Born To Be Wild
By Darren Kipnis on Sunday, August 4, 2019
"Get your motor runnin. Head out on the highway. Lookin' for Adventure. And whatever comes our way..."
Hold on tight, this was a busy week!
People ask me how I am maintaining the schedule and pace at which I'm moving. I say, it's an adventure and I've only got one year to make an impact on District 6890 as your District Governor, so join me on Week #5's adventures, and let's see how we did.
On Monday July 29th, I met the President of Lakeland Christina, Jane Hammond, for lunch to discuss the very important topic of Food Insecurity in our communities. It was a fascinating discussion and a project that I know I will be personally involved in for years. As we develop a plan and a creative way of communicating this project, we will make sure to invite all of you to participate. Jane is one of those people you meet and are blown away by. Give her a call and talk to her, she is an AMAZING ROTARIAN with real solutions to one of todays most pressing problems.
With my excitement now in full gear, I move on to my next stop: Rotary on the Ridge. This is one of those clubs you have to visit and bring your entire family while you're at it. President Herbert Gillis creates a wonderful atmosphere in the club. President Elect, Christina Richards, and my friends Chevon Baccus and Terri Miller made me feel like I was home. Thanks everyone and a special shout out to Trey Heath's mom for joining the club. This club is on the move, and I cant wait to visit again soon, especially if they have the photo booth again!
Tuesday Morning, I was off to visit the Temple Terrace Club for a 7:15am Breakfast. I was the speaker of the day and tried my best to make the early wakeup worthwhile. I feel pretty good about it though as one of the folks approached me afterwards and said
"Son, you did a good job. They say if you're going to miss a meeting, make sure it's the day the DG is visiting. I'm glad a didn't miss it". Whew.... It honestly made me feel really good.
I headed back out on the highway to go pick up my mom, Barbara Kass. Mom is a member of The Rotary Club of Tampa, and we went to our club meeting together for my Official Visit. We had a great Board meeting with everyone and then it was off to our program. Little did she know she was part of the program. I honored her with a Paul Harris Fellowship and got a chance to create a Rotary moment. How lucky am I? After I gathered myself we hit the lights, ran the
District 6890 NEWS and gave my presentation. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home. (Here I go again with another bizarre reference to a song or movie. Bear with me.)
Tuesday night I was at the Tampa Bay Brewing CO. in Oldsmar with my friends from Tampa Westchase. I've had fun the last year getting to know President Robert Woerner through our various trainings. I got a chance to talk to President Elect Tom Brinkley, Secretary Bob Argus, Public Relations Chair Kelly Machonis, Sgt at Arms John Warren and the rest of the team. We had a great chat, sharing ideas and learning all about the club and their projects.
Wednesday 7/31, 5:00am comes early and it's off to my Official Visit to Tampa Westchase at 7:15am. A beautiful catered breakfast and fellowship precedes the meeting. The club was kind enough to play District 6890 News, AG Alice Varkey was in attendance, introduced me and off I went. A great group.
Heading on the highway to Haines City for an 11:00am Board meeting at Southern Dunes Golf & Country Club to visit the Haines City Rotary Club. I was blown away by their membership growth, club diversity and their community impact. I had a great meeting and learned about their upcoming event,
Taste of the Ridge. I look forward to attending on October 10 from 6 to 9 PM at Lake Eva Center. I bought some raffle tickets, and so did President Steve along with many others. When asked to pick two tickets out of the basket it turned out I picked his name and mine. I hoped I would make it out of town alive! :)
Looking for adventure and whatever comes my way... I guess that means it's time for my Rotary Means Business (RMB) Board meeting at Seasons 52 on Westshore. Rod Gaerlan and the Board are working diligently to arrange and create a series of exciting networking events this year. We had a productive meeting that included the participation of Rotarian Sonny Buoncervello and Rotarian Mario Manzi, an impressive young man, both of whom are from District 6980, Central Florida.
Thursday morning it was off to meet another Rotary Hero of mine, Vinnie Kudva from The Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon. Vinnie brought their Treasurer, new Rotarian Chris Stennett and we got to know each other. We discussed an International project that has come to their attention in St. Thomas. We will keep you posted. There may be a Rotary moment for us in the near future.
Thursday night I saw Quentin Tarantino's new movie
"Once Upon A Time in Hollywood". I needed a mindless couple of hours that only Tarantino can provide. Maybe after I finish my role as DG, I'll become a movie critic. This one was not his best.
Friday morning 8/2, my business partner, Felipe Ramirez, and I had a breakfast meeting and I was off to visit the Rotary Club of Lakeland South. The Club meets at the Cob & Pen in a wonderful space, and I got a chance to learn about their bike program, 5k run and so much more. President Kevin McWilliams and I used to work together years ago and I love his style. We had a great time in Hamburg at the International Convention in June and have had lots of time to talk all things Rotary. President Carol Wallace was in attendance from the Rotary Club of Lakeland, and I got a chance to connect with a great group. AG Brad Lunz and his partner in crime, co-AG Leighann Davis were there to support me in case I bombed.
Saturday we gathered Rotarians from all over the District to participate in the 10 Million Meal Challenge, hosted by the Rotary Club of Tampa and Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon. We had 140 volunteers and packed over 75,000 meals together in just about 2 hours! The Tampa club hosted a delicious BBQ lunch cooked by our very own, Gary Nash. A good time was had by all, new relationships were made and we made an impact on our community. Win-Win-Win! Based on the feedback I've gotten, we need to do more of this. I will arrange a call with my team to include the Presidents, AG's and service chairs for each area and club to gauge interest in doing more of these events in your areas. I'm happy to facilitate an event if you have interest. At .23 cents a meal we can make a huge impact in our local communities.
It's Sunday and it's time to make chicken stock for the week. That's how I relax. I hope you have a great week, and I promise my future notes will be shorter as my schedule of Official Visits is thinning out a bit.
