Fort Myers Sunrise Rotary

Featured Speaker for June 14th Meeting: Jenn Downes Education Specialist Jenn Downes, a Lee County native and former school teacher, is the Education Specialist for Keep Lee County Beautiful, a nonprofit organization that has been in Lee County for 33 years. Her main role is public outreach to inform the community about their efforts in recycling education, litter prevention, and community beautification. In 2022, Keep Lee County Beautiful had over 4,000 volunteers collect and remove almost 79,000 pounds of litter from our Lee County road and waterways, and is on track to do even more this year. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza 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 [...]

Featured Speaker for June 21st Meeting: Earl Quenzel Rotary Club of Fort Myers - Sunrise President 2022-2023 Rotary Year in Review Earl Quenzel started his marketing career after receiving his BA in communications from Rowan University in 1980. During his marketing career, two major airlines (TWA & Continental Airlines) and the nation’s leading telecom brand (AT&T) recruited Earl to lead their marketing teams while transforming from operating in a regulated business world to winning in a highly competitive, deregulated marketing environment. Between gigs in the airline industry, two start-up ventures recruited Earl to lead the marketing and sales teams responsible for developing and launching: the Travel Channel (1988) and the eCommerce brand Priceline.com across Europe (2000). Earl enjoys serving his community as an avid participant. Earl currently serves as president of the Rotary Club of Fort Myers - Sunrise, the McGregor Woods Homeowners Association president, and a board member for Players Circle Theater. In [...]

No Meeting This Week There will be no Sunrise Rotary - Fort Myers meeting this week. Weekly meetings will resume Wednesday, July 5th. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza 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 you plan to join via a tablet or phone, you must download the application from your phone provider's App store. Sunrise ZOOM Room TWO Click on the link below and [...]

Featured Speaker for July 5th Meeting: Bryon Wilfert Canada Day Bryon Wilfert has Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Toronto and a degree in public administration from St. Lawrence College in Kingston. In addition, he is an Accredited Municipal Clerk. He taught history and political science at Havergal College in Toronto from 1977 to 1997. The Honourable Bryon Wilfert has served more than ten years as the Chair and other Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group (CJIG) posts. He has contributed significantly to enhancing the relationship and promoting mutual understanding between Japan and Canada through interaction between both countries’ inter-parliamentary groups. In June 2011, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Japan’s second-highest honor, by Emperor Akihito to recognize these outstanding contributions officially. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Fort [...]

Featured Speaker for July 12th Meeting: Liz Christie President Liz Christie serves as the 2023-2024 Rotary Club of Fort Myers Sunrise President.  In May of 2023 she traveled to the Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia in preparation for the year as Club President.  During her presentation, she will review the convention activities and share her experiences in Melbourne and Sydney. She has been a Rotarian for 23 years and proudly served as Club President of the Rotary Club of Palatine, IL in 2011-2012.  She was born in Winona, MN and attended the University of Rochester, NY where she received a BA in Political Science and minors in both Marketing and Economics.   She relocated to the Chicagoland area and attended DePaul University where she earned an MBA in Change Leadership Management. She spent her years in the Chicagoland area working with nonprofits and businesses to create local, national and international events.  During her tenure she coordinated activities ranging [...]

Featured Speaker for July 19th Meeting: Olena Hall, Olga & Volodymyr Vermiichyk Update on Ukraine Olena Hall was born in Ukraine in 1986 and moved to the U.S. in 2015. She earned her masters degree in Philology (The study of language) from Volyn National University in 2008.  She worked as a school teacher in Ukraine until she moved to the United States.  Since arriving in the U.S. Olena has spent time raising her now 15 year old son and 6 year old daughter as well as working for several years as a Paraprofessional helping children learn the English language. She has also spent time advocating for Ukrainian causes including organizing supply drives to send Aid to Ukraine. She enjoys advocating for Ukrainians and talking about Ukrainian culture and language. Olga & Volodymyr Vermiichyk (Olena's parents) - were both born in Ukraine. They have lived in Ukraine since their birth until the present day.  [...]

Featured Speaker for July 26th Meeting: Christopher S. Bernier, Ed.D. Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier was sworn in as Superintendent of Schools of the School District of Lee County on May 16, 2022. With nearly 100,000 students and 13,000+ employees, Dr. Bernier will lead the 9th largest school district in Florida and 32nd largest in the U.S. His priority as Superintendent is to lead with a student-centered philosophy and ensure that the district’s strategic plan will meet the academic and social emotional needs of our students. Dr. Bernier also plans to prioritize the district’s budget to ensure that the district is being fiscally responsible and good stewards of taxpayer dollars. The district's core values will guide Dr. Bernier's leadership: Excellence Integrity High Expectations Accountability Belief in Students Professionalism Prior to Lee County, Dr. Bernier served as the Chief of Staff for the Clark County School District (CCSD) in Las Vegas, Nevada, the fifth largest [...]

Featured Speaker for August 2nd Meeting: Angela Katz Executive Director Angela Katz is an Executive Director at LARC, the Lee Association of Remarkable Citizens. Established in 1954, LARC Inc. is a training center for success that provides support services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. A highly accomplished strategic fundraising and development professional, Katz joined LARC as director of development and communications in 2016. Her responsibilities included fund development, internal and external communications, marketing, and advancing community and business partnerships. Prior to LARC, Katz established her own company, Angela Katz, LLC, specializing in fundraising strategies for non-profits. She was the development director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida for four years. Katz transitioned into non-profit work after retiring from a successful career as a Regional Vice President with PartyLite Gifts. She was responsible for strategic direction and training for a sales leadership team of more than 300 [...]

Featured Speaker for August 9th Meeting: Priya Ahluwalia Rotary Club of Babcock Ranch - President Priya Ahluwalia is a true entrepreneur at heart. She has over 14+ years of professional experience in multiple sectors (startups, teaching, and nonprofits). She specializes in strategy, business, life mentoring/coaching, and business development roles across early-stage startups. She is the Founder of MoAloo Ventures (a venture capital firm), where the firm brings ideas to life. MoAloo Ventures help incubate startups and assist them in launching in the market. She has two Masters's degrees (Chinese Language and English Literature) with a Bachelor's in Business Administration. Priya is fluent in English, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, and Punjabi, with some proficiency in Japanese. She has personal and professional experience in China, India, and the United States. Priya loves to teach Chinese and Hindi language, travel the world with her best friend (husband - Mohit), and paint in her free time. Priya joined Rotary in May [...]

Featured Speaker for August 16th Meeting: Jordan Brown FBI Special Agent - Speaking on Terrorism Jordan Brown began his career with the FBI in Jacksonville, FL, in 2017 as an Intern. For the summer of 2017, Jordan worked on various violations, including criminal and national security matters. At the conclusion of the internship, Jordan was hired full-time as an Operational Support Technician for the Jacksonville Field Office of the FBI. Jordan continued his work in Jacksonville until 2019, when he was selected for New Intelligence Analyst training in Quantico, VA. Upon graduation, Jordan was assigned in Huntsville, AL, at the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center where he worked with scientists to disseminate intelligence pertaining to Improvised Explosive Devices recovered throughout the world. In June 2021, Jordan began training as a New Agent in Quantico, VA. Upon graduation from the Basic Field Training Course, Jordan was assigned to work White Collar Crime in Fort [...]

Featured Speaker for August 23rd Meeting: Katie Butte Education Assistant - Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center After graduating in 2021 from the Universität Potsdam (Germany) and University College Dublin (Ireland) with a double Masters in International War Studies focusing on the Holocaust, Katie moved from Germany to Fort Myers to be closer to her family. Since moving to SWFL, Katie has joined the Education Department at Naple’s Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center where she channels her passion for teaching the lessons of the Holocaust into student and adult tours, creating interactive programming, consulting on exhibits, and carrying out research. Katie is passionate about sharing her knowledge and inspiring the community to learn more about the Holocaust and being an Upstander in their own community. WEEKLY SUNRISE MEETING Join us on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops 13051 Bell Tower Drive, [...]