Fort Myers Sunrise Rotary

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 [...]

Featured Speaker for April 17th Meeting: Chimedlham "Angie" Bayarsaihan Rotary Club of Ulaanbaatar Peace Avenue The Rotary Club of Ulaanbaatar Peace Avenue is the 1st Rotary Club in Mongolia founded by former Rotaractors. They are also one of the only English-speaking clubs in Mongolia. Since their inception, they have developed International Sister Club relationships in Seoul, South Korea, and Dublin, Ohio. In January 2024, the Rotary Club of Fort Myers - Sunrise was added to the International mix as the newest Sister Club in the family. Their past projects have focused on education, women's health, and disease prevention. They continually partner with other clubs to create hope in the world. Join the meeting to learn more about their club, country, and their Rotarian goals. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Doubletree Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 Bell Tower Drive, FL, 33907 [...]

Featured Speaker for April 24th Meeting: Bill Johnson Executive Director Bill Johnson, Jr. has been the Executive Director of The Horizon Foundation since January 2023. Previously, Bill was the Executive Director of the Cape Coral Construction Industry Association for eight (8) years, and prior to that worked as the membership sales director for the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral. He has 14 years private-sector experience in retail sales and management. The Horizon Foundation’s mission is to improve Lee County’s business environment and ease of doing business—in terms of the ability to source credible local disadvantaged suppliers, retain and encourage the expansion of existing businesses, attract new and diversified employers, and strengthen and sustain the public-private partnership of Lee County Government, community, and business leaders. 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? [...]

Featured Event for May 1st Meeting: Drive For Education Club Assembly Sunrise Rotary Club of Fort Myers will host a club assembly this week for the annual Drive For Education golf tournament, hosted at The Forest Country Club on Friday, May 3rd. Bring your spirit cart tickets (sold or purchased) and alcohol for the spirit cart. We will have a list of silent auction items for you to bid on. We will also finalize volunteer opportunities. 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 May 8th Meeting: Mark Moody District 6960 Rotary Youth Exchange Chair Mark Moody has been a member of Rotary since 2009. He was District 6250 Rotary Friendship Exchange co-chair and organized exchanges with Rotary districts in Nepal, India, Chile, Peru, Australia & Latvia. He has also been a Rotary Youth Exchange post parent. Mark moved to southwest Florida in 2021 & joined the Rotary club of Englewood where he is now treasurer. Mark has been District 6960 Rotary Youth Exchange Chair since May of 2023. Professionally, Mark has an extensive and diverse professional background as a health insurance executive in both the private and public sectors, in the United States and internationally. Mark has been CEO of several health insurance plans, CEO of a small IT services and software company and was director of the Medicaid program for the state of Wisconsin. He worked internationally in health care in New [...]

Featured Presentation for May 22nd Meeting: 2024 Drive For Education Tournament Wrap-Up The 10th Annual Sunrise Rotary Club Drive For Education Golf Tournament was a huge success! Thank you to all who supported the event and helped to raise money for our beneficiaries. Join us Wednesday as we wrap up the event and present checks to IMAG and the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools! 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 [...]

Featured Speaker for May 29th Meeting: Children's Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida *Please Remember, This is an Off-Site Meeting* Founded in 1981, the mission of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida (CAC) is to provide a coordinated response to child victims of abuse and neglect and improve the lives of at-risk children and their families through prevention services. They assess and treat children believed to have been physically or sexually abused or to be at-risk of such abuse and provide a safe place for them to come and be heard. CAC offers abuse determination services, therapeutic counseling, parenting education, and prevention programs in Lee, Hendry, Glades, and Charlotte Counties. They are one of the largest children’s advocacy centers in the state of Florida and the only one in the four-county area. CAC is accredited by the National Children’s Alliance. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday for an off-site meeting at the Children's [...]

Featured Speakers for June 5th Meeting: Dan Hall & Mark Moody Recap of the RYLA Experience Dan is a rising Senior at Fort Myers High School. He is in the IB program and is a captain of the Lacrosse team. He is a member of the interact club and has attended the YMCA Youth in Government symposium in Tallahassee earlier this year, where he was awarded runner-up for best new legislation. Dan also attended RYLA earlier this year and is here to tell us about his experiences. Mark Moody has been a member of Rotary since 2009. He was District 6250 Rotary Friendship Exchange co-chair and organized exchanges with Rotary districts in Nepal, India, Chile, Peru, Australia & Latvia. He has also been a Rotary Youth Exchange post parent. Mark moved to southwest Florida in 2021 & joined the Rotary club of Englewood where he is now treasurer. Mark has been District 6960 [...]

Featured Speaker for June 12th Meeting: Gary A. Goforth, M.D.Club Membership Assembly - Incoming President Current Position: Medical Director, Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers, Florida (effective 7/1/2018). Prior Position: Founding Program Director of the Florida State University College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program at Lee Health (Fort Myers) from May 2012 to June 2018. Education: B.A. (Physics), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (1976). M.D., Vanderbilt School of Medicine (1980). Residency in Family Medicine, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI (1980-83). Fellowship in Tropical Medicine (earned Masters in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene), Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland (1990). Experience: U.S. Army: Active duty 1980-1993. South Carolina Army National Guard (1994-2002); Retired as Colonel (2002). Awarded Bronze Star during first Gulf War. Medical Director: Founding Medical Director of the Greater Greenwood United Ministry Free Medical Clinic (1997-2012). Clinica Gratis Free Clinic (2009), and Abbeville County Free Clinic (2011). Volunteers in Medical Missions: [...]

Featured Speakers for June 19th Meeting: Ken MacDonald & Danny Caraway TSA Specialists Ken MacDonald is originally from Coastal New Hampshire and has been living in Florida for the past 5 years. He has been with TSA for 20 years and has been a canine handler for 4 years. Ken’s assigned partner is a 5-year-old German Short Hair Pointer named Don. Danny F. Caraway is a Supervisory Training Specialist for the Transportation Security Administration at the Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) Mission Support/Training Department. His primary responsibilities are Field Evaluation Testing Coordinator supporting the live environment testing, analysis, and training of TSA Officers, Training Department Management and Supervision at RSW, and oversight for the Punta Gorda Airport Training Department. RSW TSA Education Coordinator and primary signature authority for RSW SIDA Badging for all TSA and support contractors and vendors. Danny has been with TSA since October of 2002, entering as a Transportation Security [...]