By: Guadalupe Monarrez
BOCA RATON, Fla.- It was quite the event as the Rotary Club of Boca Raton West held its Installation Dinner on Tuesday, June 26th at Picanha Brazil.
It was a night to celebrate every one’s contributions as members of the club, but especially Marco Dombrowski. Dombrowski, owner of Picanha Brazil, was inducted as the new President of 2012-2013.
On Tuesday night, Dombrowski became only the 3rd President of the club’s history succeeding Douglas Heizer and Francisco Pessoa.
“Thank you to all the guests,” Dombrowski acknowledged, “we had a vision for the club, it persisted, and we won.”
A bittersweet ending, the meeting marked Francisco Pessoa’s final meeting as club President and the end of a successful year.
“Today is a joy for Marco, I want to wish Marco much success in the upcoming year,” Pessoa praised, “I want to give thanks to God for the privileges I have had and to my family. To the members of the club, who were sensational this year.”
Primarily made up of Brazilian members, the Rotary Club of Boca Raton West is the first club to address members in the Portuguese language. In attendance, were members of the Brazilian media and members of the Brazilian Consulate from the city of Miami.
“Contact is vital,” Pessoa said, “I want to thank the members of the Brazilian Consulate for paying special attention to the club and how the club can participate with the Consulate in Miami.”
“I want to thank the media from Brazil, who have helped tremendously. I would love to continue to have help from the media,” Dombrowski added.
During his speech, Pessoa made light of the charitable projects the club was involved in throughout the past year. The club was responsible for giving dictionaries to children, giving educational talks to schools in Boca Raton to avoid bad behavior, and helping deprived mothers in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.
In accordance with the George Snow Foundation, the Rotary Club presented a check for $5,000 to help fund a student scholarship. The scholarship will help a student of Brazilian nationality further their college education.
“We don’t want to discriminate against other nationalities,” Dombrowski said, “but, the club would like to be able to help support someone of Brazilian descent.”
The meeting also served to pay great homage to our very own, Douglas Heizer. In its humble beginnings, Heizer had a vision of creating a Brazilian Rotary Club in Boca Raton. With that vision, Heizer became the first President of the Boca Raton West chapter.
“Thank you to Douglas for being so persistent,” Pessoa recognized, “we would not be here if it were not for him.”
From everyone at the Boca Raton Tribune, we would like to congratulate Marco Dombrowski for becoming the new President of Rotary Club Boca Raton West and wish him a successful year!