Featured Speaker for January 17th Meeting: Stan Nelson & Shari Clark Update on Pine Manor Stan Nelson is the Planning and Research Director for the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. Currently, he serves as the president of the board of directors of the Pine Manor Improvement Association. Stan is an incredibly talented grant writer. Shari Clark is a US Army veteran who served in the Gulf War. When she left the military, she moved to Ft. Myers to be with her mother in her final months. She worked for Arizona Beverages. When they closed their operations here, Shari went to the Pine Manor Community Center to apply for unemployment and use the computers to search for jobs. She volunteered to help others with job searches. Her skills soon led to being hired as a part-time Outreach Coordinator. Two years later, she was hired by Goodwill to be the full-time Neighborhood Resource Specialist. After 13 [...]

Featured Speaker for January 24th Meeting: Melissa Carlyle Edison Park Elementary Melissa was born and raised in Lee County and is a product of Lee County Public Schools. She has been employed with the Lee County School District for 12 years. The last 7 of those years she has had the joy of being a 4th grade teacher. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Doubletree Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 Bell Tower Drive, FL, 33907 Can't Make it? Join our Zoom Meeting - 2 Ways to Join ONE Click on the link to our ZOOM ROOM below. With this method you can join via a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet or phone. If you use a desktop or laptop you can use your regular browser or download the Zoom App for your computer. If [...]

Featured Speaker for January 31st Meeting: Bob Boyd Certified Horticulture Professional Bob Boyd has called Southwest Florida his home for the past 24 years. He traded in high-tech internet connectivity sales for low-tech mulch and horticultural supply sales in 2003 and has not looked back. Being enamored with all things green and growing, Bob became an FNGLA Certified Horticulture Professional in 2004 (The Year of Hurricane Charlie) and an ISA Certified Arborist in 2006. Bob has held several green industry sales and service-related titles including, Plant buyer, Horticulturalist, Account Manager and most recently Senior Business Development Manager for Down To Earth. In his spare time, Bob enjoys spending time in his backyard with his two kids and you guessed it, cultivating his own private garden paradise. Watch Bob light up when the conversation is steered toward anything plant related. Bob thoroughly enjoys educating people on how to use plants in their everyday lives [...]

Featured Speaker for February 7th Meeting: Megan Rose CEO - Better Together Megan Rose is the CEO of Better Together, a nonprofit that helps parents who are going through a difficult time keep their kids out of foster care, find work and address the root causes of their struggle so that they can reunite as a family with the tools and support system to thrive. Her own family’s story of challenges and redemption inspired Rose’s career path. She earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master’s degree in human services counseling, both from Liberty University. She then worked more than 13 years in social services before establishing Better Together in 2015. With the help of volunteers and church communities, the organization’s families program helps parents build lasting support systems to help overcome hardships like job loss, addiction, homelessness, medical emergencies, and incarceration. The program works; 98% of children served through hosting and [...]

Featured Event for February 14th Meeting: Valentine's Day Program Celebrate Valentine's Day with the Rotary Club of Fort Myers - Sunrise! We are hosting a Valentine's Day program that will include gifts for everyone in attendance, a raffle, and an auction for some great Valentine's Day gifts. We will also be showing a video with pictures of most of our members with their spouse/significant other. Don't forget to bring your spouse/significant other with you! WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Doubletree Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 Bell Tower Drive, FL, 33907 Can't Make it? Join our Zoom Meeting - 2 Ways to Join ONE Click on the link to our ZOOM ROOM below. With this method you can join via a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet or phone. If you use a desktop [...]

Featured Speakers for February 21st Meeting: Bonnie Bolton & Norman Lutz OneDigital Golf Tournament Presentation Bonnie Bolton and Norman Lutz will be sharing a YouTube presentation for the upcoming OneDigital Golf Tournament! The annual Drive For Education Tournament is the signature fundraising event of the Rotary Club of Fort Myers - Sunrise. One hundred percent of the net earnings of the tournament support local and international programs of our club. We hope to see you there! WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Doubletree Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 Bell Tower Drive, FL, 33907 Can't Make it? Join our Zoom Meeting - 2 Ways to Join ONE Click on the link to our ZOOM ROOM below. With this method you can join via a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet or phone. If you [...]

Featured Speaker for February 28th Meeting: Greg Adams Retired Immigration Law Attorney Until his retirement at the end of 2022, Greg Adams practiced employment-based immigration law and worksite compliance for over 40 years. Following 10 years as an attorney in Connecticut and then Massachusetts, Greg relocated to Ohio where he headed up the business immigration law practices at a regional law firm for 15 years and then at a national law firm for the remainder of his career.  His clients ranged from domestic and international business of all sizes to high tech industry leaders, professional sports franchises, performing arts companies, research organizations, and higher educational institutions. He also served as bar association representative to the U.S. immigration agency, taught immigration law at the law school level, was a regular speaker and author on immigration law topics, and edited the annually published Immigration and Nationality Law Handbook series. Over the course of his career, [...]

Featured Speaker for March 6th Meeting: Kay Peterson Off the Bike Path: A Minnesotan's Guide Catherine (Kay) Peterson was born and raised in a town of 25,000 in the southeast corner of Minnesota called Winona.  She lives there still today. She has two sisters- Liz Christie and Kim Allison- and one nephew, Wyatt Allison.  (Fun fact- Kay was named after Catherine the Great, Liz was named after Queen Elizabeth, and Kim was named after the Kimberly Diamond Mine!). Kay went to college at Minnesota State University, Mankato and enjoyed her last semester studying in New Zealand. Kay has been Client Services Coordinator at a non-profit called Winona Volunteer Services since 2005, where every day she helps meet the basic needs of those who are struggling.  She became a Detroit Lions fan in 2017 and was a Master Gardener for 10 years. She enjoys swimming, reading, cooking, house & room painting, as well as [...]

Featured Speaker for March 20th Meeting: Maryola Dannebaum Daughters of the American Revolution Born in California, raised in NY, moved to FL full time in 2021. She owned and operated a Photography Studio for 25 years, offering all services to her clients. After retiring from her business, she proceeded to work for the Nassau County Government for fourteen years as a press photographer covering the County Executive and the Legislative branch of government. During her time as a professional photographer, she belonged to the Professional Photographers of Greater New York, and served as their president twice. She was a charter member of the Bethpage Central Park Kiwanis and served as their treasurer for four years. She joined Daughters of the American Revolution Society in 2018 and became Regent of the Lawrence Kearny Chapter in 2023. The DAR helps serve her passion for community, conservation, and Veterans. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING [...]

Featured Speaker for March 27th Meeting: Sandy Stilwell Younquist Owner & CEO - Stilwell Enterprises Sandy Stilwell Younquist grew up in the Fort Myers area. Working in her parent’s business Sandy learned the value of a strong work ethic and the role of sacrifice. She displayed her entrepreneur spirit early, starting a bank cleaning business when she was just 17 years old. At the age of 21 years old, Sandy founded Stilwell Enterprises. Over the past 27 years she earned a reputation as an accomplished entrepreneur in the Southwest Florida restaurant industry for her special brand of hospitality. Currently, she employs about 350 people to operate the Captiva Island Inn, Keylime Bistro, Sunshine Seafood Café & Wine Bar, RC Otters Island Eats, Cantina Captiva, Latte Da, and a shopping center. During her career, Sandy has operated under a single, guiding principle; ‘When you give somebody your word, your word is more important than [...]

Featured Speaker for April 3rd Meeting: John Lai President & CEO John Lai is the President and CEO of the Sanibel and Captiva Chamber of Commerce, the premier business organization of Sanibel and Captiva Islands with over 450 members, and the Francis P. Bailey Visitor Center, which is open 365 days a year and sees over 80,000 visitors per year. Professionally, John has been in the hospitality and tourism industry for over 28 years and has been a resident of Lee County for over 30 years. He has operated resorts in Sanibel, Captiva, Clearwater, and Vero Beach. John joined the Chamber staff in 2017 and was promoted to President and CEO in 2018. John is the past president of the Lee County Chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and currently serves as their Government Affairs Chair. John is on the board of directors of Lee County Sports and is the Chair-Elect [...]

Featured Speaker for April 10th Meeting: Kristen Dimas Family Physician Dr. Kristen Dimas is a woman with a heart for serving her community. After graduating with honors from Florida State University College of Medicine in 2016, she returned to Southwest Florida to complete her residency training at the FSU Family Medicine Residency Program at Lee Health. Throughout her residency, she earned multiple awards for service and advocacy in addition to being elected by her peers to serve as chief resident during her senior year. Transitioning into clinical practice, she decided to continue serving her local community by accepting a faculty position with the same program where she completed her training. Today, as a board certified family physician and clinical assistant professor of medicine, she not only works tirelessly to address health disparities among her patients, but also teaches physicians in training under her to do the same. Recently, Dr. Dimas has accepted a [...]