Bob Garagiola called his first meeting as President to order at 12:00 Noon. Julie Neimann took the podium to lead us in her special rendition of “When the Bill’s go Marching In”. I am sure you can guess the tune. For the first time in a long time, we had accompaniment thanks to Doug Russell. Singing Karaoke made for a lot of fun. Mike Reagan provided a thoughtful invocation for our speaker.
Announcements:
- Bob provided an update on this year’s Rotary International them of “Rotary Connects the World”
- Prospective Member meetings will be held the 1st Thursday of each month. The next one will be August 1st at 11am in the Eads room. Please reach out to anyone you think might benefit from being a part of Rotary.
- New Member Jennifer Krassinger was introduced and welcomed to Club 11. Jennifer is the Founder and Executive Director of GIFT (Giving is a Family Tradition). Please make sure to introduce yourself at an upcoming meeting.
Before introducing our guests and visiting Rotarians, Sergeant-at-Arms Dan Conway told a story about his childhood and being nicknamed “motor-mouth” You’ll have to ask him for the explanation as I have known Dan as a Club 11 member for many years, but never considered him a motor-mouth.
Saint Louis University alum and super Biliken fan, Ken Schuman introduced our program Fred Pestello. Fred became the 33rd president and CEO of Saint Louis University in 2014 and is the first permanent lay president of the University since its founding in 1818. Fred provided an overview of the state of the university and the student body. Enrollment for the 2019/2020 school year is at a record high. The university is focusing on degree programs which are based on student interest. As such, STEM programs lead all degree programs at the university. The university continues to improve the campus facilities, especially on the medical campus on south grand.
After a few thoughtful questions from the audience, Bob rang the bell to close the meeting at 1:00pm
This was another great program on one of St. Louis’ premiere institutions.