Continue reading »]]> Rafael Granda “Rafa” is our Rotary Exchange Student.  He is from Riobamba, Chimborazo, Ecuador.  He has had quite an exciting year visiting  St. Petersburg with host family Katrina and Jeff Hess.  They have taken him to see many parts of Florida and the United States. While in St. Petersburg, Rafa has been attending Northeast High School. He shared highlights from his year as an exchange student with the club at our meeting this past week.

Continue reading »]]> Congratulations to Calista Bodimer  from Luthern Church of the Cross School who was this year’s winner of the St. Petersburg Rotary Club’s Middle School Speech contest.

This program was started with four schools in 1961 and now includes most of the 6th, 7th and 8th grade students attending our city’s public and private schools. Students write and deliver talks on an assigned subject. Winners from each school compete for one overall winner and three runners-up awards plus the opportunity of delivering their speeches before the Rotary Club. The contest has become a major educational incentive among students. Special thanks to Al Bennett, program chair.

]]> http://www.sprotary.org/sample-post/feed/ 0 http://www.sprotary.org/sample-post/ http://www.sprotary.org/sample-post/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:12:10 +0000 Roy http://www.sprotary.org/?p=346

Continue reading »]]> Goodwill Industries-Suncoast was founded in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1954, and is one of the largest and most effective Goodwill organizations in the world. Its mission is to help people achieve their full potential through the dignity and power of work. The organization’s successful donated goods retail operation helps support its human services in 10 counties, including employment and training services,training centers for people with disabilities, affordable apartment communities, and community corrections programs. Goodwill is consistently ranked among the nonprofits most deserving of support based on the high percentage of revenue funneled to its programs. For more information, visit www.goodwill-suncoast.org .

Continue reading »]]> Dr. Kent Lydecker is Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg.  He previously served as Associate Director for Education of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City; as Executive Director of Museum Education at The Art Institute of Chicago, and as
Curator in Charge of Public Programs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Professional work has taken him into all areas of museum practice and the history of art.

Continue reading »]]> The earnings from our Rotary Club of St. Petersburg’s Undesignated Trust Fund Account and the Disabled Childrens’ Trust Fund Account are used each year to support specific projects of community non-profit organizations. The Trust Projects and Distributions Committee will meet to review the requests received during this application period.  The committee will then take the funding recommendations to the Board of Directors for approval.  All requests should be made in writing, according to the specific directions on the application.  Qualified organizations may download the application form and information at https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sprotary.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F03%2FRotary-grant-application.pdf . 

Requests must be submitted to the Rotary office (800 Second Avenue S, #390, St. Petersburg, 33701) no later than Monday, April 2, 2012. 

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Club President Jim Thompson with Skip Holtz

A new era began at the University of South Florida on January 14, 2010 with the hiring of Skip Holtz as the second head football coach in the history of USF Football. Holtz came to USF after five seasons at East Carolina, where he won back-to-back Conference USA Championships in 2008 and ‘09 and finished with a 38-27 record. Holtz also spent five years as head coach at Connecticut, where he amassed a 34-23 record. Holtz led ECU to unprecedented heights, including four-straight winning seasons, a quartet of bowl game appearances and the back-to-back league crowns.

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(L-R) Sergeant Randy Morton, Jim Watters, Chief Harmon, Bud Purdy, Detective Jim Culberson

The Rotary Club of St. Petersburg in conjunction with the St.Petersburg Police Department presented the Annual Ned March / Bud Purdy Awards to Detective James Culberson and Sergeant Randall Morton on Friday, February 3.  In addition to a plaque, the officers also received a watch courtesy of Bruce Watters Jewelers.

Established by the Rotary Club in 1952, this prestigious award has recognized over 100 St. Petersburg police officers for their dedicated service to our city. The award is named in honor of the late Ned March and longtime Rotary Club member and former St. Petersburg Police Chief, E. Wilson “Bud” Purdy.

Detective James Culberson joined the St. Petersburg Police Department in 1984. In 27 years with the Department, he has served with distinction as a patrol officer and Field Training Officer. In 1992, Jim joined the Department’s high-risk, undercover surveillance C.A.S.E. unit. He has served in that unit for the past nineteen years.Several years ago, Detective Culberson suffered serious injuries – once in 2005 when he was chasing a serial commercial burglar on foot and was run over
by a vehicle, and again in 2007 when he tackled a wanted felon and re-aggravated his earlier injuries. He returned to duty in 2009 with a fresh zeal and passion for the job unequaled by younger detectives in the unit.

In 2010 and 2011, Detective Culberson was selected for the Department’s Employee of the Quarter award thanks in part to the fact that he and his partner made more arrests during those two years than anyother team in the C.A.S.E. unit.

Sergeant Randall Morton became a Police Officer with the St. Petersburg Police Department in 1983. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1990. He is the supervisor for the Downtown Deployment Team, the Homeless Outreach Program and the Department’s Mounted Unit. These units consist of ten officers who work on the many concerns unique to the downtown area, one Homeless Outreach Officer and two Mounted Officers who patrol on horseback.

Sergeant Morton was assigned to the Downtown Deployment Team in August of 2010 because of his strong leadership style, calm demeanor, excellent communication skills and an innovative ability to resolve problems. Sergeant Morto has faced a number of challenges in the downtown area, including increasing crowds at a growing number of establishments and the extension of bar’s operating hours, which have strained police resources. He has developed a professional partnership with business owners to address security issues, proper licensing and potential code violations to enhance a vibrant yet safe reputation for the downtown night life.

But Sergeant Morton’s biggest challenge by far has been the development of the Pinellas Safe Harbor project, Pinellas County’s first Homeless Shelter and Diversion Program that began in January of 2011. The primary goal of the program was to divert homeless people from the criminal justice system, offering them temporary shelter and the services they need to become productive members of society.

The Rotary Club of St. Petersburg thanks both of these officers for their dedicated service to the citizens of St. Petersburg.

Continue reading »]]> Interact will celebrate its 50th year in 2012. Since the first club was established in 1962 at a high school in Melbourne, Florida, thousands of communities worldwide have benefited from Interactors putting Service Above Self. The program has helped countless youth develop leadership skills, meet new friends, and become more familiar with Rotary. Rotary clubs that sponsor an Interact club gain fresh insight into service and help develop future Rotarians. As a Service Club within St. Petersburg High School, Interact conducts service projects within the school as well as in the community. They work closely with their sister club, Rojans, as they plan some service projects and socials together.