We had several visiting dignitaries in the house as we opened our September 25 meeting - Don & Past Dist. Gov. Joanne Morrison of Norwin Rotary, District 7330 and Harold & Dist. Gov. Elect Sue Foley of Anchorage East Rotary, District 5010. President Lane ran through the long list of upcoming events, with the Putt Putt Membership Mixer on the 26th and the Hawaiian Membership Mixer on the 3rd at the top of the list. Asst. Gov/Past Pres. Linda Bertuzzi (10-11) & Carla Smith gave an update on Kid Connection and asked each member to visit other Southern Nevada Rotary Clubs to sell tickets. New member Ray Jansma announced an upcoming Grape Expectations event on October 13. Presidential recognitions went to the ladies who volunteered at Three Square, to new member Roger Bishop for supporting the Agassi Birthday Bash, and lastly to Past Pres. Scott Stolberg (07-08) for celebrating his upcoming  wedding anniversary. Ray Jansma was given a celebratory "clap" as our newest member and Teresa Sowers received her "25 years of Women in Rotary" pin. A little chaos erupted during cross fines and they were lengthy - maybe our largest cross fine payout in the Club's history! To AG/PP Linda for a great job on a member's refinance, to President Lane for ignoring the other Rotarians at the Birthday Bash, to Teresa for practicing her pick-up lines at a recent event, to Steve Reiter & Hector Buendia for just being at the meeting, to everyone who covered their duties during Hector's week as captain, to Past Pres. Roger Tabor (02-03) for ignoring the President and to all the guys who didn't show up to support the ladies at Three Square. Would someone please bring some credit applications to the next meeting for President Lane?  The cross fines are going to take their toll soon!!!

Melissa Warren, managing partner of Faiss Foley Warren (FFW) updated  us on the Symphony Park project, where currently every parcel located within the 61 acres is in some stage of agreement and/or development. Symphony Park™ is a harmonious blend of diverse developments which, together, are creating the first modern-day city neighborhood in Las Vegas. Based on thoughtful community design and guiding principles of sustainability, Symphony Park has already achieved gold certification stage 2 status through the LEED®-ND (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development) rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council. The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Smith Center have taken the lead, with the Lied Discovery Museum due to open in early 2013. Additional hotels, shops and casinos are in the mix of new projects coming in the future. 2012 is the Year of Downtown, celebrating the opening of the Mob Museum, new City Hall, Neon Museum (due to open in October), all contributing the mix of culture and businesses already in existence - vintage hotels & casinos, World Market Center, Natural History Museum, Fremont Street Experience, First Friday - just to name a few. With the reduction in overall crime in the area and over 47,000 parking spaces available, Melissa said there is no greater time than now to Rediscover Downtown. A special "Rediscover Downtown" day will be held on October 13, with a full day of activities and local's discounts. Go to Rediscover Downtown more informaiton - or visit their facebook page