March 28, 2024
 
This week's speaker is Ivan Batlle, Retina Specialist and Surgeon. His topic will be "The Contemporary History of the Dominican Republic."
Ivan is a former Rotarian and was president of the Santo Domingo Rotary club. During his lifetime in the Dominican Republic, it was in the early portion ruled by a dictator Trujillo. His uncle was a minister in the tree hill government, and after Trujillo was assassinated in 1963 took over the reins of power and declared the countries first democratic election six months later. Ergo, the family has very deep roots in the country. In 1965 the country was invaded by Cuban sponsored revolutionaries. Ivan, as a five year old at the time remembers the US Marines in Santo Domingo. He remembers the soldiers placing him on the barrel of one of the US tanks that were stationed there.
 
He studied medicine at Tulane. And practiced in New Orleans for 12 years before the hurricane blew him our way. He is a retinal surgeon, bon vivant, gourmet, big personality and has been extraordinarily generous with the Kansas City community since his arrival 17 or 18 years ago.  
 
While in New Orleans, he became very much involved with Mardi Gras and the crew of Bacchus. Despite all the craziness surrounding that time of the year, Mardi Gras is a charitable endeavor. He still participates every year. (see photo above)
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