Member Spotlight

Our club was pleased to have Roary District 6930 Governor Michael Walstrom as our guest speaker this week.   Michael talked about the theme of Obsession – how to do any Rotary project with total obsession in order to the best possible. Michael is Co-Founder at 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. Michael has a passion for connecting with people and his adopted community, both [...]

Our club was pleased to induct Chris Maners into the membership of Rotary Club of Boca Raton. Chris is a transfer from the Boca Sunrise Club.  Chris is a proud “Hoosier”, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, raised in the small suburb of Speedway, home of the world-famous Indianapolis 500. He attended Indiana University, Bloomington, graduating 1982, Kelly School of Business, double major Marketing & Management. As a longtime fan of all things “Disney”, he researched the Walt Disney Co., and moved to Orlando, FL starting in Disney World’s Resort Division which led to a progression of jobs and responsibilities in [...]

We were pleased to have Nikki Cabus, Acting Executive Director, as our guest speaker. Tech Hub South Florida is an industry trade non-profit organization that helps facilitate the development of high tech in South Florida – from Miami to Palm Beach County.  Nikki strives to continue Building South Florida's Tech Hub by connecting the community with the right resources in order to bring growth to the region which spotlights us as a place of sustainable economic and business development. This includes closing the cultural and gender gap to include people from all walks of life to create an ecosystem [...]

We were pleased to have Provost Van Williams of PBSC Boca Raton Campus as our guest speaker. He gave us an update on PBSC and, in particular, the state of the Boca Raton Campus. He shared that they serve over 15,000 students and, as a benefit, they have shared access to the FAU library. A copy of Van’s presentation is attached.  Pictured above is a photo with Pia Giannone with Van and Julie for a gift we provided to PBSC to support scholarships including a number of trades including AC/Heating, Marine Science and Auto Mechanics. Van Williams joined Palm Beach State College in [...]

We were pleased to have Brian White, Athletic Director at FAU as our guest speaker.  The invocation was truly special from member Ken Davis: “As John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, once said, ‘Help us to do all the good we can, by all means we can, in all ways we can, in all places we can, at all the time we can to all the people we can as long as ever we can.’ Amen!” Brian White was named Florida Atlantic University Vice President and Director of Athletics on March 3, 2018. Since that time White has [...]

Shelley Wellington, Ed.D. Scholarship Coordinator, FAU We were pleased to have Dr. Shelley Wellington, Scholarship Coordinator at FAU as our guest speaker. Dr. Wellington has worked in academia for the past 20 years, in various capacities, which ranges from Financial Aid Advisor to Academic Advisor and also, as an Adjunct Faculty at FAU. With this steadfastness, she has been able to appreciate the importance of working with students to assist them with building a successful future that all students deserve. Dr. Wellington provided several interesting statistics about FAU and financial aid: ·                    Total undergraduate enrollment: 31,632 ·                    80-85% of undergraduate students [...]

The club welcomes our newest member, Canan ‘Jana’ Ozaktay. She is transferring her membership from the e-Club of Turkey. While her past club enabled her to interact with others from Turkey, Jana wanted to enjoy physical interaction and club projects. She scouted Rotary Clubs in the area and selected the Rotary Club of Boca Raton.

The club welcomes our newest member, Canan ‘Jana’ Ozaktay. She is transferring her membership from the e-Club of Turkey. While her past club enabled her to interact with others from Turkey, Jana wanted to enjoy physical interaction and club projects. She scouted Rotary Clubs in the area and selected the Rotary Club of Boca Raton.

We were pleased to have Brian King of the FBI office in West Palm Beach as our guest speaker. He talked about what the FBI is doing to combat domestic and international terrorism.   Brian first addressed international terrorism and discussed (in public terms) what the FBI has done and is doing to counteract international terrorism. Some examples of international terrorism are shown in the following diagram: In addition, Brian covered things that the FBI is doing to identify and prevent domestic terrorism. The deadliest domestic terrorism happened on April 19, 1995 as shown [...]

We were pleased to have Jamie Bond, Director of Advancement & Development, Place of Hope, as our guest speaker. She talked to the club on the terrible problem of Human Trafficking that takes all forms but involves both sexual and labor exploitation. Her very informative and interesting presentation is attached. Place of Hope has a mission of recruiting foster families to care for the ever-present population of abused, neglected and abandoned children as well as help prevent the cycle of abuse and end human trafficking. Jamie oversees and leads the expansion of the organization in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian [...]