Cogitator Oct 16, 2013

Welcome back President Jodi! (Pictured with guest speaker Don Rodrigues)

The club was happy to see President Jodi Gladstone back at the podium after a few weeks away.  Jodi thanked members for their card, flowers, and warm get-well-wishes.  She also thanked the board for its generous contribution in her name to Shasheret, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the unique concerns of Jewish women with breast cancer. 

LONDON BRIDGE              

Four Rotarians from the Literacy Committee, headed by Karen Taylor, visited London Bridge Child Care Center to hand out and read books donated by our club.  Karen said it was a real thrill to see how happy the kids were.  She also thanked Treasurer Ed Neff for navigating the district simplified grant process and securing $2,500 for the book project.

MILLION DOLLAR MEAL

We will travel to Kent Hospital on October 30^th for our next Million Dollar Meal.  The meeting will be held in the doctor’s auditorium.  Kent Hospital’s President Sandy Colletta will be our guest speaker and guide for a tour of the new Ambulatory Center.  Thanks to Andy Erickson’s leadership, our club will donate $10,000 toward the new center over the next several years. 

NEW GENERATIONS

Former Rotaract President Dathan Newton is looking for work in the construction industry.  Please see Bill TenEyck if you have any possible leads or connections.

PHONEBOOK

Committee Chair Matt D’Agenais is breathing a sigh of relief after doing a stellar job leading the club in this year’s Phonebook campaign.  Matt also thanked Rotarians for all their efforts in selling ads for our club’s largest annual Charity Funds project.

ROTARY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Please see President Jodi if you’re interested in attending this year’s Rotary Leadership Conference on Saturday, October 26^th. 

PAUL HARRIS AWARD

Vin Meola announced the most recent Paul Harris Fellowship Award recipient of a team begun in 2010.  Andy Erickson, already a Rotary Foundation Major Donor, will be awarded yet another special Paul Harris pin in the weeks ahead. 

HAPPY BUCKS

-Vin Meola was happy to welcome back his good friend Dave Iannuccilli, who was finally out of seclusion over the New York Yankees’ infrequent playoff miss and surprising Red Sox playoff run this year. 

-Cathy McMahon praised the Ocean State Theater’s production of Les Miserables. 

-Robert Allen Greene had a good time celebrating his 60^th college reunion at Bryant College (now Bryant University). 

-President Jodi gave a ‘great to be back’ buck, adding ‘I love you guys!’  Jodi was also very happy that her daughter recently signed on for her first job—as an registered nurse at the Coventry Center.

-Judy Pratt reported that her Rhodes on the Pawtuxet fundraiser for the Lady Titans (Toll Gate) hockey team was a great success and a great night for everyone.  The girls now have their new uniforms!

-Jonathan Soule recently experienced the simultaneous joy and terror of handing over car keys to his son. 

SPEAKER/PROGRAM

Don Rodrigues, Grand Master of Don Rodrigues Karate Academy

President-Elect Ron Winde welcomed his good friend and karate mentor, ‘Shihan’ Don Rodrigues, founder and Grand Master of the Don Rodrigues Karate Academy in Warwick.  Ron studied with Don for 14 years.

Don Rodrigues began his karate journey at the young age of twelve in 1967.  Kids as young as three years old today find themselves in karate studios, but forty six years ago Don was definitely the youngest student in his group. 

His father encouraged him to attend classes and to stay after a difficult first session.  Don, who was picked on at school due to his short and stocky frame, took a beating during karate classes.  But he also learned a valuable life lesson—the necessity of fighting back. 

Through perseverance and determination Don became a black belt at fifteen, the youngest ever at that time.  His confidence soared in all other areas of his life, too—with his teachers, football team, coaches, and schoolmates.    

Karate ‘is better to know and never need it, than to not know it at all.’  Students are always on a path of hard work and discipline, all of which pays off in the form of belts over time, leading up to the ultimate black belt for many.

‘We’ve impacted many, many kids and adults in Rhode Island throughout the years,’ Don noted.  ‘It’s a great pleasure teaching and learning more myself.’  Don’s students have also achieved a great deal of success in Hollywood as martial arts stunt doubles and instructors.   

Don spoke of a recent car accident.  After reaching 380 pounds, he began a dramatic weight loss regimen.  However, his diabetes medicine wasn’t adjusted properly for his 100+ pound drop, and he found himself passing out and crashing into a tree one afternoon.  Thankfully, no one else was hurt, and of course his karate training and discipline helped his speedy recovery. 

Martial arts movie star Chuck Norris is a ‘good personal friend’ of Don and Christine Rodrigues.  Together they have managed to raise over $250,000 for Chuck’s anti-drug program for kids.

Christine Bannon-Rodrigues is a ninth degree black belt and an amazing martial artist herself.  Married to Don for 23 years and a former student, Christine has won fifteen world titles.  She also won three gold medals in the 1991 world championships.  Christine is now the head instructor at the academy.