Rotary Club of South Miami

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The Rotary Club of South Miami was chartered on April 12,1950 as part of the worldwide service organization Rotary International. In [1992], the club formed the Rotary Foundation of South Miami, Inc as an affiliated organization which was determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. The club is part of District 6990 a Rotary district which covers, Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe counties as well as Grand Bahama island.

1 Service
2 Support for Education
3 South Miami Rotary Art Festival
4 Officers and Directors
5 Publications
6 Regular Meetings
7 Links

[edit] Service

The Rotary Club of South Miami has a long history of international and local service.

In 2006, the Rotary Club produced the Becca’s Closet Fashion Show at Murray Park which introduced South Miami’s Murray Park Community Center to many for the first time. The money raised from the fashion show along with other money the club raised resulted in a $5000.00 contribution from Rotary to provide lighting at Murray Park. Make up artists were brought in and evening gowns furnished to highlight young women in South Miami and give many their first opportunity for a public appearance experience.

For many years, the Rotary Club of South Miami supported Fellowship House. The club welcomed several staff members as Rotarians, and through their knowledge of what was needed, donated funds and supplies.

Each year, Rotary volunteers assist elderly South Miami homeowners as part of the “Rebuilding Together” program. These homeowners truly appreciate what was done for them, and the program benefits the community by keeping private property in good repair. Over the years the club worked on several of the Habitat Houses built in South Miami and Goulds. In 1992, the Club made a gift to Habitat for Humanity of $5,000 to help with its South Miami projects.

From the day of the first Safe Streets Halloween and the first Santa’s Parade of the Elves; South Miami Rotarians have been there to marshal, direct parking, and help keep visitors, residents and their children safe.

"Service Above Self" is the Rotary Motto which has guided the Rotary Club of South Miami and its Rotarians are proud of their contributions which have made the world and their local community a better place for all.

[edit] Support for Education

For decades, he Rotary Club of South Miami has supported the education of local students through a widely variety of scholarships and programs.

DARE stands for Drug Awareness Resistance Education. This program was begun in 1983 by the Rotary Club of Los Angeles and spread across the country as the nation waged its War on Drags. The Rotary Club of South Miami learned of the DARE program and voted to donate the cost of sending a police officer to special DARE training. As a result, South Miami boasted the first police agency in Miami-Dade County to have a DARE program.

The Rotary Club has provided citizenship awards to South Miami High School graduates for many years and also to students at three other high schools in the immediate area. The club has also has an annual social studies essay contest for students at South Miami Middle School, with cash prizes and a large plaque on which the club maintains winners’ names.

The original After School House in South Miami was started by Rotary and later maintained by the city. Donations of carpeting, computers, and other supplies first came from Rotary and the club's high school Interactors sent tutors and helped with landscaping.

Since 1992, the Rotary Club 0f South Miami has funded 25 full two-year community college scholarships for students from [South Miami High School], including the not inconsiderable cast of books. The scholarships do not go to the top students, but to scholastically average young people with leadership potential who are financially challenged and would not be able to attend college otherwise.

The Rotary Club of South Miami has also partnered with Take Stock in Children to fund a four year college scholarship The club contributes $5,000 dollars which is half the cost of the scholarship. The club also takes an active part in the administration of the scholarship. Take Stock in Children identifies potential recipients and then the club determines which of these to sponsor.

[edit] South Miami Rotary Art Festival

Since 1984 the the club has hosted the annual South Miami Rotary Art Festival. This arts and crafts festival was intended to benefit the commmunity culturally and economically by attracting both artists and consumers to the area. Initially, the event boasted only 25 booths but in recent years has drawn artists from as far afield as Canada and the United Kingdom. Estimates suggest that as of 2008, close to 30,000 people now visit the festival each year.

Now in its 24th year, the 2008 South Miami Rotary Art Festival will take place during the last weekend of February in downtown South Miami. In addition to visiting many artists and crafters, festivalgoers will be able to visit a Children's Alley and listen live to a number of local musicians.

[edit] Officers and Directors

The Rotary Club of South Miami has a number of leadership positions as of January 2008.

The officers of the club are: President Mike Mills, Vice President Linda Kaplan, President-Elect Bill Enright, Secretary Doreen Reitnauer, Treasurer David Jacobs and Sergeant at Arms: Hampton Booker.

The board members of the club are: Ellen Book, Dan McCrea, Fabio Fernandez, Jody Perlmutter, Ed Fischer, Diana Phillips, Maxene Graham, John Sorgie, Pansy Graham, and Don Streaker.

The committee chairs are Donna Gaines for Club Administration, Linda Kaplan for Service, Wendy Lapidus for Fundraising, Cathy Miller for Foundation and Asaad Masoud for Membership.

[edit] Publications

The club publishes the South Miami Rotarian, a weekly newsletter. Back issues of the newsletter are made available to the public on the Rotary Club of South Miami official website.

[edit] Regular Meetings

Presently, the Rotary Club of South Miami meets at 12:15 PM every Tuesday at Bernie's Steakhouse which is located at 5960 S.W. 70th Street in South Miami.