Rotary District 6990 - District Governor Nominee

Ellen Paxton Blasi grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas. Lake Jackson is a small Texas town near the Gulf of Mexico and the mouth of the Brazos River that her parents, along with many young families recruited to the area by Dow Chemical, help build.

After high school, she attended Texas Tech University School of Architecture studying Architectural Interior Design. After University she elected to “join the friendly skies” and was recruited by Eastern Air Lines in 1968.

After a brief time in New York City she moved to Miami with Eastern and now says she has lived in Miami long enough to say she is from “My am ah”.

She held several positions at Eastern in the In-Flight Services Division of the company. She was a Flight Attendant (Stewardess), Senior Purser, FAA Re-qualification Training Instructor, Supervisor and Specialist. She also represented the Airline in national and local publicity campaigns including Eastern Doral Open Golf Tournament, Opening of Walt Disney World in Orlando and Cuban Airlift operations.

While with Eastern she attended New York Institute of Technology studying Business Management with a specialty in the Aviation Industry.

After the demise of Eastern she remained in the travel industry with Secure Travel division of the Wackenhut Corp., eventually owning with another past Eastern friend, Cloud One Travel in Miami Springs.

She began her current career in commercial real estate on Key Biscayne with the developer of Key Colony. Ellen served in several positions including Vice President of Finninvest Investments. Ellen holds a Masters in Commercial Real Estate (MCRE) designation and is the Director of Leasing at the Green Companies in Miami-Dade.

Ellen is a past Board Member of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Miami where she served three years as Communications Chair. She has received numerous awards from CREW including Networking Deal of the Year in 2008.

She was invited to join the Rotary Club of Key Biscayne in March of 2000 and was sponsored by past Assistant Governor Julian Goldstein.

She has served in the Rotary Club of Key Biscayne as Secretary, President-elect and was selected as President in 2003-2004. She was the Chairperson for the Key Biscayne Art Festival, the Rotary club’s signature fundraiser, in 2002 and earned her first Rotarian of the Year award from the club. She recently served as District Governor Lee Phares Special Representative to charter the Rotary Club of Miami Brickell and received her second Rotarian of the Year award from the Rotary Club of Key Biscayne.

She has represented the District as Rotaract Chairperson since 2005. She was Assistant Governor 2008 – 2010 and served as District Director of Club Operations 2010-2011.

She was awarded District Rotarian of the Year for Community Service for the 2008-2009 Rotary year.

Ellen is married to Michael (since 1975) and they have two daughters, Katherine (Katie) and Joanna and a grand dog, Nelson.

Ellen loves to travel and claims to get “withdrawal” symptoms if she is not on an airplane at least once a month. She and Michael also enjoy fishing and boating with friends and family.