At about the same time this publication arrived in mailboxes on June 17, the Rotary Club of New Tampa was holding its weekly breakfast meeting at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. This particular meeting had special guests, representing the 19 charities that each left the breakfast with a check in hand, as they were this year’s selected nonprofits receiving donations from the club as it closed it 2015-16 fiscal year.
The process of vetting 501(c)(3) organizations to determine which ones are most deserving and in need of the New Tampa Rotary’s support culminates each year at the annual event, where the checks are presented to the charities.
“We invite the organizations we support to have breakfast with us so we can present them with the contributions we are giving them for the year,” says Karen Frashier, who will be installed as the 2016-17 president-elect of the club later this month. She says it’s an exciting time for the original New Tampa Rotary, as they provide money to these nonprofits, “so they can continue doing their good work in the community.”
The installation banquet for the club’s incoming officers was held Friday, June 24, 6 p.m., also at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. Current club president Lesley Zajac passed her gavel on to incoming president Brice Wolford, and New Tampa Rotary member Joyce Gunter was be installed as the new Governor of District 6890, West Central Florida USA.
District Conference In Orlando
Twelve members of the New Tampa Rotary also recently attended the Rotary District 6890 Conference, held in Orlando on May 20-21.
At the conference, the club was recognized by the current Rotary District 6890 Governor Tom Wagner for its leadership in building an accessible playground at Rotary’s Camp Florida, along with Kaboom!, the MetLife Foundation (headquartered in New Tampa) and other clubs in the district. The New Tampa Rotary was awarded the “Governor’s Choice Award-Local Project” and the “Club Communications Award” for large clubs (it currently has 65 members), along with the 2015-16 Rotary International Presidential Citation Gold Level “for helping Rotary make a difference in the lives of people all over the world.”
“I love working side-by-side with all of these wonderful friends!” says Zajac. “We all have fun together, and we are working hard to make Tampa a better place to live for everyone.”
Service Project In Costa Rica
A group of 15 people from the New Tampa Rotary Club and the University of South Florida Rotaract Club it sponsors visited Alajuela, Costa Rica, for six days in May. For the third time in four years, the New Tampa club visited this area to support the efforts of the Rotary Club of Alajuela.
While there, the group painted a local public school and visited its previous projects in the area, including a playground and a butterfly garden. They also visited an active volcano, ziplined the rainforest canopy, and toured local sights.
International Convention In South Korea
Four New Tampa Rotary Club members also joined tens of thousands of other Rotarians at the Rotary International Convention in Seoul, South Korea, May 28-June 1. The members who attended include Joyce and Gary Gunter, and Steele Olmstead and Pamela Jo Hatley, who went to visit their son, Joe Olmstead. Joe, a Rotary Youth Exchange student, is completing one year of cultural study in South Korea, where he lived with a family, went to school and learned the language.
For more information about the Rotary Club of New Tampa, and to register for upcoming events, visit NewTampaRotary.org.
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