Thanks to everyone who came out to our July 2021 General Body meeting! It was lively, informative and fun with lots of news, events and actions to talk about. Extra big thanks to our special guests Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, Miami Beach Commission candidate Stephen Cohen, and Dara Schoenwald and Dave Doebler from VolunteerCleanup.org!

Here's what went down. First, we had our Executive Board and Committee reports.

President Matthew Land announced that Steve Simeonidis is stepping down as Miami-Dade DEC Chair, and that elections to fill the position will be held in August. He also mentioned that we will be canvassing door-to-door in September. Secretary Janet Silverman reported that we have 104 members, and asked members to renew their membership dues (only $25 per year!) if they are up for renewal. Treasurer Patrick Breshike reported that we have $5836 in the bank, and that we have paid our entry fee for the Miami Beach Pride parade (more on this below). Campaign Chair David Geller announced that we will be having a candidate forum in support of the Miami Beach municipal elections that are coming up this year. Neighborhood and Building Organizing Chair Aaron Bos-Lun announced that he will be convening an organizing meeting on Monday, July 26 at 7pm on Zoom. Outreach Chair Amanda Knapp announced that our August General meeting will be held in-person at the Marseille Hotel, with a Zoom web conference also available. She also mentioned plans for an October fundraiser and beach clean up later in the year. Program Chair Bill Warren announced that we have secured a spot in the Miami Beach Pride parade in September - a double-decker bus, actually! The bus will hold 100 club members and sponsors. More info on participation will be rolled out in August. Voter Registration Chair Teneramie Jimenez asked for volunteers to serve on her committee (email her at [email protected] if interested), and BOD member Tim Johnson reported that we had a booth at the Normandy Fountain Block Party on Sunday where we registered 3 new voters - and had a great time to boot!

Then it was on to our special guests.

County Commissioner Eileen Higgins spoke about numerous County topics relevant to Miami Beach: the Surfside response, affordable housing, environment, airport workers, drivers licenses, and the CRA for North Beach. She then took our questions. Miami Beach Commission candidate Stephen Cohen talked about his candidacy, focusing on public safety and environment. Then Dara and Dave from VolunteerCleanup.org gave a presentation about their work, which uses beach, park and neighborhood cleanup activities to build awareness and to further environmental advocacy.

We also had three more Miami Beach Commission candidates drop in and say hi: Michael Gongora, Raquel Pacheco and Gregory Branch. If you want to meet local leaders, our club meetings are the place to be!

You can get all the nitty-gritty details by reading the meeting minutes. You can also read up on all of our meetings - past, present and future - on our Meetings page.

Finally, don't forget that our next meeting will be held in-person for the first time since the pandemic hit (with Zoom conferencing also). It will be held at the Marseilles Hotel on Monday, August 16 and it begins at 7 PM, with and hour-of-action beginning at 6 PM. So get there early to take action, or just socialize!

Let's build power together in Miami Beach!