Stories

Local Radio Show Wellness Wednesdays

This Radio Program ran for 2 years and is now only available as a Podcast @

https://www.buzzsprout.com/216482/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rotary-wellness-wednesdays-podcast/id1473708031?uo=4

Rotary Wellness Wednesdays

"Conversations Encouraging Health, Wellness, Stress Relief, Resilience and Much More During a Time of Turbulent Weather While Living in the Caribbean"

A Project Sponsored by Rotary District 7020 &

The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands

Hosted by; Paul Doumeng, President Rotary Club St. Thomas

& Dr. Marilyn Braithwaite-Hall, PhD- Consultant

The goals of the Wellness Wednesdays initiative is the following:

Provide an ongoing space to explore the insights, revelations, resilience building, stress reducing and growth enhancing activities used by Virgin Islanders.
Present general concepts involving well- being, stress release, spiritual practices, resilience building and post traumatic growth.
Include a wide range of voices, ages, communities, group members, professions to share their experiences. This explicit invitation to present the community back to itself is inherently a method of healing recovery.
Discuss the value and process of counselling and therapy with mental health and other allied professionals including psychologists, counsellors, social workers and others.
Explore a range of physical and wellness habits, including nutrition, chiropractic care, massage, essential oils, movement and artistic expressions.
Examine how wellness and resilience matters to business owners.
Discuss how nature feeds our soul and calms our mind.
Present voices from school age children, teenagers and elderly/wisdom leaders.
Provide for a dialogue session in front of the post office. It’s a microcosm of the island as most people have to get mail or packages.
Examine how healing home spaces can support wellness and calm with interiors and nature experts.
Discuss why men struggle with vulnerability and the challenge of asking for support.
Examine how historical trauma informs responses and practices.

Formats:

In studio discussions. (live and taped)
In community settings.
In nature
Group format/in-depth discussion with one-four persons
Use of music as an intentional source of resilience and well- being support. Create a diverse playlist of music that can support wellness and resiliency.
Use of poetry from the community to capture their understanding and experiences of wellness. The segment would end with reading of poetry or other creative works by Virgin Islanders.

IEKHS High School Visit

Rotary Wellness Wednesdays Promo

Click below to hear the radio promo (posted on our Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/rotaryclubofstthomas/videos/1961395064173792/

Awards and Recognition

At our May 10th meeting, AG Marston Winkles gave out several 2017-18 awards:

Zone 34 Rotaract Award was presented to PP Athema Turnbull on behalf of the Rotaract Club of the University of the Virgin Islands for being a part of "Rotary Making A Difference."

Lawrence Aqui was presented with a Rotary District 7020 award for his dedicated service to the district as the RI Convention Chair.

President Paul Doumeng (on behalf of our club) was presented with the Club of the Month Bronze Award and an Outstanding Achievement.

And, last, but not least, AG Marton received District Governor's Silver Award for his work as Assistant Governor for Robert Leger.

Paul Davis is hosting a Rotary Roast on May 27th and needs some volunteers to help. Please let him know if you are able. It will be held in the parking lot of Natural Food Grocery and Deli at lunchtime.

Rotary & Peacebuilders

Posted on May 16, 2018

It was a big week last week! Thomas Carlisi came and spoke to our club about Peacebuilder Activities and Rotary. He was not able to show the video he wanted to show from the Rotary Action Group for Peace, so you can take a look at it here: https://www.rotarianactiongroupforpeace.org. It is just 5 minutes long. He wanted to thank our club for having him and stated " I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the gracious reception support that you and other Rotarians demonstrated to me last week…regarding the Peace initiative that I am conducting."

Mr. Carlisi accomplished much during his week in St. Thomas in addition to speaking to our club:

Conducted “spotlights” at Rotary Club of St. Thomas Sunrise and Rotary Club of St. Thomas II
He met with Al LaBorde (St. Thomas II) , Tim Hall, and Corrine Van Rensselaer (St. Thomas East).
Family Resource Center (FRC) - 2 hr. workshop with staff
St. Thomas Reformed Church - Met with Pastor Jeff
Yoga Center - Co-presented a workshop with Laura Nagi, called “Power of Presence”
St. Thomas Boys & Girls Club - Building Peacemakers, with Respect for All

USVI Rotaract Officer Instllation

Posted by Jason Lewis

On Friday, April 13^th, the UVI Rotaract Club held their final meeting of the school year, and what a meeting it was! There were fifteen students in attendance as well as Rotarians Lisa Marshall and Jason Lewis. After a prayer and the four-way test it was time to induct the club’s newest member, Amarlia Richardson (pictured below with President Athema). This meeting was not only the last of the school year, but it was also the final meeting of the Rotaract Year, and as such the new 2018-2019 Officers and Directors were sworn in. From left to right we have: Sergeant-at-Arms Jamilla Connor, Secretary Quiannah Potter, Community Service Director Makeda Mills, Treasurer Samika Warner, Public Relations Officer Nicolla Fraser, Club Service Director Tekettay Ludvig, President Courtney, and Immediate Past President Athema Turnbull [not pictured is Vice President Nigencia James].

2017-18 President Athema Turnball had a very productive year, it was cut in half by the devastating hurricanes, but she brought everyone back together for the spring term to do good in the world. President Athema gave a short presentation summarizing her Rotaract year.

Now that the formalities were out of the way, it was time for some fun fellowship, which means it was GAME TIME! We split up into two teams and competed against each other in some fun team-building games. Here are the videos:

Straw & Nuts Game: put straw through metal nut, then pick it up and stack 5 of them on top of each other, without using your hands!

https://youtu.be/pBQW2V91mbU

Cup Game: take a stack of plastic cups and cycle through them by taking one cup off of the bottom and putting it on the top, the only catch is you have to alternate the hand you use!

https://youtu.be/Ck58Zi5h-zU

Cookie Game: with a cookie on their forehead they had a minute to get it eaten, only catch, they can’t use their hands!

https://youtu.be/b4yIQoNOAOM

Balloon Race Game: this one took everyone’s help, you had to pass a balloon along the line and then the last person had to pop it without using their hands or feet!

https://youtu.be/uMWHUaTbuoE

Member Spotlight - Susan Seipel

Posted by Michell Emerson-Lewis

Who is Susan Seipel?

Susan Seipel was sponsored by fellow banker Jim Crites and became a member of Rotary on February 27, 1997. Deeply committed to Rotary, she is a Past President and a Paul Harris fellow. In addition, she has been a member of the board of the Rotary Foundation and has been active in various capacities within the organization, including serving as secretary, program chair, and publisher of the 50th anniversary booklet.

Susan has been married to Walter Seipel for more than 50 years and have one son, Peter, who was himself a member of Rotary. A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Susan comes from a big Italian family. She and Walter fell in love with the island during their honeymoon in St. Thomas in 1963, purchased a piece of land in Skyline drive and moved here five years later.

From 1970 to 1989, Susan worked at Citibank where she handled credit functions and directed marketing and sales programs. Rising through the ranks, Susan held most every job there and retired from banking as the manager of Citibank Virgin Islands. She also served as Vice President of ABN-AMRO Trust Company and as the manager of a financial services company. Susan and her husband owned and operated successful businesses of their own including a Nordside grocery on the northside and Soap Opera laundromat in Subbase.

Susan has been very involved in community activities and was the President of the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands from 1982-84; she continues to be involved with the League. She has served on the boards of numerous organizations including Sts. Peter and Paul School, the Law Enforcement Planning Commission, the United Way of St. Thomas-St. John, Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, and the Bankers' Association where she was Vice President. She is presently treasurer of the Mountain Top Condominium Association.

During football season, Susan can be found in front of the television, rooting for the New York Giants.

Later in life Susan developed a new hobby and has become an avid golfer, enjoying the exercise, camaraderie, and tranquility of early Sunday mornings on the golf course.. She is looking forward to the reopening of Mahogany Run.

Ironically , the first golf trophy won was with president Paul Doumeng

Meeting Summaries

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis

What have you missed:

Meeting Date	March 15, 2018
Announcements	Reminder to donate during your Birthday Month to the RCSTT Foundation to receive a very lovely pen Opening on RCSTT Foundation due to Soraya coming off the board; Daphne will take her place March 29 (tomorrow!!) World's Greatest Meal - finger food, casual day, feel free to bring a dish District USVI North Shirts to order: see Heflyn for form and payment. $25. Color is orange for new theme
Speaker	Our speaker was unable to attend, so we had a fellowship meeting. The President and Vice President of Rotaract Club of UVI attended meeting and spoke about their projects. Two members of Rotaract from Tortola attended our meeting. We also collected for UVI Rotaract members to go do the Rotaract District Conference. $300 collected today. $1,000 from the club funds, plus $30 from Raffle.
Greeters
Flag Pledge	Aparna Nagpal
4-way Test	Kanta Vasandmalani
Liquid Sunshine Winner	None
Members Present	27
Visiting Rotarians	2 + 4 Rotaractors
Guests	2
Sergeant-At-Arms	Jim Tunick
Collectors	Susan Seipel
Raffle
Raffle Manager	Mary Gleason
Total Collected	$350
Club Share	$185
1st Prize	$110 - Mary's Table
2nd Prize	$55 No Winner
Pot Total	??
Cards Remaining	??

Secretary Elect goes to PETS in Orlando

Ben Kraft attended the President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) last week in Orlando. He really enjoyed the training and meeting Rotary International President Elect (RIPE) Barry Rassin.

Rotaract Update

UVI Rotaract has a ton of activities planned for Rotaract Week next week.

UVI's Rotaract Club meeting on February 16th focused on sexual violence, domestic violence and alcohol.

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, people sitting and indoor

Rotary Presidential Citation for 2016-2017

From Left to Right - President Paul Doumeng RCSTT, Nyaila Callwood UVI
Rotaract Club, past President Paul Davis RCSTT and UVI Rotaract Club
Community Service Chair Khalarni Rivers receiving the Rotary Presidential
Citation for 2016-2017. Awarded to the Rotaract Club of the University of
the Virgin Islands for helping make a difference in the lives of people all
over the world. Signed by then RI President John F. Germ.

The Presidential Citation was given to these two representatives of the
Rotaract Club of the University of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas campus at
the February 22nd Rotary Club St. Thomas lunch at Bolongo Bay Beach Resort.

Boys & Girls Club February Cookout

Lots of fun was had at the cookout. Thanks to all who participated and donated money for the food. And THANKS to Paul Davis for setting it up.

Sanford "Sandy" Grishman

Sanford "Sandy" Grishman of St. Thomas, died peacefully in Florida on Feb. 3.

A native New Yorker, Sandy moved to St. Thomas in 1976, where he owned the first factory-authorized Toyota dealership. He was also a real estate entrepreneur and mentor to other commercial real estate owners who came after him.

Sandy was an active Rotarian, and together with his wife, Marilyn, a donor to the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas, and other causes.

In addition to his wife, Marilyn, he is survived by five children; two stepchildren; 19 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and a brother.

Sandy was buried in the Grishman family plot, Beth Moses Cemetery, in Farmingdale, New York. A memorial service in St. Thomas is planned for a later date. May he rest in peace.

(Taken from the Virgin Islands Daily News Obituary)

February 8 Meeting

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis on Feb 08, 2018

What you missed...

Thursday 2/8/2018 Announcements: Next Board Meeting is 2/13/18 at 6 pm Boys & Girls Club Cookout from 3-5 pm on 2/14/18 Speaker: Andy Capdeville Topic: Alternative Dispute Resolution Attorney Capdeville is a certified mediator and handles matters in both the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands and the Federal District Court of the Virgin Islands. Mr. Capdeville presented on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Most non-criminal cases in the VI go to mediation. Confidentiality is a major component of this process. There are highs and lows in the process. Typically first offers are not accepted. The process requires persistence and perspective. Depending on the case, mediation can be completed in a few hours up to several weeks or even months.
DG Grant Chair, Anna Paiewonsky, spoke about grant applications for the District Disaster Grants. An application was submitted to replace the damaged equipment at CAHS computer center.
Greeters:		None
Flag Pledge:		Mary Gleasom
4-Way Test:		Ronnie Lockhart
Liquid Sunshine Winner:		N/A
From:
Members:		29
Visiting Rotarians:		3
Guests:		2
Sergeant-At-Arms:		Ronnie Lockhart
Collectors:		Curtis Garner
Fines Collected:		Unknown

Raffle Manager:			Dante De Castro
Total Collected:	$295		Club Share:	$150
1^st Prize:	$100		Winner:	Ronnie's Table
To the Pot:	$45		Winner:	Paul Doumeng
Pot Next Week:	$100		Cards Remaining:	unsure

February 1 Meeting

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis on Feb 08, 2018

What you missed...

Thursday 2/1/2018 Announcements: Jason Lewis will now be the advisor to the UVI Rotaract Club $310 was collected for the Boys and Girls Club Cookout to take place on 2/14/18 Our Speaker: Curtis Garner Topic: Black Inventors in America Daphne and Curtis worked on this presentation together. They did a great job on the preparation and presentation. Hopefully the boards that Daphne put together will be displayed at UVI and other venues for Black History Month.
Congratulations to Anna Paiewonsky who is now a Paul Harris Major Donor. Way to go!
Greeters:		None
Flag Pledge:		Babe Monsanto
4-Way Test:		Anna Paiewonsky
Liquid Sunshine Winner:		N/A
From:
Members:		26
Visiting Rotarians:		1
Guests:		0
Sergeant-At-Arms:		Ronnie Lockhart
Collectors:		Curtis Garner
Fines Collected:		Unknown

Raffle Manager:
Total Collected:	$290		Club Share:	$150
1^st Prize:	$90		Winner:	Dante De Castro
To the Pot:	$50		Winner:	Jim Crites' table
Pot Next Week:	$??		Cards Remaining:	??

Ways to do Makeups

There are a number of ways you can do makeups. Makeups need to be done in within a month of the meeting that you missed (one month prior or one month after).

Attend e-club Meetings: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/9515/
Attend clubs while you are traveling: Install the Rotary ClubLocator app on your phone to find meetings.
Attend a Rotary-Sponsored event (does not have to be our own club)
Attend another club's meeting on the island:
1. Rotary Sunrise: Tuesdays @ 7:30 am @ E's Garden Teahouse (Garden Street, 2 Commandant Gade)
2. Rotary Club of Charlotte Amalie: Tuesdays @ 6:30 pm @ E's Garden Teahouse (Garden Street, 2 Commandant Gade)
3. Rotary Club of St. Thomas II: Wednesdays @ 12:15 @ E's Garden Teahouse (Garden Street, 2 Commandant Gade)
4. St. Thomas East: Wednesdays @ 6:30 pm @ Inspiration Hall (Paradise Cove, 2GA Ridge Rd. Estate Nazareth)

e-Club Meetings for Makeups

e-Club of the Caribbean Meetings Link + Times

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/9515/

Dear Visiting Rotarians and Guests,

Prior to enter our online meetings, you will need a password, which will be requested from the meeting service provider when you click on the link below.

Obtaining the password is easy! CLICK HERE to send a notification of your visit and we will send you the current password.

Please use the following link for all scheduled meetings: https://zoom.us/j/758192742

Weekly meeting: Saturdays | 9am Atlantic

Wednesday Fellowship: Wednesdays | 8pm Atlantic

First time on?

Please note that a short (1min) installation process is required prior to access the meeting.

President's Corner

Posted by President Paul Doumeng

Happy New Year! I can only hope that 2018 brings us all better luck and prosperity. I am proud to be the President of one of the most vibrant and resilient Rotary Clubs on the planet. We have weathered Hurricanes, floods and the Holidays and we are all stronger because of it. As a Club we were able to come together and still do good things for our community and have FUN doing it. Thank you all for doing the good works that you do and for the faith in your Board to accomplish positive things in the future.

Sincerely, President Paul Doumeng

Hurricane Harvey

Posted by Jacqueline J. Heyliger

Dear Rotary Family:

We in District 7020 can all understand what those that have been within the path of Hurricane Harvey must be going through.

DG Robert along with the Disaster Team are working to identify how we can best donate to Rotarians and others affected by this devasting Category 4 Hurricane.

Kindly initiate discussion with your members regarding contributions your club would like to make to the survivors of Hurricane Harvey.

Once we have donation information it will be sent it out immediately.

YIRS

Jacqueline J. Heyliger

District Disaster Chair

340-277-3201

New Facebook Page

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis

We have a new Facebook Page with a new look and an "all-inclusive" attitude. Please LIKE our page to keep up with club news, pictures, stories, and Rotary-world information. Let me know if you'd like to be an Editor. We want as many people participating in updating OUR page as possible. Thanks Lynn, Denise, and Paul for already contributing!

https://www.facebook.com/rotaryclubofstthomas/

Karaoke Fellowship August 31

Posted by Lynn Delaney

YOU ARE INVITED!

The Rotary Club of St Thomas membership fellowship at Iggie's on Thursday 8/31/2017 from 6pm to 9pm

Karaoke night for Rotary Club of St Thomas - bring a friend that is interested in Rotary and enjoy an evening of singing for a fellowship with the membership and make some new friends of Rotary.

Iggie's will have food and drink specials for all Rotarians and their guests. Want to hear someone sing, make a donation. Don't want to sing, make a donation. 50/50 Raffle. All donations and raffle proceeds benefit our college scholarship fund.

#rotarystt #district7020 #growstrongerservebetter #wearepeopleofaction

For additional details, please feel free to phone or message!

Lynn DeLaney
Rotary Club of St Thomas
lynnrotarystt@gmail.com
817.773.7223 (cell)

August 17 Meeting

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis on Aug 16, 2017

What you missed...

Thursday 8/17/2017 Visits to other Clubs: Aparna visited clubs in Wheaten, IL and Orlando (the Mickey Mouse club). She presented the club flags to our club. Larry visited Chinatown, NY. He has been to this club several times, so he is keeping this flag. Announcements: Michelle announced that we will be starting a Member Spotlight in Sparks. Newer members will interview our longer-standing Rotarians for articles for Sparks so we can get to know each other better. Meetings will start back at Room with a View in August. No meeting on August 31 - we will have a fellowship at Iggies. Join us for Karaoke from 6-9. This will also be a fundraiser for our scholarships. The District Governor will be visiting in October. Rotary International's President Elect is Barry Rassin (from District 7020, Bahamas). Face-to-Face will be on August 23 October 7 is BVI Friendship Day. Marston is arranging for a chartered plan for members to travel. Speaker: Adriane Dudley Adriane Dudley spoke about the VI Jr. Achievement Program. It helps high school and middle school students learn more about business and finance. High school students form teams and create a corporation and product, then compete with other teams. They use 2 volunteers from the community to help instruct the teams. Fifth grade students are offered instruction on balancing a check book and other basic skills to get them ready for the High School teams later. They are looking for volunteers for both programs. Their website is jausvi.org.

Greeters:		Theresa & Curtis
Flag Pledge:		Larry
4-Way Test:		Good question - forgot to write that down
Liquid Sunshine Winner:		N/A
From:		N/A
Members:		31 (63%)
Visiting Rotarians:		1
Guests:		1
Sergeant-At-Arms:		Ronnie Lockhart
Collectors:		Lisa Marshall
Fines Collected:		??

Raffle Manager:			Lynn Delaney
Total Collected:	$245		Club Share:	$122
1^st Prize:	$82		Winner:	Anna (donated to Nana Baby Home)
To the Pot:	$41		Winner:	Lisa's table
Pot Next Week:	??		Cards Remaining:	??

Our Members

I thought I would share this graph to show you our membership breakdown by years in the club. AMAZING! Who can guess who has been in the club for 47 years?? Email me at memerson25@gmail.com. I will buy a drink at the Membership Fellowship this month to the first to guess correctly. No cheating! You are not allowed to look it up!

Larry Benjamin's Summer Rotary Visits

Posted on Aug 16, 2017

Larry traveled a bit this summer and visited several other Rotary Clubs:

Rotary Club of Norwalk, New York, New York, and Chinatown, New York

Update on Charles Miller

Please keep Charles Miller in your thoughts. He was admitted to the hospital last week with heart problems. He is resting comfortably at home now, but is scheduled to get a pace maker in about 2 weeks.

Have you used the Club Runner App?

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis

I highly recommend downloading the Club Runner App for Rotary International. It is a great tool to have on your phone. It includes a list of our Members with contact information, our Executives, Stories, Events, and Your Attendance. Check it out!

Online Make-ups Made Easy

DOING MAKE-UPS FOR ATTENDANCE

Please note that as a result of the changes in the Council of Legislation in relation to E-Clubs, we are no longer obliged to post meetings every week although we plan to continue to post make up material regularly in the form of recorded meetings videos.

Our official meetings take place through zoom online on Saturday mornings at 9am to which all Rotarians are welcome to attend.

The link for our meetings is https://zoom.us/j/758192742?pwd=f7asv2mwBQI%3D . Just double click the link.

That said, there are archived meetings posted at the end of the left column of the website which have great material and that still constitute a meeting make up.

Any Rotarian who needs to be credited, must contact our Secretary by email for the make up certificate at: eclub7020secretary@gmail.com or by clicking on the appropriate link on the first paragraph in red of the left column.

Glad to be of support!

Amarylis Dávila-Agosto

Assistant Governor | E-Clubs 2016 - 2017

Rotary E-Club of the Caribbean, 7020

Membership Chair 2016 - 2017

BE MY GUEST! | Saturdays 9am Atlantic Time

www.rotaryeclub7020.org

Welcome to our Newest Member

Please help welcome our newest Rotary Member, Barbara Petersen, who was sworn in on July 27, 2017. Barbara comes from Rotary Club of St. Thomas II. Barbara's classification is Political Consultant.

Centennial Celebration - A Message from Myron D. Jackson

Our July 20th speaker was USVI Senate President Myron D. Jackson. He spoke about the Centennial that we are celebrating this year.

Thank you Denise for the wonderful photos!

He provided a written message to us, as well:

2018 Rotary International Convention

A message from our very own, Lawrence Aqui:

Don't miss the opportunity to visit this exciting and cosmopolitan Canadian city !!!

Hotel rooms are filling fast, but rooms are still available close to the Rotary event.

Watch this diverse youtube video promoting Toronto

https://youtu.be/eS_tYWIoZzk

I lived in this city for 25 years, so please email me with your questions

Lawrence Aqui

Rotary International Convention Chair

They Have an App for That

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis on Jul 26, 2017

For those of you traveling, remember to attend other club meetings where you go. It is a great way to get makeups and find out what other clubs are doing.

There is an App called Rotary Club Locator. You can search by location and meeting date. You can also click on the "Near Me" button and it will show you a list of the clubs near your current location. Once you find the meeting you want to attend, you can click on it to find out the details of the meeting space and some of the officers of the club. I think it is nice to send an email to let them know you are attending (it also comes in handy when the club has a change in meeting for some reason).

2017-2018 Rotary Monthly Themes

August	Membership & New Club Development
September	Basic Education & Literacy
October	Economic & Community Development
November	Rotary Foundation
December	Disease Prevention & Treatment
January	Vocational Service
February	Peace & Conflict Prevention/Resolution
March	Water & Sanitation
April	Maternal & Child Health
May	Youth Service
June	Rotary Fellowship

2017-2018 Goals

President Paul went over many of the goals he has set for this year. Below is a list of all of our goals:

Membership

How many total members does your club want by the end of the Rotary year? 58
How many members will participate in club service activities during the Rotary year? 21
How many members will sponsor a new club member during the Rotary year? 5
How many club members will be members of at least one Rotarian Action Group (RAG) during the Rotary year? 1
How many members will participate in leadership development programs or activities during the Rotary year? 5
How many members will attend your district conference? 6
How many club members will be members of a Rotary Fellowship during the Rotary year? 4

Rotary Foundation Giving

How much money will be contributed to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund by your club and its members during the Rotary year? $12,000
How much money will be contributed to The Rotary Foundation PolioPlus Fund by your club and its members during the Rotary year? $5,000

Young Leaders

How many new and existing Rotaract clubs will your club sponsor during the Rotary year? 1
How many new and existing Interact clubs will your club sponsor during the Rotary year? 3

Public Image

How many social activities will your club hold outside of regular meetings during the Rotary year? 8
club's website or social media accounts be updated? 30
How many media stories will cover your club's projects during the Rotary year? 8

A Very Sad Loss for Rotary International

The following is from RI President Riseley on the loss of President-elect of Rotary International, Sam Owori:

Scholarship Winners

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis on Jul 18, 2017

We awarded two new scholarships this year to Tashema Walwyn and De'Umee Liburd in the amount of $5,000 per student. Congratulations to our scholarship finalists!! And, the Coffelt Scholarship was award in the amount of $1,000 to Sunil Benjamin.

And, remember we are still funding 9 other students from awards from previous years. That is AMAZING! We will be supporting a total of 12 students this fall.

Thanks to all of you who helped sell raffle tickets! We collected $16,823.25 for the Raffle! Great job everyone! I'd like to personally thank Kanta Vasandmalani - she sold the most books of tickets!

We will be gearing up soon to acquire prizes for our next raffle. Please let myself or Lynn Delaney know if you have any prize ideas or connections.

Our newest member of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis

Curtis Garner was sworn in as our newest Rotary Member on July 6, 2017.

President Paul Doumeng's Remarks at our Induction Ceremony

After swearing in our new 2017-2018 Board, President Paul Doumeng offered some inspiration with the following words:

NEW ROTARY YEAR

Posted by Michelle Emerson-Lewis

On July 6, 2017, the Rotary Club of St. Thomas installed our new president, Paul Doumeng, and the 2017-2018 Board of Directors. It was a fantastic event with a lot of guests and visiting Rotarians.

Meet the New Rotary International President

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jul 04, 2017

Ian H.S. Riseley President 2017-18

July 2017

There are as many reasons to come to Rotary as there are Rotarians – maybe even a few more. But each of us has stayed in Rotary because it adds something to our own lives. Through Rotary, we are Making a Difference in the world; and the more involved we become, the more of a difference Rotary makes to each of us. Rotary challenges us to become better people: to become ambitious in the ways that matter, to strive for higher goals, and to incorporate Service Above Self into our daily lives.

What kind of difference Rotary clubs and individual Rotarians make through their service will always be their own decision. As an organization, we are guided by the three strategic priorities our Board has set in our strategic plan: to support and strengthen our clubs, to focus and increase our humanitarian service, and to enhance Rotary's public image and awareness.

In the year ahead, our clubs will have the support of a greatly augmented array of online tools, including a refreshed Rotary.org, a simplified Rotary Foundation grant application process, an improved My Rotary experience, and a rebuilt Rotary Club Central. As we look to strengthen our clubs, two specific challenges stand out in our membership: our gender balance and our average age. To keep our clubs strong, we need to build a membership that reflects the communities we serve and that will continue to develop knowledgeable leaders for generations to come.

For many years, one idea has stood at the heart of all our service: sustainability. Sustainable service means our work continues to have a positive impact long after Rotary's direct involvement has ended. We don't dig wells and walk away; we make sure communities can maintain and repair those wells. If we build a clinic, we make sure that clinic has a way to keep running without ongoing support from us. And when it comes to polio, we aren't working to contain it; we're working to end it.

Eradicating polio is the ultimate in sustainable service. It is an investment that will yield not just a long-lasting but a permanent benefit, on a global scale. It is and must remain our No. 1 priority until the job is done.

For 112 years, Rotary has made a difference to more lives, in more ways, than we can ever count or will ever know. Today, each of us bears a torch, its flame lit by Paul Harris, that has been passed forward from generation to generation, in Rotary: Making a Difference.

DG Haresh's Farewell Message to the District

Posted by Haresh L. Ramchandani on Jun 05, 2017

My Fellow Rotarians and the family of Rotary:

Well, here we are. Just one month to go for the 2016-2017 Rotary Year. And my last monthly message as District Governor to you.

In a blink of an eye, it has come and is almost gone. And what a ride it has been!

From the lead up to the start, with the training, planning, and the official visits, to the recently concluded District Cruise Conference, this has truly been a year I will never forget. And for that, I thank each and every one of you.

Going around the District just reinforced my love and passion for Rotary – What it stands for and what it continues to allow us to do, in our communities, and in our world.

This year we celebrated 100 years of our Rotary Foundation – from the fight to eradicate Polio; to our 6 areas of focus – to the big celebration this month in Atlanta. Here's to another century of Doing Good In The World.

It was the year we celebrated 30 years of women in Rotary – and we have a stronger organisation now because of it.

It was the year of change and as we were reminded to Serve Humanity, I challenged each of you this year to BE THE CHANGE.

To my District #AllStars Team – each one of you made a difference in your own way – as a change maker. For that I thank you!

To my Club leaders – you steered the ship in this very important year of Rotary that saw so many changes and flexibility options allow us to create a new Rotary. And for that I thank you. Hearty Congratulations on all the awards and accolades.

To the District Conference, Assembly, and PETS team – You successfully pulled off an amazing user experience for our District 7020 Rotarians and family. The reviews are in, and they’ve loved it. So for your effort and dedication – I thank you.

To my family – for putting up with me, for being there for me – I am grateful.

I wish Governor-Elect Robert & Rosa all the best as they take over the leadership of this great Rotary District and pledge my support to them and to you all.

And finally, as June is Rotary Fellowships Month, I’d like to remind you of al the wonderful fellowships out there that you can join and be a part of – From Sailing, to Golf, to travelling. There’s a Rotary Fellowship for you.

As for me, I’m a member of the Rotary Wine Appreciation Fellowship. So cheers!

This is Your Captain. Signing off. https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50041

Haresh L. Ramchandani

District Governor

2017 - 2018

New Member Orientation

Posted by Erik Ackerson on May 09, 2017

Please mark your calendars and join your friends and fellow Rotarians at our New Member Orientation Pot Luck on Tuesday May 9th.

The location will once again be the fabulous home of Rotarian Lawrence and Lisa Aqui.(directions to follow and carpooling is advised)

The event will start at 6:30 pm. Everyone is asked to bring an appetizer of their choice be it hot or cold. Because of the expected crowd this year, please rsvp to Erik Ackerson what you are bringing so that we can plan out the huge buffet. Wine, beer and refreshments provided.

This is a very fun event that not only welcomes our fourteen newest members but helps to guide them through the maze of Rotary membership. A brief presentation will include information on make-ups, committee involvement, projects, the Rotary Foundation and much more. All new members are encouraged to attend.

Remember; "Will it be Fun" is part of our motto, and fun it will be.

DIRECTIONS TO 1-4 ESTATE BAKKERO

COMING FROM HAVENSIGHT:

Turn left at the junction for Marriott going towards Antilles School.

Just after Dumpsters (on left), take first right turn (Broad Reach Road sign / Purple/White Estate Bakkero sign).

COMING FROM ANTILLES SCHOOL:

Pass Flag Hill Road, heading downhill. Small sign saying Hidden Driveway ahead.

Take a SHARP LEFT at (Broad Reach Road sign / Purple/White Estate Bakkero sign).

Road goes down then back up - crossing over three speed bumps.

House is at the crest of the hill on the left. The front fence is white concrete with black wrought iron on top. Colored lights may be on.

Signs next to gate say 1-4 Estate Bakkero & Domi Nostrae.

Please buzz at the tele-entry to be let in. Gate opens outward.

There’s enough parking for about 10 cars on the property.

If the gate is half open, it means that parking is full and you'll need to park on the roadside and walk in.

House number is 774-0468 in case you get lost.

Rotary Carnival 2017

Posted by Paul Doumeng on May 01, 2017

In the beginning of the Rotary Year President Paul H. Davis told us that he was building a float for Carnival! Paul Did not back down and made a very fine showing at this years Adult Parade on April 29th. THANK YOU PRESIDENT PAUL AND ALL WHO ASSISTED!

Well first you must find you a piece of a truck, then you build it up!

Volunteers are what make all activities work. Thank you, SE Michelle.

NO CARNIVAL PARADE IS COMPLETED UNTIL YOU PASS THE VIP BOOTHS AND ADDIE OTTLEY.

Easter BBQ at the Boy & Girls Club St. Thomas

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Apr 15, 2017

On Wednesday April 12th the Rotary Club of St. Thomas Cooked for the students and helpers of the Boys and Girls Club of St. Thomas.

The club fed approximately 85 people.

A happy Past Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands Rotarian John P. DeJongh Jr. took control of the grill for the entire event.

P.E. Barbra Peterson of Rotary 2 looks on an assists.

Of course no event can be successful with out volunteers. Here is PP Mary Gleason, New Member Theresa Fabela and Bruce Perry.

After all that food was eaten, the kids Hula Hooped, flew Kites and tried a little Karaoke too.

We had a special fun time at this event for the kids in celebration of Easter this week. Soraya Diase Coffelt donated as prizes her newest children's book "It's Not About You Mr. Easter Bunny-A Love Letter About the True Meaning of Easter". Thank You Soraya! About 65 children are in the club from elementary school to high school & there is a phenomenal 97% graduation rate! Very impressive!!

Message From DG Heresh

Posted by ECLUB BULLETINE APRIL on Apr 15, 2017

Hello Fellow Rotarians and the family of Rotary:

We’re nearing down to the end of the Rotary Year. 9 Months down – 3 to go. For most club leaders this I when you evaluate your club and reflect to see if all your goals have been met. Remember the deadlines for the District Governor’s awards are due April 15.

So how was the exciting month of March? I know many clubs did projects and programs on Water and Sanitation; 30 years of Women in Rotary; World Rotaract Week; and the International Week of Service. Let’s share these wonderful events on the Social Media Platforms that others can get inspired.

I want to recognize the Club of the Month Winners for February – the Rotary Clubs of May Pen, Memorial de Gonaives, and South East Nassau. Good Job!

Now April is Maternal and Child Health Month. A very important area of focus.

Rotary makes high-quality health care available to vulnerable mothers and children so they can live longer and grow stronger. We’re providing education, immunizations, birth kits, and mobile health clinics. Women are taught how to prevent mother-to-infant HIV transmission, how to breast-feed, and how to protect themselves and their children from disease.

Let’s build on this and create more access to quality care, so mothers and children everywhere can have the same opportunities for a healthy future. An estimated 5.9 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation — all of which can be prevented.

Hopefully you’ve all registered for the District Cruise Conference May 15-19. We’re almost sold out, so if you’re still planning to make it NOW is the time to make the booking.

My friends, I love Rotary – and what it stands for. Continue to love your Rotary journey. All the best.

Haresh L. Ramchandani
District Governor

2016 - 2017

Below is the link to the video.

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50041

Message From The R.I. President John Germ

Posted by President John Germ on Apr 15, 2017

Presidential message

John F. Germ

President 2016-17

April 2017

Globally, in developed as well as in developing countries, child mortality is on the decline and life expectancy on the rise. In 1960, 182 of every 1,000 children born died before turning five; today, that number is down to 43. A child born in 1960 could expect to live an average of just 52 years; by contrast, a child born this year can expect to live to 71.

Then as now, the factors most likely to determine a child's fate are set at birth: where he or she is born, the educational and economic condition of the family, the availability of medical care. Yet one of the most important advances in public health has reached every country and must now reach every child: immunization.

The use of vaccines has, in many parts of the world, nearly eliminated diseases that once were widespread, such as diphtheria, tetanus, and rubella. Thanks to vaccines, 20 million lives have been saved from measles since 2000. Smallpox has been eradicated – and polio is next.

Thirty years ago, there were an estimated 350,000 cases of polio per year worldwide. As this issue of The Rotarian went to press, only 37 cases of polio had been recorded in 2016 – the lowest number in history. All of the other cases, and the paralysis and death they would have brought, were prevented through the widespread use of a safe, reliable, and inexpensive vaccine.

Overall, the World Health Organization estimates that immunization prevents an estimated 2 million to 3 million deaths every year. It also averts a tremendous burden of disability and economic loss. Yet we could be doing so much better: An additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided by improving vaccine coverage worldwide.

This month, from 24 to 30 April, we join WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in celebrating World Immunization Week, raising awareness of the incredible impact that vaccines have had on global health. This year's theme is "Vaccines Work" – and they do. Increased use of vaccines has broader repercussions for public health: controlling viral hepatitis, reducing both the need for antibiotics and the development of antibiotic-resistant microbes, and reaching more children and adolescents with essential health interventions. In every part of the world, routine immunization is as crucial as ever to ensure that all children have the best chance at a healthy future.

In an uncertain world, vaccines offer something remarkable: a way to protect our children throughout their lives. By working together to safeguard all children against polio and other preventable diseases, Rotary is truly Serving Humanity – now and for generations to come.

4 New Members Installed!

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Apr 15, 2017

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas has installed 4 new members to our club in the month of April! What an exciting time to be an active member.

On April 6th we installed;

Brian Walden sponsored by AG Marston Winkles & Aparna Nagpal sponsored by PE Paul Doumeng

On April 13th we installed;

Theresa Fabela sponsored by PP Erik Ackerson and Ben Kraft sponsored by George Blackhall

Rotarians Doing Make Up Meetings

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Apr 13, 2017

Our own AG/PP Marston Winkles & AG Amerylis Agosto-Davila visiting the Rotary Club of New Bern, North Carolina.

AG Marston has been working on a Global Grant that may be partnering with this club and the Boys and Girls Club of New Bern, N.C.

President Paul H. Davis with visiting Rotarian Jim Kelley from Kalispell, Montana on April 6th 2017.

Visiting Rotarian Cliff Moone from Hickory North Carolina 3/16/2017

Visiting Rotarian ADG Brian Moon from the Council Bluff Rotary Club of Iowa 3/2/2017

Visiting Rotarian David Ramsaran Port of Spain, Trinidad 3/2/2017

Visiting Rotarian John A. Klinedinst P.E. from York, Pa. 2/23/2017

VISITING ROTARIAN'S IN DECEMBER

Visiting Rotarian ADG Sharon Flynn from district 7490 in New Jersey. Pictured here with Secretary Paul and her son Dean Bump of St. Thomas

He's at it again! Larry Benjamin never misses an opportunity to do make-ups while traveling. On Thursday 11/10/16 Larry visited the Rotary Club of Lake Buena Vista.

After watching this program on service dogs Larry decided to attend another meeting the next day, Friday 11/11/16. This time it was the Rotary Club of Celebration (Great Name) and the entire program was dedicated to Veterans. Being one himself, Larry appreciated the meeting. He also ran into Virgin Islander Ida White at the meeting.

Part of the fun of being a Rotarian is that you are a member of a whole wide organization that welcomes you to meets throughout the planet. Here are a few images of our club members doing just that.

Our newest member, Lee Eisenhauer exchanges banners with President Ja-Ronn on his first visit as a Rotarian to the RC Coconut Creel Florida.

Larry Benjamin visits clubs in the New York Area in early August.

Jason and Michelle Lewis visit Michelle's Aunt's club in Ohio

Rotary Club of St. Thomas has 2 New Members

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Mar 20, 2017

On Thursday March 16th, two new members were inducted into the Rotary Club of St. Thomas. Savita Chhabria and Charles Miller were sworn in at the lunch meeting. Savita was joined by her Husband and Mother to enjoy the occasion. Savita joins the club with the Classification of Jewelry Design and she works in her family's store Alpha Jewelers here on St. Thomas. Charles works at the Sugar Bay Resort and his classification is Security Management. Please join me in welcoming them to our Club as new Rotarians. We have a few more new members that will be installed very soon.

Proud Interact Club

Posted by PAD on Mar 16, 2017

Rotarian Bruce Perry with the teachers and students from Sibilly Elementary School & Interact Club. They are showing off their fund raising money. Way to go Kids!

March Message from DG Haresh L. Ramchandani

Posted by DG Haresh L. Ramchandani on Mar 07, 2017

Hello my Fellow Rotarians and the Family of Rotary: News Editor 7020 <mailservice@clubrunner.ca>

As February has come to an end I’ve been reflecting on what a great Month it was in terms on Rotary’s focus on Peace. Several clubs both in our District and globally made strong headway into our quest for a world at peace. Remember the deadline for the 2018-2019 Peace Fellow application is May 31.

There was also big celebrations for Rotary’s 112^th Birthday on Feb 23. Let’s share what your clubs did using our District 7020 Facebook Page and Group so we can continue to expand the enthusiasm we have for Rotary with others.

Congratulations are in order for our January Club of the Month Winners – The Rotary Club of Savanna La Mar, Jamaica and the Rotary Club of Petionville, Haiti. Additionally, hearty congratulations again to the Rotary Club of Petionville, Haiti and in particular, President Jack Guy LaFontant, who has been selected to be the Prime Minister of Haiti. I am excited for the people and communities of Haiti, for Rotary in Haiti, and for Rotarian Jack Guy. His leadership, his values, and his passion to serve will be a beacon of hope, of goodness, and of Making a Difference as we all continue to Serve humanity.

We now look towards March and Rotary’s focus on Water and Sanitation.

Across the globe Rotarians are supporting local solutions to bring clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to more people every day. We don’t just build wells and walk away. We share our expertise with community leaders and educators to make sure our projects succeed long-term. So let’s focus this month on how we can improve on this. According to the Rotary Foundation,$24 is all it takes to provide one person with Safe Clean Water. Amazing.

March is also when we officially celebrate 30 Years of women in Rotary. And Mar 8th is designated International Women's Day. What is your club planning to celebrate this milestone?

We also have World Rotaract Week coming up on March 13-19. We celebrate 49 Years of Rotaract! Perhaps you could Organize a social or fellowship, a service project. Even Invite them to your club. Let’s continue to focus on the Next Generation of Rotarians.

Coming up is also the International Week of Service March 25-31, 2017 and Rotary will be partnering with other service organizations all over the world. Volunteers like you, working to improve their communities. In the spirit of Rotary Serving Humanity, I ask you to invite another local service group to volunteer with you. Information and resources for this event can be found at weekofservice.org. Visit the International Week of Service 2017 Facebook event page to RSVP and see what other clubs are planning.

Organizations participating in this event include: Lions Clubs International, Rotary International, Optimist International, Junior Chamber International, Kiwanis International, Moose International, Soroptimist, Y’s Men International, Pilot International, and Sertoma Inc. To participate, your club can work with one or more other area service groups to do something together for your community. They can join you in a pre-planned event, or you can plan a new event together.

And finally we have some deadlines coming up – The District Governor’s Awards Deadline is April 15, and there’s still time to register for the District Cruise Conference but don’t wait too long as we are slowly running out of space.

My friends, Let’s continue to be enthusiastic about Rotary – our communities – and our friends. I wish you all the best as we continue to service humanity.

Haresh L. Ramchandani
District Governor https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50041

Curtis Garner Cyber Security

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Mar 02, 2017

Curtis Garner is a Director at Deloitte (Virgin Islands) Ltd. He is primarily focused on business development, client relationship management and Technology delivery services to both public and private sectors. Curtis has a strong record of successful project, program management and IT delivery solutions. He is also former software developer and engineer. Curtis has driven value and improved business process through the efficient use of technology utilizing industry best practices and frameworks. Curtis has significant industry expertise in the public and private sector spanning over 25+ years.

Director, Deloitte Virgin Islands Ltd. – Responsible for business development, client relationship management and the delivery of consulting and technology services in the USVI and surrounding Caribbean region.

Government Employees Retirement System - served as Director of Technology for 10 years where he led several successful technology infrastructure initiatives and information technology projects

Virgin Islands Port Authority – served as Information Systems Coordinator for over 13 years. Curtis was responsible for leading the initial computerization efforts of the Port Authority. He also built upon that to leave the Port Authority as one of the leaders in USVI technology implementation and adoption.

Adjunct Professor, University of the Virgin Islands – taught two Information Systems courses for the University on a part-time basis: Introduction to Databases and Introduction to Information Systems.

Private Sector Experience

Bank of America, Atlanta, Ga – Programmer Analyst III

Computer Task Group – Systems Engineer III

Decatur Hospital, Decatur Georgia - Chief Account

Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Group – Programmer Analyst

Curtis is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Wesley United Methodist Church. He holds a BA degree from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta Georgia and has successfully completed several management, technology training and development programs throughout his career.

R.I. President John Germ Invitation

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 28, 2017

John F. Germ

President, 2016-17

T +1.847.866.3025

F +1.847.866.3390

john.germ@rotary.org

Dear fellow Rotarians,

Rotary will be partnering with other service organizations in an International Week of Service, 25-31 March 2017. All over the world, volunteers like you are working to improve their communities. In the spirit of Rotary Serving Humanity, I ask you to invite another local service group to volunteer with you. Information and resources for this event can be found at weekofservice.org. Visit the International Week of Service 2017 Facebook event page to RSVP and see what other clubs are planning.

To participate, your club can work with one or more other area service groups to do something together for your community. They can join you in a pre-planned event, or you can plan a new event together. Find a fellow service organization in your community here. Share your photos and videos at weekofservice.org, on the event page, and on social media using #weekofservice2017. To promote your activities locally, we’ve provided you with a customizable press release.

This event will help us to promote all of our organizations, highlight membership opportunities, and reinforce the importance of doing good in the world. It’s a chance for our volunteers to forge lasting relationships and creating the potential for future joint projects. Your participation will also achieve one of the service goals listed in my presidential citation.

I hope you’ll join me in what promises to be a unique, important opportunity to better your community.

Sincerely,

John F. Germ
President, Rotary International 2016-17

ONE ROTARY CENTER

1560 SHERMAN AVENUE

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 60201-3698 USA

ROTARY.ORG

Inner Wheel Picnic 2017

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 26, 2017

The annual Inner Wheel picnic was enjoyed on Sunday 2/26/2017 on Magens Bat Beach. Great times were had by all and some walked away with great prizes including a Cruise for 2.

Interact Club of CAHS Beach Clean Up

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 20, 2017

The Interact Club at CAHS had a beach cleanup and picnic at Lindberg Bay beach on Presidents' Day. About 25 students came to help pick up at least 8 HUGE bags of trash. There was also an abandoned stove filled with trash right on the beach. Thanks so much to their counselor Ms. Thelma Edmead who put it all together and the Rotarians who showed up to help pick up trash & support them: Babe Monsanto, Bruce Perry, Denise Fraguela (who made some very yummy deserts), and Soraya Coffelt.

Rotary Club of St. Thomas Passport Raffle

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 14, 2017

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas has launched our Passport Raffle 2017! There are fantastic get-a-way prizes to be had. Each member is expected to buy and/or sell at least 2 books. All of the proceeds go to help support our local Scholarships. Please do your part to sell you allotment and more! We need to keep our Scholarship program growing. Good Luck all. The Drawing is on May 4th.

Rotary Club St. Thomas Members wearing pins from Sausalito

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 14, 2017

Past member Lucinda Eubanks sent us a bag full of the Rotary Club of Sausalito's pins. It has a ships wheel on it. Thank you Lucinda!

Pash Daswani President, India Association of the VI

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 14, 2017

On Thursday 1/26/2017 we had the pleasure of listening to Pash Daswani President, India Association of the VI. He spoke about the East Indian Community on a whole and of his life here on St. Thomas. Pictured below with President Paul Davis.

ClubRunner Training

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 09, 2017

On Thursday 2/9/2017 The Rotary Club of St. Thomas conducted training for all members of the club who needed a little help with signing in on-line to ClubRunner. Secretary Paul Doumeng gave each member their own personal Rotary Identification Card with all of their Rotary information on it. So, today with the help of PP Sue Boland, who organized the training, set up tables for personal tutoring sessions. Training teachers were AG Marston Winkles (Club Trainer), Lynn Delaney and Jason Lewis. Thank you to everyone who made a worth while experience. Now go and enjoy the world wide web and Rotary.org.

Paul Harris & Rose Council Dinner and Awards Gala

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 04, 2017

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas met on 2/4/2017 for our annual Paul Harris, Rose Council Dinner and Awards Gala. This picture is not from our event but it is from one of the first PH events and seated to the right of center is Paul Harris. We are waiting for our professional pictures to be shared with us. It was a grand evening with approximately 70 beautifully dressed people in attendance representing most of the St. Thomas Clubs and Inner Wheel. The event took place at Victor's Hide Out and even Victor himself made an appearance. This year President Paul Davis and our Club recognized;

Avril Graham proposed by the RCSTT Board
Dion Parsons proposed by the RCSTT Board
Gordon Coffelt awarded posthumously by Soraya Coffelt
Peter Siepal awarded by Susan Siepal
Claudia LaBorde awarded by Mary Gleason

I will post the full list of this year's Paul Harris eligible members as soon as it is available. Congratulations All!

PDG Larry Benjamin sporting an original Paul Harris Medallion

Sgt. Ronnie Lockhart up to his usual by telling a couple jokes at the event.

AG Marston Gives PP Anna the 100% Foundation Giving Club Award

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Feb 02, 2017

AG Marston Winkles gives Past President Anna Paiewonsky the award for 100% member participation in giving at least $100 average per club member to the Rotary Foundation.

Message From DG Haresh L. Ramchandani

Posted by DG Haresh L. Ramchandani on Feb 01, 2017

My Fellow Rotarians & the Family of Rotary,

Well, the second half of the Rotary year has started off in high gear. Let me officially congratulate Rotarian Patrick Adizua, from the Rotary Club of Mandeville, Jamaica who has been duly elected to service our District as Governor in the year 2019-2020. With Governor-Elect Robert, Governor-Nominee Delma, and now Governor-Nominee Designate Patrick, our District leadership is in good hands.

The recently concluded Rotary International Assembly in San Diego saw the new theme for 2017-2018 being announced – Rotary: Making a Difference. President-Elect Ian Riseley’s simple but powerful message. One that reinforces why we love Rotary – to make a difference – by serving humanity!

The International Assembly reinforced our focus on Change and highlighting the Value of this Change. The Change that needs to come from us all. And it also reminded us to continue our focus on the Member’s experience. Rotary is indeed evolving. There’s new upgrades to the Rotary International website. Go to rotary.org and check it out.

Our December Club of the Month Winners were announced as well – help me to congratulate the Rotary Clubs of Christiana, Abaco, and Grand Cayman Central. Sometimes when you read through the entries it is simply amazing to be enlightened by all the great work our clubs are doing.

February is Peace and Conflict Resolution Month. Peace – one of our Six Areas of Focus. One area so many of our Rotarians are so passionate about. Our clubs and our fellow Rotarians have an amazing opportunity to continue on our quest for peace. So – what are you going to do to focus on peace? Let’s share our ideas and inspire others to join us.

I leave you with this thought I recently read: PEACE is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you are, something you do, and something you give away.

Continue the great Rotary Work my friends. Peace out.

http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50041

Haresh L. Ramchandani
District Governor
Rotary District 7020

Speaker Christina Chanes U.V.I.

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jan 26, 2017

Photos by Larry Benjamin

Christina Chanes Program Asst. II University of the Virgin Islands, Cooperative Extension Services

with President Paul Davis

ROTARY ROCKS CONCERT

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jan 21, 2017

On Saturday 1/21/17 the Rotary club of St. Thomas ran the first "Rotary Rocks Concert" at Yacht Haven Grande. There were 5 bands and Pizza, provided by Dominos, Rotary Roast BBQ, Hamburgers, hotdogs and Veggie burgers, wine and beer provided by Bellows International, Margaritas and smoothies from the Rotaract Club of UVI. Lot's of work went into the organization of this event and a good time was had by all. Thank you to the countless volunteers who helped work the various stations through out the event!

Rotary Committee days before the event

Hard working volunteers Sue, Addie & Susan

Jah Souljahs warmed up the day with great reggae music!

Lourdes and the Switch with Nathan on the bass. Thank you for setting everything up with the bands!

Tommy August and the Rum Syndicate

Final jam session of the night with all band members etc.

HEADLINER VAN WILKES rocked the house.

Paul Harris Awards Dinner

Posted by Erik Ackerson on Jan 18, 2017

Good morning.

Will you be attending our club's Paul Harris Awards Gala on Saturday February 4th?

Tickets are on sale now and will be available today at lunch for $60. Please email me to reserve yours if you will not be in attendance today. Tables of ten (10) are available.

Our banquet will take place at Victor's New Hideout with cocktails from 6:00 to 7:30 pm followed by a fabulous buffet dinner and Awards ceremony led by our Master of Ceremonies Larry Benjamin. Dress is formal.

Please consider joining your fellow members and friends for well deserved recognition and a great fellowship.

Checks should be made out to Rotary Club of St. Thomas.

YIR, Erik K. Ackerson 340-473-8706

Rotary Club St. Thomas Interact Scholarships

Posted by Soraya Diase Coffelt on Jan 18, 2017

History of Rotary Club of St. Thomas Interact Scholarship Program

It all started in 2000, when a gift was made by the Kirwan Family Trust to the Rotary Club of St. Thomas in the amount of $3,000. The simple request of the trust was that the funds be earmarked for scholarship distribution. In 2004, this gift was used to form the Richard Kirwan Scholarship Fund in memory of Rotarian Rich Kirwan, who was a member of the scholarship committee during his years of service to the Club.

Since then, the Rotary Club of St. Thomas and the Rotary Club of St. Thomas Foundation have raised monies to fund as many as four (4) annual college scholarships for graduating high school seniors a year. The Rotary Club of St. Thomas established an Interact program at Charlotte Amalie High School. Students in that program are eligible to apply for the scholarships.

History of the Gordon L. Coffelt Scholarship for Students in the Career & Technical Fields

Gordon L. Coffelt was a member of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas for over 20 years. He was a contractor by trade and a well-known and respected commercial property developer on St. Thomas. After his passing in 2013, his wife Soraya Diase Coffelt donated $20,000 to establish a scholarship fund in his honor for graduating high school students who were entering into the career and technical fields. The earnings from this fund are applied annually for scholarships.

There is now information for the "Interact Scholarship Program" on our websites home page, on the bottom right side under " Rotary Scholarship Application Down Loads ", there is a link to updated versions of what is designated as "fillable" applications for both scholarships in Word format.

Students can access these applications on our Club's website to download the applications. http://portal.clubrunner.ca/1578

Thanks so much for your assistance, Soraya Diase Coffelt

Community Honors Some of our Own.

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jan 18, 2017

On Thursday evening 1/19/17 at 6:00pm at the Prior-Jollek Hall at Antilles School, the Family Resource Center is having their Peacemaker Gala 2017. This year they are honoring Inner Wheel President, Paula N. Edwards and Rotarian, Shaun A. Pennington. The event will have wine pairings and tapas and later Champagne and dessert.

"On Saturday 1/21/17, Past President, Mary Gleason and Priscilla Hintz invite you to Pistarckle Theater Annual Fundraiser, CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION! The event is at the Historic Oceana Restaurant in Frenchtown. We will offer live entertainment, a live and silent auction, heavy hors d'oeuvres by Patricia LaCort, a Moko Jumbie and music, plus the opportunity to tell Mary and Priscilla how wonderful they are. Both have, and continue to bring so much to our island! So let's dance to Eric Snow's music and have a rollicking time."

Tickets and sponsorships are available at the website www.pistarckletheater.com (just follow the promps) or call the theater at 775-7877 and we will help with purchasing tickets. Pistarckle THeater Inc. is a 501 c 3 in excellent standing. All proceeds will support the theater's year round youth enrichment program in theater.

Warm Regards, Nikki Emerich

Book TICKETS: at pistarckletheater.com or call 340 775-7877

Nicola Emerich

Executive Director

Pistarckle Theater

Tilett Garden

4126 Anna's Retreat

St. Thomas, VI 00802

340 775-7877

340 514-2085 - cell

nikki@pistarckletheater.vi

Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jan 11, 2017

At Thursday's lunch meeting we had the pleasure of listening two very bright and energetic women, Katrin Braddell, Development Director and Brittany A. Brin, Communications Manager. Both from the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. They both spoke about the 2017 Angels Campaign to generate funds that go to many non-profit organizations in the Virgin Islands. Kids Scope is one of their biggest hands on beneficiary and they did a presentation that included statistics on the education of the youths of the Virgin Islands. I have attached a link to follow up on.

In addition, I’m sharing with you the link to our KIDS COUNT VI data center and our Directory of Community Organizations:

http://www.cfvi.net/programs/kids-count.php

https://cfvi.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/2016-17_community_organizations_directory_web10.pdf

Below is a message from Katrin.

"Please do let us know should you be interested in partnering with us. I would also like to ask you to share what you have learned about CFVI today with other community members. Should there be any opportunities to introduce CFVI please feel free to reach out."

Thanking you once again and wishing you all the very best for 2017. Kind regards, Katrin C. Braddell

Inner Wheel St. Thomas Makes International News

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jan 10, 2017

Christmas Cheer

Inner Wheel Club of St. Thomas member and past secretary Valerie Green (first on the left), along with staff of the Health Clinic at Roy L. Schneider Hospital with their "best of the best" decorated Christmas tree.

The tree and decorations were donated by our club, while continuing our partnership with the hospital and spreading Christmas cheers!

To see the picture and Inner Wheel Magazine http://www.internationalinnerwheel.org/christmas-cheer.html

Rotary Fellowship December 29th 2016

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jan 04, 2017

Instead of a 5th Rotary meeting in the month of December, the Rotary Club of St. Thomas had a fellowship gathering at the Mafolie Hotel and Restaurant. There was a 50/50 raffle and appetizers for a $10 entrance fee. Great times were had by those in attendance and it was a beautiful evening with a world class view!

Speaker Beverly Lansiquot

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Dec 12, 2016

On Thursday December 8th the Rotary Club of St. Thomas listened to the Dean of Nursing at the University of the Virgin Islands, Beverly Lansiquot. The program has developed nicely and the goal is still to increase the level of care through strong training etc. The program has decided to do away with the Bachelors program and only offer the Associates degrees. There are many challenges facing the program that include lowering the standard to an average grade of a "C" 2.0 verses in the U.S. the average is a "B" 3.0. Chemistry must be passed in high school before being able to be accepted into the nursing program. St. Croix is going through another "Accreditation Period" and we all hope it goes well from them.

Dr. Wheatley Speaks to the Club

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Dec 06, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas was treated with a visit from Dr. Wheatley and a couple of nurses to speak about blood pressure and Glucose. While the good Doctor was speaking, his crew did blood test on the club members. I do not believe this resulted in anyone having to check into the hospital. LOL Another great program on an important topic.

Dr. Wheatley spoke about Hypertension and the 3 stages of it;

Normal - pressure under 120/80
Pre-Hypertension - ranging from 120/130 to 80/90
Hypertension - over 140/90
Stage 1; 150-160/90-99
Stage 2; >160/>100

Risk factors;

Genetics
Environmental Stressers
Age
Obesity
African American
High Sodium
Excessive alcohol
Inactivity
Hyper Cholesterol
Diabetes
Stressed out individual
Sleep Apnea
Medications
Oral Contraceptives.

The Rotary Foundation Listed in Top 5 Charitable Organizations in the World

Hello All, as we just finished a month of informational programs and discussions about the Rotary Foundation, it is great to know that it is rated in the top 5 of all charities in the world. In fact number it is number 3 on the list.

THE GOOD NEWS JUST KEEPS ROLLING IN!!!!

CNBC has ranked The Rotary Foundation No. 3 in its annual list of Top 10 Charities Changing the World in 2016. The list includes some of the largest and highest-rated charities that help women, children, the poor, and the environment throughout the world.

#TRF100 #RotaryServingHumanity #ThisClose #EndPolioNow #BeTheChangeIn7020

https://www.facebook.com/Rotary7020/posts/1149849558467225

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

"This charity brings together a global network of volunteers who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges. The Rotary Foundation connects 1.2 million members from more than 200 countries to projects that focus on disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, and maternal and child health."

"PolioPlus is one of its biggest initiatives and seeks to eradicate polio around the world. Since the program's start in 1985, Rotary and its partners, including the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have immunized more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries."

Score: 100

Two Newest Rotary Foundation Bequest Society Members

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Nov 20, 2016

Congratulations to Michelle Emerson-Lewis & Jason Lewis who both became our Club's newest members of The Rotary Foundation Bequest Society. These two generous club members have made arrangements to put the Rotary International Foundation's Bequest Society into their estate plan. Meaning they both have decided at their young age to gift the Foundation after they have passed away.

Vocational Seminar on November 19th

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Nov 20, 2016

On Saturday November 19th Sue Boland and her committee organized yet another great Vocational Seminar held at Bolongo Bay. There were 40 students in attendance and another 11 speakers and/or Rotarian's in attendance. The seminar addressed the students with detail about many different types of work vocations and each speaker spoke of their experiences and stories of their up bringing too. The group was very professional and polite with good questions for each speaker. Rotarian's, John P. DeJongh (Past Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands), Jason Lewis (both pictured below), Lee Eisenhauer and Addie Ottley spoke along with several other community leaders including Ronald W. Sharpe who was nominated to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands by President Barack Obama on March 9, 2011. He was then confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in on July 6, 2011. Chief of Police St. Thomas Jason Marsh.

Jason Marsh Chief of Police U.S. Virgin Islands Ronald Sharp U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Virgin Islands

Sue wanted to Thank her wonderful Committee of – Erik Ackerson, Willa Fils, Susan Seipel and President Paul Davis for job well done.

Rotaract Club of the U.V.I. Inducts New Members

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Nov 20, 2016

It is always a great day when you see all of the smiling faces of our young getting installed into a Rotary Club or in this case our University of the Virgin Islands Rotaract Club! Last week President Elvaneice Huggins has out done herself organizing another great year with 5 new members added on this day.

St. Thomas Mourns the Passing of PDG Mulchand "Mulo' Alwani

Posted by Bernetia Akin St. Thomas Source on Nov 20, 2016

Community Mourns Passing of ‘Perfect Gentleman’ Mulo Alwani

By Bernetia Akin — November 20, 2016

Mulchand Mulo Alwani.

News of the death of St. Thomas businessman, community leader and philanthropist Mulchand Mulo Alwani, 79, spread quickly through the Virgin Islands Sunday, as friends and associates expressed sadness at his loss.

He died in Baptist Hospital in Miami Saturday, after battling cancer for nearly a year. His grown children Papita and Vinod were with him “holding his hand,” according to family friend Pash Daswani.

The news of his death struck a sad note across the community.

“I’m just sorry to hear that,” was the reaction from Samuel Topp, a long-time media personality now working in Government House public relations. “Mulo Alwani was a solid citizen, a good man. It’s a loss. I’m just sorry to hear that … He was a perfect gentleman.”

“I thought he was just the kindest person,” said Maria Hodge, who served many years with Alwani on the governing board of the Schneider Regional Medical Center. “He was a joy to work with. He was a really hard worker for the hospital. I thought very highly of him.”

Alwani was appointed to the hospital board in 2007. A government press release at that time contained a brief biography which said he had been born in Damascus, Syria, and moved to St. Thomas in 1977, opening Artistic Jewelers. He remained its president until 2003.

He held leadership positions and was active in an array of non-profit organizations, perhaps most notably the India Association of the Virgin Islands. The organization was chartered the year before he arrived in the Virgin Islands and he was a prominent member from the earliest years. Daswani, who is currently vice president, said Alwani served two stints as president, once in the 1980s and a second term beginning in 2002 and continuing until his death.

He was also involved in Rotary, the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, Partners for Health and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. He was a past master of Harmonic Lodge No. 356 EC. In 1995 he was honored with the Community Service Award by the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce. In 2014, he received the Peacemaker Award from the Family Resource Center.

Community activist and former hotel industry leader Mary Gleason said she first met Alwani when she was helping him arrange functions for the India Association at Frenchman’s Reef Resort. Over the years, she worked with him on various community projects and came to consider him a friend. She remembered “his integrity, his presence” and said, “It’s just heartbreaking and an unbelievable loss to this community.”

Dee Brown, president of CFVI, said she feels the loss both professionally and personally.

“Mulo was a dear friend,” she said, one of the first she and her husband Richard made when they arrived on St. Thomas more than 20 years ago. They were also close with his wife, Saria, who died in 2010.

“He and Saria were such enormous spirits, and so very humble about their generosity,” she said. “Mulo served as a board member of CFVI and he and Saria were a package deal for CFVI, doing whatever they could to help in so many different ways. I can’t process the loss for us personally – and for our community. We were so very fortunate to have had them in our lives!”

Daswani said Alwani taught him a lot.

“He was more than a mentor. He was more like a father to me,” Daswani said.

Known for his soft speech and calm demeanor, Alwani would rein Daswani in if he got angry, the younger man recalled.

“He’d put me in check,” Daswani said, adding that Alwani would tell him: “Just calm down and do the right thing.”

Alwani supported many causes, but Daswani said, “His main goal was education.”

Each year the India Association gives two four-year scholarships to students attending the University of the Virgin Islands. There has been discussion of changing the donation, but Alwani fought to keep it, Daswani said.

Besides his children, Alwani is survived by two grandchildren, Ania and Nikko.

Arrangements are pending.

Member Roger White Visits Uganda

Posted by Roger White/Paul Doumeng on Nov 14, 2016

Hello Members of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas. Past district Governor Diana and Club Member Roger White will be in Uganda again from October 7 - 21. This is connected to Roger's role as part of the management team of the Rotary Jaipur Limb project and some members may recall our club's involvement with this Rotary charity in the past. Below is from Roger;

The main reason for the trip is to meet with a hospital in Western Uganda near the Congo border which is interested in the Jaipur technology as well as the RC of Kasese which would be the host club for any grant application and the eyes and ears of Rotary Jaipur Limb project going forward for reporting etc. We will be also taking the opportunity of visiting some of the existing RJL clinics in Uganda including, and excitingly for me, in Lira where we will overnight and be able to attend a meeting of RC Lira. This club and its Past President Abongo Levi have been partners with RC St. Thomas on a number of projects over the past nine years and I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit Lira again. It was our visit in 2007 which helped bring about the establishment of a RJL clinic in Lira itself and, again, some members of our club may recall our involvement in the first grant we did with RC Lira from which 150 persons received limbs at the existing RJL clinic in a town called Kumi. This was prompted by the land mine issue at the time caused by the insurgency of the Lord's Resistance Army. Rotary's involvement in that project raised awareness to the extent that there is now a Rotary club in Kumi, thanks in part to RC St. Thomas - you never know where these things will lead!

I hope that will be of interest to some and I will give an update upon our return. We are due to visit STT for a couple of weeks starting on November 16.

All the best, Roger White

In Case We Missed You at Our November 10th Meeting

Posted by President Paul H. Davis on Nov 09, 2016

What you missed at our November 10^th meeting if you were not in attendance.....

A rancorous full house came to order with returning Rotarian's Austin Creel leading the Flag Pledge and our favorite past member and friend Bernie Roy reading and still flubbing the Four Way Test bringing a light tone to the meeting. Secretary - President Elect Paul had a big job introducing guests in double digits.

The “New Rotary Minute” video celebrated the beginning of Interact in the 50’s. Our club is proud to now have 4 New Generation Clubs up and running. They are CAHS, BCB, Sibilly & UVI. All members are encouraged to attend an Interact, Earlyact or Rotaract meeting.

Reminders that the “World’s Greatest Meal” event will take place at 12 noon on November 17. There will be a silent auction of wonderful items and fellowship with a focus on Ending Polio Now.
Next Saturday is our clubs Vocational Seminar where nine distinguished speakers will dazzle the minds of young entrepreneurs in an all-day free event at Bolongo Bay. PP Sue Boland heads up that event.
Please mark your calendars for our joint RCSTT & Innnerwheel holiday party December 22 at RWAV.

Guest Rotarian PP Corinne Van Rensselaer, of Rotary East, gave an inspiring note on becoming a Paul Harris Fellow and RI Foundation giving. Corrine is currently the USVI North RI foundation area coordinator.

Our program Speaker for the day was Rotarian Soraya Diase Coffelt who gave a fascinating presentation on her investigative educational trip to China. The presentation portrayed the Communist Party as an oppressive government and their integration with the modern world. Our appreciation goes out to Soraya.

Ronnie rounded out the day with some laughs and happy dollars while the current raffle pot lives on!!!

Please try to do your makeups because that’s what Rotarians do!!!!!

See You Around the Club, President Paul & the RCSTT Board of Directors

Soraya Diase Coffelt Speaks About Her Trip to China

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Nov 09, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas had the pleasure of listening to our own club member Soraya Diase Coffelt. Soraya passionately spoke about her recent educational visit to China. Soraya shared pictures and a very unique perspective from her time spent there. The following are the foot notes of her topic.

Notes for Rotary Talk 11/10/16

Wonderful opportunity to travel to China to study Chinese business & law with a group of about 20 Americans and 10 Chinese at a university in Beijing.

I had been planning this trip since last year. I saw the growth of China’s influence in the Caribbean and then its involvement with ArchLight at the former Hovensa refinery and wanted to find out what was the motive of China.

At the university there were 3 American law professors, 2 Chinese law professors, 10 Chinese students & 20 American students.

Beihang University is the country's top aeronautical & engineering university.

Spent 5 weeks in classes from Monday through Friday. On my time off I enjoyed traveling throughout the country. I visited Shanghai & Hong Kong.

Beijing is the capital with a population of 21 Million people, in Shanghai there is 24 Million people. This compares to the state of Texas with 24M people.

China adopted a Constitution in 1954 to legitimize the Communist take over of the country. This was amended 4 times through 1982. Essentially the constitution is just a paper document. The Communist party sees itself as the true leader and savior of the Chinese people and the final authority on what the law is & how it applies.

- President Xi Jin Ping is the head of Communist Party as well as president of China.

Laws are a very recent development and the modern legal system after the 1949 revolution when Communist Party took control of the country. The civil law of the country mainly rely on statutes and not the precedent of case law as in US & Great Britain.

Significant lack of freedoms

Websites blocked and the constitution not enforced
Significant corruption
Devices used to block internet
A foreign business goes into China – subject to many restrictions & strict oversight Apple patent decision etc.

Recent problems in Hong Kong

a. British had a 99 year lease on Hong Kong in 1999 it ended and the country went back to China. The Chinese signed agreement that for 50 years it would continue to have its democratic form of government & practice capitalism.

b. Have their own currency & dialect

c. Have their own democratically elected legislature

d. During recent elections this year, 2 young very pro-Hong Kong men were elected. But the Chinese legislature voted to prevent them from being sworn in

Arrest & Deaths

a. Lei Yang – 29 year old scholar – wife just gave birth to a baby and he was arrested in the area of a “foot parlor” or house of prostitution. He was later found dead while still in police custody. Family claims a coverup. How safe is the middle class from police? Bruises were found on the body of this young man.

b. Lawyer arrested & charge criminally – sentenced to 1 ½ years in jail for making comments on Chinese social media.

c. David Barboza of The New York Times is pictured during the announcement of Pulitzer Prize winners at the New York Times newsroom in New York on April 15, 2013. (Reuters)

David Barboza, the Shanghai Bureau Chief of The New York Times, won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for exposing the wealth amassed by the extended family of former premier Wen Jiabao. The report, which tackles head-on the politically sensitive topic of corruption by high-level officials, led the Chinese government to block Web access to both the English and Chinese versions of the New York Times entirely.

Significant amount of pollution through out most of the country and huge modern buildings from the outside look great but, many issues of how the buildings are built (plumbing, electrical etc.) Especially for the Olympic games.

Shanghai

a. Different concessions or foreign enclaves – British, French

b. The modern & the old/historic exist side by side

c. Bund waterfront area

d. Very clean

e. Deng Xioping – 1990s- China is a dragon & Shanghai its head

Very concerned about SINOPEC being involved with former Hovensa refinery- it is owned by Chinese govt. and has a history of major environmental issues. just reviving the refinery in St. Croix is full of environmental issues and challenges.

-if judgment against SINOPEC in American courts- go to China to enforce judgment; chances of a Chinese court ruling against the Chinese govt. is probably 0

-it is an extremely long flight from VI to China & back

Good points about China:

a. Set goals – to become technology leader in the world – its patent office approved 1 M patent applications in 2015

b. To have a top soccer team – that was in the news – bringing coaches & players over from Europe etc. to help them build their soccer teams

c. Stress education – China is among be the oldest civilizations – about 10,000 years old- historians have said that is because of the importance education has played in its culture.

BCB Middle School Re-starts the Interact Club

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Nov 09, 2016

The New Generations Chair Shirley Blyden with help from Ronald Harrigan and Paul Davis have rekindled the Interact Club of BCB Middle School. The first meeting was on Thursday 11/10/2016. Our club help get their first meeting organized and oversaw the election of Officers. Great job to all involved!

The proud new Officers of the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School Interact Club

Erik Ackerson speaks on the Rotary Foundation

Posted by PAD on Nov 08, 2016

At the November 3rd lunch meeting, PP Erik Ackerson spoke to the club about the Rotary International Foundation. The Foundation is celebrating it's 100 anniversary this year and a grand celebration is planned for at the International conference in Atlanta in 2017. Erik spoke of the benefits of contributing to the foundation as it relates to Global Grants and funding for the many many great projects that Rotarian's do around the world. He also reminded the club that during the month of November, the club will match our contributions with Foundation points up to 500 of them. In other words if you give $100 to the foundation the club will give you an additional 100 points towards your Paul Harris Fellow Award. If you donate $500 now, you will automatically get the additional 500 points to make you eligible for a Paul Harris award

Last Two Weeks of Speakers

Posted by PAD on Nov 01, 2016

Nels Hawkins of the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament. Even Nels knows how close we are to eradicating Polio.

The speaker on October 13, was Albert Bryan from Junior Achievement. He gave a spirited talk about the youth of the Virgin Islands.

Here with President Paul H. Davis

Our Speaker for the October 27th meeting was Cathrine A. Hendrey Commissioner U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Labor. Ms. Hendrey spoke about training the work force and how the DOL can assist with small business.

All photos taken by PP Larry Benjamin

A Week Long Visit from District Governor Haresh L. Ramchandani

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Oct 28, 2016

What a week of Rotary activity! It started on Tuesday as the Board of Directors met at Bolongo Bay in the Conference Room for a lunch meeting. President Paul started the meeting by answering questions from the DG. Each Board Member was given an opportunity to discuss their avenue of service and it was received extremely well. DG Haresh reminded us of the prestige that comes with being the first club of the district and followed by saying we are clearly still leading the way.

After the meeting the team hit the road and starting seeing some of the clubs projects etc.

Below is a picture of the DG at All Saints School with Interacters and at the Nana Baby Home.

There was a gathering for the World's Greatest Meal aboard the Heavenly Days Catamaran and even though it was a bit rough, all that attended enjoy the trip and the company of everyone on board. Over $800 was raised for POLIO. Thursday Night was the joint meeting at Frenchman's Reef Resort and it was a very good evening and all in attendance enjoyed the uplifting speech by DG Haresh. Some guy's have all the luck! First a picture surrounded by Beautiful women and then winning the 50/50 raffle. :)

The finale of the week was the BVI/USVI Friendship Day and this year it was our turn! It was held under a tent on the beach at Bolongo Bay and it turned out great! We had well over a 100 visitors through out the day to share in some "Swallowship", good food and great times. Bolongo featured a pig roast and many volunteers donated a variety of food dishes to feature a large amount of food.

Donated dishes of Egg Plant Parmesan and the star of the show a large Platter of Roast Pig.

The Committee was small but, PP Anna Paiewonsky, Lynn Delaney, PP/Treasurer Heflyn Royer, PP/AG Marston Winkles and myself worked hard to make a week full of events.

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas BOD Slate 2017-2018

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Oct 12, 2016

The proposed slate for the Board of Directors for the Rotary year 2017 - 2018 was read at 3 consecutive meetings and the members were asked if they had any additions or nominations from the floor. Hearing none, the below slate had a motion by PP Larry Benjamin to be approve and it was seconded by Dante DeCastro. All members in attendance approved the slate on 10/13/2016.

The 2017-2018 BOD Slate for The Rotary Club of St. Thomas

President – Paul Doumeng

President Elect – Lynn DeLaney

Immediate Past President – Paul Davis

Secretary – Michelle Emerson-Lewis

Treasurer – Heflyn Royer

Club Administration – TBD

Membership – Erik Ackerson

Public Image – Mary Gleason

International Service/Service Projects – Anna Paiewonsky

The Rotary Foundation and Club Trainer – Marston Winkles

Vocational Service – Sue Boland

Disaster Relief Chair – Addie Ottley

Youth Service – Shirley Blyden

Sergeant-at-Arms – Ronnie Lockhart

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas Foundation is an ex officio position - Jim Crites Chair 2017-2018

Rotarian Leonard "Brother B" Bonelli Sr. Publishes Book on Poetry

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Oct 11, 2016

Rotarian Brother B shared with the club his book he wrote called "An Invitation to Poetry". He is selling these paper back books filled with stories of his daily life.

What Rotarian's Do On The Weekends

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Oct 08, 2016

On Sunday October 9th the 40th "OCTOBER SUNDAY" was enjoyed by all at Magens Bay. Polly Watts and her Husband Fred started the event up at Sibs Mountain Bar in 1976 and it always was surrounded with music. Rotary Club St. Thomas' own Larry Benjamin could not help himself from dancing with Vivian St. Juste, who is the director of the Family Resource Center for battered and abused women. Great to see her enjoying herself and raising money and awareness at the same time.

Inner Wheel Donates Radiant Warmer to Hospital

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Oct 05, 2016

INNER WHEEL DONATES RADIANT WARMER TO RLS HOSPITAL NEO-NATAL UNIT

St. Thomas, VI - The Roy Lester Schneider Hospital received a much needed gift from the Inner Wheel Club of St. Thomas. The Club donated a new radiant warmer to the hospital’s neo-natal unit.

Radiant warmers are used to maintain the body temperature of newborn infants. The major advantage of the radiant warmer is the easy access it provides to critically-ill infants, especially those on ventilators or CPAP machines--without disturbing the thermal environment.

According to Cleopatra St. John of the RLS Hospital Neo-natal unit, the USVI has about a 15% rate of premature births. The addition of this radiant warmer will help considerably in the care of premature infants.

Inner Wheel, which organized in St. Thomas in 1978, has been a staunch supporter of the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital for many years. At one time they managed the hospital’s gift shop, with all proceeds going back to the hospital’s coffers. Now, despite the fact they no longer manage the gift shop, the Inner Wheel Club still finds ways to support the local hospital.

Inner Wheel strives to promote true friendship, foster international understanding, and promote the ideals of personal service, all in friendship and service. Helping children has long been a focus of the club. When the RLS Hospital neo-natal unit expressed a need for radiant warmers, they focused their fund raising efforts towards being able to fulfill this need.

“We are very grateful to the Inner Wheel Club of St. Thomas for their generous gift” said hospital CEO Bernard Wheatley “When organizations in our community, like Inner Wheel, have faith in our medical center, and choose our community hospital to be the beneficiary of their fundraising efforts, it is truly a wonderful thing.”

For more information on Inner Wheel Club of St. Thomas, send an email to iwcstt@outlook.com or find Inner Wheel Club of St. Thomas on Facebook.

Rotary Club St. Thomas Members read to students

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Oct 05, 2016

Over the last week of September club members read to kids at different schools as we did not have a 5th meeting in the month.

Shirley Blyden, New Generation Chair not only read to students at Sibilly Monore school but because it is where her son started out 20 years ago Shirley decided to donate $30 worth of reading books to the class on September 30, 2016. The books were 1. Caribbean Dream, 1. Now I feel better, 1. Nappy hair and 10 books on Disney Reading Adventures....... a total of 13 books. Attached please find the picture Ms. Paul took. Way to go Shirley!

Club Members also read at the Boys And Girls Club on Thursday Sept 29^th

John de Jongh, Wila Fils, Addie Ottley, Bruce Perry, Michelle Emerson-Lewis, Mary Gleason, President Paul Davis and Sue Boland

Pictured is Mary Gleason, new members Lee Eisenhauer and Past Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands John P. DeJongh Jr.

Thank you to all of our members who participated in this great week for the kids and education.

Nicole Parsons

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Sep 21, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas enjoyed having Nicole Parsons of the U.S. Virgin Islands United Jazz Foundation. Nicole with her musician husband and Virgin Island legend, Deon Parsons started the foundation in 2013 and it was set up to bring music to the less privileged students of the Virgin Islands. Nicole explained that Jazz is a perfect way to help young people use all the parts of their mind as the music has a free formed style based on rhythm and beats. Nicole believes that she is a "Social Engineer" and by bringing music to the young, it will help develop social skills that will come in handy as they grow up and seek employment etc. Some of the goals of the foundation are to; find talent, develop curriculum in the schools, grow social skills and develop confidence in these young promising students. Nicole ended her presentation with a video of 3 young students who have gone through this program and now are professional musicians performing in the United States. In the video the students spoke of joining the school band to "just to do something" and one student stated that he "picked the horns because he could sit in the back of the class." Needless to say that the mentorship of this program gave these students focus, confidence and the skills they needed to play music as a profession.

Rotary Club St. Thomas Inducts New Member Past U.S.V.I. Governor John P. DeJongh Jr.

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Sep 20, 2016

On September 15th, the Rotary Club of St. Thomas inducted former U.S. Virgin Islands Governor, John P. DeJongh Jr. John into the club. He was sponsored by Past President Erik Ackerson. John had been a Rotarian in the past before his Public Service days. We are all glad to welcome him back into Rotary so he can enjoy his passion towards the children of the Virgin Islands. When John was the Governor, he implemented a reading program over the summer breaks that is still in existence today. I am sure new Rotarian John will have lot's of opportunities to read to children in the near future. Welcome John P. DeJongh Jr.!

A happy John DeJongh.

Longest Drive Winner!!

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Sep 20, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas Sunrise held their annual Golf tournament last weekend at the Mahogany Run Golf Course. Rotary Club St. Thomas sent in a ringer to compete in this fun event. Our own PP Susan Seipel won the longest drive honor with one heck of a shot. Susan did well at golf but later broke her ankle and is now resting with a new fashion statement in the form of a knee high boot. Congratulations Susan and get well soon.

A surprised PP Susan Seipel pictured here with Rotary Sunrise President Mike McKay

Rotary "Swallowship" At Room with a View

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Sep 19, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas gathered for a fun night of Fellowship and Swallowship with $5.00 wine specials and appetizers. The view is always spectacular from the upstairs of "The Room with a View" restaurant and last night was a great one. Three cruise ships were still in harbor when we started and we were able to watch them leave one by one into the sunset. Good times were had by all and some money was raised to help fund the Back Packs that were given to the kindergarten students by selling raffle tickets.

Gladys Abraham School Back Packs

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Sep 13, 2016

On Wednesday morning at 10:00am I was again reminded why it is great to be a Rotarian! President Paul Davis, Ronald Harrigan, Soraya Diase Coffelt, Elvaneice Huggins - President UVI Rotaract and myself handed out pre-stuffed Rotary Back Packs to two classes of children at the Gladys Abraham School. You would have thought that Santa himself was there by the smiles on each of the adorable kids faces. The warmth of these children and the obvious care that these two teachers show was overwhelming. The class rooms were decorated with care and the smart boards that were being used to teach these kindergarten children how to write the alphabet was extremely encouraging. The children were so well behaved as well. I had not been in one of these class rooms since we mentored a 2nd grade all the way through graduating from High School. Do yourself a favor and go read to one of our schools on September 29th. It will warm your heart for some time after you do so.

We Missed You On September 8, 2016

Posted by President Paul . Davis on Sep 10, 2016

We missed you at our September 8th meeting!!!

Our September 8th meeting was attended by 45 members and guests. We were excited to have guests in double digits. They included visiting Rotarian Steve Lovas from Williams, Arizona who got a Rotary Club of St. Thomas banner, a bottle of liquid sunshine (Cruzan Rum) and with one ticket won that $100 raffle!!! Fun was had by all!!

The program speaker was lifelong educator Janette Smith Berry. Ms. Berry gave a thorough and comprehensive view of all aspects of children’s education from the home to diploma. The literacy of VI children were the focus point of her presentation. She spoke about changes in our public education that would truly improve the lives of our VI Students. We hope Ms. Berry will work with our New Generations Clubs. We are looking forward to all member’s engagement of the New Generation Clubs that will start in October. The fifth meeting of the month (the 29th) is a day set aside to encourage our club members to read at on of our schools.

Five RCSTT members attended the first UVI Rotaract meeting of the year on 9/2. Plans were made to work together at many events coming this year. Some of those events include the delivery of our Rotarian Backpacks and our reading in schools scheduled for the 26th-29th of this month at Sibilly Elementary, Sibilly Annex and Boys & Girls Club. There is a signup sheet to organize the reading program. If you can spare a couple of hours please contact me for more information.

The Backpacks were delivered to the Sibilly Annex students on Friday 9/9. Thanks to Rotarian's Bruce Perry and Susan Sepiel as well as Bruce’s better half Wilma. The students were thrilled to get the packs with books, pencils and lots of school supplies. We had a blast doing it. The other school is Gladys Abraham; we will deliver those on Monday 9/12. We are still looking for $10 backpack sponsors to pay for this project. Please call or email if you wish to contribute or be there.

We are still collecting clothing and items for Cee Cee’s Closet located at the Family Resource Center. This will bring seriously needed funds to keep this communities vital service viable. Please contribute where you can.

We will have an old fashion fellowship upstairs RWAV on 9/20 5:30 pm. There will be $5 wine and $5 appetizers served. Come out and win the 50/50 raffle and have some fun!!!

Thank you all for your service, and we hope to see you around the club. President Paul

Speaker Lucien Stephenson

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Sep 07, 2016

Speaker Lucien Stephenson spoke on "Anti Virus Youth Education". In collaboration with the Virgin Islands Department of Education the "Leaders Edge of the Virgin Islands" went to the Commissioner to the program into two (2) schools and they received that permission to do so. They hope to raise the awareness and further the students beyond there current level of education and to teach the foundations of Values, Ambition, Responsibility, Hard Work, Emotions, Restraint, Common Sense and Generosity.

Long Time Member Don Collins Passes Away

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Sep 03, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas lost a long time member Don Collins over the weekend. Don is survived my is lovely wife and Inner Wheeler, Sharon of 57 years. Don was born on Mar 09 1938 and ran the Viking Corp, a moving company here on St. Thomas for many years. Don had just sold the business last year and moved to Atlanta Georgia to retire. Please keep the Collins family in your thoughts and prayers.

Invitation to Nominate a New District Governor for District 7020

Posted by DG Haresh L. Ramchandani on Aug 29, 2016

8/30/2016

Haresh L. Ramchandani
District Governor 2016-2017, Rotary International District
7020 * 1-876-382-5757
hramchandani@hotmail.com | Skype: hramchandani | 30
Freeport Shopping Centre, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Dear Club Presidents,

Re: Nominations for District Governor (2019-2020)

In accordance with Rotary International District Administration Guide and Leadership Organization for
District 7020, I am requesting suggestions for nominations from Rotary Clubs for the future District
Governor for 2019-2020.

This letter must be read to the members of your club at a regular meeting and/or published in your
club’s regular newsletter. Suggestions must be submitted in the form of a resolution adopted at a
regular meeting of the club naming the suggested candidate. The resolution shall be certified by the club
secretary. A club may suggest only one of its own members as a candidate for governor-nominee. It is
recommended that this candidate has served in the position of Assistant Governor.
Suggestions, along with a one page resumé with particulars of his/her personal, business and Rotary life,
and a photograph, should be sent to the Nominating Committee for consideration no later than
November 1st, 2015, with a copy to the undersigned.

Chairman – PDG Felix Stubbs felixstubbs7020@gmail.com
Member - PDG Paul Brown paul.brown7020@gmail.com
Member - PDG Jeremy Hurst jeremyhurst7020@gmail.com
Member - PDG Vance Lewis vancelewis7020@gmail.com
Member - PDG Guy Theodore guytheo441@gmail.com

Yours in Rotary
Haresh L. Ramchandani
District Governor 2016-2017

Rotary Club St. Thomas Inducts Two New Members

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 28, 2016

On Thursday August 25th we inducted two new members to the club.

President Paul Davis sporting his new suit inducted Lee Eisenhauer sponsored by PP Erik Ackerson on the left and Austin Creel sponsored by Sgt. Ronnie Lockhart on the right.

Lee getting Pinned by PP Erik and Austin getting Pinned by Sgt. Ronnie

Austin Creel is the co-owner of the Dominos Pizza Chain here on St. Thomas and his classification is Franchise Restaurateur.

Lee Eisenhauer is the owner of KLR Restaurant Supply and you guessed it, Classification is Restaurant Supplies.

Welcome gentlemen it is great to have you both in the Club.

We Missed You at Our August 25th Meeting

Posted by President Paul Davis on Aug 27, 2016

Good Day fellow RCSTT members,

We missed you at our August 25 Meeting!

This was our last meeting of our summer series at Bolongo. We had five vibrant, fun and informative meetings which included the induction of 4 new members. We will return to Room with a View on September 1.

Thursday’s meeting included the induction of Lee Eisenhower who is the owner of KLR Restaurant Supply and Austin Creel who is the new co-owner of Domino’s Pizza St. Thomas.

We announced that member Soraya Diase-Coffelt has accepted the position of Scholarships Chair replacing Cynthia Jerry who recently transferred her membership to Rotary East. We are grateful for Soraya’s commitment to service and education. Jan French was also recognized for her outstanding job filling in since CJ left.

A generous tip donation was taken up for the Bolongo staff. Everyone agreed that Paul Doumeng and his staff did an excellent job serving the nearly 78%-member attendance with multiple guests at every meeting.

Programs introduced included the Rotary Backpack program which includes the purchase of 60 Rotary backpacks and filling them with school supplies. Members can sponsor as many as they wish for $10 each. This covers the cost of the packs and materials. Deliveries will be fun!!

Another new program is the Rotary Cee Cee’s Closet clothes drive. Hopefully all the USVI clubs will participate as we all have clothing in our closet we can spare. It will bring much needed help and revenue to the vital work of the Family Resource Center. Collection times and places are forthcoming.

As September comes and school starts the new RI theme is Literacy and Education. As we consider our five new generation clubs for 2016-17, we hope that all members will participate during the school year. This consists of each member dedicating at least one 40-minute meeting with our youth clubs. That is 40 minutes out of your Rotary year. We believe once you go to one, you will want to go back. This is extremely important work we do every year in our community. Please consider this Service Above Self.

We hope all of you are well and hope to see you soon,
Thank you for your service,

President Paul

Missing Club Member Ron Martin

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 26, 2016

It is with a heavy heart that our Club learned of the passing of Club Member Ron Martin this weekend. Ron is survived by his wife Susan. Ron became a Rotarian on October 24th of 2002. Ron was a Real Estate Broker here on St. Thomas for many years. Please keep the Martin family in your thoughts and prayers.

Lindsay Cancino Video Telecommunication

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 22, 2016

At the Thursday August 18th lunch meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas, we had an interactive video communication with District 7020 Foundation & Polio Chair Lindsay Cancino. President Paul Davis is using the Internet to bring visitors into our meetings from a far. Today Lindsay spoke to our club from East Nassau about the health of the foundation, in it's 100th year and the news is good. There is great excitement about the celebration this coming year at the International Convention in Atlanta of the foundation. Lindsay fielded questions from the club and when asked about trends of membership in the district, he answered with, "Our district is typically ahead of the U.S. average as far as growth and retention of members. However, like the U.S., we too are flat as far as the growth is concerned."

Prior to Lindsay speaking to the club, President Paul Davis played a video on the work that Rotary is doing in Haiti to eradicate Polio. This was a very informative video. It was also brought up that Nigeria had once been off the Polio list and now has fallen back onto it because of 2 recent cases. This embodies the fact that the work to eradicate this disease must continue well after the last case is reported.

Chili Cook Off

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 21, 2016

This past Sunday August 21st the 32nd annual Texas Society of the Virgin Islands’ "Chili Cook-off" was in full force at John Brewers Beach on St. Thomas. the event went off without a hitch and brought hundreds of residents out for a day on the sand in support of six local charities. Lead by the "BIG PEPPER" & Past President of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas, Erik Ackerson, Rotary was in full force with 3 of the clubs competing. Great times were had be all. Here is a feature story from the VI St. Thomas Source web Newspaper.

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2016/08/21/chili-cook-packs-brewers-beach

Sue Boland speaks about the Boys and Girls Club of St. Thomas

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 06, 2016

During the joint meeting between the Rotary Club St. Thomas and Inner Wheel St. Thomas, Sue Boland took the podium to give a passionate talk about the Boys and Girls Club of St. Thomas. Sue spoke of the benefits the club brings to our community and especially Aswalt Harris Court.

It is our mission…To inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to achieve their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.

The Boys and Girls Club is the largest youth development organization in the United States Virgin Islands. Many active members participate in the Boys and Girls Club’s Academic, Physical Education, Science & Technology, Social Education and Visual & Performing Arts programs. Our programs are delivered by a staff of professionals and a cadre of community volunteers. Many of the Boys and Girls Clubs programs are offered in collaboration and partnership with local schools and other community organizations. Our annual operating budget is supported by a donor group of individuals and corporations.

The Boys & Girls Club is a place to go and a way to grow. A place to meet old friends and make new ones. But more than just a place; it’s people and fun!

Our purpose is to help young people age 7 – 17 improve their lives by building self-esteem and developing values and skills during their critical periods of growth.

The club has approx 50 students involved and they have a need for a van to transport the students to various locations for field trips etc. The Rotary club of St. Thomas has long had a relationship with the kids and in fact have just received a Grant to build a Green House on the property to teach the students how grow and maintain a garden.

The following are links to their website and FaceBook accounts

http://www.bgcvi.org/ https://www.facebook.com/Boys-and-Girls-Club-of-The-Virgin-Islands-407995235886114/home

New Rotary Club St. Thomas Mugs available to Purchase

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 06, 2016

Hot off the press are the Rotary Club of St. Thomas' new coffee mugs. They are for sale so our club members can share the 4 way test with their friends and co-workers. At $7.00 each you can own a set.

Scholarship Recipients Visit the Club

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 03, 2016

On August 4th, the Rotary Club of St. Thomas had 2 special visitors from Charlotte Amailie High School, Naysa R. Lynch came to the meeting to thank the club for the Scholarship she received from us. Naysa is heading to college next week and gave us a personal thank you from the podium along with a letter.

Also in attendance was the recipient of the Coffelt Scholarship, accompanied by Soraya Diase Coffelt, Shanaya Gregoire. We also received a "thank you letter" from Jovier Adams who is heading to Alabama A & M.

President of Inner Wheel St. Thomas, Paul Edwards

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 03, 2016

On August 4th, the Rotary Club of St. Thomas had the pleasure to have a joint meeting with the Inner Wheel Club of St. Thomas. The energy was high in a well filled luncheon room that had 14 Inner Wheel members, 30 Rotary members and 11 visitors.

As President Paula Edwards took the podium to talk about her club, she asked President Paul Davis to play a video that was accompanied by music of Inner Wheel International. The video was very informative with great pictures. As President Paula continued to address the room they played a power point presentation of many pictures of their club and it's members, past and present.

After President Paula's speech she received a surprise from her club.

An Update from President Paul Davis

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 03, 2016

Good Day Fellow Rotarians,

We missed you at our August 4 joint meeting with Inner Wheel of St. Thomas.

A capacity crowd that spilled out into the lobby experienced a delightful hour of presentations of plans and accomplishments of both clubs. PP Sue Boland gave our clubs first prime time description of the Boys & Girls Club operation. The response to her presentation was very positive.

The "New" Rotary Minute video was the the Inner Wheel Song with pictures of Inner Wheels members and projects from around the world. The Inner Wheel members present had never seen this and were greatly appreciative.

Global Projects chair Lisa Yanni brought us up to date on a very ambitious water project our club has helped make happen.

For hundreds of people this is the difference between having gutters and tanks to store water and traveling miles on donkey to retrieve water in 5 gallon buckets. This is the work Rotary does that improves lives beyond words.

Inner Wheel President Paula Edwards presented a complete and impressive description of the Inner Wheel Club with an accompanying slide show. P Paula was then presented with an award form her previous year as president.

Happy dollars were separated for the two clubs and Inner Wheel netted over $100 in happy dollars!!!

At the American Legion on Saturday Bruce Perry will be inducted to this prestigious club and to celebrate we will conduct Rotary Roast #3. We will also present to them a new window AC unit for their office.The meeting is from 10am to 12 am. Rotary Roast will serve from 11ish to 3pm.

Get more news and pictures from our clubs Sparks Newsletter published by Paul Doumeng.

Next weeks meeting at Bolongo will be "Fellowship with a Summertime Twist"

Engage in Rotary, Serving Humanity, Be the Change 2016-2016

Best Regards, President Paul

Secretary Paul Gives PP Anna A gift

Posted on Aug 03, 2016

Secretary Paul had the club members sign last years banner with the theme "Be A Gift To The World" and gifted it to PP Anna Paiewonsky.

Virgin Island Olympic Committee

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Aug 02, 2016

This past Thursday July 28, 2016 the Rotary Club of St. Thomas was honored to have President – Angel L. Morales of the Virgin Island Olympic Committee and Olympic Boxer Clayton Laurant Jr. speak at the club lunch held at Bolongo Bay.

President – Angel L. Morales started his athletic career as a Physical Education teacher in 1974. While teaching, he played on the V.I. National Volleyball Team from 1977- 1980. In 1983 he became Assistant Professor of Physical Education at the University of the Virgin Islands where he remains on staff to date. Mr. Morales first served as the Sports Administrator for the VIOC from 1986-1988 and attended the ’88 Seoul Games in that capacity. He was Asst. Chef de Mission at the ’92 Barcelona Games and Chef de Mission at the ’96 Atlanta Olympics. He was a founding member of the St. Croix Basketball Referee Association and the Caribbean University Sports Association (CUSA) where he served as Treasurer from 1992-2000. In 1988 he was elected on the VIOC Executive Committee as Vice President for St. Croix and in 1996 became Secretary General.

Olympic Boxer Clayton Laurant Jr. spoke of the challenges to train and work at the same time. He is highly motivated to do well in the Rio Olympics and was a very speaker.

The Virgin Islands Olympic Committee (VIOC) announces 7 Virgin Islanders that have made Team Virgin Islands for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Laverne Jones – 200m

Caylee Watson – Swimming

Rex Tullius – Swimming

Muhammad Halim – Long Jump

Eddie Lovett – 110m Hurdle

Clayton Laurent Jr. – Boxing 91+ kg

Cy Thompson – Sailing (Laser)

We wish all of our athletes nothing but success and know they will represent our country and make us all proud. If you want to read more about them all go to; http://www.virginislandsolympics.org/

Jazz in the Park

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jul 29, 2016

It was a rainy weekend but on Saturday afternoon many Rotarian's showed up at Memorial Veterans Park for good music, food and fellowship. The Boys and Girls Club were in full force to raise some much needed funds for there projects. President Paul Davis and several Rotarians chipped in to help. Rotary Friend Kat, helped out by baking dozens of cupcakes to sell.

Installation of 2 new members

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jul 20, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas inducted 2 new members to the club on Thursday 7/21/16. The first new member was Lynn Delaney who came to us from the Rotary Club of St. Thomas East and has been in Rotary since 2014. Lynn is in the Medical Operations Management field. Lynn was sponsored by PP Erik Ackerson. Lynn brings a lot energy and excitement with her and I am sure she will be busy in our club.

The second new member is David "Amos" Mc Coy. Amos as he likes to be called came to the island in April of 2010 and he started his business in Land Surveying. Amos is a very nice man and has attended most of our lunch meeting since he was first invited by Paul Davis who sponsored him as a member. I am sure you will all get to know him soon.

Please help me make our two new members feel welcomed as they find their Avenue of Service to join forces with.

What it is to be a Rotarian for me.

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jul 20, 2016

President Paul Davis asked me to speak to the club for a few minutes on "What it is to be a Rotarian". I know some of of us have a good 30 second "Elevator Speech" about what is Rotary but, how many of us have re-visited the thoughts about what it is to be a Rotarian and why did you or I become one? I believe we all join for different reasons, some people want to simply meet new people and have some fellowship over a meal. Some are new to an area and want to network with other business members to see if new opportunities may surface. These are fine reasons to join a "club" but, I believe that those reasons are what only makes being a Rotarian a better deal. I was raised to be involved in my community and to try and help others who are less fortunate than I am. As ambitious as I believe I am, at the end of any given day, I am but one man. Being a part of an international community service organization gives me opportunities to help children, the elderly and folks in other parts of the world as well as my own community. Why walking 13 miles over the mountains of St. John to raise money and awareness just makes me feel good to know I am trying to do my part. Not to mention when we reach out to other clubs and get matching grants to multiply those funds into more usable money to further help the needy. I would say that most of us are raised not to be selfish but, if doing something good for others makes you feel good than by all means do it.

As the world around us grows and changes, so must Rotary and our Clubs. We must all look in the mirror from time to time and ask ourselves, "Why am I a Rotarian and what do I want from being involved in a club?" As we all continue to grow we all also have opportunities to get involved with something that you are passionate about. We call these "Avenues of Service" and if your area of passionate concern is already being addressed in your club, why not offer your time and assistance? If you don't believe your club is reaching a part of the community that you would like to help, create a committee or create a project so that others may help you achieve your goals. There are many commitments that are needed to be a Rotarian and it takes money and the giving of our time but, the return on our investment can fulfill your life with satisfaction that you can't put a value on.

Thank you and I look forward to working with you all on future projects.

Sincerely Yours in Rotary, Paul Doumeng

Rotary Club St. Thomas Feeds the Kids

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jul 18, 2016

President Paul Davis and several Rotarian's from our club gathered at the Boys and Girls Club of St. Thomas for an afternoon of fun, food and fellowship. Everyone involved seemed to have a great time and left with full tummy's. Way to go Rotary Club St. Thomas!!

Speaker Scott A. Damon CDC

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jul 13, 2016

The topic of the presentation was “Controlling Zika Virus.” The speaker, Scott Damon is a Health Communication Specialist working for the CDC U.S.V.I. - Zika Response, St. Thomas he inform the audience about Zika virus in the U.S. Virgin Islands and CDC’s cooperation with the Virgin Islands Department of Health in working to control the virus. He also is exploring how the CDC can better partner with Rotary in getting the word out about Zika. Timing was very good as there was an article in today's Daily News about the increase in cases of Zika in St. Thomas. He explained how if you are in a situation were you are or might be pregnant, how to avoid contact with mosquitos. Once you have had the Zika virus, there is a great chance you will not get it again.

Scott A. Damon's brief bio:

Scott Damon is a Health Communication Specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On a regular basis he manages CDC’s communication and education work on asthma, air quality, and air pollution. He also led CDC’s health communication response on FEMA trailers and has served on various emergency responses for CDC for 15 years.

Scott received a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Ohio University. He has also received a Certificate of Public Health from John Hopkins University. In addition, Scott is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

For more information about what our territory is doing to help stop the spread of Zika, I have attached 2 stories that ran recently on the St. Thomas Source online news paper.

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2016/07/17/work-doh-and-cdc-are-top-zika-response By Kelsey Nowakowski — July 17, 2016

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2016/07/20/weekly-update-nine-more-zika-cases-stt By Kelsey Nowakowski — July 20, 2016

PP Rotaract UVI Sean Benjamin

Posted on Jul 12, 2016

We were visited by the Past President of our Rotaract Club of the University of the Virgin Islands, Sean Benjamin and Natisha Hodge. He spoke of the great experiences he had last year and the excitement of the year ahead. He also reminded the club that they would love to see Rotarians at their meetings on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month at the campus' Business Building in room #206. Sean is the Professional Development Director this year for his club.

Speaker Richard De Costa

Posted on Jul 12, 2016

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas had a visitor from the American Legion Post 90 "Patrick George" U.S.Virgin Islands. Richard De Costa shared with the club some details of his organization and his military career. The American Legion was founded in 1919 by the "American Expedition Paris Force". It is a world wide organization that honors veterans every where. Their motto is "For God and Country, we associate ourselves..." Their mission is "To continue our dedication to Veterans and their families. Foster new ideas and community projects, to build a stronger community in which we live." The local chapter was founded on 11/2/1942 they are a nonprofit organization and they are active sponsoring 2 little league baseball teams dignified flag disposals and much more. President Paul H. Davis has donated profits from our "Rotary Roasts" to the American Legion and plans to do more co-sponsored events in the near future.

President Anna's Farewell

Posted by Anna Paiewonsky on Jun 29, 2016

President Paul Harrison Davis Takes the Helm

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jun 29, 2016

President Anna - The 4-Way Test

Posted on Jun 29, 2016

The 4-Way Test –

Throughout this Rotary year there have been many times when the 4-way test has been used to challenge a particular decision or event. So, I thought that we should have a healthy discussion about some of the specific components of the 4-Way Test. So let’s start with

#1 – The Intro
Please repeat after me the 4-Way test Of the things we think say or do

#2 - Is it the truth?
What is truth?
One would assume that the truth would be self evident but in reality the truth is subjective. Your truth is based upon your perspective, your vantage point and yes your inherent biases. Depending on the amount of information one has and whether they have a complete understanding of all the facts (almost impossible) one can arrive at the truth. But since we can’t profess to know all of the facts and even being an eye witness to an event does not ensure that we have “seen” everything and accurately recall everything – the truth becomes and remains highly subjective. It is easy to assume that you know the truth but since we don’t have all the facts the only things that we can know the truth about is whether what we say about ourselves is the truth. We should all endeavor to tell the truth but be cautious not to assume that we know the truth particularly as it pertains to others. As a result, we should all be careful when we make factual statements because we will be held to the truth of those statements so make sure you check your facts and be careful that you express yourself accurately.

#3 – Is it fair to all concerned?
This year I heard many times “it’s not fair to all concerned” and I realized that this component of the 4-Way test may not be well understood. The key word in - is it fair to all concerned is not fair but all. The test is not whether it is fair to me or to Larry or to Mary the test is – is it fair to ALL – Everyone. Think about it, what may be fair to me may not be fair to Larry but if you truly step out of the box and ask what is fair to all then the test can accurately be applied. The test, I humbly assert, is not if it is not fair to one then it is not fair to all. If we were to use that standard we wouldn’t get anything accomplished. However, if we address an issue neutrally without asking about the particular impact on one person or another then we can treat everyone equally. It is impossible to apply this 4-Way test by analyzing each individual’s issues or needs because what is fair to all is not the same as is it fair to me. Saying that it is not fair to an individual does not mean that it is not fair to all concerned. Invariably the challenges to this 4-way test boils down to an incorrect assumption that if it is not fair to one person then it is not fair to all concerned – that is not the 4-way test. By honestly evaluating whether something is fair to all there will be people who will not think it is fair to them personally, but those same people, as Rotarians must ask themselves whether it is nevertheless fair to all concerned – has everyone been treated equally? Then and only then can we begin to have an honest and healthy conversation about whether something is fair to all concerned.

Sincerely, Anna Paiewonsky, President of The Rotary Club of St. Thomas

President Anna Paiewonsky's Awards the Board of Directors

Posted on Jun 22, 2016

At the June 23rd Rotary Club of St. Thomas' lunch meeting, President Anna Paiewonsky acknowledged her Board of Directors and other hard working club members with gifts and/or Certificates of Appreciation. During President Anna's final meeting, she shared the accomplishments of the Club from District 7020. President of the Interact Club of C.A.H.S. Brianna Berry shared her experience from RYLA expressing the life changing memories she has and how motivated she is to continue to do community service. President Anna shared with Brianna and the club, that we received an INTERACT Award. The also received an Award for Public service and a Gold Award for the "Club of the Month" by submitting something to the district every month. AG Marston Winkles took to the podium and spoke about the criteria for the "Silver Award for Excellence" which the also received. The ceremony continued with a viewing of the video on Domestic Violence that featured Rotarian's Daphne Harley, Lawrence Benjamin and featured Caleb Potter and Sean Benjamin, all received Certificates for their acting. The video got the second place Award. Special thanks went out to Jason Lewis for editing and Hedrik Lockhart for the filming.

Next Anna acknowledged the club's 100% Attendance Awards as follows;

PP Erik Ackerson
PADG Lawrence Benjamin
PP Sue Boland
Leonard "Brother B" Bonelli
PE Paul Davis
P Anna Paiewonsky
PP Heflyn Royer
AG Marston Winkles
Lisa Yanni

Hard working Rotarian's were thanked for their participation of our Reading Programs and were given Literacy Awards.

Aimery Caron
Anna Paiewonsky
Bruce Perry
Dante DeCastro
Denise Fraguela
Erik Ackerson
Jan French
Jason Lewis
John Ackley
Lawrence Aqui
Lawrence Benjamin
Lisa Yanni
Mary Gleason
Melia Cook
Michelle Emerson Lewis
Paul Davis
Ronnie Lockhart
Shirley Blyben
Soraya Diase Coffelt
Sue Boland
Terry Robinson

Specialty Awards were given as well.

Terry Robinson was acknowledged for his 46 years in Rotary
George Blackhall was acknowledged for his 42 years in Rotary
Brother "B" Bonelli for his "Coal Pot - Fungi" Champion BVI Friendship Day 2016 & for his Poem "Reflection of the BVI/USVI Rotary Friendship Day
Cynthia "CJ" Jerry for Scholarship Chair
Daphne Harley for the Charlotte Amalie High School college bound forum
Jason Lewis for being a "Bingo Champion"
Paul Doumeng for Revitalizing the Rotary Sparks

Fun was had by all in attendance a great big CONGRATULATIONS to all that worked so hard to make this a special year.

PE Paul H Davis meets with new Board

Posted on Jun 19, 2016

President Elect 2016-2017 Paul H. Davis had a meeting & "Swallowship" Monday night at Bolongo Bay with the incoming board of directors. The gathering was to continue outline his and the club's goals for the upcoming Rotary year. Having all present discuss their personal goals and objectives moving forward. PE Paul's positive energy will surely help motivate the board to serve our club well. The following is your club board for Rotary Year 2016-2017;

President - Paul H. Davis
Past President - PP Anna Paiewonsky
President Elect - PPPE Paul Doumeng
Secretary - PPPE Paul Doumeng
Treasurer - PP Heflyn Royer
St. Thomas Foundation Chair - PP Terry Robinson
The Rotary Foundation Chair - PP Erik Ackerson
Disaster Relief Chair - Addie Otley
Vocational Chair - PP Sue Boland
International Service Chair - Dr. Lisa Yanni
Public Image Chair - PP Mary Gleason
Membership Chair - Brian Emerick
Club Trainer - Marston Winkles
Club Administration/Program Chair - Daphne Harley
New Generations Chair - Shirley Bylden
Sgt At Arms - Ronnie Lockhart

Rotarian Jason Lewis

Rotarian Jason Lewis spoke at the lunch meeting on June 9th about cyber security.

NADINE T. MARCHENA KEAN

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jun 17, 2016

Topic: On March 10^th of this year, the Enterprise Zone Commission adopted the town plans for Frederiksted, Christiansted, Garden Street and Upstreet activating a new tax exemption program including 100% exemption on gross receipt taxes. Mrs. Marchena Kean will speak on the communities’ goals and how you can become eligible for this very lucrative tax exemption program.

Bio:

Nadine Marchena Kean is the Director of the Enterprise Zone Commission, a division of the Economic Development Authority (EDA), Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her task is to revitalize blighted/distress historic neighborhoods within the Territory. Previous to this position, Mrs. Marchena Kean held the positions of Assistant Chief Executive Officer, EDA and Assistant Director of the Industrial Development Commission.

A native of the Virgin Islands, Mrs. Marchena Kean attended All Saints Cathedral School in St. Thomas. She continued her education at Bernard M. Baruch College, City University of New York and earned a BBA in International Marketing with a minor public relations. Mrs. Marchena Kean has honed her skills working for trading companies such as NI (National Intergroup) World Trade and Mitsui & Co., the second largest Sogasosha, where she worked in the New York office as well as at the Tokyo headquarters. Her experiences at these multinational companies have helped her to master the understanding of how critical information is to any successful venture.

Mrs. Marchena Kean is the past chairperson of the Small Business Development Center’s Advisory Board and serves as a member of several other boards. She is a Certified Public Manager and she is also the author of The Ties that Bind… A Virgin Islands Story.

Babe Receives Fathers Day Basket

Posted by Paul Doumeng on Jun 15, 2016

The accolades and acknowledgements of such a wonderful man, Rotarian and father keep coming to Austin "Babe" Monsanto. At our June 16th lunch meeting Babe was given a beautiful "Fathers Day" basket from Doris Sumayah, Asstant Retail Manager of PENHA Duty Free shop.

CAHS Mural

Posted on Jun 10, 2016

In case anyone has forgotten what the winning artwork looked like from Wazah James, last years Picture contest for the Peace quilt, here it is. He was a member of the Boys and Girls Club of St. Thomas. This is the mural that is going to be painted on the CAHS Gym wall on June 11th. Ask President for more details.

Austin "Babe" Monsanto 90th Birthday Celebration

Posted by Paul Doumeng

Speaker Dr. Benjamin P. Sachs MB.BS; DPH

Posted by Paul Doumeng on May 18, 2016

Dr. Benjamin P. Sachs MB.BS; DPH benjamin.sachs@uvi.edu

BIO

Background is in clinical medicine (Obstetrics & Gynecology, Maternal – Fetal Medicine), public health-health policy and finance -business administration with extensive executive experience in physician and hospital management

Dean University Virgin Islands School of Medicine (May 2014-)
Senior Vice President of Tulane University and Dean, School of Medicine James R. Doty Distinguished Professor and Chair (2007- 2013)
President of the Beth Israel-Deaconess Physician Organization (1999-2007)
The Rosenfield Professor Harvard Medical School & Harvard School of public Health (1997-2007)
Chair of department Obstetrics & Gynecology- Beth Israel-Deaconess & HMS (1989-2007)

Personal Background

He was born in London UK and received my medical degree (MB.BS) from Imperial College (St. Mary’s) London. I received a degree in public health from the University of Toronto and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital (HMS). In addition, I was a visiting scientist at the Centers for Disease Control in 1980 and completed the PMD program (business management) at the Harvard Business School in 1987.

New Orleans & Tulane University (2007-2014)
In November of 2007, after 29 years at Harvard, drawn by the post-Katrina challenges, I joined Tulane University as SVP and Dean of the School of Medicine. My goals were to help the recovery of the university and to take advantage of the post storm crisis to fundamentally, redesign the medical school and the city’s healthcare system. Hurricane Katrina caused $900m in damages to Tulane University and Tulane University Hospital. Tulane was forced to declare financial exigency and in 2006 one-third of the medical school faculty left. Today, both Tulane and healthcare in New Orleans have experienced major turnarounds because of the dedicated and courageous faculty and administrators who returned after the storm and a new leadership team. In 2013, all three missions, the school of medicine are much stronger than pre-Katrina. Furthermore, the school has led a revolution in access and quality of care in the region.
In 2010, Kathleen Sebelius (secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services) wrote, “This week, the federal Department of Health and Human Services entered into a partnership with Louisiana and New Orleans that will place the city on the cutting edge of a new health care delivery system. It seems fitting that New Orleans and its people, who have shown the nation how to survive unthinkable tragedy, can now set an example for strengthening the nation's health care system into the future” (Times Picayune 9.23.10).

Harvard Medical School (1978-2007)
Before joining Tulane University, I held several senior administrative positions at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), including Department Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology at BIDMC - HMS, the Harold H. Rosenfield Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, and professor at the Harvard School of Public Health (1989-2007). I was also the elected President of the BIDMC Physician Organization, an organization of 1,500 physicians for three terms, six years (1999-2007).

Community organizations and service awards include:

Governor Massachusetts: Community Service Award health program for minority women (1996)
CJP Greater Boston (philanthropic organization): Circle of Excellence Award (1999)
CJP Greater Boston (philanthropic organization): Lewis Millender Community of Excellence Award (2000)
President State of Israel: Recognition Award (2002)
USA Department of Defense: Award of Excellence (2004)
Meltzer Leadership Award BIDMC: “Leading Constructive Lasting and All Embracing Change” (2004)
Hadassah: Humanitarian Award (2004)
Dnieperpetrovsk Medical Academy Ukraine: Honorary membership (2007)
Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Excellence Award (2007)
The Joint Commission Eisenberg national award for patient safety innovation (2007)
The Rex Organization Pro Bono Publica (2008-)
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
AAMC Spencer Forman Award – Tulane School of Medicine (2010)
AAMC Council of Deans Administrative Board (2011-2013)
Society of Medical Administrators (SOMA) membership (2011-)
New Orleans Council for Community and Justice: Weiss Awards (2011)
Louisiana Cancer Research Center – board chair: Funded by the state, a new 32,000sq of laboratory building opened in 2012, funded by the state. (2008-13)
New Orleans Bio- Innovation Center – board chair: A technology business incubator for bioscience entrepreneurship in the New Orleans area. (2010-2013)
AAMC Board of Directors (2012-14)

Rotary 2016 District 7020 District Conference and Pets Assembly

Posted by Paul Davis & Paul Doumeng on May 16, 2016

Memories from the Conference and PETS 2016

Large group from Rotary U.S.V.I. North

Rotary 2016 District 7020 District Conference and Pets Assembly

Posted on May 16, 2016

Atlantis Nassau Bahamas May 3^rd – May 7^th

A Message from Distrist 7020 2015-2016 District Governor Felix N. Stubbs

Posted by District Governor Felix N. Stubbs on May 16, 2016

A message From Our District Governor

Rotary Roast #1 & #2

Posted on May 14, 2016

Rotary Roasts

Rotary Roasts, an idea that came to my mind a few years ago. My good friend Tim McDonnell from the San Francisco Bay area, we all call him “Barbecue” owns one of the biggest BBQ catering businesses in the Bay area. I mean he is big, he BBQ's on aircraft carriers, at football stadiums and fortune 500 estates. Barbecue Tim is so into BBQ that he with his son, a welder, designed & built a custom grill. He then hooked this new BBQ grill up to his Toyota truck and drove it to Florida, then shipped it to St Thomas! Since then that custom BBQ grill has cooked for October Sundays, Texas Society Chili Cook Off, weddings, and many parties.

Fast forward to Rotary Club St. Thomas 2016-2017, we had Rotary Roast #1, which took place at the Patrick U. Charles Post #90 American Legion building in Sub base. Our Rotary Roast Team Paul Davis with Grill Master Eric Ackerson and Chef Kat all pitched in to make it happen. The Vets were so happy to have us that we ran out of ribs in two hours!!! The profits we made will be divided between Post 90, Boys & Girls Club and one more community project. At the American Legions June monthly meeting Grill Master Eric and I were able to present a check for $133. I thanked them for supporting the Rotary of St. Thomas, the Boys & Girls Club, and helping themselves. Everybody wins!! At that same meeting I won their raffle and donated it back resulting in a $213 donation to our local Vets! Support your local Vet’s, their still supporting you. The trifecta!!

Rotary Roast #2 was held at Mandela Circle. We had great a day of fellowship and fun. Our team raised $400 while having fun feeding people. We offered a great plate of food. Your choice of BBQ Ribs or Chicken with fresh Coleslaw, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cobb and Dinner Roll for “HELLO!” only $15, we even have a vegetarian selection always available! Who wouldn't do that!!! We hope to do 4 more Rotary Roast Fun Days during this centennial year.

Rotary Roasts is only one example of many new, exciting and fun things to look forward to for the new 2016 – 2017 Rotary year!!! Let’s Have Fun!!

PE Paul Harrison Davis

Visiting Rotarians

June 30, 2016

Dear Visiting Rotarians,

We always enjoy it when visiting Rotarians come to our Club and share information about their club's location and good projects etc. All visitors are asked to pay for attending as a venue fee with lunch included at Room With A View Restaurant, whether you plan on eating or not. The Lunch meeting is $25.00 and is served as a buffet and includes dessert and soft drinks. Adult Beverages are also available at the bar. Thank you for understanding and we look forward to welcoming you and your guest soon.

Sincerely,

Paul H. Davis,

President Rotary Club of St. Thomas 2016-2017

Peter Bailey Brings Critically-Acclaimed “NiteCap” talk show to Charlotte Amalie High School

NiteCap Ent. 305-742-1520

info@iampeterbailey.com

Press Release

Virgin Islander Peter Bailey Brings Critically-Acclaimed “NiteCap” talk show with Actor and NBC star Tone Bell to Charlotte Amalie High School

St. Thomas – Peter Bailey, an alumna of Ivanna Eudora Kean will host a taping of his very popular NiteCap conversations series with Tone Bell, star of the new hit NBC Friday night sitcom Truth Be Told inside Charlotte Amalie Senior High’s Auditorium on December 18, 2015 at 12:30 pm. Bailey has invited juniors and seniors from Charlotte Amalie and Ivanna Eudora Kean high schools to be a part of the audience and partake in the introspective discussion with Bell about achieving and maintaining success. The taping is being done in partnership with the USVI Department of Tourism. Several local artists are also scheduled to perform.

Bailey, a nationally-recognized Miami-based author and journalist, felt it was essential to have Bell speak to the territory’s students. Before starring in Truth Be Told, Bell starred on NBC’s Bad Judge and VH1’s Single Ladies. NiteCap has been credited by Rick Ross as "pushing the culture forward". The very popular show with the who's who in entertainment is filmed at different locations throughout the United States. Bell will be the latest guest to be featured that has included the likes of Mike Tyson, Fantasia, 50 Cent, Ice T, Janelle Monae, Chad Johnson and Mike Epps. The show is routinely featured on Vibe, BET, MTV and Huffington Post to name a few. Before launching NiteCap, Bailey wrote for Time, Newsweek and Miami Herald. His book on the life of hip hop star Trick Daddy was praised as “one of the pop music gems of 2010” by the New York Times. Bailey hopes bringing the show home to St. Thomas will provide inspiration for youth and serve as positive media exposure for the territory.

"I've always wanted to create a bridge for Virgin Islands’ youth to connect to their dreams and with those who can make those dreams a reality as well as stir a cultural and economic renaissance of sorts in the territory,” says Bailey. “I’m happy that tourism and education officials embraced this vision.”

The event is free and open to the public with guests required to RSVP at info@iampeterbailey.com. Taping begins promptly at 12:30 pm.

Visit Iampeterbailey.com for more info.

How to find Virgin Islands documents at the U.S. National Archives

ROTARY EAST MEETING WED. DEC. 7, 2015 6:30PM PARADISE COVE

SPEAKER WILL BE ROB UPSOM

How to find Virgin Islands documents at the U.S. National Archives
This presentation will focus on locating Virgin Islands documents held by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Attendees will learn about the different U.S. agencies which kept records on the Territory in the post-Transfer era. We will also discuss the finding aids and research resources for locating DWI-era documents.

Presenter Rob Upson will also premiere several documents located at the U.S. Archives as part of CGL’s Transfer-Era Digitization Project.

Anyone interested in planning a visit to the U.S. Archives for historical or genealogical research will find the tips and tricks discussed in which will be invaluable for their trip. Should be very interesting, hope to see you there.

District Governor Monthly Message - November 2015

Posted by Felix Stubbs

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

Our Rotary year continues to zip by rapidly and our club visits are keeping apace.

Carla and I are winding down a very successful visit to St. Martin, Saint Maarten, Anguilla and St. Barts, culminating in an enjoyable Rotary gala on the last night of October (October 31). Prior to this, we attended the Zone 33/34 Institute in San Destin Florida, enjoyed a wonderful meeting with the eClub of the Caribbean and completed our visit to Haiti. We have now been to sixty of our eighty four clubs and are looking forward to meeting with the remaining clubs over the next few weeks.

We continue to be heartened by how warmly we are welcomed by Rotarians everywhere. Our belief that Rotarians everywhere are all exceptionally wonderful people is constantly confirmed and we are making lifelong friends. Equally as exhilarating has been the overwhelming pride we have felt as we visit the many projects that the local clubs do. We have also had the great opportunity to meet many Rotaractors and Interactors as well as some Earlyactors. We have proudly inducted several new Rotarians and Paul Harris Fellows. What a ride so far!! Our only disappointment has been that the eClub of the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean lost its charter for lack of activity.

This month, we celebrate the Rotary Foundation. The Foundation is the engine that manages the money we give to Rotary and helps to fund many of the projects that we do across our District and the world. Over the last few years, our District has benefitted tremendously from the Foundation as we have received grant funding of five dollars for every dollar we have contributed. That alone should be motivation for us to dig even deeper into our pockets and support the work of Rotary. There is so much work that we do and still lots more to be done.

"The Rotary Foundation transforms our gifts into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. As the charitable arm of Rotary, it taps into a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise into our priorities, such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Foundation Grants empower Rotarians to approach challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition with sustainable solutions that leave a lasting impact." *

There is good reason to make The Rotary Foundation, our "Charity of Choice". The Rotary Foundation was started back in 1917 with less than $27.00 and today the fund has grown to over a billion dollars. The Foundation boasts great stewardship, accountability and transparency and so our contributions are maximized. If you are not yet a supporter of the Rotary Foundation, I urge you consider making a contribution. Your investment would help to make our communities better places to live and you would have made a step from Success to Significance as you demonstrate what it means to Be a Gift to the World.

#unleashtheawesome7020
*https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/rotary-foundation
+http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4553#.VjYLFl5dFyw
- See more at: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50041/Stories/dg-monthly-message-november-2015#sthash.mHqyZvtf.dpuf

Yours in Rotary

Felix N. Stubbs

District 7020 Governor 2015/16

email: felixstubbs7020@gmail.com

cell: (242) 424-6163
Skype: fstubbs

Giving Tuesday

Annual Giving

Dear Rotary Leaders,

Have you heard about #GivingTuesday? It’s a global movement for charities and individuals to come together for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving.

Join us on 1 December as Rotary participates in Giving Tuesday and celebrates the good work our members do around the world. Invite your district to get involved by giving online on 1 December and sharing what inspires them to support our Foundation.

To encourage a bit of friendly Rotary competition, your district could earn a visit from Trustee Chair Ray Klinginsmith. The district with the highest number of donors who contribute to The Rotary Foundation online on 1 December 2015 may receive a visit from the Trustee chair, schedule permitting.

Make sure donors select a club when making their gift so that your district gets credit!

Top three reasons to support Rotary on Giving Tuesday

Fund unique projects. Our Foundation’s unique grant model creates locally led community development projects throughout the world. These life-changing projects are only possible because of the generous support from our members and friends of Rotary.
Raise awareness. While Rotarians give to their communities and our Foundation throughout the year, Giving Tuesday is a great chance to reach new supporters by leveraging social media and the momentum of Rotary Foundation Month in November.
Continue the tradition. Last year, we raised over $100,000 in a single day to fund sustainable, life changing projects. With your support this year, we can to do even more!

How can your district participate?

Give to The Rotary Foundation on 1 December at www.rotary.org/give.
Share how you and your club give back to your community by telling your story on social media. Post photos, videos, and stories with the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #Rotary on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We’ve even created a proud donor image you can use as your profile picture and a new video you can share online and with your club as well.
Engage nongiving clubs by sharing this Rotary Foundation Month PowerPoint at club meetings and district events.
Talk with new members to see if they know about our Foundation, and ask them to support our important work in your community and around the world.
Reach out to Rotaractors, local alumni, and other members of the Rotary family. Ask them to help others enjoy the same life-changing experiences they’ve had through Rotary by giving back to our Foundation.

Questions?

Contact annualfund@rotary.org if you have questions about participating in #GivingTuesday.

Very best regards,

Liz Lazar

Annual Giving Officer, Zones 33 & 34| The Rotary Foundation

Tel 1.847.866.3146

rotary.org

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL | One Rotary Center | 1560 Sherman Ave. | Evanston, IL 60201 USA

Like us: facebook.com/rotary

Watch us: youtube.com/user/RotaryInternational

Sunrise World's Greatest Polio Brunch

Posted by Claudia LaBorde

Hi Everyone,

This Sunday, Nov 15^th Rotary Sunrise is spinning off the World’s Greatest Meal to End Polio with the World’s Greatest “Brunch” to End Polio at the home of Rotarian Paul & Maria Ferraris. It’s a fellowship brunch to end all brunches with Maria’s endless Italian hospitality. We’d love to have your members’ join us. Tickets can be purchased at the event but we do need to know ahead of time if you’re coming to assure adequate table settings. A reply to this email or a call will save your seat.

YIR,

Claudia LaBorde

President

Rotary Club of St Thomas Sunrise

340.998.5466

Directions from Havensight: At the top of Havensight Road (intersection leading to the Reef) turn right. Follow the road (no turns) all the way to the bottom. You know you’re there when you see the Rotary balloons.

Rotary East Looking for Volunteers for the Bovoni Public Computer Center

Good Morning,

Tom and I met with representatives from the Bovoni Housing Community and VINGN about the Public Computer Center that has been sitting unused inside the housing community for several months. As many of you know, several years ago Rotary East sponsored a Reading Room for the housing community that is now defunct. It has been Greg Miller's vision to encourage the club to get involved since we became aware that VINGN chose the housing community as a location for one of its Public Computer Centers.

During the meeting Tom and I had with the housing community and VINGN, it was made abundantly clear that they are on board with Greg's vision. They have agreed to allow us to basically utilize the center for any purpose that wil serve the community because they have yet to be able to get it opened.

So...we have to get started somewhere...and the model for the Public Computer Centers only works if it is staffed regularly and with dedicated hours of operation. Every center on the island is staffed with volunteers. What Rotary East's steering committee is proposing to GET STARTED is to commit to 6 hours a week. What we need from our members is a commitment to act as a volunteer monitor in the center for a 3 hour shift. If one breaks that down, it works out to eight (8) three (3) hour shifts per month. The hours we are proposing (because they work for the housing community) is Wednesday from 2-5 and Friday from 2-5. Ideally, we'd like to have two (2) Rotarians per shift; however, VINGN has a core group of volunteers that they may be able to lend us and we also have our scholarship recipients that need to do community service, as well as our Rotaract friends.

With that said, we can't get started without the commitment from our members to make this work.

I'd like to toss this idea out to be discussed at the next meeting - perhaps if you commit to a 3 hour shift once a month, you will be allowed to use that as a makeup for a meeting but most importantly, be stamping Rotary East's commitment to the housing community.

If all 16 of us commit to one 3 hour shift per month, we' ll have it covered! BADA BING BADA BOOM!!

I'll have a sign up sheet with me on Wednesday...please give this some thought. It is a worthy project for our club and for St Thomas!!

Thanks,

Lynn DeLaney

Meet Terry Robinson

Posted by Soraya Diase Coffelt

Terrence (Terry) Robinson celebrates 45 years as a dedicated member of The Rotary Club of St. Thomas. His service in the Club is filled with achievements and we have all certainly benefitted.

There was a thread between the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts and St. Thomas. That thread was Professor Reginald Isaacs, a professor at Harvard and a consultant to V.I. Governor Ralph Paiewonsky. He put together a team to build a new town in the central area of St. Croix for government offices, services, private industry and all other services required for a new development. The towns of Christiansted and Frederiksted were to be restored to their original historic character and would be basically for tourism and retail and private businesses. Terry and his wife Suzanne were a part of the team selected for this exciting new venture and they came down in June, 1966.

Upon arriving on St. Thomas, they realized that they knew absolutely no one. They joined All Saints Cathedral Church on Garden Street, Toastmasters, and The Rotary Club of St. Thomas. In deciding whether to join Rotary, Terry investigated other service organizations. However, Rotary offered fellowship, a variety of options for community service, and a special bond between members. He was inducted in September, 1970.

From the very beginning, Terry was involved in the Club’s Scholarship Program, which was started by Rotarian Al Brown. Terry profoundly believed that it was imperative that our Club educate V.I. youth so they could become productive citizens.

Terry served as a director and officer on The Rotary Club of St. Thomas Foundation, Inc. for many years and is currently the President of that Foundation. The goal of the Board and members is to have a $1,000,000 corpus within the foreseeable future so that we could fund a number of scholarships and other projects, i.e. Boys and Girls Club.

Terry was instrumental in having our Rotary Club of St. Thomas Foundation apply for and receive 501(c)(3) tax status from IRS which enables EDC corporations and private individuals to make financial contributions to the Foundation and receive tax credits. Since then, our first major donor was Soraya Coffelt who made a $25,000 contribution to set up the Gordon L. Coffelt Scholarship Fund.

Terry served as President of The Rotary Club of St. Thomas from 2005 to 2006. During his presidency, he found a new home for the Club to have its lunch meetings - Room With A View at Bluebeard’s Castle Hotel. This year is our 10th year there.

Another achievement as President was the creation of a new President’s Collar with a bar for each president with the corresponding year of service. This was completed and ready for the swearing in of the 2006-2007 President. In anticipation of attending the 100th Anniversary Convention of Rotary in Chicago, Terry also designed and had made our own Virgin Islands/Rotary pin.

During her presidency, Sue Boland charged Terry, Larry Benjamin and Jim Tunick with compiling the 57 year history of the Club. It was a daunting task, but at the end of June, 2013, they presented her with a DVD representing the highlights of 57 years of the Club. The last segment was on the Inner Wheel Club of St. Thomas. All members of the Club and Inner Wheel were presented with a personal copy of the DVD. It was the suggestion of the Committee to have each following president prepare a one-year DVD update for his/her year. The reason that this project took on such significance was that one of the Club’s former Secretaries, Emily Plantz, had her home burn to the ground along with all of our Rotary documents.

Terry is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and a member of the Paul Harris Society.

Meet Sandy Grishman

Posted by Thomas Moore

Meet Sandy Grishman

Sanford Grishman was born in NYC on June 27, 1926 to Daisy and Irving Grishman. His brother Alan presently resides in Mexico. He is married to Marilyn Grishman and they have two adult children Alan Grishman and Allison Rosenbaum, plus lots of grandchildren. Both Alan and Allison attended Antilles School here on St. Thomas.

Sandy attended Staunton Military Academy in Virginia and received his business degree from New York University.

Sandy first got into the automobile sales and service business in Queens, NY. And after visiting St. Thomas on vacation several times in the early 1960s, He and Marilyn bought a vacation condo at Sapphire West. And in 1966 they moved here to open a Toyota dealership and bought what is known as the "Lambert Castle" on the East end of the island where they reside when here. He also opened a car rental business -- Mara U Drive. At about the same time, Sandy bought the building across from the West Indian Dock up the hill from the West Indian Company.

Sandy was inducted into The Rotary Club of St. Thomas on March 1, 1978 and has previously served as a Director on the Club’s Board. Over the years he has contributed extensively to the Club’s local and international projects. On July 9, 2015 Sandy was award a Paul Harris on behalf of The Rotary Club of St. Thomas in recognition of his years of service and dedication to Rotary. The Rotary Club of St. Thomas has been enriched by his 37 years as a Rotarian and look forward to more to come.

As Sandy was winding down his physical presence here, he sold much of his holdings to fellow Rotarian, Paul Davis. Until recently Sandy maintained an office with Paul. Nowadays, Sandy spends most of his time in Florida.

Meeting Notes Template


Rotary Meeting Notes for 8/20/2015
Greeters:
Flag Pledge:
4-Way Test:

Liquid Sunshine Winner:
From:

Members:
Visiting Rotarians:
Guests:

Announcements:

Sergeant-At-Arms:
Collectors:

Raffle Manager:
Total Collected:			Club Share:
1^st Prize:			Winner:
To the Pot:			Winner:
Pot Next Week:			Cards Remaining:

Charlotte Amalie Meetings Moved

Charlotte Amalie Meetings have moved to E's Treasure

Fellow Rotarians,

Next Tuesday's meeting will be in a new location. We will be meeting at E's Garden Teahouse on Garden Street. It is at the bottom of Bunker Hill adjacent to the Midtown Guest House.

The new price for each meeting will be $23.00.

The Teahouse is much more spacious than our accomodations at Palms Court Harbor View. Also, the teahouse will prepare the food thereby sparing PP Marjorie some of the extra duties she has been performing.

Dennis A. Dussault

President

Rotary Club of Charlotte Amalie

John Foster Bio

Posted by Donna Liska

JOHN FREDRICK FOSTER

John Foster first arrived in the Virgin Islands when he delivered Eroica, a 72 foot sailing ketch from England. He arrived on St. Thomas in February 1961. John quickly settled in the Virgin Islands, joining the real estate firm of French Alexander, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and became a founder and charter member of the St. Thomas Yacht Club, where he has also been Commodore twice.

John met and married Claire St. John and now have two grown and successful children Lilibet and Johnny. They are also proud of their five grandchildren.

In addition to forming John Foster Real Estate in 1974, John became very active in community activities and projects. He was awarded “Key Man” for his contributions with the Jr. Chamber of Commerce, was elected President of the St. Thomas/St. John Board of Realtors and then President of the St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce. John also began a long and successful sailing career that included World Championships in the Tempest, Sunfish, 470’s and Star classes. He participated in the Olympics in Germany, Canada, Russia and Los Angeles. Besides sailing, John also represented the USVI in the bobsled in the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

John has been an active and committed Rotarian for 37 years, including serving as President. John’s special project has been the Nana Baby Children’s Home which he has been actively involved with since 1988 and serves as its President. John has been involved with all aspects of Nana Baby particularly fundraising to assist the children’s home and more recently with the installation of a generator, new kitchen, new laundry area and all new windows. Nana Baby Home is a continuing interest of John’s.

John looks forward to continued community involvement and continued involvement with Rotary.

2015 KOTW Nana Baby Donation

Donation to Nana Baby by Alpine Securities for funds raised at the annual King Of The Wings competition

Anna's Inaguration Speech

The Rotary Foundation Continues to Lead

The Rotary Foundation rises on expert list of top nonprofits

The Rotary Foundation has continued its steady growth, moving up 35 spots to 85th in The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual ranking of the top 400 nonprofit organizations in the United States. The ranking is based on monetary contributions from private sources and reflects the increasing generosity of those who support Rotary's mission.

According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Rotary Foundation received $239,576,000 in 2013, a 32.4 percent increase from the previous year.

"This clearly shows our members recognize the unparalleled value of giving to their Foundation," says John Hewko, Rotary's general secretary. "They know that by giving to the Foundation their dollars have a much greater impact. And friends of Rotary respect that the Foundation puts their gift to great use."

The Foundation recently earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, the largest and most prestigious independent evaluator of nonprofits in the United States. In the 2013-14 Rotary year, 92 percent of the Foundation's expenditures were applied to programs, with only 6 percent spent on fundraising and 2 percent on administrative expenses. The Foundation funded $23.5 million in district grants and $47.3 million in global grants. These grants support local and international humanitarian projects as well as scholarships.

Together with its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary has led the effort to eradicate polio, contributing more than $1.3 billion to the initiative since its outset. When an outbreak of polio threatened the Horn of Africa and the Middle East in 2013, Rotary provided emergency funds, including a $500,000 rapid-response grant for Somalia and a $500,000 grant to the World Health Organization (WHO) to cover operational costs in the Middle East. As a result, the outbreak in the Horn of Africa slowed, and Syria reported only one case of polio in the first half of 2014.

Rotary is also at the forefront of efforts to fight other diseases. According to WHO, indoor air pollution causes 4.3 million deaths per year worldwide. To combat it, members of the Rotary Club of Taos-Milagro, New Mexico, USA, mobilized Rotary clubs in several countries to support the Himalayan Stove Project, which has installed more than 3,000 clean-burning stoves in Nepal.

In Tamil Nadu, India, Rotary clubs partnered with clubs in Maryland, USA, to use a Foundation global grant to purchase a large van and outfit it with X-ray equipment to screen women for breast cancer in hard-to-reach communities. The "mammobus" has conducted more than 2,500 free breast cancer screenings and detected and treated early-stage cancer in six women. Rotary members in Malindi, Kenya, teamed up with members in Maryland and Idaho, USA, to work with the Genesis World Mission in creating a rainwater catchment system to provide clean drinking water, irrigate crops, and establish fish farms in Burangi, Kenya.

Meeting of March 26 2015

Our Newest Rotarians

Our February 19th meeting was a very special luncheon indeed as we installed our two newest members to the Rotary Club of St. Thomas.

We are pleased to welcome aboard Mr. Shawn O'Donnell, CEO of Innovative and John Pittman, General Manager of the Green Iguana Hotel, both located on St. Thomas.

Paul Harris Fellow and Rose Council Presentation and Awards

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of US$1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

It was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage substantial contributions to what was then the Foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships.

The first Paul Harris Fellows include 1937-38 RI Director Allison G. Brush and longtime RI Treasurer Rufus F. Chapin, both for donations made in 1946. Mrs. Adan Vargas was the first woman to receive the recognition, for a gift made in 1953. Mrs. Harry L. Jones was the second, and one of only five people recognized for contributions made in 1957.

Early Paul Harris Fellows received a certificate of recognition. In 1969, the Foundation unveiled the first Paul Harris Fellow medallion at the RI Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Japanese metal artist Fiju Tsuda created the piece under the direction of then-past Foundation Trustee Kyozo Yuasa. Today, Paul Harris Fellows receive a certificate and pin. They are also eligible to purchase a Paul Harris Fellow medallion.

Rotarians have a tradition of supporting the Foundation by honoring others. Ida LeTulle Taylor became a Paul Harris Fellow in 1978 when her husband, then-District Governor Vann Taylor, made a donation in her name in honor of their 34th wedding anniversary. The gift also made her the 25,000th Paul Harris Fellow.

At the International Assembly in 1979, then-RI President-elect James Bomar challenged each Rotary club to make one non-Rotarian a Paul Harris Fellow. The Rotary Club of Pikesville, Maryland, USA, responded by making a donation in the name of Mother Teresa in 1980. The entertainer pPearl Bailey also became a Paul Harris Fellow through a joint effort of the Rotary clubs in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Many other notable figures have been named as Paul Harris Fellows, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and Jonas Salk.

The number of Paul Harris Fellows reached the one million mark in 2006.

Join us for our 31st Paul Harris Fellow and Rose Council Presentation on March 14th at the Frenchman's Reef and Morning Star Resort. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from Lisa Yani

8/9/12 Speaker Topic - VITEMA Service & Operations

Posted by Bettina Miller on Aug 08, 2012

More Photos from Jim Tunick Honorary Rotarian Ceremony

Posted by Bettina Miller on Jul 18, 2012

Jim Tunick Inducted as Honorary Rotarian

Posted by Bettina Miller on Jul 18, 2012

Scholarship Raffle Results

Posted on Jun 22, 2011

The results are in! The club's Scholarship raffle finished yesterday at our weekly meeting with the long awaited drawing. We thank Caribbean Inflatables for donating the boat, it drew a lot of interest and ticket sales from the marine community. Thanks also goes to The Palms at Pelican Cove St. Croix, Cape Air and Tutu Park Mall for their donations of prizes and display space.

All RCST members, Rotaract and Interact worked very hard selling and buying tickets but the raffle committee must recognize the Rotarian who sold 12% of the tickets, Erik Ackerson.
You Rock!

The raffle raised $10,000 and will be used to fund scholarships through our foundation.

Now to the winners!

1st Prize: Ticket #0432, Donna Liska

2nd Prize: Ticket #0525, Tonya Connor

3rd Prize: Ticket #1102, Joyce Bailey

4th Prize: Ticket #0686, Lou Morrisette

Congratulations!

Pictured, from the left: Raffle manager, Leigh Brin; 1st prize winner, Donna Liska; RCST President, Yegin Habtes.

August is Membership Month; We Still Have Much to Do

Posted by Erik Ackerson

I suspect that many of you, like me, knew nothing of Rotary when we were invited to join. Some of us would have joined because it was a community service club and there was a prestige associated with being a Rotarian. Many of us accepted the invitation to become a Rotarian because we thought that membership in Rotary would enhance our business possibilities.

We did not join to change the world. World Peace was not a thought. The full impact of Rotary took time to capture us; after all we did not know the essence of Rotary.

The journey from just joining a Club to becoming a real Rotarian is a metamorphosis and takes time. The amount of time varies with each individual and for some the journey is never completed. Those of you that have made that journey know that we, as an organization, have accomplished much in Rotary but we still have much more to do.

Let me illustrate that point with this analogy. Some of you may have heard this before, but please bear with me. It illustrates why Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation are so critical in today's world. (Consider that we live in a World Village.)

If you could fit the entire population of the world into a village consisting of 100 people, maintaining the proportions of all the people living on Earth, that village would look something like this:

57 Asians; 21 Europeans; 14 Americans (North, Central and South); and 8 Africans

There would be:
52 women and 48 men; 30 Caucasians and 70 non-Caucasians; 30 Christians and 70 non-Christians.

6 people would possess 59% of the wealth and they would all come from the USA; 80 people would live in poverty; 70 people would be illiterate, most of them would be females; 50 would suffer from hunger and malnutrition; 1 would be dying; 1 would be being born; 1 would own a computer; and yes, only 1 would have a university degree.

If we looked at the world in this way, the need for acceptance and understanding would be obvious.

But, consider these additional points:
• If you woke up this morning in good health, you have more luck than one million people, who won't live through the week.

• If you have never experienced the horror of war, the solitude of prison or the pain of torture, nor were not close to death from starvation, then you are better off than 500 million people.

• If you can go to your place of worship without fear that someone will assault or kill you, then you are luckier than 3 billion people.

• If you have a full fridge in your home, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are wealthier than 75% of the world's population.

• If you currently have money in the bank, money in your wallet and a few coins in your purse, you are one of the 8 privileged few amongst the 100 people in the world.

The majority of the world's problems are the result of the circumstances I just shared with you.

• Yes, we have problems and concerns in our local communities, but in reality those problems are dwarfed by the problems and situations in developing countries around the world.
• Yes, we have organizations' that will feed and shelter the homeless, provide health care when needed and everyone has access to fresh water.
• Some may ask, should

Can Rotary be one of those organizations? I say, Yes, most definitely. Our Clubs can't overlook our responsibility to international service.
When you complete the journey from joining a Rotary club to becoming a Rotarian you accept a responsibility to do what is within your power and ability to aid those communities worldwide that are less fortunate.

We are members of the greatest service organization in the world.

As we all know, we have made a massive impact in the eradication of polio but despite this:
• 2.5 billion people still lack improved sanitation facilities,
• 1.1 billion people still practice open defecation, and
• 793 million people still rely on poor quality drinking water.

August is membership month throughout Rotary.

Join Us.

We still have much to do.

Paul Harris Fellow

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas chose to give two Paul Harris Fellows this year. A Paul Harris Fellow can be given by the club in recognition of an individuals' exceptional service. This year's recipients are Juliette C. Kean and Thomas Rathmann.

   Juliette Corneiro Kean has had a distinguished career serving the people of the US and British Virgin Islands for almost 50 years. She began working at the VI National Bank, now Banco Popular, in 1962.
   Her distinguished service as a mortgage lender led quickly to promotion to Assistant Vice President and then Senior Vice President of the Real Estate Department for the US & British VI operations of Banco Popular. Mrs. Kean retired from Banco Popular on March 31, 2008.
   Throughout the years Mrs. Kean found time to give back to her community by serving on several boards and organizations; a member of the VI Lottery Commission; President of the St. Thomas Friends of Denmark Society, 1981; member of the Community Foundation of the VI and President of the VI Assistive Technology Foundation.

     Thomas Rathmann joined the Rotary Club of St. Thomas November, 2007. From the moment he became a member he epitomized what it is to be a Rotarian. He serves on the RCST Foundation board and is the chairperson of New Generations. Through New Generations he targeted the children needing the most help and how Rotary can accomplish that goal. He found it was important to start with a child when he is young, eight or nine years old, and began meeting with school officials to determine their needs.
     He began with Sibilly Elementary School. Due to his efforts there is twice weekly mentoring of students in reading and math. The sessions are making a difference to the students and the Rotarian volunteers working with them.
     Tom then turned to Bertha C. Boschulte Elementary School, (BCB). The program is mentoring 40+ children a week in reading comprehension; the principal calls Tom her "Angel". For the math tutoring he brought together private and public education by arranging for Montessori School Seniors to work with the BCB students each week.
    The programs Mr. Rathmann has put in place will continue for years to come and change the lives of hundreds of St. Thomas children.

Mrs. Juliette C. Kean and Mr. Thomas Rathmann were selected to receive this recognition because the Rotary Club of St. Thomas believes their lives exemplify the humanitarian and educational objectives of the Rotary Foundation.

For more information on the Paul Harris Fellow program see this article by Cliff Dochterman RI President, 1992-93: http://www.rotaryfirst100.org/presidents/1992dochterman/phf.htm.

St. John-A-Thon Results

PP Marston is happy to report the St. John-A-Thon 2011 was a great success! The event earned about $14,000. The participants were, from left to right:

Jan Robinson
Waring Partidge
Wein Dimetros
Tom Moore
Andrea Woods
Julia West
PP Marston Winkles
PP Roger White

There is no "winner" but I heard Julia had the best time. Yeah, Julia!

The brunch at Spyglass Restaurant following the event had a great turnout with 21 members in attendance to support the participants. The 50/50 raffle raised $320, due to the winner donating a portion of his winnings back to the club. Thank you, Paul!

This is a great event and should not be missed next year.

St. John-A-Thon 2011

Posted by Marston Winkles

Yes fellow Rotarians, it is that time of year again when we have our annual St John-a-thon Fundraiser. This will actually be the 9th time we have had this fundraiser and it will take place on Sunday March 13.

Over the years it has funded vocational projects at CAHS, equipment for Savan Boys Club, our ongoing matching grant program in Lira, Uganda amongst other things.

The event is a 13 mile run/hike from Hansen Bay at the Eastern most point of St John to Cruz Bay in the West. The route begins at sea level and crosses the center of St John reaching a maximum elevation of 1000 feet and finishing back at sea level. (Eight Tuff Miles plus five) Each year a few bold/crazy Rotarians participate in this feat and seek pledges/sponsorships from Rotarians and the general public. "See attached map of the route"

I will be making an announcement at lunch today about the event and will also have my pledge sheets ready so bring your check books and/or cash and let's have 100% participation from our club. Our goal is $12,000.

If you are interested in walking/running please let me know via email and I will provide you with further information and pledge sheets.

Baby Think It Over Presentation

Thanks to all who attended the presentation of new babies for the Baby Think It Over Program at Charlotte Amalie High School this week and to all who donated monetarily. Your support of this amazing project is greatly appreciated. Special recognition goes out to PP Mary Gleason for her continued efforts on behalf of our club and the children of our community. We will look forward to hearing from the participating children at a later date.