133 Cardeais”, from Julio Dantas: “It was a play known for being staged by older actors. We were 12 or 13 back then. Our performance in the classroom was so successful that we took it to the school theater, and later to a parish. We put on about four or five shows like that, and so it was that I was bitten by the theater bug,” he tells. Likewise, promoting activities —both curricular and extracurricular— entailing artistic and musical expression has always been one of the priorities at the Colégio, as well as the other institutions maintained by the Fundação. The wide range of options offered over time includes drawing, painting, dancing, singing and many others. One of the highlights in this context is the Colégio Rio Branco Choir, consisting of students, which has recorded CDs and put up several off-campus performances, in places such as Sala São Paulo and even the Carnegie Hall, in New York. By the late 1960s, the world had changed a lot, and so did Brazil. The country was no longer such a rural nation, as demonstrated by the transformation the activities of Lar Escola Rotary had undergone shortly earlier. Changes were taking place all around: in technology, which advanced rapidly; in the economy, which was soon to experience what was called the “Brazilian Miracle”, with record economic growth rates; in politics, where hard times had begun; in culture, with great bustle and renewal in areas like music, cinema, literature and architecture; and in customs and behavior, with new themes and demands brought about particularly by youths. In was in that environment that began Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo’s third decade in business, which would be indelibly marked by significant changes. To begin with, the Fundação’s counselors were being renewed, as most of the pioneers who had played an essential part in it were now leaving the scene and making room for new leaderships. In tune with the new times and the dimension the institution had acquired, the way of running it was renewed as well, which included an Executive Board, a group of vice presidents representing the Rotary Clubs based in the São Paulo state capital, an Advisory Board, an Audit Commission, and a Superintendence. That renewal process meant not a departure from what was there before, but an evolution. It was in that spirit that 1967 saw José Ermírio de Moraes Filho take on a key management role, keeping the family tradition established by his father. In the course of the decades to follow, he would serve as president of the Board of Directors, showing great competence and leadership, and leaving an invaluable legacy to the Fundação. Teacher Nórton Batista says that all of José Ermírio Filho’s predecessors – Álvaro Machado (1946-1950), José Ermírio de Moraes (1951-1954), Marcos Gasparian (1955- 1966) and Francisco Garcia Bastos (1966-1967) –, “each in his own time and in his own way, dignified their presidencies, tackling obstacles and always managing the Fundação’s affairs with a firm hand and great business savvy, in which they were assisted by extremely devoted colleagues.” José Ermírio Filho, however, in Nórton Batista’s eyes, “innovated by putting forward, as early as the first meetings of the Board of Directors in his term, a comprehensive work plan thoroughly specifying the goals he intended to achieve.” Those goals were “to expand Colégio Rio Branco in terms of resources and additional facilities, improving its teaching quality and keeping it on a high level, to make Lar Escola Rotary’s action more effective, and to sort out the Fundação’s finances.” He kept a close eye on projects and activities in order to make sure his proposed goals would be achieved. That assessment is confirmed by Fritz Johansen, who says that while some of his fellow Board members stood out, José 1966-1975 Renewal and transformations
Livro Comemorativo dos 70 anos da Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo - Uma história de ideias e ideais
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