Southside Business Men's Club

Filed under: President's Message by Southside Business Men's Club Monday, April 23rd, 2012
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We are lucky to belong to one of the finest business, social and civic clubs in the country (though not always in that order).  And it keeps getting better.  We are doing more than fostering inter-business relationships; we are improving life in a myriad of ways throughout the greater Jacksonville area. And every new member empowers us that much more to make a greater difference. Steadily growing our membership will enable us to accomplish all of our goals for the club, benefit our business’ bottom line and help us leave a bigger, longer-lasting impression on our community.

I look forward to meeting more of your friends as guests at upcoming meetings and hopefully swearing them in as members not long after. I can’t wait to see what the bright future holds for our club and the kind of things we will be able to undertake and accomplish for the betterment of Jacksonville. Not to mention the kind of parties we are going to throw!

Before this coming Wednesday’s meeting, April 18th, there will be an orientation for new members who will be sworn in and officially inducted at the meeting. Please do your best to be in attendance and to meet our new members and make them feel welcome.

Scott Schilbrack, 2012 Membership Chair
Julie Wesling, 2012 Membership Co-Chair

Filed under: Membership by Southside Business Men's Club Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
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Some things you may not know about our Treasurer:

Mark A. Wilkinson, CPA has over 27 years experience in public accounting, providing accounting, tax consulting, financial planning and management advisory services for individuals and small business in a variety of industries.

Mark was born in Bradenton, Florida and has lived all his life in Florida. He attended University of Florida, but left after 2 years with a broken heart and to pursue the glamorous life as a tomato migrant worker. Mark worked in the tomato business in Florida, South Carolina and California. After getting smart, he returned to school and earned his B.S. degree in Accounting from Florida State University. Mark was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in Florida in 1981, he has been living in Jacksonville for the last 32 years. Mark was President of Southside Business Men’s Club in 1996. He was the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Accounting Advocate of the Year in 1997 and the SBMC Small Business Man of the Year in 2008.

Mark has been married to his lovely wife Jonni for 30+ years and has two sons, Nicholas and Chase. Both boys graduated from college are now off his payroll and are bonafide taxpayers

Filed under: General by Southside Business Men's Club Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
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There is a lot of publicity today about the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic disaster. This week, I wanted to find out what else happened on April 15th in History. I’ve found some historical facts that I’d like to share with you today:

1755 - Samuel Johnson publishes his Dictionary of the English Language.
1800 - James Ross discovers North Magnetic pole Compass; sales go through the roof.
1817 - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc found the American School for the Deaf, called the “American Asylum for Deaf-Mutes”, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, CT.
1865 - The American president Abraham Lincoln dies without regaining consciousness after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth.
1892 - The General Electric Company is formed.
1912 - The British passenger liner, the RMS Titanic, sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two and a half hours after hitting an iceberg. 1,517 people are killed.
1923 - Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
1924 - Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
1927 - The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in U.S. history, begins.
1947 - Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line and scored the game-winning run.
50 years later, on April 15, 1997, his number 42, is retired.
1955 - McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Here is the last fact that seems to be appropriate for April 15th: Number of dependents (possibly dogs, cats, and imaginary friends) that vanished when the IRS began requiring names and Social Security numbers on tax forms in 1988: 7,000,000.

I hope you’ve found this part of our newsletter today interesting; have a great week and I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Galina Schott,
2012 SBMC President

Filed under: President's Message by Southside Business Men's Club Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
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All new members who have not experienced the Beer Festival, this is one of our major fundraisers for the SBMC year. Beer Festival is a civic event created for the benefit of Southside Business Men’s Club and recently added the Chamber of Commerce. The founder of this event is our SBMC member Mike White, the President of Client Focused Media. This is a huge logistical accomplishment which relies heavy upon our SBMC labor volunteers to fulfill the needs to serve the 4500 to 5000 guest attendees. The labor assignments are divided into these following work groups which consists of 50 volunteers:

1. Pre-party Setup crew (assist Vendors’ display set ups and supplies).

2. Security check in Crew (I.D. Verification)

3. Glassware setup and hand-out Crew (4500 5oz glasses)

4. Silent auction table attendants Crew (also solicit for table gift donations)

5. Random floor assignment Crew (assisting vendors various tasks)

Signup sheets for each of the crews will be available at the meetings. Also consider asking SBMC guests if they would like to experience the SBMC event, as well. Please contact AJ Richwine alias ( AJ PoorBeer ) at 904-610-5599. http://www.beerfestjax.com

Filed under: General by Southside Business Men's Club Monday, April 9th, 2012
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ATTENTION: The TPC sign up book was left at the last meeting and is now missing. If you signed up last Wednesday 4/4, you need to either go to the SBMC website and sign up again. Or email the Chairman of the event Steve DeSorbo at steved@jaxbenefits.com to let him know what day and time you signed up for. He will need your email address and cell phone for the list also.

TPC is May 7th to May 13th and Volunteer Sign Up is now in progress. The SBMC provides volunteers to work the TPC food and beverage tent adjacent to the 18th landing spot. Our team members run cash registers, prepare and serve food and beverages throughout the week. This is an annual fundraising event for the Club and is always a fun way to get to know your fellow members. We have a need for volunteers every day. But of course the good times go first so don’t delay.

A drawing for $100 CASH (2 winners) will be held the Wednesday following the tournament. Your name will be entered into the drawing once for every shift you work.
***Anyone working SUNDAY will have their name entered 2 TIMES***
You don’t need to be a member to participate in this fun event. Recruit your family, employees, friends, etc. You will get a day pass to the event so you can enjoy the TPC when you aren’t working your shift.

There will be a sign up notebook passed around all SBMC lunch meetings from now until the event. Please go on line to sign-up as a volunteer at http://www.southsidebusinessmensclub.com or contact the TPC Chairman, Steve De Sorbo at steved@jaxbenefits.com, call 281-0511 ext 314 to let him know what days you are interested in signing up for.

Steve DeSorbo, 2012 TPC Chair
Michael Gullion, 2012 TPC Co-Chair

Filed under: General by Southside Business Men's Club Monday, April 9th, 2012
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On February 3rd, 1982 recognizing the years of work to secure an overpass at University and Philips highway, the Department of Transportation invited the Club to the site at the onset of construction. Then, each member present signed his name on the first piling. Names like T. Marvin Duncan, Robert (Fuzzy) Cox, R. L. Hill Jr., W. T. Carter, just to name a few. After they signed their names, Mayor Jake Godbold climbed up on the pile driver and drove it into the ground.

At its completion in March of 1983, we met for lunch on top of the overpass for the dedication ceremonies where the Mayor, local, state dignitaries, and officers of the Club cut the ribbon opening the overpass to vehicular traffic.

Immediately after the ceremony, the decorations and ribbons were hastily pushed aside as the first vehicle to cross the new overpass was an ambulance on an emergency run.

Your Historian,
Crump Kirby

Filed under: General by Southside Business Men's Club Monday, April 9th, 2012
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Congratulations to Hank Duckworth for winning the quarter’s contest for most new members. This is Hank’s second consecutive win but we will be announcing the next membership challenge this Wednesday and you’ll have an opportunity to upset the latest champ. Besides from being the only man in town whose Mustache is envied by Shahid Khan, Hank is proving to be a model club member. Thanks to Hank and many of you we have several new members joining each month and there is a new buzz around town about the SBMC. Let’s go out of our way to greet and meet and engage our new members at every opportunity.

Scott Schilbrack,
2012 SBMC Membership Chair

Filed under: General by Southside Business Men's Club Monday, April 9th, 2012
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Happy Easter! Since this newsletter is published on Sunday, April 8th, when many of our members celebrate Easter, my message today is about faith.

Easter is observed throughout the globe by the Christian community, and it’s welcomed by Christians with hope and joy. This holiday brings us close to our family and friends, giving us another reason to celebrate the joy and pleasure of unison.

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” Throughout our lives, we hear people say “I’ll believe it when I see it, because seeing is believing” – we hear it so much we accept it as truth, when in fact the opposite is true.

After Walt Disney’s death, his brother Roy spoke to a journalist at the opening of Disney World in Florida. The journalist reflected that it was a shame Walt hadn’t lived to see the marvelous spectacle. Roy replied: “Walt saw it before any of us – that’s why you’re seeing it today”. Walt Disney had created it in his mind and had faith in his ability to manifest what he imagined.

A quote of the week: “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe”.
Saint Augustine

Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Galina Schott,
2012 SBMC President

Filed under: President's Message by Southside Business Men's Club Monday, April 9th, 2012
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Some things you might not know about our 4th Vice President, Tim Howe:

-Started a lawn mowing business at the age of 10 while living in Kentucky; promptly bought my first Lynyrd Skynyrd album

-Continued mowing for 4 years, buying 4 more Skynyrd albums along the way

-Ran over a manhole cover with the mower, thus, ending the lawn mowing business; Skynyrd’s plane crashed on October 20th 1977. Life changed forever

-Rode my bike (with money earned from mowing yards) to and from a job waiting tables in a hotel restaurant (actually was downhill on the way home); bought another Skynyrd album

-Earned more money and bought a car; bought the last good Skynyrd album and a Rossington-Collins cassette tape…not the same as Skynyrd, became a Rush fan

-Graduated high school and entered the U S Army in 1981; bought more Rush cassettes

-1985 bought my first CD while on deployment in West Germany (Joe Walsh-The Confessor)

-Entered college, worked at same hotel restaurant from high school; Classic Rock became popular on radio and I didn’t have to buy substandard new rock any longer (Tears For Fears)

-Graduated May 1989 with a BS in Business Management, moved to Florida and managed a Burger King (not Jepp’s); decent Classic Rock station in Fort Myers, rode bus with the station’s DJs to Rolling Stones concert in Tampa

-1990 got a job with Marriott and moved to North Carolina; great Classic Rock station in Greensboro

-1993 moved to Jacksonville, worked at the Landing’s L&N Seafood; great Classic Rock station at Jax Beach; later became the first new rock station in Jax and I stopped listening

-September 2003, joined SBMC; convert remainder of album/cassette collection to CDs

-February 2005, opened my home inspection business; had satellite radio installed in SUV

-Met Annie just before housing market collapses; she introduces me to new music

-January 2007, start training/working as a residential real estate appraiser, while waiting for housing market to improve; check out a lot of CDs at the public library

-2012 housing market still down; music collection virtually complete and transferred to iTunes on computer and I never listen to the radio or anybody’s music I don’t like (Boston, Foreigner, Doors)

-Oh, and over the past 25 years I have also been married and divorced twice and had 3 sons.

Filed under: General by Southside Business Men's Club Monday, April 2nd, 2012
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