Page 131 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

In the Field of Medicine, I have met many dedicated professionals.

I met Michael Aubin, FACHE, through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at
Wolfson Children's Hospital. He was named Hospital President for Wolfson Children's
Hospital in 2011. When my grandson's wife experienced a premature birth of her first
baby, I visited the Neonatal nursery. I was impressed with the meticulous care given by
the doctor and nurses. We had to scrub our hands for 3 minutes to enter the nursery.

Virginia and I had met Mr. Aubin’s predecessor, Larry Freeman, when our second
child was less than one year old and an inpatient at Wolfson. In the 34 years that he was
the administrator of Wolfson Children's Hospital, he presided over the facility’s growth
from a wing of Baptist Medical Center to a 180-bed regional children's hospital serving
children with critical medical needs from around the country and more than 40
countries.

Over the past 50 years, I have personally driven to dozens of communities within 100
miles of Jacksonville, and have talked with hundreds of thousands of ordinary people
from all walks of life. Every time I visited a civic club, like Kiwanis or Rotary, I
enjoyed discussing recent storms and weather events. I learned a lot about them and
their community service. In the 1970s, our Station Manager, Bob Schellenberg, invited
me to give a talk at the Green Turtle Restaurant in Jacksonville. When I heard the motto
and principles of Rotary, I was always impressed with goals for living that they strived
to achieve.

Through the Rotary Club in Crescent City, John Newbold allowed me to help the
community raise funds for scholarships. I’ve watched that small community struggle
for recognition because of its being so distant from large population centers.
Nevertheless, their Catfish Festival parade has drawn numerous participants, such as
Police and Firemen, from surrounding counties and even as far north as Jacksonville,
which is 80 miles away. I was honored to be their Official Meteorologist for more than
20 years, monitoring a rain gauge for storm insurance and by joining in their annual
Catfish parade.

I remain grateful for the many Keys to the City presented me by such small towns and
big cities all over northeast Florida and southeast Georgia. And I am humbled by the
Distinguished Alumni recognitions from Jacksonville University. I was honored to be
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