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October 27, 2009
This Week's Speaker: Tom Porter with
Quest Schools and Florida Autism School of Excellence
Tom Porter is the Director of Quest Schools, which include the Quest Kids Academy in Orlando and the FACE (Florida Autism School of Excellence) Charter School in Tampa. Both of these schools provide educational and behavioral services for students with Autism. Tom’s background in education includes both the public and private sectors, on all levels from elementary school to college. Under Tom’s leadership as the founding principal of an accredited, private school in Orlando, the enrollment grew from 52 students to over 400 students in nine years. He also served as the dean of instruction at a local business college, directed an internship program at the University of Central Florida and has served on the boards of several local schools and pre-schools. Tom has experience in the business arena as well. He served for 13 years as the managing partner of a planning, landscape architecture and graphic design firm and has owned his own consulting firm for over five years. Tom received a BA in psychology and Masters in Education Administration from the University of Florida and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida. Tom has three children and five grandchildren.
What’s Happening
Special Election
Today is the day to vote to fill two club offices/director positions. The candidates for Vice President (a one year term to replace Cyndi Mulligan who resigned from the board):
Michael Brown
Rob Kapusta
The candidates for Director (a two year term to replace Dan Stone):
Paul Misiewicz
Pat Kraujalis
Project Save-A-Smile
Kiwanian Dr. Ron O’Neal is sponsoring Project Save-A-Smile for the fifth year. On Saturday, November 14, at Dr. Ron’s office at 7401 Dr. MLK, Jr. St., N at 8:15 a.m. work will begin on children up to the age of 16. Please contact Kathy Condon to volunteer for this most rewarding experience. You will enjoy being a part of this event. And, thanks Ron, for helping young children in need.
Donation
On behalf of Cornerstone Bank, Kiwanian Kevin Carr presented our club with a check for $1,000.00 to go to the Fischer/Carr Auction Fund. The check, resulting from a promotion with the Rays scoring more than ten runs against the Yankees, is the first money donated for next year’s auction.
Special Announcement
A member of the extended Kiwanis family has been nominated for an Emmy Award.
As some of you know, Ann Miller Baker, wife of past president Biff Baker, produces the annual All Children's Hospital Telethon and all of the patient stories that are a part of it. A story that she wrote and produced for the 2009 Telethon was among 283 Emmy nominees announced this week by the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Her work on "Courtney: Helping Kids Cope" was judged against a standard of excellence to qualify for nomination in the Human Interest Story category for the 2009 Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards.
The story profiles Child Life Specialist Courtney Hubbard, who works in All Children's Emergency Center to help kids and their families cope with the stress of an E-R visit. As the story showcased, Courtney's expertise comes in part from personal experience. The story can be accessed through the All Children's Hospital YouTube channel, where it has become the hospital's most viewed feature.
Nominees for The Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards come from television markets throughout the entire State of Florida; Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and New Orleans, Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama; Thomasville, Georgia and Puerto Rico. Winners will be announced Saturday, Dec. 5th at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando.
(Coincidentally, that's the same day as the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta - which will present quite the conflict for her Championship ticket- holding husband, Biff a.k.a. "Mr. Gator.")
Last Week at Kiwanis
Kiwanian of the Day, Scott Boyle, introduced Cindy Sharpe, director of TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority). Cindy presented a slide show to go along with her presentation. Established by the Florida State Legislature in July 2007, TBARTA is charged with implementing a regional transportation system for Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties.
Cindy reaffirmed what most of us already know – the area’s population represented by TBARTA has doubled in the last three decades – and with that, transportation challenges mushroomed. To take care of these challenges TBARTA’s vision is as follows: “A world class transportation network for the Tampa Bay region that will connect people and places, move goods and services, enhance the quality of life, and offer transportation options that are safe, sustainable, affordable, and efficient. We will act as a catalyst for a vibrant economic future through leadership, collaboration, and partnerships.”
And this vision is very long range as TBARTA’s master plan looks as far ahead as 2050. Hearing this, President Mr. Piplitz lobbied for an adult trike lane to his home in Carrollwood.
Cindy presented TBARTA’s five point system that is essential to this area’s transportation needs:
- Short Distance Bus Route
- Long Distance Bus Route
- Dedicated Managed Lanes
- Short Distance Rail
- Long Distance Rail
Once implemented, the new system will benefit the area economically and environmentally. For such a grandiose plan, the solutions come at a cost as it is estimated that $125.00 per household per year is necessary for funding. However, our region and Detroit are the only major regions without a master transportation plan. Cindy, thanks for helping our area to try to keep up with the Joneses.
Attendance Last Week
We had 48 members and 7 guests.
Matt McClelland, guest of Harry Eisnaugle
Mike Barnard and Scott Buchanan, guests of Jerry Little
Bernie Lodge, Jr., guest and son of Bernie Lodge
John Ralph, guest of Markus Mittermayr
Niell Ferraro, guest of Harvey Ford
This Week’s Quiz
- Who was the Bucs first starting quarterback in their inaugural year of 1976?
- The Kellogg Cereal company is headquartered in which city?
- For what movie did Kevin Spacey receive his first Oscar?
- Name the river that separates Oklahoma from Texas.
- Texas Christian University (TCU) is located where? What is their nickname?
Last Week’s Quiz
- Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday celebrated on October 31.
- Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first. People spend as much as $2.5 billion on candies, costumes, decorations, and parties.
- The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
- Halloween was brought by immigrants to North America from Europe who celebrated the harvest around a bonfire, shared ghost stories, sang, danced, and told fortunes.
- It is believed that the Irish began the tradition of Trick or Treating. In preparation for All Hallow’s Eve, Irish townfolk would visit neighbors and ask for contributions of food for a feast in the town.
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