ur Rotarian of the Day today is Jonathan Cox. Jonathan is the owner and technical director of Aqua Vita Creative, a website design and development firm. His career in technology officially began in 1995, when he assembled a working laptop from junked parts he acquired from an electronics retailer. From the moment his horrid-looking creation first booted up, he was hooked.

Since then, Jonathan has co-owned a 3D animation and website development studio, a cafe, a ballroom dance club, and Aqua Vita Creative. He continues to pursue a bachelor’s in finance and accounting, and takes classes in computer science to stay competitive in the industry.

He has received awards for business plan writing, has organized national events, and is on the board of directors for Engineers in Action.

Jonathan joined Southside for the first time in 2001, when he was proposed by Blaine Imel. He had to leave the club, but rejoined in 2008, when he was proposed by Glenn Burnett.

Jonathan has been married to his lovely wife, Jessica, for three years. His hobbies include programming, writing, martial arts, military history, yoga, hiking, camping, video games and culinary arts.

Jonathan, it’s great to have you in the club!

This Week’s Program

Paul Kane
Our speaker today is Paul Kane. Paul is the Executive Vice President/CEO of the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa, Inc. The HBA is a trade association of more than 1,000 members in the greater Tulsa area. Paul has served in that capacity since 2006.

Before joining the HBA, Paul practiced law for 14 years and was a partner with the law firm of Eller and Detrich in Tulsa. As a lawyer, Paul represented the Home Builders Association, as well as many of its members. Paul’s legal practice focused on business, construction and real estate.

Paul has taught Business Law at Langston-Tulsa as an adjunct professor for 12 years. Paul’s literary accomplishments include various articles in the Oklahoma Bar Journal, and he was a contributing author in Vernon’s Oklahoma Forms 2nd, widely used by attorneys throughout the State of Oklahoma.

Paul is a native Oklahoman, raised in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. After obtaining his bachelor of arts from the University of Notre Dame in 1989, Paul earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in 1992. He has lived in Tulsa since that time and considers Tulsa his hometown.

Paul is also an active Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Will Rogers. He served as its President in 2003-2004, and thereafter served as an Assistant Government for District 6110 until 2007.

Paul and his wife, Sabrina, have two daughters, Lauren and Emma, and a son, Marshall. Additionally, Paul maintains an active role as a community leader, including involvement in the Rotary Club of Will Rogers, the Tulsa Global Alliance, the Maple Ridge Neighborhood Association, PlaniTulsa Advisory Committee, the Better Business Bureau, and various other organizations.

Both as an attorney and as the CEO of the Home Builders Association, Paul has always been a strong advocate of the construction industry.

Paul, thank you so much for speaking with us today. The Rotary Club of Southside Tulsa welcomes you!

Southsider Quick Notes

Last week…
- Our ROD on June 30 was Don den Daas, in his last meeting as our illustrious president. Let’s all give a big welcome to Keith James, our newly illustrious president!

- The Change of Horses was a fantastic meeting. 2008-2009 was a great year for us. Here are some of the highlights:

• - We got some great new members in this year, including Cindy Llewellyn and Donna Petty. Both of them really stepped up to help out. Thanks, ladies!
• - Steve Glenn gave us a quick overview of Rotary history and the history of Southside.
• - We had fantastic enthusiasm all year this year. We got more new members, more younger members, and more women members.
• - We also implemented a new program where our members over 80 can eat and attend our functions for free. Tracey Raines came on as our accountant, and joined the club. We’ll always know where we stand on dues!
• - The bulletin moved to web-only, and the bulletin writer is very grateful that she no longer has to make 11 p.m. trips to Kinko’s to print it out.
• - Our functions were also top-notch this year. Teresa Wixson did a great job with the Christmas party, and Brett Brough, as always, did a fantastic job with Scotch and Cigar Night and the Change of Horses. Also, a big thanks to Tom Wilson for hosting the Scotch and Cigar Night!
• - Our members also really stepped up in community service. David Hughes and Mella Glenn made sure that our Springdale students got Christmas bags with toothbrushes and floss! Medhi Khezri did a great job managing the Dictionary Project this year, and Jeff Finkenstaedt handled the Four-Way Test Speech Contest, and it was fantastic! Monte McNutt and Bob Hinton also made sure that Be Wise, Immunize was a success.
• - We also donated lots of money last year. $4,000 went to Engineers in Action to buy a used vehicle for their engineer in Bolivia; $1,000 went to Greg Chalmers’s Albuquerque Rotary Club; and we donated $6,000 to Rotary International for the Gates Foundation’s matching grant, thanks to the generosity of our members.
• - But the big project this year was Biscuit Acres, something that John Benjamin did a great job of handling. The park looks awesome, and we’ve given South Tulsa a place for pet lovers and their best friends. John was awarded the Silver Pooper Scooper for his efforts.
• - Award recipients:
  • Roy Gardner Vocational Service Award: Russ Robinson
  • Bill Crews Community Service Award: John Benjamin
• - Of course, it wouldn’t have been a meeting without somebody giving Don a hard time, to make up for all the crap he gave all of us this year. John Benjamin bestowed him with a little cake from Biscuit Acres, topped with a bit of the aforementioned crap. John also gave Don a golf club that was taller than he was, although admittedly, that’s not too difficult.
• - Finally, Keith, in his first act as our new illustrious president, gave Don a twirly beanie and a scooter, which he rode out into the sunset…or at least around Stokely’s.

- Remember, if you haven’t picked up your Biscuit Acres donation boxes, go out and bring them in.

- Our next district governor has a goal of 6,110 members in district 6110 in the year 2010. We’ve made 15 teams, each responsible for getting one new member, in order for our club to meet its membership goal. We want 75 members total.

- See you all next week, when our speaker is Ken Yazel, the Tulsa County Assessor!