June 15, 2010
Today’s Program
Project Save a Smile in Haiti
Today’s Speaker
Dr. Ron O’Neal
Our speaker today, Kiwanian Dr. Ron O’Neal, local dentist, shares with us his experiences on a recent trip to Haiti caring for children’s dental needs.
Ron is a graduate of the University of Florida (UF) with a BS in Psychology and the UF College of Dentistry. While at UF, Ron and his fellow dental students worked on the less fortunate of the Gainesville area. After establishing his office in St. Petersburg, Ron, impacted by the patients he worked on in Gainesville, founded Project-Save-A-Smile. With the help of our Club, on a fall Saturday Ron and his staff donate their office and time to care for our own local children whose families cannot afford dental care. Now, Project-Save-A-Smile is global.
Dateline January 12, 2010. In Haiti a 7.0 magnitude earthquake left two million homeless and three million in need of food, water, and health care. Immediately, the World reacted with billions of dollars in aid and human resources.
Ron’s church, Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa sponsored a mission of mercy to Haiti. Sixteen members including Ron left on May 29th, returning on June 6th. Our Club raised over $5,000.00 for dental supplies. Prior to his departure, when asked about his journey, Ron replied “Why not me? There are two dental chairs at a clinic down there with no one to use them and no supplies. I’m told by the director of the clinic that there are people lined up around the building to have teeth extractions.”
Ron wanted to express special thanks to his dental supplier, Henry Sullivan Schein, for donating over $3,000.00 worth of surgical dental supplies. Also, the Rotarians of District 6950 in the spirit of civic cooperation gave Ron’s mission $1,000.00. Rotary, cheers from our Kiwanis Club and Dr. Ron O’Neal.
In closing, the generous expression of helping others is what motivates Ron. Ron recently said, “I hope my own experience through my recent voyage to Haiti can act as a resource for others to not be afraid to travel outside of their comfort zone to the betterment of those less fortunate. I have been so fortunate to have such an amazing support network in my life. It is only through example that our children will grow up with compassion towards others.”
Dr. Ron O’Neal, proving once again Kiwanians make a difference!
What’s Happening
More Scholarship Letters
We received the following letter from Shaibrelle J., a seventh grader at Bay Pointe Middle School.
Dear Mr. Byelick,
Thank you so much for approving me in this wonderful scholarship program, it means so much to me. It is like a dream come true.
Math is my favorite subject because it's interesting, fun, and it will get you through everything in life. I sing in the school chorus class. I cheer because it gives me lots of energy.
I want to go to college for nursing because I want to save lots of lives. St. Petersburg College is the college I want to attend.
Again I say thank you very much for this Doorways Scholarship!
Sincerely,
Shaibrelle J.
Telethon Thank You
Thanks, Pat Biscotti, for your organizational effort to secure volunteers for parking at the ACH/Channel 8 Telethon on June 5th and 6th. The following Kiwanians participated: Biff Baker, Bill Holloway, Carl Miller, Dick Koch, Hall Wells, and Bob Stichway.
Bull Skip
Yes, you can see Head Football coach Skip Holtz entertain us next week. Remember, bring potential guests! Sign up your guests through Tom Hallis at tom@tomhallis.com. Thanks to Charles Stuart for the program idea and Ron Braun for the membership drive efforts.
Kiwanis Grant Presentation
Our Kiwanis Club proudly presented $1,000.00 to the Girl Scouts of Pinellas County, over 4,000 strong. Thanks Candice Nyarkoh and the Young Children: Priority One Committee.
Carrot/Stick Coerced 3-Minute Speech
You get 50 signatures on your apron; you get a white name badge. John Ralph did just that and delivered his three minute speech as well. John, a graduate of Stetson University in Deland, owns and operates a CPA firm in St. Petersburg. He has lived in St. Petersburg twenty-five years with wife Kathy, an academic advisor at St. Petersburg College, and has two sons in college. He also made it very clear that baseball is near and dear to him in St. Petersburg and feels it is important that baseball stays here. Congratulations, John, on your membership in Kiwanis!
Last Week at Kiwanis
Kiwanian of the Day, Seymour Gordon, introduced our speaker, Rabbi Jacob Luski, the spiritual leader of Congregation B’nai Israel of St. Petersburg. Rabbi Luski also visited us in the spring to discuss the relationship of Easter and Passover.
Rabbi Luski spoke of the fears the countries have in the Middle East region, particularly the fear Israel has of Iran and their nuclear weapon capability.
While Israel, which is small in geographic size (just barely bigger than New Jersey) and population (about seven million), and relatively new as a country (slightly over 60 years), their significance is important on a global basis.
Iran, on the other hand, dwarfs Israel in many ways, but is technologically behind…. until recently. With help from other countries in the Arab world, most notably Turkey, Iran is poised to enter the nuclear world.
Israel’s goal, as well as their allies, is to stop this potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has threatened Israel with annihilation. And that’s where the United States interests are involved as we stockpile our weapons there.
Right now, Rabbi Luski is seeing indifference to support Israel by the United States. He has spoken to Congressman Bill Young about this topic and while Young has said the legislative branch does not mandate policy, it does control the purse strings for economic support for the region. Rabbi Luski appears to understand the delicate balance the United States has for all the countries in the region as peace is always tenuous at best, but conveyed to us the frustration of the Jewish people for peace never seems to be at hand.
A quote from Israel Premier Golda Meir in 1973 may have summed up the feelings of Jews in the Middle East. “We look forward to the day when Egyptian mothers feel sad for the Israeli boys that died.” She said this in 1973, and really, not much has changed in the region, other than now radical Muslims and other religious factions have made peace much harder to achieve.
Thanks, Rabbi Luski, for an education to the issues of the Middle East.
Attendance Last Week
We had 51 members and 4 guests.
Mark Waterbury, guest of Tom Hallis
Jake Holehouse, son and guest of Ron Holehouse
This Week’s Quiz
- What is the name of the island where Haiti is located? What is the name of the country that borders Haiti?
- What country last controlled Haiti? What year did Haiti declare independence?
- What is the capital of Haiti?
- What is the approximate population of Haiti? A) 5 million B) 10 million C) 15 million
- Name three export items of Haiti.
Last Week’s Quiz
- The acronym NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- In 1979 the NHL made helmets mandatory for players entering the league but allowed players to go without helmets if they were veterans. Craig MacTavish was the last player without a helmet and retired in 1997. The name of the first NHL goalie to regularly wear a face mask was Jacques Plante.
- The countries that border Germany are: Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and The Netherlands.
- Cocaine removed from Coca-Cola in 1903, and it contained 9 milligrams of cocaine.
- Past Negro League Baseball teams included:
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