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July 14, 2009
Today’s
Program
Southwest
Florida Water Management District Todd Pressman
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Todd Pressman of Clearwater is president of Pressman and
Associates, Inc.
Pressman has served on the Governing Board since April 2005 and
his term expires March 1, 2010. In May 2007, he was elected
Board secretary and in May 2008, he was elected Board vice
chair. In May 2009, he was elected Board chair.
Born in
Cleveland, Ohio, Pressman graduated from Beachwood High School
and then attended Ohio State University. He lived in Dallas,
Texas, and in Miami before moving to the Oldsmar/Palm Harbor
area. He formerly held a State of Florida Real Estate license.
Pressman
has spent the last two decades in the professional pursuit of
land use issues, political campaigns, and lobbying. These issues
have always been of great interest to him from his teen years to
the present. His personal interest has remained at the local
levels of government—where growth and land use issues are
generally found. He believes that water issues have become the
priority of these matters. His company has represented over 100
separate businesses and interests throughout the Country on a
wide variety of issues.
Pressman
has served on the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council as a
member from March 2000 through October 2004, the Hillsborough
County Code Enforcement Board from October 1991 through March
1993, and the U.S. 19 Task Force and Pinellas County
Re-Development Committee. He also has served on the board for
the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services and as a volunteer for the
5-to-1 Task Force.
Pressman
is also the co-chair ex officio of the
Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board. |
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What’s
Happening
Foreclosure
Kiwanis
Shirts are still available at $25.00 per shirt. Get them before the bank
does.
Short Sale
Yes,
Kathy Condon passed out the dues notices this week. Remember, your Youth
Investment Services is included with your dues. YIS is directly
responsible for the scholarships we award.
Last Week
at Kiwanis
Kiwanian of the Day, Doug Lampe, introduced Dr. Louise Boothby-LLorente,
director of Early Steps at All Children’s Hospital (ACH), and her
assistant, Kimberly Gray, one of thirty eight staff members involved in
Early Steps.
Dr.
LLorente’s father, a pediatrician, inspired her to follow a career path
in child care, “a calling and avocation”, as she referred to it. From
Dr. LLorente and the published material provided, we learned that Early
Steps is a family-centered early intervention system that serves infants
and toddlers who are:
·
Birth
to 36 months, regardless of their family’s income
·
And
have significant delays or an established condition that may result in a
delay
To be
enrolled in Early Steps, children must first be found eligible through a
screening process. Every child grows at an individual pace, but research
shows that a child’s first three years are the most important time for
learning. Early Steps offers early intervention services to infants and
toddlers (birth to 36 months) with a disability or significant delays.
“Early Intervention” refers to services for infants and toddlers that
are designed to identify and treat a problem or delay as early as
possible.
Early
Steps provides families with services to enhance their child’s
development so they are ready to learn when they enter school. There is
no charge for Early Steps services, or they will be covered by insurance
or Medicaid if applicable. Early Steps services are provided by
contracted local Early Steps offices across the state. Our local Early
Steps offices coordinate with community agencies and other providers for
the delivery of needed supports and services.
A
thorough assessment will be made of an eligible child’s skills and
abilities. Then an Individualized Family Support Plan (IFSP) is designed
just for their family with expected goals based on the child’s
individual development. The child’s IFSP determines needed early
intervention services.
Funding
for Early Steps is through the State of Florida, with money trickling
down from the federal government. This year, $477,000.00 of stimulus
money is available, but it is an arduous task to receive. Currently ACH
receives $1,100.00 per child enrolled in their program including the
counties of Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus. Each year, over 3,000
children in the ACH district are helped within Early Steps.
From
Kimberly, we learned of her real life experience as two of her foster
children have received care through Early Steps. Kimberly mentioned to
us the biggest growth period for the brain is from birth to three years,
hence the importance of Early Steps.
Kimberly and Dr. LLorente echoed their biggest needs are community
awareness to enable greater funding and understand the core mission of
Early Steps.
Thank
you, Louise and Kimberly, for an illuminating look into the lives of
beginning children.
Guests and
Visitors
We
had 43 members and 3 guests attending. Andrew Denton, guest of Lou
Averbeck; Dr. Louise Boothby-LLorente and Kimberly Gray of the Early
Steps Program
Today’s
Quiz
1.
What 1976 chart-topping song did Barry Manilow sing, but not write?
2.
What Michael Jackson album spawned five chart-topping singles?
3.
What Mayberry resident once hijacked a bull when he'd had too much to
drink?
4.
Who was the first solo female host of the Academy Awards Ceremony?
5.
What southeastern state boasts the cities of Frog Jump, Only, and Sweet
Lips?
Last
Week’s Quiz
1.
Antarctica
Government has no
definite form and shape. The role of the Antarctica government is
played by Antarctic Treaty System, which was formed in 1959. This
treaty actually came into force on 23rd June 1961.This Antarctic Treaty
System has 45 countries as members. Of these 45 countries, 28 countries
are consultative and the remaining 17 are non-consultative nations.
The administrative decisions are mostly taken by consensus and not
through voting.
2.
Zion, Bryce
Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef
are the National Parks located in Utah.
3.
In the
earliest days of University of Utah recorded history, the students and
alumni referred to their athletic teams as both the "Utes" and the
"Redskins." The dual nickname was officially dropped in favor of "Utes"
in 1972, when college campuses became sensitive to the concerns of
tribal members. The University of Utah uses Ute as its nickname with
permission from the Ute Tribal Council. Although the University of Utah
nickname is still Utes, the school introduced a mascot in 1996, with
permission from the Ute Tribal Council. "Swoop" represents a red-tailed
hawk, a bird indigenous to the state of Utah.
4.
The
Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense
Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System (or
simply, the Interstate System), is a
network of limited-access highways (also called
freeways or
expressways) in the
United States that is named for
President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, who championed its formation. The entire
system, as of 2006[update],
has a total length of 46,876 miles (75,440 km),[1]
making it both the largest highway system in the world and the largest
public works project in history.[2]
The Interstate Highway System is a subsystem of the
National Highway System.
5.
Michael
Jackson’s album “Thriller” has sold more copies than any other
musical Album. |
