September 27. So far Jane has received over 75 books.
Cash or checks are also greatly appreciated.
Youth Investment Shares at Work
- Bob Byelick presented Bernie Lodge of the
Salvation Army a check for $1,500.00 towards the recently opened
Sallie House.
- Worth Blackwell presented a check to CASA for
$1,500.00.
Membership: Bob Piplitz reported
that we need only three new members to be on the positive side for
Markus’ presidential term.
New Member: Gary Keller had his
apron signed by 50 members and therefore was able to present his 3
minute speech to introduce himself to the club. Welcome Gary, and we
appreciate having you as a member.
Save A Smile: Ron O’Neal has
announced that the Save A Smile Day is on Saturday, November 15. Mark
the date as we will need many volunteers to help Ron and his staff who
so generously help needy children to secure dental care.
TODAY’S
QUIZ
- Where was John
McCain born?
- Which actor said,
“I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take it more.” Peter
Finch In what movie?
- In the continental
United States name the 2 states that are the furthest apart and
separated by only one time zone?
- What was the main
reason the New York Yankees left their spring training site in St.
Petersburg and moved to Fort Lauderdale?
Last Week's Quiz
- John Adams
wrote the Monroe Doctrine.
- ESPN made its
debut in 1980.
- Battle of
Leyte Gulf, October 1944 in the Philippines was the largest
naval battle in history.
- Branch
Rickey, General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who signed Jackie
Robinson, said: “Luck is the residue of design.”
Invocation and Inspirational Moment:
All SPKC members will be provided the opportunity to give the Invocation
and Inspirational Moment through circulation of a sign-up sheet as is
the present practice. The sign up sheet will state:
The Objects of Kiwanis International include to
give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than the material values
of life and to encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all
human relationships. In keeping with these Objects, the Kiwanis Club of
St. Petersburg opens our meetings with an Invocation and Inspirational
Moment given by a member. Members who sign up to participate are
requested to pray, offer an inspirational message or engage in a moment
of silence consistent with their personal faith and with respect to
those present who may not share their faith.
The SPKC website, Membership Roster and the
meeting programs will publish the guidelines to inform and educate our
members and guests.
The Spiritual Aims Committee will continue to
administer the Invocation and Inspirational Moment for the weekly
meetings consistent with these Recommendations.
This recommendation has Board Approval.
