Last week’s program was presented by Rotarian Brian Griffin.Brian’s guest speaker was Florida Representative, Dan Raulerson. Dan has served as Mayor of Plant City, City Commissioner, Chairman of the Public Transportation Commission of Hillsborough County and on the advisory board for Platinum Bank. Dan was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2012 and is currently Majority Deputy Whip. He is active in the Plant City Chamber of Commerce, United Food Bank, Sigma Chi, and the Plant City Gourmet and Viniculture Society. Dan Serves on the following committee’s: Finance & Tax Subcommittee, Government Operations Subcommittee, Health Quality Subcommittee, Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, Judiciary Committee and the Regulatory Affairs Committee. Dan gave our club a legislative update as to what has been happening in Tallahassee. Dan believes that next session there will be a “storm” about worker’s compensation insurance. A 19.6% rate increase with no longer a “cap” on legal fees for worker comp cases. Last year’s budget was $82 Billion, the biggest budget ever, with Medicaid taking up the biggest portion, which will be even more this year. The “Zika” budget impact is currently unknown…but with its effects on tourism, sales tax revenue, etc. the budget could be even greater. The “Alimony bill” will once again be a big topic at this upcoming session. The Seminole Tribe gaming issue will be a hot issue…no one wants to see Florida become another Las Vegas but gambling is here to stay and how the legislature deals with it will be very important. The Abortion bill requiring doctors to have privileges at hospitals continues to be an important issue to be debated. Water issues and planning for 30 years in the future to preserve, manage and store water for personal use, agriculture and recreation and how to handle “water events” (hurricanes, etc.) needs to be brought up to date. Guns will be a huge deal at the upcoming session…students on campus allowed to carry and openly will be discussed and acted upon. The city of Opa Locka is on the verge of bankruptcy and have declared a financial emergency due to corrupt local government…the have a $60 million budget with 15,000 citizens (twice the budget for half the citizens as Plant City)…should the state of Florida step in to manage the city? It is believed that the legislature needs to develop legislation for the state to take over the daily running of a bankrupt city. Marijuana for medical use will probably pass. Uber and Lyft fate will be determined at the next session.-submitted by Mike Arndt
Club News
Amity Kokochak recently gave an update on the Plant City High School Interact club. There are currently 114 members in the club and they are very motivated to help. Thank you Amity for being our club contact!
Mark your calendars for Friday, November 11th, at 6:30pm! Here is a list of the scheduled participants:
Beverly Littlejohn & Ivan (SFBH)
Chase and Sasha Wetherington (HCSO)
Bryson Keel and Ashlyn Yargrough
Alex Aponte and Partner (Festival)
Emily Topper and Partner
Kayla Drawdy and Kenny Griffin
Shaun and Crystal Bryant
Nancy Egbert and Mike Johnston
Jillian Wilder and Jason Turner
Dr.Maira Estrada and Partner
If you know any of these dancers, please thank them for their participation!
Program Chairman John Haney is our program chairman. Please notify him regarding upcoming speakers and programs. Call 813-716-5108 or email John at jhaney@acebid.com
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.
Share the Rotary News! 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 emailBill Wicker.
Nigeria reported three cases of wild poliovirus in the northeastern state of Borno in August of this year. Following the World Health Organization's confirmation of these cases, the country returned to the list of polio-endemic countries. The other polio-endemic countries are Afghanistan and Pakistan.
These are the first cases detected in the country since July 2014, and while this news is disappointing for all Rotary members, we are confident that Nigeria can defeat polio. Rotary provided $500,000 to assist immediately with the outbreak response, and an emergency response plan has been put...
Rotary was recognized on 17 September on public television's fifth annual American Graduate Day program for its work with San Diego-based Monarch School, a K-12 school for homeless youth. The Rotary Club of San Diego, California, USA, was applauded for its work mentoring Monarch's students, keeping them on track to graduate, and helping the school to continue thriving during tough economic times.
Monarch School CEO Erin Spiewak appeared as one of the show's guests, along with Monarch Alumnus Cynthia Valenzuela, who attested to the positive, life-changing experience Monarch School gave her and...
Nations around the world will observe the International Day of Peace on 21 September, a date designated by the United Nations in 2001 as "a day of global ceasefire and nonviolence."
Rotary's commitment to building peace and resolving conflict is rooted in the Rotary Peace Centers program, formed in 2002. Each year, the program prepares up to 100 fellows to work for peace through a two-year master's degree program or a three-month professional certificate program at university partners worldwide.
Today, nearly 1,000 peace centers alumni are applying their skills — negotiating peace in conflict...
The Rotary Foundation has received the highest possible score from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.
In the most recent ratings, released on 1 September, The Rotary Foundation earned the maximum 100 points for both financial health and accountability and transparency.
The ratings reflect how efficiently Charity Navigator believes the Foundation will use donations, how well it has sustained programs and services, and its level of commitment to good governance and openness.
In the previous rating, the Foundation had received 97 points.
Each month, eBay, the world’s largest auction website, selects a set of upcoming Live Auction events and donates a portion of all sales proceeds to Rotary. Only U.S. auction sales are eligible. See the schedule of September auctions.
