Kiwanis Club of Historic St. Augustine

Newsletter – 24 August 2006

President’s Message:

Pancake Breakfast, Pancake Breakfast, Pancake Breakfast! Let’s not forget that it is coming sooner than you may think. Get the tickets sold and, more importantly, get some sponsors. We have received a few sponsors to date, but we can always use more. If you can’t get your friend, neighbor, or whatever, to be a sponsor, at least get a placemat ad. Ask your dry cleaner, ask your butcher, ask your candlestick maker, the worst that they will say is “No.” They are not rejecting you, they are simply saying “No” to a request and you need not take it personally. The sponsors and the ads are where the profit comes from, ticket sales will make us money, but that will be peanuts compared to what we make with the sponsors and the ads. Let’s all pull together and make this our largest money making project. It can be done with just a little effort on the part of each one of us, and should not be left up to just a few people. Off your face and on your feet, get out there and talk it up!

We are also planning a Peanut Day or two in the future, but that shouldn’t take as much of your time as the Pancake Breakfast, and will be after that event, so just keep your eyes peeled here for word about that fund raiser.

                               

Coming Events: [Advise the editor of events of interest at 797-4332]

1 September 2006: First Friday Art Walk, check out the local galleries and taste the food and wine.

4 September 2006: Regular monthly board meeting to be held at The Allegro. The meeting will start at 1700 hours. There is much to discuss, so be prompt and be prepared to share some ideas.

14 September 2006: Final Division Council meeting of this administrative year. Meet at 1800 hours, eat at 1830 hours. Westside Club is sponsor (I-295 & Commonwealth Ave.) and the price is $16. Election of new officers on that agenda.

28 September 2006: Our annual installation of officers’ banquet. Details to follow, but we know for certain that the new Lt. Gov. Rande Le Fevre will be present to handle the installation chores.

30 September 2006: Our first annual Pancake Breakfast from 8-11am at The Allegro.

 

Guests:. None present. (Gary has stayed away since he found out about the belt line. Now he is back working in the early morning, so we won’t see him until the next school holiday.)

 

Programs: (Check the website for your speaker assignment date.)

LAST WEEK: Brent Fonner introduced a city commissioner, Joe Bolles, who is also running for Mayor this election. Joe told us about some of the things that the city is up to. The parking garage is the big thing he wanted to sell. As much as that puppy cost, they better sell it. He explained that Flagler College is going to rent 450 spaces for the school. That should help defray the cost a little. Joe explained that the three important things that our commissioners keep in mind are Residents, Businesses, and Tourists. He did neglect to mention that most commissioners also look out for “moi.” After one question, he was ready to get out of the room in a hurry. He worked the room, but with an eye on the door.

THIS WEEK: Ned Ross is slated to have the speaker. Haven’t seen Ned, and his e-mail box is full and has been for at least two months.

NEXT WEEK: Rudy Xue has the speaker for the last meeting of the month.

 

⅓-⅓-⅓ DRAWING WINNERS: Winning last week were Art Liepold, and Dave Thompson. (I only had to change one name from the week before. Let’s put a stop to that.) Mix those tickets well to keep Art from winning again. Buy your tickets early and often.

 

Late Breaking News:

Get accustomed to it, you are going to be hearing a lot about the pancake breakfast in this column until it is over. Chief Hedges, our soon to be fearless leader, has handed out the tickets to those of us who were present. Show up and pick your set up so that we won’t have to waste postage mailing yours to you. Let’s get cracking on those sponsors – that is where the gravy in this project lies. Get one business that you know to be a sponsor and get their name on the placemat. If we put forth the effort this time, then we won’t have to worry about as many fundraising events in the future. Do your part, and get your tickets now and get at least one sponsor. If we all did that, we would make some money on this project. This is the type of project a club like ours wants to have. You concentrate your efforts in a relatively short period of time, and the rewards are more than 10 other projects that are labor intensive and cash poor.

                We inducted two new members into the club, Barney Salzberg, and Cheryle Newman, (note the spelling of Cheryle’s name. It is not a misprint.) These two new members transferred in from clubs in South Florida. Cheryle really wants to be a member of this club, because she lives in Green Cove Springs. Barney is a lawyer, but I haven’t learned if he is retired or still in practice. Whichever, we certainly want to welcome both new members into the club.

                This will be my last newsletter for about three weeks. We leave for a much needed vacation on Saturday. If anyone would like to fill in during my absence, please let me know, and I will be glad to give you some pointers. When I first started my tenure here I got a complaint every once in a while about the conservative leaning of the material contained in this missive. When I went on my first vacation after that I offered to let Sammy Dee take over, but he declined. He also stopped complaining. He told me once that he wasn’t thrilled about the material, but he thought I did a good job. That meant a lot to me. That is the way it should be.

Quote(s) of the Week:
"A welfare state is frightened of every poor person who tries to get in and every rich person who tries to get out." —Harry Browne

"Government machinery has been described as a marvelous labor saving device which enables ten men to do the work of one." —John Maynard Keynes

"By not 'disturbing' us with the visual horror of 9/11, the media made it too easy to forget the nature of the enemy that started this war. Maybe the moral clarity of 9/11 wouldn't have dissipated quite so quickly...if Americans had been confronted with those 'disturbing' images more often. What the jihadis did to 3,000 innocent human beings that morning they would willingly do the rest of us. We will not defeat them by averting our gaze from the truth." —Jeff Jacoby