Luncheon Speakers

The Rotary Club of Boca Raton was finally able to meet in person for the first time in over a year. We met outdoors at the Ravfina Greek Tavern and Grill for a Club Assembly. Everyone was very happy to meet again in person, and most who attended had already received their Covid-19 vaccinations.  Club President Gary Hildebrand and his wife Bonnie helped lead a meeting also Bill Riddick and Claudia DuBois helped set up the speakers and microphone. Bob Bob Buruchian was recognized for being the honoree of Men with Caring Hearts. Also, Bob’s son Alex and the Playimage [...]

We were delighted to have Layren Calvo be our gest speaker today, Born in Cuba, Layren Calvo emigrated to the United States at age 14. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Florida Atlantic University in 2013, Ms. Calvo joined Adopt-A-Family’s Housing Stabilization Program team, which provides short-term financial assistance to keep families in crisis from becoming homeless. Showing a natural aptitude for sharing the agency’s mission and an incredible work ethic, Ms. Calvo later moved into special events coordination and in 2015 was promoted to the newly created position of Director of Agency Relations, where she has served with [...]

We were pleased to welcome and have Lincoln S. Mendez, CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital as our guest speaker. Mr. Mendez has been in this position since July 2019. Prior to his current role, Mr. Mendez served as CEO of South Miami Hospital for over nine years. Before that, Mr. Mendez held the position of CEO at Doctors Hospital for a total of 14 years. Prior to his employment with HealthSouth Doctors’ Hospital, Inc., Mr. Mendez was the Chief Operating Officer at Kendall Regional Medical Center in Miami, Florida, from 1993 to 1995. Mr. Mendez holds a [...]

We were delighted to have Ed Raine, President & CEO of Food for the Poor, as our guest speaker. One of the most important things they do as a large, multi-national organization is just as their brand declares: to feed the poor. He provided us with a horrific example of the conditions that are present in places such as Port au Prince, Haiti that exist today and shown in the following images. Food for the Poor is a $155 million a year operation that focuses their services in three main areas: [...]

We were delighted to have Aaron Millman, Esq., CPA as our guest speaker. Aaron is the founder of Millman Law Group, PLLC. After many years of practicing with large estate and elder care planning practices throughout South Florida, Aaron founded Millman Law Group in 2018 with a commitment to client service and satisfaction. Aaron focuses his practice on the planning and administration of estates and trusts, and estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxation. In addition, Aaron guides his clients through Florida domicile planning and retirement planning, including strategies to reduce taxes and provide for future generations. Aaron also devotes [...]

We were delighted to have Constance Scott, Director of Local Relations at FAU, as our guest speaker this week. She joined FAU in April 2015. Constance was elected in March of 2009 and served two three-year terms on the Boca Raton City Council. She was CRA Chair and Deputy Mayor, term ending March of 2015. Constance Scott holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan. She is also a retired Business Banker with Citibank and licensed Realtor. Constance’s background includes Economic Development for the City of Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach County Government, Operations Director for the Economic Council [...]

Ryan Oliver Haines is a native of Lighthouse Point. He went to Boca High and graduated in 1996. He worked for Midnight Express high-performance powerboats from 1999-2006 and then for Intrepid Powerboats from 2006-2008. In 2009, Ryan jointed the US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO) from 2009-present. Among AMO's many missions are anti-terrorism, countering smuggling, and stopping illegal immigration. The agency uses its aviation and marine assets to detect, interdict, and apprehend conveyances carrying terrorists, contraband, or undocumented aliens intending to enter the United States illegally. Ryan summarized the duties that the Border Protection [...]

We were delighted to have Tessie O’Dea, Relationship Development Manager for the Church, School and Community Department of Cross Catholic Outreach, as our speaker this week. She has over nineteen years of Parish Ministry work experience at St Joan of Arc Catholic Church and School in Boca Raton, Florida. Ms. O’Dea was born in Cuba and lived there until she was thirteen years old. She and her family were able to migrate to the United States shortly after. After earning a BS in Medical Technology, she moved to Washington DC and worked in [...]

The Club had Ricardo Boehm as the guest speaker for the Nov. 25 meeting. He is a member of the Palm Beach Rotary Club and has focused a lot of this personal attention to helping the indigenous people in a remote area of Guatemala and, in particular, the Ak’Tenamit school. Note below the boat, electric motor and solar panels all provided via Rotary Global Grants. Rotary Global Grant’s mission there is to enable the indigenous people of Guatemala to become self-sustaining by supporting projects that: Improve [...]