 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
The Newsletter Of
The Uncommon Friends
Foundation |
|
| An “Uncommon
Evening” and was held on June 8th, 2006 at
the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa. This special
event celebrated the First
Annual Uncommon Friends Foundation Business Ethics
Award and our annual scholarship winners. Over
350 guests attended this
successful event that raised almost $30,000 for
UFF. The keynote address by Francis J. Daly,
Director (retired) of the
Ethics Program at Northrop Grumman Corporation, reminded
guests of the moral dilemmas faced by the
corporate world today and the fact that
the majority face these dilemmas with integrity
and ethical behavior. HomeBanc Mortgage received the
Business Ethics Award which was presented by Oswald
Trippe and Co. The five finalists for this
prestigious award were The Bonita Bay Group,
The American Red Cross of Lee County, HomeBanc
Mortgage, The Salvation Army,
and Colonial Bank. We were pleased to recognize all
these organizations at this event as
well as our outstanding scholarship recipients.
An added highlight of the night was the
$10,000 diamond raffle sponsored by Congress
Jewelers. Gary Trippe won the diamond
and, ‘glittering” with excitement, committed
Oswald Trippe and Co. to be the presenting
sponsor for next year’s “Uncommon Evening”
tentatively scheduled for June 7, 2007. If
you would like more information on sponsorship
opportunities or becoming an “Uncommon
Evening” committee member, please contact
Stephanie Hoffman at 337-9505 or send
and email to
uncommonfriends@mindspring.com. Don’t miss an
opportunity to make the Second
Annual “Uncommon Evening” even more special than the
first!
|
|
Francis J. Daly, Keynote Speaker |
|
(Left to Right) Tom Hoolihan,
President of the Uncommon Friends Foundation;
Nigel Fullick, Asst. Vice President of HomeBanc
Morgage; Gary Trippe, CEO of Oswald, Trippe and
Company, Inc. (HomeBanc Morgage accepting the
business ethics award). |
|
|
| Sandy Stillwell,
Uncommon Friends Foundation Board Member,
Patricia Bell, Branch Manager Embarq. |
|
| (Left to Right)
Robert Bassett, Exec. Vice President
Colonial Bank; Ray Murphy, Uncommon Friends
Foundation Board Member, Michael Esper,
Exec. Vice President of Retail Banking
Colonial Bank. |
|
|
Special
Thanks To Our Sponsors!
|
|
| (Left to Right) Mary
Benzrihem, Congress Jewelers; Gay Trippe;
Gary Trippe winners of the $10,000 diamond
giveaway. |
|
| Geoff Campbell, Owner
CMC Consultants; Julia East, Vice President
Southwest Florida Community Foundation;
Tammy Surratt, Uncommon Friends Foundation
Board Member; Todd Adams, Owner Mills-Price
& Associates. |
|
|
|
Celebrating Ethical Leadership in
Southwest Florida |
|
|
|
|
June 8, 2006
was a very busy day and proud day for Uncommon
Friends Foundation. Not only did we plan and
execute a wonderful
“Uncommon Evening” honoring our scholarship recipients
and ethics award winner but
during the day we also hosted the first of our
planned series of business ethics roundtables. The event
was co-hosted
by FGCU’s College of Business and took place on
the campus.
Over forty business leaders along with Executive MBA
students from the university
took part in this first of many roundtables.
Many of the business leaders, such as Dennis Gilkey of
The Bonita Bay Group and Heidi
Ruster of The American Red Cross of Lee
County, were invited since they were finalists in the
foundation’s first business
ethics award to be presented later that evening. Others
in attendance were sponsors of
the evening event like Richard Woodruff of
WilsonMiller and Guenther Gosch of Moorings Park. |
|
| The discussion was
moderated by nationally known business ethics
experts Frank Daly and Dawn-Marie Driscoll along
with the FGCU Uncommon Friends Chair of Ethics
Dr. Charles Fornaciari. |
Tom Hoolihan, Uncommon Friends
Foundation Board President addressing
the luncheon |
|
|
Business leaders agreed that some of their
biggest day-to-day challenges are
institutionalizing ethical behavior and earning
credibility in the community. Some of their
advice to fellow business leaders centered
around organizations needing honest leaders who
create a culture of open communication and
strong values. The second roundtable will take
place later this fall. For more information on
this, please contact Arlene Roth at 337-9505 or
uncommonfriends@mindspring.com. |
|
 |
Tom Hoolihan, Uncommon Friends Foundation
Board President; Robert Bassett, Exec. Vice
President Colonial Bank; Patricia Allen, Human
Resources Manager The Salvation Army; Francis J.
Daly, Corporate Director of Ethics and Business
Conduct (retired), Northup Grumman Corporation;
Dawn-Marie Driscoll, author of the book Ethics
Matters: How to Implement Values-Driven
Management; Dennis Gilkey, President/CEO The
Bonita Bay Group; Heidi Ruster, Executive
Director American Red Cross of Lee County; Nigel
Fullick, Asst. Vice President HomeBanc Mortgage
Corp.; and Arlene Roth, Executive Director
Uncommon Friends Foundation. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006 Scholarships Awarded |
Scholarship Spotlight |
Each year Uncommon Friends in collaboration with individual and
corporate sponsors provides scholarships to men and women in
Southwest Florida to further their educational goals. Selecting
recipients for scholarships is no easy task. Scholarship
Committee Chair Sharon Thierer and Committee Members Connie
McCormick, Alexandra Bremmer and Brenda Stewart spent hours
reviewing applications from many worthy applicants.This June,
twenty four (24) scholarships were awarded to the following:
Zuly Fernandez, Mary Streetzel, Richelande Dorrelus, Nanette
Perkins, Kimberly Allen, Ashlee Barnett, Terra Conley, Miguel
Vargas, Victoria Walker, Michael Graczyk, Evan Waldt, Corey
Peterson, Jordan Wise, Heid Brennan, Melissa Jones, Michael
Ford, Yerian Gomez, Joandry Gomez, Brian Contreras, Sanche´
Bell, Jacara Ware, Vanessa DeLaRosa, Billie-Jean Jones, and
Richard Saracione. These recipients were introduced at “An
Uncommon Evening” on June 8th and also met with Dr. Charles
Matthews that evening for a special session to recognize their
accomplishments. Congratulations!
 |
|
Scholarship recipients are remarkable men and women
whose stories remain unknown except to those closest to
them. Our Scholarship Committee has the privilege of
reviewing their stories and thus understands just how
meaningful the award is to each one. |
| One unique recipient is Ashlee Barnett, Special
Recognition Scholarship recipient. Ashlee’s last years
in Riverdale High School were particularly difficult.
Her mother abruptly moved to Ohio, leaving Ashlee and
her five siblings with their stepfather. |
 |
Uncomfortable with this situation, Ashlee
moved out and began life on her own. This was
not easy – she moved over twelve times in two
years - but part-time work enabled her to
survive and graduate from high school. As the
first in her family to earn a high school
diploma, Ashlee
has learned that perseverance and hard work pay
off. |
|
| Her next goal is to earn a college degree and
she’ll begin this quest at Edison College. No one doubts
that this “survivor” will one day be a college graduate.
Congratulations Ashlee and all other scholarship
recipients who faced significant challenges and
persevered!! You epitomize what Uncommon Friends
Foundation is all about. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From The
President: |
|
|
| George Bernard Shaw once said that “The
only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he
takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The
rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to
fit them”. Mr. Shaw’s comments about adapting to change
apply to all of us including the Uncommon Friends
Foundation. A little over a year ago, the foundation
made a decision to take a successful event and make
dramatic changes. Our annual luncheon would become a
dinner, we added a Business Ethics Award to our normal
program of issuing 25 scholarships, our expenses went up
dramatically, and to further disrupt our sleep patterns
we decided to hold the event in the slow and muggy month
of June. In management you either subscribe to “If It
Aint Broke Don’t Fix It” or “If It Aint Broke…Break It!”
Of course, the latter theory of management prevailed and
what an incredible success it was! Kudo’s to all who
participated and congratulations to the scholarship
recipients, the nominees and the winner of the Ethics
Award. |
|
| Our next adaptation to the
times includes an addition to our program of
events “The Uncommon Friends Speakers’
Symposium”. This is a personal passion of mine
and I am looking forward to helping make it a
reality. Our series will be high end, well
funded, and will feature individuals who are
changing the world while demonstrating the
qualities that our foundation embodies. Edison
College is already one of our partners and we
will be seeking out other interested individuals
|
 |
| and companies. We expect an
advisory board of 7, the inaugural main
investors in the series. Members of the advisory
board will be afforded VIP treatment including
private events with the speakers, preferred
seating, recognition, and the opportunity to
participate in the selection of the speakers.
This is a fi rst for Lee County and with our
recent population boom; I believe we are well
prepared to fi ll the auditorium. If you have an
interest in sponsorship opportunities for The
Uncommon Friends Foundation Speakers’ Symposium,
please call Arlene Roth at 337-9505 or myself at
851-1552. |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
Hello Friends |
| |
|
A big part of being a good friend is “being there”
and “being supportive” of the activities of your
friends. Uncommon Friends Foundation is just such a good
friend to two organizations and their events coming up
in our community. The first of these events is the
Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce’s Apex Award
honoring a woman for professional excellence, community
service and for actively assisting others in attaining
professional goals and leadership skills. The second is
the Rotary Club of Fort Myers’ Southwest Florida Wine
Fest which this year, in part, will be benefiting
Uncommon Friends Foundation. I mention these two events
because in the first instance, yours truly is serving on
the planning committee of this first ever event for Fort
Myers. It is an honor to recognize a woman whose
leadership, vision, economic support and promotion of
women in business in our community has contributed to
making Fort Myers a great place to live and work. Look
for the announcement of the nominees in September. In
the second instance, as a Rotarian and a member of the
Wine Fest Committee, I have watched this event grow from
a Saturday night gala into something that organizers say
will one day equal the Naples Wine Fest. Last year for
the first time Friday night chef/vintner dinners were
held in private homes in addition to the Saturday gala.
Over $130,000 was raised for children’s charities. This
year the goal is even greater and Uncommon Friends
Foundation is one of the beneficiaries of this
prestigious fundraiser. |
|
| Here are some important dates
to remember: October 27, 2006
Harborside Event Center
Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce
“Women in Business Apex Award”
Contact the chamber at 332-2930
or
www.fortmyers.org. |
 |
November 1, 2006
Member-Guest Event honoring the Lifetime
Honorary Award
Winners: Tom Smoot, Jr., The John E. & Aliese
Price Foundation,
Inc., and John Biffar
For more information please contact Uncommon
Friends Foundation
at 337-9505November 11 & 12, 2006
Rotary Club of Fort Myers
Southwest Florida Wine Fest,
For more information visit
www.SouthwestFloridaWineFest.org.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Edison Mall’s Simon Evening of Giving event
For tickets please contact Stephanie Hoffman at
337-9505
*We receive $7 of each $10 ticket sold by the
UFF.
Until next time,
ARLENE |
|
|
Fast Facts About
The Uncommon Friends Foundation
275 scholarships awarded · 20 Character
Education Teacher Awards · 1 Business Ethics Award
· 500+ Teachers Trained ·
13 Years foundation established |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
Character Education Corner |
| The legacy of Jim and Ellie Newton is
ingrained in the Foundation’s character
education elementary and high school/ adult
curricula. Transmitting this legacy to today’s
youngsters is now a full time effort of Uncommon
Friends Foundation. It is with much enthusiasm
that I have joined UFF as its first Character
Education Coordinator. I’ll be working hard to
support all those who
use our curricula and to make sure others in
Southwest Florida and beyond have an opportunity
to be introduced to it. |
 |
| |
| My career experiences in
education will serve me well in this newly
created position. I’ve been a secretary to a
principal, teacher’s aide, teaching assistant,
teacher, principal, regional staff developer,
and superintendent of schools. I know from
personal experience that each position is hard
work and each contributes significantly to the
overall development of the youngsters we serve.
I’ve always been proud to be an educator and now
I’m equally proud to be furthering character
education. Some of the initiatives I'll be
working on this year include:
- Scheduling
curricula training and follow-up sessions to
support training session participants.
- Consulting
with our Curriculum Champions, those teachers
who exhibit exceptional skill and proficiency in
the implementation of our character education
curriculum.
- Honoring our 2006 Champions at our
Teacher Award Dinner on November 14th – generous
sponsors of this special event are
Owen-Ames-Kimball and First Home Builders.
- Spreading the word about the important work of
Uncommon Friends Foundation and our curricula to
school districts and agencies. While public
schools are mandated to teach character
education, other agencies and organizations can
also use our materials to promote high standards
and positive values.
|
|
Congratulations! |
 |
Fort Myers Mayor Jim
Humphrey explains the do’s and don’ts of
being a mayor, while Uncommon Friends
Foundation Board President Tom Hoolihan
accepts the position of Honorary Mayor
of North Fort Myers. |
|
|
|
Ethics Corner |
|
Congratulations Ethics Award Winner & Finalists! |
| The Uncommon Friends Foundation
Business Ethics Award was established to
recognize organizations that exemplify standards
of high ethical behavior in how they conduct
their daily operations and during times of
crises. Now more than ever, it is important to
salute those companies that demonstrate a
commitment to business ethics at all levels of
their organization; a commitment to business
ethics in their dealings with customers,
vendors, shareholders, regulators, lenders and
the community; a commitment to business ethics
in their marketing, communications and sales
practices; and finally, have a reputation within
their industry and their communities for a
commitment to business ethics. A national panel
of respected ethics professionals selected the
award recipient from twenty two applications
submitted by business, political, community, and
religious leaders from the five-county area. One
of the panel members was Dawn-Marie Driscoll, of
Cape Coral, author of Ethics Matters: How to
Implement Values-Driven Management and an
executive fellow and advisory board member of
the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley
College in Waltham, MA. |
| Congratulations to Home-Banc
Mortgage Corporation for being the
recipient of the Uncommon Friends
Foundation’s First Annual Business
Ethics Award! HomeBanc’s
“associates-first” culture is embedded
in its mission statement - “To enrich
and fulfill lives by serving each other, |
 |
| Tom Hoolihan, URR Board
President congratulating Nigel
Fullick, Homebanc Mortgage Vice
President. |
|
|
| our
customers and communities . . . as we support
the dream of home ownership.” Nigel Fullick, Homebanc Mortgage Vice
President had the honor of accepting
this award for his firm. |
| Finalists for this prestigious
award also deserve congratulations. Included in
this group were The American Red Cross of Lee
County; The Bonita Bay Group; Colonial Bank of
Southwest Florida; and The Salvation Army. |
| All these organizations
demonstrate a system-wide commitment to business
ethics and the values inherent in the mission of
Uncommon Friends Foundation. |
 |
| left to right: Tammy Surratt, UFF
Board Member; Tom Hoolihan, UFF Board
President; Heidi Ruster, Lee Co. Red
Cross Exec. Director; Kitty Green, The
Bonita Bay Group Vice President;
Patricia Allen, The Salvation Army Human
Resources Manager; Meg Geltner, The
Salvation Army Exec. Director; Robert
Basset, Colonial Bank Exec. Vice
President; and Arlene Roth, UFF Exec.
Director. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
Uncommon Friends Foundation
Members 2006 New/Renewed
Uncommon Friends Foundation Members Since April 2006!!!
Corporate Members
-
Mariner Properties Development, Inc.
-
Priority Marketing of SW Florida,
Inc.
-
Raymond Building Supply
-
Tri-Circle Pavers, Inc.
Family Members
Individual Members
-
Patricia Archambault
-
Donna Bolen
-
Robert Clarke
-
Paul Herring
-
Mrs. Jane Hipps
-
Peggy Hummel
-
Raymond P. Murphy
-
Reverend Jon Zehnder
It’s not too late to join this elite
list of Uncommon Friends
Foundation members for 2006!!
Don’t miss out on all the
exciting things at the Uncommon Friends Foundation
and
fill out the membership
application today.
|
Marketing / Membership
Coordinator The Uncommon Friends
Foundation announces the appointment of
Stephanie Hoffman to the position of marketing/
membership coordinator. According to Arlene
Roth, Executive Director of The Foundation,
Stephanie will be responsible for all aspects of
membership recruitment and retention including
member/guest events, |
 |
|
communications and Web site maintenance. Prior
to her position with Uncommon Friends
Foundation, Stephanie was an office assistant
with The Customer Club in Fort Myers, where she
provided marketing assistance and database
management. Stephanie has a 2006 Bachelor of
Science degree in marketing from Florida Gulf
Coast University. |
|
|
Bring Charitable
Giving Into Your Estate Plan
In addition to the altruistic
and goodwill benefits any charitable
contribution brings, it can also have
significant tax advantages. When deciding your
estate-planning strategies, consider a
charitable contribution to help the charity of
your choice as well as provide you with a steady
stream of income and potential tax benefits.
There are different
options for setting up a charitable contribution
through your estate plan. The easiest is a
simple bequest through your will. Remember that
charitable contributions are 100% deductible
from estate taxes. |
Tammy Surratt
President, Legacy
Wealth Group |
| |
|
|
Charitable Remainder Trusts |
| |
| What
may be more beneficial for you than a simple
bequest is a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT). A
CRT offers flexibility, an income stream for
life or a number of years, and significant tax
benefits to you and your heirs. A CRT is an
irrevocable, tax-exempt trust in which you place
assets to provide income for you during a
specific period of time (i.e., your lifetime or
a term not to exceed 20 years). At the end of
that period, the remaining assets will be turned
over to the charity of your choice. The trust
can be funded with a wide assortment of assets,
including bonds, mutual funds, stocks and real
estate. There are multiple benefits to
establishing a CRT, including no capital gains
taxes on assets transferred to a CRT, the
potential to generate substantial income or the
donor and income tax deductions for the donor.
|
| |
|
Foundation |
| |
| Though
a CRT may sound like the ideal choice for your
charitable bequests and estate planning needs,
another possibility is setting up a foundation
allowing systematic gifts to an area of special
importance to you, the founder. For instance,
foundations can fund college scholarships,
research grants and the maintenance of
collections or real estate. Although foundations
fell out of favor with some wealthier
individuals after the Tax Reform Act of 1969
eliminated some of their tax advantages, they
are still highly utilized to preserve and foster
an individual’s or family’s philanthropic
legacy. |
| |
|
A
Win-Win Proposition |
| |
| When planning your
estate, you should consider making a charitable
contribution. In addition to the altruistic
benefits of donating to charity, you can also
gain significant tax advantages. Though perhaps
one of the more popular estate planning tools is
the CRT, you might consider the benefits of
other options as well. Talk to your financial
advisor or legal counsel to determine which
option is right for you. |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
Board of Directors |
|
Tom Hoolihan, Jr., President
Owner, Heritage Residential Group of Florida Inc.
Nancy Humphrey, Vice-President
Community Volunteer
Tammy Surratt, Secretary
President, Legacy Wealth Group
Leslie D’Alessandro, Treasurer
Partner, Wiltshire, Whitley, Richardson, & English
CPAs
John Albion, Lee County Commissioner
Alexandra Bremner, Head Start Teacher
Larry Byrnes, Ph.D., Professor of
Education at FGCU
Berne Davis, Philanthropist
Amy Gravina, APR, President, Gravina,
Smith & Matte
Robley Greilick, Newton Family Member
Randall Henderson, Jr., City of Fort
Myers Councilman
Kerrey Hoolihan, Realtor, Vision One
Realty Group
Robert R. Jones, Ed.D., District
Executive Vice President and
Campus President of the Lee
Campus of Edison College
Lenny Katz, Financial Advisor, UBS
Terri Kinsey, Grants Coordinator, Lee
County School District
Reggie Knight, Retired Non-Profit
Executive
David C. McCormick, Ph.D., Emeritus
University Professor and
Administrator
|
Connie McCormick, Retired Health
Administrator
Drew Mikulaschek, M.D., Director of the
Department of Trauma &
Surgical Critical Care for Lee Memorial
Health Systems
Ray Murphy, Owner, R.P. Murphy &
Associates, Inc.
Fran Myers, Owner, The Gulf View Shops
and Red Coconut RV Resort
David Robinson, Ph.D., President
Emeritus, Edison College
Robbie Roepstorff, President, Edison
National Bank & Bank of the
Islands
Bruce Schultz, President and CEO of
Southwest Capital Holdings,
Inc.
Mike Scott, Lee County Sheriff
Elinor Scricca, Ph.D., Board Member, Lee
County School Board
Roxie Smith, Owner, Pink Shell
Development
Ken Sneeden, Owner, Ken Sneeden &
Associates
Sandra Stilwell, Owner, Captiva Island
Inn & Stilwell Enterprises
Sharon Thierer, Retired, Congressional
Regional Director
Linda Uhler, Community Volunteer
Jody Van Cooney, Retired Educator
Steven R. Whitley, Partner, Wiltshire,
Whitley, Richardson, English,
CPAs
Bob Wigley, Vice President and Director
of Great Plains Companies
|
|
| |
| { End of
Summer 2006 Newsletter } |
| |
|
HELLO FRIENDS
is mailed courtesy of GBSI Information Services, Inc.
939-7801 |
|
| |
| ^ top |
| |
|
|
|
