March 3, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The March 3, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome who gave the invocation and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Following dinner Naples Sunset Rotary Sargeant of Arms raised $100.00 from members through various fines and associated happenings at the Club. President Carl Thome discussed a number of upcoming happenings for the Club as well as our March 24th fund raiser. Past President George Leamon introduced our speaker, David Shimmel, CEO of the David Lawrence Center. In this role, he provides leadership and management expertise to the management staff at the direction and discretion of the Board of Directors. Dave came to Collier County in 1984 as the Assistant Director of the David Lawrence Center before being appointed to Chief Executive Officer in 1989. He has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, is certified as a Mental Health Administrator and is licensed as a Mental Health Counselor. He has been working in the field of community mental health for more than 35 years. Throughout his career, Dave has taken an active leadership role in local, national and statewide organizations to insure the affordability and availability of mental health and substance abuse services. David discussed the latest services being offered at the David Lawrence Center and related happenings. Numerous questions were asked after his excellent presentation. Additional information may be found by clicking here.

February 24, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The February 24, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome at 6:45pm followed by Invocation and Pledge Allegiance. Following dinner guests were introduced and our District Governor Don Thomas was present and presented our club with two awards that only a handful in our district have received. The first award covers that there are 34,103 Rotary Clubs worldwide and Naples Sunset Rotary Club during 2009-2010 Year is one of 669 Rotary Clubs worldwide to attain status as a 100% Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member Club. The second award covers Naples Sunset Rotary as one of 1,113 Rotary Clubs worldwide to become an Every Rotarian Every Year Club (US$100 per capita club, 100% Member Participation). President Carl Thome, 2010-2011 President accepted the high honor of both awards and associated banners for the club from District Governor Dan Thomas.

President Carl Thome then introduced our guest speaker, Brandon Dowdy, President/CEO YMCA of the Palms, Naples, Florida. Brandon discussed Project Graduation and Rotary's continued involvement. Naples Sunset Rotary has supported Project Graduation in the past and continues to do so. Questions were asked from Brandon and the presentation was well received including budget handouts. Additional information on the YMCA is available by clicking here. The meeting adjourned at 8:00pm.

February 17, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The February 17, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome followed by Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. After dinner member Robert Bodine introduced our guest speaker Robert Shattles of Hiawassee, Georgia. Robert discussed his gastro bypass and the excellent success he has had with it and his continued maintenance of the weight program. He discussed the pre discussions and groups as well as post recovery groups and discussion to maintain his weight goals. There were numerous questions after his presentation from a number of Naples Sunset Rotary Members. The meeting was adjourned by President Carl Thome at 8:10 PM.

February 10, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The February 10, 2011 Naples Sunset rotary Meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome at 6:45pm followed by Invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. After dinner President Thome introduced our guest speaker sculptor Michael Jernigan from Tallahassee, Florida. He described his project titled Honoring the Troops in great detail with a Powerpoint slide presentation. He traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan where he photographed and measured military personnel for an exhibit of 21 bronze portrait sculptures which will be exhibited nationwide during 2012 through 2014. Each branch of service will be represented (Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy). The exhibit will include enlisted and officers with no restrictions on race or gender. Michael also showed his gear that was worn during his travels to both Iran and Afghanistan. Numerous questions were asked and all the club members enjoyed his excellent presentation. Additional information is available online about his project Honoring the Troops by clicking here.

February 3, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The February 3, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary meeting was called to order at 6:45pm by President Carl Thome who gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance. After dinner guests were introduced and President Carl mentioned a number of upcoming Rotary activities. President Carl then introduced Barry Higgins, General Manager of the Collier Carnage Semi-Pro Football Team who introduced Chuck McWilliams, President and Coach of the Collier Carnage Semi-Pro Football Team. Chuck discussed the latest happenings and the current status of the new team. Numerous questions were received from Naples Sunset Rotary members after an excellent presentation by both Barry and Chuck. Additional information about the Collier Carnage Semi-Pro Football team is available by clicking here. The Meeting adjouned at 8:00pm followed by a Board Meeting which adjourned at 8:40pm.

January 27, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The January 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome at 6:45pm and was followed by the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. After dinner was introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians. President Carl Thome then presented Naples Sunset Rotarian Gary Blaine one of the highest honors Rotary bestows ... the Paul Harris Fellow Award. Gary received a standing ovation from all club members.


Gary then proceded to introduce our speaker Bradford K. Marshall, Board Member of Youth Haven and Vice President/Investments with Stifel Nicolaus & Company in Naples. Brad discussed all the latest statistics and developements happening at Youth Haven and then answered numerous question from club members. Additional information about Youth Haven is availabole from their website by clicking here. President Carl also announced a board meeting next Thursday following the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:08pm.

January 20, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The January 20, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting was called to order by Immediate Past President and Assistant Governor Marcus Zillman. The Invocation and Pledge Allegiance followed. A sit down dinner followed with a number of guests and visiting Rotarians present. The President of the Rotary Club of South Orange was introduced and all members and guests gave a short intoduction of each other. Past President Zillman then presented the program discussing the latest happenings on the Internet including Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and Cloud Computing. After numerous questions from the well received program, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.

January 13, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The January 13, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance followed by dinner. Member George Leamon intoduced our guest speaker, Robert D. St.Cyr, Director of Community Outreach, Dwight E. Brock Clerk of the Circuit Court, Collier County, Florida. Robert discussed the latest happenings in the Clerk's office and then demonstrated the newly updated website and all the easy to navigate functionality and transparency now available. Accessing court records in Collier County and never been easier using their new website and database. Records are created in .pdf documents and easily downloadable or printed off. A number of questions were asked and the entire presentation was extremely well received.

January 6, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The January 6, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome who presented the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. After dinner the club heard a presentation by Assistant Governor for Membership Robert Stoneburner who discussed his experiences as a board member of the Golden Gate Fire District and what possibility exists for a consolidation of the many local fire districts in Collier County. After a question and answer period the club proceeded to a mini club assembly to identify upcoming opportunities. Adjournment was at 8:00pm.

December 16, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary Christmas Party

The Naples Sunset Rotary December 16, 2010 Christmas Party was called to order by President Carl Thome with invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. After a wonderful dinner we celebrated into the evening with dancing and singing. Gifts were collected for needy children and wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New years 2011 were given by all.

There will be no Naples Sunset Rotary Club meeting on December 23rd and December 30th due to the holidays. Our next regularly scheduled meeting will be January 6, 2011. All the club members wish everyone reading this blog a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2011 !!

December 9, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The December 9, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome with Invocation and Pledge Allegiance. George Leamon introduced our guest speaker Andrew Hill, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Andrew discussed the latest happenings and the various projects of the Conservancy. He emphasized that the Conservancy was undergoing a major reconstruction of its entire campus and will be completely updated and finished in 2011. There were numerous questions from our members generated from the outstanding presentation. Additional information about the Conservancy of Southwest Florida is available by clicking here. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05pm.

Next week will be our annual Christmas Party starting at 6:00pm and continuing until 9:00pm with entertainment by Nevada Smith.

The December 2, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome at 6:30pm. After Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance a buffet dinner was given. A club discussion highlighted the program dicussing the latest Rotary happenings, upcoming Christmas party and introduction of guests. The meeting adjourned at 7:45pm

November 24, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary Event

The annual Farm City BBQ on Wednesday November 24, 2010 at the Nobles Collier Packing Plant in Immokalee, Florida was attended by members of the Naples Sunset Rotary Club and their guests. The club rented a trolley and 40 folks were driven from Naples to Immokalee to celebrate the annual Farm City BBQ. Fun was had by all during this event which benefited youth leadership programs through 4H, Leadership Collier Foundation, Inc., and Collier County Junior Deputies League. Additional information on the annual Farm City BBQ is available by clicking here.

November 18, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The November 18, 2011 Naples Sunset Rotary Club meeting was called to order by President Carl Thome at 6:30am with invocation by Robert Bodine and Pledge of Allegiance. Naples Sunset Rotary member Bill Ford introduced our guest speaker Lt. Col. Robert Berlam, Commander, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol. Commander Berlam discussed the latest happenings with the Naples Civil Air Patrol and how they have participated in many emergency and non emergency events. A number of questions were answered from our members who enjoyed the CAP activities update very much. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm followed by a Naples Sunset Rotary Board Meeting to discuss the upcoming Christmas Party now scheduled for the 16th of December and a review/discussion of our new meeting location. The Naples Sunset Rotary Board Meeting was adjourned at 8:25pm.

November 11, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary Meeting

The November 11, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary Club meeting was called to order by our President Carl Thome at our new location. Presidednt Carl gave the invocation and pledge allegiance. The program discussed our new location and its history. We decided that our Christmas Party would be held on Wednesday December 15, 2010 at our current meeting facility and President Carl to contact and invite other local Rotary Clubs. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm.

November 4, 2010 Naples Sunset Rotary Board Meeting

The November 4, 2010 Naples Sunet Rotary meeting was a Board Meeting to discuss the upcoming new meeting location(s). Naples Sunset Rotary Board Members discussed in detail the availability of various locations for our weekly Thursday evening meeting. Once a location either temporary or permament is determine it will be posted to this blog.