Luncheon Speakers

We inducted a new member – Jeff Sassano – to club. Jeff grew up in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh. He went Robert Morris University. He is single and has a brother and sister-in-law and mother still living up there in the Pittsburgh area.  He used to own a Massage Envy but then successfully sold it. He figured he would retire. He first moved to Sarasota where he bought a condo which he still owns. He owns two gas stations and a flower shop in Sarasota. He then ‘branched out’ and drove across the state and decided to [...]

Our Club had fellow Rotarian Howard Berg as our guest speaker this week. Howard provided a number of techniques to remember numbers (3-Tricycle, 4 – Car) and focus on what’s important in a document.  Howard grew up in the projects of Brooklyn which was not safe. The only place which was safe in his neighborhood was the library. His frequent visits to the library made him what he is today- a teacher of reading and math comprehension.. For the past 35 years, he has been teaching people how to increase their reading speed along with comprehension, but more importantly [...]

Our Club was delighted to representatives from both FAU and PBSC present along with many of our mentees and their Club mentors.  Scholarship Liaison Chair Pia Giannone provided the FAU and PBSC representatives with presentation checks (shown above): $20,000 to each institution that will support college scholarships. Pia asked each of the students receiving a Rotary scholarship who were in attendance what the Rotary Scholarship meant to them. A number of students said they work two jobs to cover their personal expenses and were constantly worried how they were going to pay for the school expenses such as tools [...]

Our Club was delighted to have three members of the Downtown Rotary Club as our guest speakers this week to tell us about their trip to Guatemala and help the Ak’Tenamit school. The Ak’Tenamit community in Eastern Guatemala includes vocational middle and high schools, residential facilities, health clinic, farm, fair trade store, and restaurant. Michael is co-founder of Aequus Partners Financial Planning, an independent financial planning practice. Michael Walstrom holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA, an MBA from the Huizenga Business School at Nova Southeastern University, a Certificate in Financial Planning from Northwestern University, and is a CFP®️ professional. [...]

Club member Michael Miller was given a special “Men with Caring Hearts” award by the Fuller Center on Friday, April 8 and their Havana Nights Gala at Boca West Country Club.  Congratulations Michael – well deserved!

Our Club supported the Boca West Children’s Foundation (BWCF) annual golf challenge and won first place! Top Row from left: Palm Beach County Mayor Robert Weinroth, Boca Rotary members Henry Ferguson, President Elect Jeff Tromberg and Past President Gary Hildebrand. Bottom Row (winning team): Firefighter & Paramedic Sam Saffer, Firefighter & Paramedic Sean Katz and Matt Minlionica. Not pictured: Colby Durkin. The first place prize brings $10,000 to the Club for scholarships and service projects.

We were delighted to have Nancy Stellway, Executive Director, Palm Beach County speak about Take Stock in Children. Take Stock in Children, Inc. is a nonprofit mentoring, college success, and college scholarship organization dedicated to transforming Florida one student at a time. Working statewide throughout Florida. Their mission is to break the cycle of poverty for low-income, underrepresented, academically qualified students by providing opportunities for degree attainment through postsecondary education. They provide wraparound services to students through an innovative multi-year model from middle school through postsecondary completion. Here is a diagram of the programs they provide: And just [...]