In 1946 Bobby and an older brother went into the printing business in NYC (financed by the GI Bill). Three years later Bobby bought his his brother out for $100K. He joined Rotary in the ’50s and raised a lot of money for disasters around the world. When the printing business became too competitive, he sold it and went into the antique business. In 2006, at the age of 88, he closed his antique business, sold his Long Island home, and he and his wife moved to DC to be near his oldest daughter, Mary Schapiro (who became SEC Chairman). Bobby spent months collecting and delivering 1200 cigar boxes to wounded veterans at Walter Read and Bethesda Naval Hospitals. Bobby will be 98 in January 2016.

The joint collaborative public/private project between the Rotary Club of North Bethesda, Cornerstone Montgomery and Barwood Taxi to support taxi-based transportation for persons with disabilities to obtain and retain employment has been operational since October of 2014. During this period, the program has succeeded supporting new employment for 20 Cornerstone clients and provided support for 30 clients to attend job fairs and training programs. On the basis of this demonstrated success, the program has been awarded a grant from Montgomery County, Maryland to expand its activities. The program, which is managed by Cornerstone Montgomery,  has just announced a “Request for Proposals” from other non-profit organizations wishing assistance for disabled clients in overcoming the transportation barrier to getting and keeping employment. The website for applications is: www.getme2work.org and applications are due by November 30, 2015.

The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a multi-district, grassroots leadership development program of member districts organized into regional divisions throughout the world. It is not an official program of Rotary International and is not under its control.  The RLI seeks to have Rotary Clubs identify those Rotarians who seem to have the potential for future club leadership.  Bob talked about developing both leadership (mission, think big, team builder) and management (take charge, owning problem, implement, execute) skills.