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Jacksonville Florida's Oldest Business and Civic Organization Founded in 1932

Membership News

Our club is having a great year with membership, and it shows with your attendance and all of the guests we have been meeting.  Please remember to bring your guests to one of our meetings.  We will be giving out $100 cash to the member that brings in the most guests for the month of February.  At the end of March we will give away another $150 to the member that brings in the most new members for February and March.  If you have any questions, please contact Scott Schilbrack at scott@luteninsurance.com .

Scott Schilbrack,

2012 SBMC Membership Chair

Learn about SBMC Vice President Jepp Walter

Some things you may not have known about our 1st Vice President, Jepp Walter:

  • Grew up in Neptune Beach
  • First 17 year old in Jacksonville to get a Captain’s License (charter fishing)
  • Flew with the Thunderbirds (once) – Air Force’s version of the Blue Angels
  • Has 3 college degrees…  most useless one?  BS in Air Traffic Management
  • Used to be an Air Traffic Controller, fired by Ronald Reagan during the historical ATC strike
  • Was an ‘A’ racquetball player in Jacksonville, won a regional tournament in that category
  • Managed Burger Kings for almost 10 years
  • Caught a 14 foot long Hammerhead Shark when I was 16 years old
  • Won 2nd place ‘Airman of the Quarter’ in the entire Air Force worldwide
  • Certified (no, not certifiable) Diver when I was 14 years old
  • 2 time Small Business Leader of the Year for Downtown Council of the Chamber of Commerce
  • Rappelled 450 feet down the AT&T tower in Downtown Jacksonville last May
  • Used to have my hair ‘thinned out’ because it was ‘too thick’ they used to say.  See what they did?

That’s enough…

This weeks guest speaker and learning more about SBMC officers

The tax season is just around the corner and I look forward to learning more about the latest tax law updates from our speaker Sam Froio this week. Sam has been with the Internal Revenue Service since 1984 and he is currently a Senior Tax Specialist with the Small Business/Self Employed Division.

I hope you will join us this week and invite others to attend this informative meeting. Our meeting last week was well attended with 93 people in attendance. To ensure that San Jose Country Club has proper seating and prepares a right amount of food for our group, please RSVP to our Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick Heatherington at patrickheatherington@synovus.com.

As I mentioned in my latest message, starting this week, the SBMC members will have the opportunity to learn more about our Officers and Board Members when they read a brand new section in the newsletter “SBMC 2012 Leadership Team”.  In this issue, we are featuring Jepp Walter, our 1st Vice President.  Please continue checking our newsletters to learn more about our Officers as they are scheduled to be featured here on:

Nancy Bennett, 2nd VP, March 4
Annie Houghton, 3rd VP, March 18
Tim Howe, 4th VP, April 1
Mark Wilkinson, Treasurer, April 15
Patrick Heatherington, Sgt.-at-Arms, April 29

Galina Schott, 2012 SBMC President

Membership Corner

I would like to welcome our new members and remind them to attend a New Member Orientation at the San Jose Country Club this coming week, February 15th, at 11am. After the Orientation you will be inducted into the club during our regular meeting.

As an added incentive, we are offering some friendly competitions to draw new members — at the end of February we will award $100 to the member bringing in the most guests during February; at the end of March we will award $150 to the member who has brought in the most new members for February and March combined.

Margie Seaman
2012 Membership Co-Chair

Welcome New Members

At the beginning of this year, I was given a great opportunity to introduce myself to our club and to the entire Jacksonville community when our own Karen Mathis featured my profile in the Financial News and Daily Record.

I have decided to extend the same opportunity to the SBMC Officers and Board members by featuring them in our newsletter.  Starting next week, we will be introducing them here under a brand new section “SBMC 2012 Leadership Team”.  Please check our newsletter next week and learn more about Jepp Walter, our 1st Vice President.

Now, I am happy to introduce you to our new members who have been approved by the SBMC Board last week and THANK their sponsors for supporting our membership growth:

New Member Sponsor
John Dietzen, Wells Fargo Bank Ramona Baldwin
Molly Haston, Junior Achievement Rita Story
Penny Kievet, City Rescue Mission Mike White
Joe Markley, First Florida Credit Union P. Heatherington
Kellyn Roy, PrimePay of Florida, Inc. Mark Wilkinson
Susan Shacka, LaMee Florist Rose Jackson
Michael Stroupe, Comcast Business Class Jon Hall
Steve Goranson, Action COACH Hank Duckworth
Mark Holland, Dutch Built Construction, Inc Hank Duckworth
Jeff Spadafora, George A. Zellner Company Hank Duckworth

Please welcome our new members to the Club and encourage them to join one of our committees.

Galina Schott,
2012 SBMC President

New Membership Co-Chair and Friendly Membership Competition

Lauds to Scott Schilbrack of Luten Insurance for stepping up to be the SBMC Membership Co-Chair.  As always, we have a friendly membership competition going on in the club… One member with the most guests in February will receive $100.  At the end of March, the member with the most new memberships will receive $150.

Please keep bringing new members in, as we will have a grand prize valued at $1,000 for a person bringing in the most new members in 2012. Remember, attendance at SBMC luncheons is a privilege… and a real opportunity to make rich relationships and real money. See you Wednesday, at Southside Business Men’s Club (this week, at the University Club)

Margie Seaman,
2012 Membership Chair

Great Meet-A-Member and Super Bowl Trivia

What a great Meet-A-Member we had last Thursday!  My special thanks to Carter Funk of Deluxe Cleaners for sponsoring this event. I, along with many of our members, enjoyed meeting his family and staff and learning about his impressive business operation.

This newsletter is being published on Sunday, February 5, 2012 and it’s a Super Bowl Sunday!  Like many of you, I will be watching the NFL Super Bowl XLVI — Giants vs Patriots.  To get you in the spirits, I’d like to offer you some Super Bowl trivia… So, here are

10 Super Bowl Trivia Questions:

1. What year was the first Super Bowl played?
2. In what city was the first Game played?
3. Name the teams that played in the first Game, and who won?
4. Which team(s) have played in the most Super Bowl Games?
5. Which team has won the most Super Bowl Games?
6. Which team made it to the Super Bowl in consecutive years: 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994, but lost each Game?
7. Which team(s) have lost the most Super Bowl Games?
8. Who was named Most Valuable Player at the Super Bowl XLV Game in 2011?
9. Which team has won every time it has played in the Super Bowl?
10. What position on a team has received the most Super Bowl MVP awards?

How did you do? — Look for the trivia answers at the end of this newsletter. Enjoy the big game and I will see you on Wednesday.

Galina Schott,

2012 SBMC President

answers
1. January 15, 1967
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Green Bay Packers 35 – Kansas City Chiefs 10
4. With eight games each, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers, with six wins
6. Buffalo Bills
7. Denver Broncos have played in six games and lost four. Minnesota Vikings have played in four games and lost four. Buffalo Bills have played in four games and lost four.
8. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers
9. The San Francisco 49ers have played five times and have won five times.
10. Quarterback

Latest President’s Message

The month of January is almost over and I thought that it would be a good idea for me to share my goals and my vision for the Club with all SBMC members.  My message below is for all of you, but especially for members who were unable to attend our 1st meeting in 2012.

It is a great honor and a privilege for me to be your President this year. Thank you for placing your trust and confidence in me to lead our Club in 2012.  For many years, the SBMC has worked hard for the improvement and betterment of Jacksonville.  We are proud of our history and our accomplishments.  This year, we will continue to support projects our Club has sponsored in the past.  We will also keep our core values and traditions close to our hearts.

Today, I feel that there are more areas for which we have prepared ourselves to invest our time, talent, and resources.  One of my objectives for the Club this year is to increase recognition of the SBMC in our community.  As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, I am calling 2012 “A Year to Share”, which I believe, as a Club, we already do very well.

As members of the SMBC, we share a common goal to serve the greater Jacksonville area. We share our love for the Club with others by inviting them to join us in making a difference in our community. Membership is the heart of our Club, the source of its life. With strong and committed Membership, we will pursue greater dreams, we’ll pursue programs and projects that will address significant concerns of our community.  It is why I am asking you to support our Membership growth through the year.

Since many people in our community have been negatively impacted by the economic downturn, it is my hope that we can share our resources with those less fortunate. I encourage you to find meaning in some of our Club’s activities that are close to your heart. Your involvement determines where the Club is today and where it will be in the future.

Our Club starts its 80th year in a strong financial and leadership position. I am fortunate to work with a team of dedicated Officers, Board members, and Committee Chairs and I promise you that we will work very hard to make 2012 one of the most memorable years in the history of the Club. I also promise you that we will have fun creating long-lasting memories. On behalf of our leadership team, I want to thank you for your support, your friendship, and for the opportunity to serve.

In conclusion, I’d like to share with you a quote from Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is success.”  Let’s make 2012 significant for our Organization!  I am proud to be a leader of such a dedicated group of Men and Women this year and I look forward to sharing a successful year with all of you.

Galina Schott,
2012 SBMC President

Membership Directory Photos

LAST CHANCE FOR FREE PICTURES

Steve and Nancy Bennett, Living Image Photography, will be taking pictures at the University Club this Wednesday, February 1st, before the luncheon.  Please plan on arriving early.

If you’re unable to attend the meeting, please call Nancy at 730-8585 to schedule your appointment for a FREE business photograph to be included in the SBMC Membership Directory.

Meeting Location

Our meetings on February 1st and February 8th will be held at:

The University Club
1301 Riverplace Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL

Parking will be available in the flat lot at the west end of the property or the garage on the east end.  The first hour is free; each additional hour is $1.00.  Our regular meetings will reconvene at San Jose Country Club on February 15th.

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