by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Steve Bacalis rang the bell for the first time as Rotary Club of Jacksonville president to call the group’s meeting to order Monday at the Omni.
The 1970 University of Florida graduate joined Tom Nehl GMC as a truck salesman in 1973 after three years with the May Company and completed a buy-sell agreement with the commercial truck dealership in 1989. Bacalis joined Downtown Rotary in 1990 and was a director from 1991-2001. He succeeds 2008-09 club President Carl Cannon.
“It is a real honor to be president of this club,” said Bacalis. “Our club truly has a legacy of leadership and it’s my goal to continue that legacy.”
He pledged to continue, with the help of the club’s 300 members, the “aggressive membership campaign” begun by Cannon. Bacalis said the club must commit itself to not only inviting new members to join, but also to retaining the current membership. Bacalis admitted that will be “a significant challenge, particularly in the current economy. But it’s a challenge we can face.”
Bacalis pointed out that the club was recognized last Rotary year as No. 1 in the district in terms of donations to the Rotary Foundation. However, he said, “Our club is known as a check-writing club rather than a fundraising club. Our check writing needs to continue but fundraising projects can energize our new members. We need to give more of our time and our talents.”
Bacalis also shared some photos and stories from the recent Rotary International Convention in Birmingham, England. He said while Birmingham is known as England’s “second city” and isn’t as cosmopolitan as London, “The people of Birmingham more than made up for it with their hospitality.”
Several internationally-known celebrities and public figures addressed the 16,000 Rotarians from around the world who attended the convention. Bacalis said actress Mia Farrow, who was diagnosed with polio when she was a child and discovered Rotary through the club’s worldwide polio eradication efforts, told the group after the disease is no longer found anywhere on the planet, she’d like to see the club dedicate its combined effort to providing clean water wells in Africa.
Bacalis also presented the club’s new Web site home page that will carry the “Legacy of Leadership” message as well as a new section that will detail the history of the club, Florida’s oldest and the 41st in the world. Established in 1912, Bacalis said the first dozen members met at the Windsor Hotel at Hemming Park. A celebration of the club’s heritage will begin this year and culminate in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the organization.
Club past-president and former District 6970 Governor Tommy Grimes surprised Bacalis and his wife Peggy by recognizing their most recent philanthropic contribution. The couple has established a Rotary Foundation Bequest Society Award as part of their estate.
Grimes looked at the Bacalis children, Lauren and Steven, and joked, “This might mean you are cut out of the will.” Bacalis replied that isn’t at all what it means and added that for the Rotary Foundation and the work it does, “This is a gift that will keep on giving.”
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