Photo: Guatemala Mission. Pictured from left: Michael Kim DDS, unknown patient, Brian Monroe.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Race car driver after watching the 1966 movie “Grand Prix”.

First job? Pizza delivery driver in a racing red Fiat sedan.

Hardest business decision? It was when Nancy and I decided to sell the business that I started after 21 years. We had created a dedicated team that felt like a family. We wanted to make sure that they would be taken care of after the sale. All of them stayed on and had opportunities to move up within the organization. After 6 years with the new company we moved on and focused on real estate development.

Career mentor? Jack Safro. We copied his business philosophy of treating customers like guests. He provided many opportunities for our business to become very successful.

Hobbies, interests? Visiting and vacationing with our 3 adult children in Denver, 2 grandchildren outside of Toronto and now one on the way in Seattle. Spending outdoor time at our log cabin in Michigan’s UP and yes planting trees too.

Most memorable Rotary moment? It was on my first GMRP mission and I was working with Nancy in the dental clinic. It was then that I realized that Rotary provides the opportunity for ordinary people do some extraordinary things.

The Rotary Foundation and clubs along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, USA, are collecting emergency relief funds to help flood victims of Hurricane Harvey, which slammed into southeast Texas over the weekend.

Severe rainfall has caused historic flooding along the Texas coast, including in Houston, the fourth largest city by population in the United States. Deluged towns in the region are in desperate need of aid as thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes. About 6.8 million people have been affected by the hurricane, which made landfall on 25 August.

With an estimated damage of $190 billion, Hurricane Harvey could be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

“The power of Rotary is in the foundation's ability to pull help from around the world while local clubs provide immediate relief in their own communities,” says Don Mebus of the Rotary Club of Arlington, Texas.