Port Jefferson Rotary (April 19, 2016) (Apr 19, 2016)

News of the Meeting of April 19th:

Posted by Yvette Hohler on Apr 19, 2016

Today, our guest speaker was new club member Robert Dooley, who provided a description of his job as a business attorney concerned with commercial litigation and contract work. He considers his job to be mainly one of problem solving- especially resolving disputes where there's been a breakdown in communication between several sides. Rob first seeks the facts involved in the conflict and then tries to reach an amicable resolution. If the only course of resolution is to go to court, the judge and jury will determine the outcome. Court procedures are often costly as well as time consuming, and the entity that loses the dispute in court usually ends up paying the court costs and legal fees involved as well as the monetary penalty decided upon by judge and/or jury. In a criminal dispute, one's liberty is at stake. One can begin a civil action for $200, usually to try to recoup money that one feels is owed. Most civil disputes have to do with an economic decision needing to be made. Contracts are usually drawn up by attorneys to provide security to individuals and companies. The attorneys representing litigants must identify and study contracts, statutes, and all other documents pertaining to a dispute in order to help resolve the issue(s) and determine who is at fault and what monetary damages would seem to fairly compensate the "injured party". Rob feels that many problems brought before an attorney are created by the lack of the ability to communicate. The attorney's first job, then, is to try to open lines of communication between litigants and try to resolve issues instead of having to go to trial to seek resolution. Rob is proud of our system of laws, which he sees as incredible, though complex, and inevitably fair.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/REMINDERS: There's $153 in the pot waiting to be won. YOU could be our next winner. Next opportunity: our April 26th luncheon at Cafe Spiga, when Archana will be our guest speaker . Habitat for Humanity invites you to its free breakfast on April 21st, beginning at 7:30 AM, at the Stonebridge Country Club in Hauppauge. Contact Archana if you wish to be a part of a Rotary table and for more info.The Gift of Life Fundraiser on 4/28 (from 6 to 10 PM) at Windows on the Lake in Lake Ronkonkoma will be an Oldies Dinner Dance (black tie preferred or business suit) with a live oldies show, which Debbie says is fabulous. Cost: $45 p/p. This event has already attracted enough club members to nearly fill 2 tables! (There's still room for 1 more member!) Contact Ed if you'd be interested in joining our club attendees.The District Leadership Appreciation Dinner on May 3rd will take place at Antuns By Minar in Hicksville. There'll be an open bar. The cost is $45 p/p; and dress is formal. We will have our next Stuff-A-Van event on May 7th from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Mt. Sinai King Kullen. Archana announced that we have enough volunteers to do the job and thanks them in advance for volunteering to help out. Our Spring Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck Cleanup Day will take place on Sunday, May 15th. Chores will include painting,cleaning windows,sanding railings,clipping bushes, planting flowers,etc. Rocky Point and Middle Island Rotarians and the Interact clubs they sponsor have been invited to join us along with PJHS Interact. Dennis has created a preliminary list of participants and the chores and activities for which they'll be responsible. It's not too late to join in. Contact Dennis if you'd like to take part. Dennis reported that 245 RYLArians, including 2 from Port Jeff, very much enjoyed this past weekend. The weather was wonderful. It was a great gathering. Raffle Time is approaching- Get Ready! Sharon has been checking out venues for our September Past Presidents Dinner & Raffle Drawing. The date of this event will probably be 9/15 or 9/22.) Nancy invites you, on behalf of Mather Hospital, to volunteer to help out on Sat., May 7th at the Families Walk/Run for Hope event.See Nancy for info on this upcoming event and how you can help. MJ,our incoming DG, invites you to the Installation Dinner on June 23rd at 6:30PM at Royalton Mansion in Roslyn Heights. The cost will be $85 p/p. Please let Archana know if you're interested in attending. The 9/17 Dragon Boat Race: We need the commitment of 20 Row-tarians (10 of them women) by June 6th, when the payment is due. Please contact Archana if you can participate in this enjoyable event on our club team. (*Note: if you learn at the last minute that you cannot take part, you are responsible for finding a replacement- not necessarily a Rotarian.) We discussed the possibility of inviting representatives of the Comsewogue and Mt. Sinai School Districts to attend future club meetings with a view towards inviting these districts to consider forming Rotary corporate or individual memberships.

***Please visit our club's Face Book Page.

If you missed today's meeting, kindly inform Yvette about make-ups in a timely fashion.