Events

Michael Spraggins Jr. is a 4th generation Floridian whose family has extensive Rotary Club of Orlando history. His grandfather WA McCree, father, great uncle, uncle, cousin, and others were and are very active in Orlando Rotary.  Today, Michael is the CEO of Spraggins Inc., a 39 year old Orlando based building products and specialty construction business with operations throughout Florida.  

In 2009, Michael founded an African focused non-profit, LifeNet International.  Today, LifeNet franchises faith based health centers and hospitals in four African countries.  Serving well over 1 million patients per year and operating in over 100 healthcare facilities, LifeNet is using innovative service delivery in collaboration with the local church to transform African health care.  

Michael has been married for 21 years to Beth and has three children Sarah Beth (19), Emma (17) and Ben (6).

Fritz Scheller, a graduate of University of California at Berkley, has been working as a federal defender in Central Florida since 2002 and now serves as a counselor for the Federal Middle District of Florida. In that role, he represents clients who otherwise could not afford legal representation in a federal case.

Scheller's firm focuses on cases involving appeals, federal prosecution, immigration removal proceedings, white-collar crimes, IRS tax cases and more. Scheller employs a three-pronged approach involving investigation, mitigation and litigation when it comes to defending his clients.

Most notably, Scheller defending Groveland Police Department officer Cindy Homelius who was fired and arrested after using a department credit card to buy party supplies for the department-sponsored Explorer Scout post. The charges against Homelius were dropped and the Public Employees Relations Commission ruled that the city was retaliating against Homelius because she was trying to bring a union to the department.

You will meet our Group Study Exchange team, (Left to Right) Voncara Daly, Greg Territo, Denise Behling, Bryan Moman, Amanda Gunter and Fred Jones.  The team will be sharing their recent trip to Australia and the future of the Group Study Exchange.

Dan Bone joins us from Franklin Templeton, where he has spent the last 25 years of a 35 year career in Investment Management. Dan is a Vice President and Senior Advisor Consultant and works with financial advisors throughout Central and North Florida….Dan holds a CIMA designation ( Certified Investment Management Analyst ) from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Dan is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, and has lived here in Central Florida since 1984.

Dan and his beautiful wife Betsy recently celebrated their 34thwedding anniversary, and they have two grown (and married!) children, Emily and Jeff.

David Morillo was born and raised in the South Bronx.  He currently serves as the Strategic Relationship Manager at Full Sail University.  David’s main objective is to ensure that the university remains on task in developing mutually advantageous partnerships and relationships with organizations.

He delivers a positive impact to K-12 learners, college students, and industry professionals through the power of technology and innovation.  David’s academic background includes a B.S. in Internet Marketing and an M.S. in Instructional Design & Technology.

David and his wife Dayana serve as licensed ministers under Love Gospel Worship Center of Orlando, a non-denominational Christ-centered church located in Orlando, FL.  They have two girls, Emma Grace and Esther Joy.

Dick Batchelor is a former member of the Florida House of Representatives and is president of Dick Batchelor Management Group, Inc. During his eight years of legislative service, Batchelor held several leadership roles. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as a member of a U.S. delegation to South Africa to observe the elections and meet with president Nelson Mandela, and later to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.

Batchelor established his own consulting group in 1986 that specializes in business development, strategic governmental affairs and public policy issues. In 2002, Batchelor was named “Central Floridian of the Year” by the Orlando Sentinel for his successful efforts to generate more than $2 billion in funding for Orange County Public Schools.
 
Batchelor has served as the honorary chairman of the “Dick Batchelor Run for the Children” since 1981. It is the largest annual fundraiser for the Howard Phillips Center for Children and Families— part of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.In addition to his annual “Run for the Children,” Dick Batchelor is an advocate for a number of children’s causes, both locally and nationally. In 2010, he was the recipient of the LawtonChiles Advocacy Award and has been named among the “50 Most Powerful People in Orlando” on numerous occasions.

John W. Bozard  is senior vice president, Orlando Health; president, Orlando Health Foundation; and president, Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation. John joined Orlando Health in 1977 as an internal auditor and has held numerous positions including financial analyst; director and vice president of Finance; president, vice president and executive director of Arnold Palmer Hospital; and vice president of Business Development.

A graduate of Florida State University, John is a CPA and certified fundraising executive. He is the current national chairman of the board of trustees for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Mr. Bozard serves on LIFT Orlando Impact Investment Fund Committee. He also is a member of the Florida Baptist Financial Services Board, Florida Baptist Retirement Center Board and New York City-based Board of the Foreign Service Fellowship.

John has previously served as a board member of Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation,  Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Frontline Outreach, Better Business Bureau, Parent Resource Center, Visiting Nurses Association, FSU College of Medicine, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida. John also served on the Sun Trust Administrative Board and the Clear Channel Advisory Board, and he is a past chairman of the Orange County Citizens Commission for Children, the board of trustees of First Baptist Church/Orlando, and Community Hospitals and Healthcare Systems.

Ron joined Rotary in 1991 and a year later was named the club's Rotarian of the year.  He has held several officer and director positions including President 3 times.  In 2003, Ron and his wife Sue were jointly awarded the club's Service Above Self Award.

Ron has served twice as a District Service Chair, three times as an Assistant Governor, a RYLA Group Leader and is a Rotary Leadership Institute Discussion leader before being named the 2018-19 District Governor.   He has hosted Homestay and several GSE team members.  In 2013-14, he received the District Spirit of Rotary Above and Beyond Award.   

He has been married to his wife, Sue for 45 years. They met skiing, and love to travel, having visited 6 continents and nearly 50 countries.

Ron is a member of the Paul Harris Society, a level two Bequest Society member and a Major Donor.

David Henry is a Contract Administrator with the Department of Defense in Orlando where he manages a portfolio of nineteen contractors and over two hundred supply and service contracts. He periodically deploys to support military or humanitarian missions, worldwide. His most recent deployment was with NATO in Afghanistan from 2017-2018.

Prior to joining the Department of Defense, David was a Warranted Contracting Officer with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a YMCA Executive, and served 26 years with the US Army and Air Force where he flew F-105G and F-4D fighter aircraft as a Combat Systems Officer.
 

David was presented the Exceptional Service Award by the Civil Air Patrol in 1993 for his 26 years of volunteer work with that organization. In 1996 David was selected as the YMCA of the USA National Volunteer of the Year and was also recognized by the Savannah Guardian Newspaper with the Celebrate Savannah Award for his work with YMCA youth sports. In 2005, he was honored as the Branch Executive of the Year by the YMCA Professional Association of Georgia.

David is a founding member of the Rotary Club of Pooler, GA while he and his wife Lisa are members of our Rotary Club.

David is a graduate of Georgia State University-BS, Air Command and Staff College, and Purdue Global University-MPA. He enjoys running, backpacking, alpine climbing, and travelling with his wife Lisa.

Grant Cornwell took office as 15^th president of Rollins College in 2015, following eight years as president of The College of Wooster and 21 years at St. Lawrence University as vice president and dean of academic affairs, and as a faculty member.

Nationally recognized for his work in defining liberal learning in a global environment, he writes regularly about multiculturalism, freedom, diversity, and global citizenship. Cornwell is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and chairs the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ LEAP Presidents’ Trust.

He is also a member of the executive committee of Florida Campus Compact and has served on the boards of AAC&U and Teach for America, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Literacy Advisory Board, and the American Council on Education’s Commission on International Initiatives.

He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and biology from St. Lawrence, and master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Chicago.

Anthi Christou is an expert on urban resilience, is Resilience Communications Manager of the City of Athens, Greece.  For the past decade, Athens has experienced a serious socio-economic crisis.  Through concerted efforts, it has managed to survive, adapt and transform into a more creative and collaborative city  Through partnerships with NGOs, academic institutions, private organizations and others, the municipality has built robust networks for critical relief, social services and other initiatives.

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Christou has a diverse background in law and communication studies, along with a passion for urban politics, social media and networking.  She has work experience as a community manager for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.  From 2013 to 2016, she was a member of the core team of the Athens Municipality awarded civil society platform, "synAthina".  Since 2016, Anthi has served as the Communications Manager of the Resilient Athens program and is responsible for the stakeholder engagement process of the Athens Resilience Strategy.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971, Robert D. Cabana was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He completed Naval Flight Officer training in Pensacola in 1972 and served as an A-6 bombardier/navigator with Marine Air Wings in Cherry Point, N.C., and Iwakuni, Japan. He returned to Pensacola in 1975 for pilot training and was designated a Naval Aviator in September of 1976, earning the Daughters of the American Revolution award as the top Marine to complete flight training that year. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1981, and served in the Flight Systems Branch at the Naval Air Test Center until 1984.

Cabana was selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1985 and completed his initial astronaut training in early 1986. He was assigned to the Johnson Space Center Astronaut Office, serving in a number of leadership positions including lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory; lead CAPCOM in Mission Control; and Chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office.

A veteran of four space flights, he has logged over 910 hours in space, serving as the pilot on missions STS-41 and STS-53, and Mission Commander on STS-65 and STS-88, the first assembly mission of the International Space Station in December of 1998. Following STS-88, he served in numerous, successively challenging, senior management positions, ultimately becoming Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston; Director of the Stennis Space Center in Miss.; and, currently, tenth Director of the Kennedy Space Center in Fla. He retired as a Colonel from the United States Marine Corps in September 2000, and was appointed a member of NASA’s Senior Executive Service.

He has logged over 7,000 hours in over 50 different kinds of aircraft. He is a Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a 2008 inductee into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. He has received numerous personal awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, the National Space Club Florida Committee's Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award, and in 2015, he was the recipient of the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement, the National Space Trophy.

Dr. Phil Hoffman holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from The University of Akron. He also holds a Master's and Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. His professional experience includes working in broadcasting for more than 35 years, in positions ranging from entry level to general manager. He is currently serving as the Executive Director of WUCF-PBS and WUCF-FM in Central Florida.

His resume includes positions at WLSR-AM, WKDD-FM, WCUE-AM, WTIG-AM, WAKR-AM, WONE-FM, WAPS-FM, WOAC-TV, WAKC-TV, KMOS-TV, and WNEO/WEAO-TV. For 15 years, he served as a faculty member and lead the students of Z-TV at The University of Akron, where the students have earned more than 30 Emmy nominations and won multiple Emmy Awards. Those students also got jobs with CBS, NBC, Fox, and many other media outlets. He has also worked as an independent producer/editor for ABC, ESPN, Britain’s ITV, and a host of Fortune 500 corporations.

A multiple Emmy Award winning producer and director, Dr. Hoffman has produced documentaries for PBS affiliates across the U.S. Since 2002, he has been nominated for more than 25 Emmy Awards by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In 2017 he served as executive producer of “The Groveland Four,” a feature length film about racial injustice in the U.S. He also serves as the host of “Central Florida Roadtrip” on WUCF.

Phil is a respected authority on early punk music, having produced two documentaries about the Ohio punk music scene. This work included bands like Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, Devo, and The Waitresses, known for the holiday hit “Christmas Wrapping.” Phil is also a recognized authority on local TV horror movie hosts of the 1960s and 1970s, having produced films including “Turn Blue: The Short Life of Ghoulardi,” and “Monsters Among Us.”

A native of Akron, Ohio; Hoffman is married to award-winning artist Joan Fagan-Hoffman whose work has been featured in the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art. His daughter Mina was a King Family Fellow at Point Park University Cinema School and is now a film director, and his daughter Marissa is currently a third-year law student at The University of Denver.

Leon Handley, Of Counsel, practices out of the firm's Orlando office. His practice focuses on civil trial defense work. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a member of The Florida Bar, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel, the American Judicature Society, and the American Bar Association. Honors have been received by Leon from The Best Lawyers of America, Who's Who in Finance and Industry, Who's Who in the South and Southwest, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the World. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

For more than 50 years, Leon has had a successful legal career practicing in Orlando. He has traveled extensively, lecturing on the subject of trial practice and has acted as a master of ceremonies and a keynote speaker for many events. He has also been involved in a number of local community organizations, including serving as Past President and Life Director of the Central Florida Fair, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of WMFE, Past Chairman of the Community Service Award Committee of Walt Disney World® and a Trustee of Lake Highland Preparatory School. Positions held with corporate affiliations include Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Beneficial Savings Bank; Past President and Director of the Southern Industrial Savings Bank; Vice President and Director of Claude H. Wolfe, Inc.; President and Director of Cracker Groves of Florida, Inc., and President and Chairman of the Board of Mine and Mill Supply Co., Inc. of Lakeland.

Leon earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with honors, and his J.D., both from the University of Florida in a total of four years. Before attending college, Leon was a Warrant Officer in the United States Maritime Service, with sea duty to Italy. He served the country overseas in Korea as a Sergeant in the Army and was the first Air Force Cadet Colonel in Florida R.O.T.C. history. At the end of his military career, Handley retired as Captain in the United States Air Force Reserve.

Dr. Dan Chong is an Associate Professor at Rollins College, teaching courses in international human rights, global poverty, and peace and conflict resolution.  He has led international field study courses focused on human rights and poverty to Guatemala, Cuba, South Africa, Tanzania, and the Thai-Burma border. His first book, Freedom from Poverty: NGOs and Human Rights Praxis, analyzes the methods that NGOs use to advocate for rights to food, housing, and health care. His most recent book, Debating Human Rights, examines major controversies in the field of human rights. He has also contributed to journals such as Development and Change, Human Rights Review, and Global Environmental Politics. He is also the Faculty Co-Director of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub at Rollins.

Donald Lykkebak has been an Orlando Rotarian for 40 years.  Most recently he served as President of the club and is currently the immediate past-President. 

Don is a criminal defense attorney who has been a board certified criminal trial lawyer for the past 30 years by the Florida Bar and National Board of Trial Advocacy.  During his long career as a trial lawyer he has had occasion to handle many prominent and high-profile cases.  He has been repeatedly recognized for his professional accomplishments. Through the process of peer review Don was recently selected for recognition in Orlando Magazine as this year’s Criminal Trial Lawyer of the Year-White Collar.  He was also honored in 2017 as Criminal Trial Lawyer of the Year in the same publication. 

On previous occasions Mr. Lykkebak has spoken to our club on subjects involving his unique professional expertise.  His presentations have proven to be lively, informative and always provoke questions from the membership.