AlexB

We were pleased to have Jeff Gordon, partner at the personal injury law firm Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith, PLLC, as our guest speaker. Jeff is chairman of the Board of Directors for Champions Empowering Champions, a Boca Raton-based nonprofit organization that ensures college students who have experienced foster care or homelessness  are empowered to earn a degree and prepare for a rewarding career. Champions Empowering Champions provides students at Florida Atlantic University a support network of mentors and peers, skill development and financial assistance for academic and living essentials. While less than 10% of foster youth graduate from college, [...]

We were pleased to have Dr. Chris Snyder, CEO, Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation as our guest speaker. Chris gave a good overview of the School and the many sub-areas of the arts that they support. He also explained how to apply. More information is provided at the end of this writeup.  Dr. Christopher J. Snyder is an accredited Business Development professional whose underlying mission is to instill positive change on a societal level. He has an extensive 10+ years background involving nonprofit business development, marketing, project management, and fundraising. Born and raised in Boca Raton, FL, Snyder [...]

We were pleased to have Amoy Gordon Project Director of the Association of Care Giving Youth as our guest speaker. Here are some facts a bout the Association.  American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) is a: Florida based non-profit corporation established in 1998 The only organization in the US dedicated solely to addressing caregiving youth issues Created affiliate model Established the Caregiving Youth Institute in 2014 Caregiving Youth Project (CYP) Launched in one middle school in 2006 Supports youth caregivers in school, out of school & at home Brings together healthcare, education, and the community Works in formal partnership [...]

We were pleased to have Ron Tarro, President of New World Angels, as our guest speaker.  Ron Tarro is a Florida angel investor and the President of New World Angels, a long-standing Florida angel investor syndicate.   Ron is the former CEO of a telecommunications software and management services company founded in Boca Raton, Florida. He led the company from its early stages, led its expansion across nearly 40 countries, and then led its sale to a publicly held corporation where he served as a corporate vice president. Ron began his career as an IBM software engineer and product manager. [...]

We were fortunate to have a ‘double header’ this week with two speakers.  The first talk was given by Jamie Serino, Sr., Director of Philanthropy at the Fuller Center. For more than 50 years, the Fuller Center’s mission has been to embrace, educate, and empower hardworking, under-resourced families and children to reach their full potential. The club was invited to Adopt-a-Class and get involved with the children at the Fuller Center. Through specialized programs and partnering with the community Fuller families receive the resources they need to build stable and self-sufficient households, extending the impact of the center to [...]

We were delighted to have Member Kris Amorello and her husband Doug as our guest speakers this week.  They gave a fascinating talk about farming of lobsters sometimes just called ‘Lobster Fishing.’  Here are some of the major points ... Lobster farming is: An owner-operator business Limited access permits Continues to be sustainable Family traditions/communities built $925 million dollar industry coast wide ($725mil ME) Some of the issues in lobster farming include: Lobster farming is closed in Massachusetts Feb 1 to May15 The biggest problems are weak links, breakaways and rope markings Minimum trawl lengths Entanglements Whales can cut [...]

We were pleased to have Mihai Fonoage, VP of Engineering at Modernizing Medicine as our guest speaker. The company has its headquarters locally in the BRIC development.  Modernizing Medicine, Inc., is a United States software company headquartered at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus in Boca Raton, Florida. The company was founded in 2010 by Daniel Cane, CEO and co-founder of Blackboard, Inc., and Dr. Michael Sherling, Chief Medical and Strategy Officer and practicing dermatologist. Modernizing Medicine provides an electronic medical record (EMR) software application that is designed to save physicians time as they collect patient information, record the diagnosis, [...]

The Club was pleased to induct April Lewis as a new member. She was nominated by Spencer Siegel. April had a wonderful and amazing mom and storybook childhood. She skipped two grades and excelled in math & science. Her parents had a very difficult divorce which, unfortunately, resulted in her mother and her not receiving any assistance or interaction with her dad. Her mother passed away at the young age of 39 (when April was 19). Sadly, her bother passed away 14 months after her mother. Terrible thing for anyone to experience. They had no insurance or estate which made life [...]

We were delighted to have Tom Wood, retired and admired Boca Raton Fire Chief as our guest speaker.  Fire Chief Wood brought his new “duty” as a chronicler of Boca’s notorious anthrax incident. A full house of members and guests watched Wood’s PowerPoint on the 2001 incident at the former American Media Inc. building. Meticulously researched, Wood stepped through each discovery and press conference, several with videos, as the story evolved from local news to a national media sensation. The tabloid’s photo editor Bob Stevens was the first fatality, and five deaths were eventually attributed to the anthrax attacks [...]

The Club was pleased to induct Jim Bulvidas as a new member.  Jim grew up in Cherry Hill, NJ and attended the local schools in the area. He then joined the US Air Force in 1962 and spent time at Da Nang Air Base, Viet Nam and Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. In 1966, he entered the real estate business. Jim is married and has two children, Steve & Diana. He presently has six grandchildren. His daughter Diana lives in Coral Springs with two granddaughters attending Florida State and a grandson in the US Army stationed in Iraq. His son Steve [...]