Our last program was provided by Rotarian Tom Schaub. Tom’s guest speaker was Dr. Randy Avent, President Florida Polytechnic University. The mission of Florida Polytechnic University is to prepare 21st century learners in advanced fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to become innovative problem-solvers and high-tech professionals through interdisciplinary teaching, leading-edge research, and collaborative local, regional and global partnerships. Florida Polytechnic University aspires to be a nationally and internationally recognized institution of higher learning serving the State by preparing students to lead Florida’s high-tech industries. The student learning experience will focus on practical and applied research, internships with industry partners, and hands-on leadership opportunities delivered by distinguished faculty who excel in their fields. The University was established in 2012 and was first open for instruction on August 25, 2014. It is a member of the State University System of Florida and Randy Avent is the President. The school is currently made up of 59 academic staff members and 105 administrative staff. After the spring census, 2015, there were 522 undergraduate students and 31 graduate students with two graduate degree programs and six undergraduate programs and 19 areas of concentration. A majority of students are from Florida; specifically, Polk, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties with average SAT scores of 1775 and ACT scores of 26 and an average GPA of 3.9. The Campus sits on 170.54 acres on the main campus with two additional parcels of 176.39 and 183.94 acres, for a total of 530.87 acres. STEM professions are expected to grow 1.7 times faster than non-STEM professions in the three recognized types of STEM; Behavioral Sciences, Life and Health sciences and Core STEM. The purpose of the University is to establish growth in these growing areas.
Our club gave back to the Plant City community by participating in Care Fest on Saturday September 26th. CareFest® was an outgrowth of the Supper Bowl XXXV as a sanctioned event. This compassion festival, done the week prior to the Super Bowl had over 1,400 volunteers serve approximately 12,000 attendees. The object of this week was to do all the good we can by all the means we can. This event has been continued annually as a way for groups and individuals to give back to there local communities back helping needy individuals with basic maintenance and repairs.
This year our club participated by pressure washing and painting the home of a local resident.
While we are always happy that our club is able to support many Plant City events and charities through donations from out fundraisers, it is also great to be able to invest a little sweat equity for our community. The Rotarians who were able to participate Saturday morning were certainly living up to the Rotary motto of “Service above Self.”
Thank you to all who attended the recent “care fest” community project! Great work to help out in our community. Thank you Lee for providing lunch and to Gumby for cooking!
Interact President, Ashlyn Yarbourgh, thanked the club for our support and told us of some of their upcoming projects…canned food drive, Relay for Life fund raiser “Prince/Princess”, Easter baskets for the Children’s House, feed the homeless, helping with the women’s club, and many more! Thanks also to Amity Kokochak and Sherrie Mueller for once again making an Interact club happen at Plant City High
There are 8 business card ad spaces still available! If you are interested in advertising the weekly Rotary Bulletin, let Mike Arndt know. Ad’s are $125 for the year.
Jared Thompson is the new program chairman Please let Jared know what your program will be in advance. Call 813-757-2180 or email Jared. If you need help for an idea for a program you may also contact Jared as he may be able to help you find someone.
Calling for your news!
This is your newsletter. If there is news you would like to share with your club (new job? a birth? employment opportunity? club projects? anything you think other members or subscribers to our bulletin would find interesting or useful) then please e-mail it to your bulletin editor.
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If you know anyone that would like to receive our E-bulletin, let them know they can sign up for it on the home page of our website www.PlantCityRotary.org. They just need to go to the bottom of the left hand column, click on sign up for newsletter and fill in their name and e-mail address. You can also forward them this newsletter and they can use the link at the bottom of the left column.
Calling for website sponsors!
It is our goal to have enough sponsorship from members of the club to make our website and these e-bulletins self-supporting. If you enjoy these electronic updates and appreciate our club having a presence on the website it's time to step up. For the low fee of $50, your business ad is not only included in each of these e-bulletins and on the website pages, these ads are active links that take you to your business's website. Don't have a business and still want to help, we can include an ad thanking you for your sponsorship. For more information email Bill Wicker.
Please mark your calendars now and plan to attend our annual Paul Harris Recognition Gala. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, November 14, 6:00pm at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel. For more info Click here
Rotary Leadership Institute
Saturday, November 7th at Webber University in Babson Park. This is an extremely beneficial educational tool available to all Rotarians. For more info Click here
Cracker Country Feast
Friday, October 23rd, the Plant City Daybreak Club will be hosting the 5th Annual Cracker Country Feast in Plant City. For more info Click here
Community Shredding Event
Saturday, October 24th, the Tampa East Club is hosting a Community Shredding Event. For more info Click here
Clay Shoot
Sunday, October 25th, the New Tampa Club is holding their 2nd Annual Clay Shoot. For more info Click here
September Club Anniversaries
James Moody – 1 year
Bill Butler – 3 years
Marcus Caswell - 4 years
Charles Harris – 4 years
Tatyana Austin – 8 years
Jon Poppell – 8 years (23 total in Rotary)
September Birthdays
Aaron Davis - Sept. 3rd
Ryan Rollyson - Sept. 5th
Dennis Brownlee - Sept. 11th
Kieth Smith - Sept. 16th
Nate Kilton - Sept. 27th
Apply to host a booth in the House of Friendship at the 2016 Rotary International Convention in Seoul, 28 May-1 June. This is an opportunity to showcase your club or district project, recruit members for your Rotary Fellowship, share information about your Rotarian Action Group, or market Rotary merchandise if you are a licensed RI vendor.
The application deadline is 30 September. Booth allocations will be awarded by 1 November.
Apply
When Mariana Day moved in 1989 to the small beach town of Chacala, in Nayarit, Mexico, she noticed that the surrounding rural areas struggled to maintain schools. And most children weren’t able to go beyond an eighth-grade education. Day, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Bahía de Jaltemba-La Peñita, in Nayarit, had started a local scholarship program before she joined Rotary. Called Changing Lives, the program provided students with high school tuition, uniforms, school supplies, and transportation.
In addition, Rotary clubs from the United States and Mexico have been investing in the...
From the September 2015 issue of The Rotarian
Eradicating polio is a complex job. Since 1988, we’ve collaborated with the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF to tackle the disease through our Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Here’s how our roles break down.
The Strategist: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates the management and administration of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and provides technical and operational support to ministries of health in countries around the world. WHO is responsible for monitoring...
Today marks one year since Nigeria last reported a polio case caused by wild poliovirus, putting the country on the brink of eradicating the paralyzing disease.
The last case was reported on 24 July 2014 in the northern state of Kano. If no cases are reported in the coming weeks, the World Health Organization is expected to remove Nigeria from the list of countries where polio is endemic, leaving just two: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Nigeria is the last polio-endemic country in Africa. The continent is poised to reach its own first full year without any illness from the virus on 11 August.
“...
The rules of the Shaftesbury Rodeo Academy are simple: no school, no rodeo. It’s a message that teenagers who attend school at Bisley Farm, most of whom have never attended any school regularly, take seriously. Because come Friday night, these aspiring rodeo heroes want to join their friends to ride bulls for a heart-stopping eight seconds, if they last that long.
The school in rural Queensland, Australia, also teaches the boys, who are of the Wakka Wakka Aboriginal people, basic academics and farming skills, including how to care for crops and livestock. It’s a fairly common form of...
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