President’s Letter
January 12, 2018

Happy New Year Fellow Skålleagues,

I hope that you are enjoying the benefits of January in Florida! It's always so exciting to venture into a new year, with new hopes and new adventures on the horizon. We enjoyed our first meeting at the Doubletree in Deerfield and I'm sure that all those that were there can agree that the food and service were both wonderful. For those who could not join us, we certainly missed you and look forward to seeing you next month.

We enjoyed hosting Holly Powers the President of Skål USA to be there for our installation dinner! I want to give a special thanks to Theresa Nix for your years of service on our board including two terms as club President. We're sorry to see you leave the board and thank you again for making the Year in Review video we were able to watch at the dinner. Thank you, in advance, to our new board for the commitment and support of the club. It's truly a pleasure to have been elected as your new President.

In our meeting, we most certainly enjoyed the video that Carlos showed us to inspire us to start a symphony. The message comes from a bank commercial, but the message is intended to inspire us to think big. We alone are only one person, but when we add one more person and another and so on, together we are strong. I tell you this for two reasons.

First, let's grow our membership. We all know great people in this hospitality industry. Being a member of Skål gives you a solid network of professionals who share your passion for the business. This year, we plan to have fun and exciting events monthly.

Second, and most importantly, Skål is so special because of how we can impact our Skålleagues around the world. Right now, our neighbors in Puerto Rico need our help, and Skål HELPS Skål members. Without our help, these Skål members cannot pay their annual dues, and therefore will LOSE their benefit to the Florimond Volckaert Fund, which helps members when they are in need. Many Members have lost their home and/or their jobs. Many others still have no electricity and/or water. Please help us help our friends to the south through a GoFundMe account that was set up for them: gf.me/u/f5hj75.

Just a bit of housekeeping:

• In February, we are going to talk about our 2017 Venue of the Year Award. You'll receive a ballot to vote, and we'll make the big announcement in March. Please take a moment and vote on one of our wonderful venue partners when you receive the ballot.

• Please let us know if you need to cancel your "yes" RSVP before the Friday before a meeting. It happens to be the regular cutoff time for us to tell a venue our headcount, and contract the cost of our fun event. You can still RSVP YES up to Tuesday. This little detail has been causing our mighty club to lose money when we have fewer friends attend than we said we would. Losing money means possibly not having enough when we have Skålleagues in need around the world. We hope you understand. Last year, the Florimond Volckaert Fund was able to help our friends in the United States with over $30,000 in their time of need. We like being able to participate as best we can.

For additional inspiration and pure musical enjoyment, I close by sharing the video that Carlos showed us at our meeting: https://youtu.be/GBaHPND2QJg May we start a symphony of greatness, one person at a time. I look forward to seeing you all next month my friends at the February 6th dinner meeting at the West Palm Beach Marriott!

Best wishes to our members celebrating birthdays in January:

Remember to log onto our club's website www.skal-ftlauderdale-palmbeaches.org to get more information on our club, event pictures and the upcoming Skål Monthly Reception and Dinner Meetings.

Yours in Friendship & Skål!

Lisa Hamilton
President Skål International Ft. Lauderdale & Palm Beaches