Our first guest speaker of the new Rotary year kept us on our toes! But first…let’s stay up to date with important announcements:
- Join fellow Rotarians from across LA at the District Breakfast on August 13. Sign up on our club website. Exciting new location: the iconic Proud Bird Restaurant. (See Rick)
- Want to get door prize tickets automatically every week AND support our Club Foundation? Donate $100 to PVP Rotary Club Foundation and you will get door prize tickets every week from now through next June. (See Geoff or Jen)
- The Foundation’s Investment Committee is looking for one member to serve on this important committee. Contact John Stillo (Foundation President) if interested.
- Community Service! September 7th at Angel’s Gate in San Pedro. We’ll be joined by Boys & Girls Club students for a painting/cleanup project. (See Duncan)
- Outstanding speakers coming up… LA Superior Court Judge Elizabeth White next week AND Ultra marathoner Aimee Spector in two weeks. Bring a guest! (See Greg O’B.)
- Derald gave a special thanks and acknowledgment to the awesome team of new members serving as Sargent At Arms.
On to the guest speaker…. Jim Hartman introduced Greg Cullen, a real estate investor (Harvard Investment Group) who presented an interesting case study. In a very interactive presentation, Greg walked us through a real life investment situation he was presented with back in 2013.
As he walked us through the evolution of the deal, he polled the audience at various decision points to see what we would have done. Being a somewhat risk averse crowd, most of us turned down the deal at the get go. A few of us hung in there, negotiating for more time or more analysis/information. As the last remaining few of us bailed out, Greg revealed that he did in fact purchase the property.
But the story did not end there…in fact, that’s where things got really interesting. Faced with an unexpected and lengthy “Notice to Comply” with years of unexpired permits, Greg and his team had to think outside the box and develop a truly creative way to recoup their investment. Their innovative solution?? Greg’s firm transformed the property into a home for men challenged with substance abuse issues. The home “Beacon of Hope” has been a huge success – not just monetarily for Greg’s firm – but more importantly for the men who have been able to turn their lives around by virtue of the opportunity to live at “Beacon of Hope”.
Greg’s firm is now working to purchase a second property, with the goal of replicating this model. Has Greg developed a unique solution that could provide housing for the thousands of homeless across the country? While there certainly isn’t one solution to this complex problem, Greg Cullen has developed one approach – an approach with proven results!