Prayer:
Gracious God, again we gather with anticipation of having a satisfying experience of fellowship, but also the thrill of engaging productively in the work we are privileged to do as Rotarians.
Bless with your favor our own club and district endeavors. Give us vision and imagination as we search for new and different ways to be of service.
We confess to taking for granted the blessing of food and the gifts of fun and fellowship. Accept our thanks today for these blessings. Amen.
Club Announcements
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Birthdays
David Nicholas Nov. 13
John Dorsa Nov. 13
Kevin Russell Nov. 13
Anniversaries
None
Membership Anniversaries
Justin Croft 1 year, Nov. 8
Rotary Foundation Thought. This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about cheering for The Foundation.
“I became a true Rotarian. It was that GSE experience. It was a defining moment. I came back and realized that the Foundation was my charity of choice and that I had to convince others that it should be theirs also.”
The visit to a makeshift school during a Group Study Exchange in South Africa helped to change Rotarian John Tomalson from Canada. He learned that real teaching is about the love of teaching; he also learned what it meant to be a Rotarian. As the team leader of his GSE team he was already a dedicated Rotarian but what he saw in South Africa made him not just a Rotarian but a cheerleader for the Rotary Foundation. He saw firsthand the importance of the Rotary Foundation’s programs and the impact they have on the world. Through John’s efforts and the Rotary Club of Bolton, ONT, Canada that makeshift school he visited has now benefited from two matching grants. Meanwhile, John is busy telling everyone about The Rotary Foundation and why Every Rotarian, Every Year is his charity of Choice.
Ring the Bell for Salvation Army.
It's time again to " Ring the Bell for the Salvation Army ". Location -McDade's Northside Drive.
Date - December 6th and 8th. Time - 10AM - 5 PM. Please call Rob Whitley at 601-362-8844 to participate and reserve your 1-hour tour of duty.
District 6820 Dream Car Raffle. District 6820 needs your help with the Dream Car Raffle (www.dreamcarraffle.org). The grand prize winner will choose between a 2018 Porsche Boxster, Macan S, or $40,000 cash. There will also be 10 additional $500 cash prizes! Tickets are $25 each or 5 for $100. Winners will be announced at the Rotary Foundation Gala on January 26th, 2018 at the Country Club of Jackson. Proceeds—less prizes and expenses—will go to The Rotary Foundation (50%), Polio Plus (25%), and the District 6820 Foundation (25%). Each member is encouraged to sell a minimum of 10 tickets. Please see Witt Ruffin to pick up your tickets.
Billy Brumfield House. The Rotary Club of North Jackson
is serving supper once a month at The Billy Brumfield House,
a Stewpot Community Services ministry. Our club serves on
the 1st Tuesday of each month. Interested members need to
meet @ Baker Donelson located at the corner of Eastover
Drive and the I-55 North Frontage Road @ 5:15 PM and
then travel together to Billy Brumfield. Also, if you are interested in sponsoring a month, the est. cost is $180 for the food. Mike Dawkins is project chair and can be reached @ 601-351-2428 or dawkins@bakerdonelson.com.
Between the Lions. Please remember to sign up for Between the Lions. During the school year, we read weekly to pre-Kindergarteners at William Walton Elementary School on Bailey Ave. It is a wonderful experience! The children are truly information sponges and very willing learners.
Contact Jenny Price (662) 213-1294 for more information. We have resumed reading and are really enjoying it.
Member Care Committeereminder: for anyone who
needs assistance getting to a meeting, please call Luther
Munford at (601) 985-4418.
Thinking of Proposing a New Member?
First, discuss with Classification Committee (Paul
Miller or Julian Carroll). They will provide a member-
ship application, check classification availability and
discuss occupational qualifications.
Rotary Membership Occupational Qualifications
Applicant should be one of the following:
A corporate officer
A Professional (Attorney, CPA, Physician. Engineer,
Architect, etc) A Proprietor
An Agent of a reputable company
A Manager or Supervisor of a department or section
of a business
Rotarians, don't forget to like the club's Face-
Book page to stay up to date on the latest hap-
penings. Search us out at Rotary Club of North
Jackson or click the link:
“Service above self; they profit most who serve best.” P. O. B O X 9 5 2 8, J A C K S O N, MI S S I S S I P P I 3 9 2 8 6 - 9 5 2 8 WWW.N O R T H J A C K S O N R O T A R Y . O R G
Posted on
Seema Tamang, third from left, with other Rotary Youth Exchange students
By Seema Tamang, Rotary Youth Exchange student from Kathmandu, Nepal
During the 2016-17 school year, I was thrilled to be the first outbound exchange student from Nepal. Being blind, I have to admit I was a bit scared at first, as home life in the US was much different than in Nepal. I was used to sleeping in the same room with my sisters and with other girls in the dormitory at school. With my host family, I had my own room. But it did not take long to adapt and enjoy an amazing experience during which I grew in many ways.
I stayed with my first host family, the Roses, during the school year. My second host family, the Camruds, included mom and dad and two younger host brothers. Being in a large home was very different and exciting as I got to explore every room and orient myself so that I could move about safely and quickly. It didn’t take me too long to be able to find everything by myself. It seems funny now that when I first arrived I asked my host-mom where the water bucket and pitcher was for flushing the toilet like we do in Nepal!
Dishwashing made easy
We always wash dishes by hand in Nepal and I had never experienced a dishwasher before. However, I quickly learned how to load and empty the dishwasher to be of help to my hosts. Using the washer and dryer was also a new experience for me. My host family put Braille dots on the appliances so that I could learn how to use them.
My advice to other exchange students is be prepared to gain new ideas, grow your confidence and become more independent.
I have made great improvements with my English skills and I am now able to converse and make friends more easily. I have grown in my ability to adjust to different circumstances. I am also more comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people.
Seema gets her face painted.
I had many amazing experiences. Sledding in the snow, ice-skating, horseback riding, pop-music concerts and American holidays. One that particularly stands out was my visit to the Bellevue, Washington Police Department. On my birthday I was totally surprised to be picked up at home by Captain Lisa and given a ride in a squad car to the station where I learned how the police department worked. I checked out a police motorcycle, practiced self-defense on a rubber dummy, and got to go into a police holding cell.
No uniforms, two days off a week
With school, I was so surprised we did not have to wear uniforms, that students get to choose their own classes, that we had to move from class to class after each period, and that we got two days off each week (we only get Saturday off in Nepal). Each teacher assigned a fellow student to be my sighted-guide to help me move from class to class which helped me make many wonderful friends.
Youth exchange will definitely change your perspective. My advice to other exchange students is being prepared to gain new ideas, grow your confidence and become more independent.
Dr. Jason Parham, Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Vice Chair for Quality, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its October 31, 2017, meeting. The subject of Dr. Parham's speech was Polio, how it is transmitted, its impact, efforts to eliminate it and their results. According to Dr. Parham, the number of polio cases worldwide has decreased from 350,000 annually in the mid-1980s to 12 this far in 2017. The only places that still have wild polio cases are Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. A total of $450 million has been pledged by Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others to finish the job.
Dr. Parham discussed the effect of polio on humans, the history of vaccines. He showed photos of the primary vaccine researchers Salk & Sabin and of a room full of iron lungs from the 1950s. He summarized the effort to eliminate the disease by saying that the progress shows the effectiveness of a well designed and implemented vaccination campaign. Dr. Parham is shown in the accompanying photos at the head table (left) preceding his speech with Rotarian Matt Monsour who introduced him and with Club President Witt Ruffin (left) and again with Matt Monsour (right) following his speech. We thank Dr. Parham for his presentation and for his work in infectious diseases for the State of Mississippi.
Will Mosby, Account Vice President, of Capitol Wealth Management, an affiliate of UBS Financial Services spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club's October 24, 2017, meeting. The subjects of Mr. Mosby's talk were the economy and the proposed Tax Reform program being considered by the U.S. Congress. Mr. Mosby showed slides that demonstrated that according to the S&P Index, stock values have nearly doubled since just before the financial crisis of 2008. They have more than doubled since the market low experienced in March 2009. Regarding tax reform, Mr. Mosby discussed alternatives being considered by legislative leaders. He discussed potential impacts of those reforms on various segments of the market.
Mr. Mosby (center) is shown in the accompanying photo with Rotarian Matt Monsour (left) who introduced him and Club President Witt Ruffin (right) We thank him for his very interesting and informative presentation.
District 6820 2017-2018, Governor, Bill Walker of Columbus, MS, spoke to the Rotary Club of NOrth Jackson at its October 17, 2017, meeting. Gov. Walker discussed Upcoming District Events and donation opportunities in addition to attracting new members. He pointed out that if we do not invite prospective members to attend our meetings and consider becoming Rotarians, they will not become Rotarians. New members are what sustain our club, so we need to be busily inviting people to attend our meetings. Governor Walker also participated in the recognition of three new Rotary Endowment Fund Benefactors, Wyatt Emmerich, Mark Green, and Don Roberts.
The week of October 16, 2017, North Jackson Rotarians donated and delivered Dictionaries to 3rd graders at four North Jackson Elementary Schools. The schools are Boyd, Casey, Dawson, & Spann Elementary Schools. The accompanying photo shows Boyd students with their new Dictionaries. We than Rotarian Greg Campbell for chairing this event and our Rotarians for participating.
North Jackson Rotarians Wyatt Emmerich, Mark Green, and Don Roberts were recognized as Rotary foundation Benefactors by District 6820 Governor Bill Walker at the October 17, 2017, meeting of the Rotary Club of North Jackson. Benefactors are Rotarians who have included the Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in their estate plans or have donated $1,000 or more to the fund outright. The honorees are shown in the accompanying photo. From left to right are Messrs. Emmerich, Roberts, Walker, and Green. We thank and congratulate them for remembering the Endowment Fund.
Mississippi State Representative Joel Bomgar of Mississippi House District 58 (Madison County) spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its October 10, 2017, meeting. The subject of Rep. Bomgar's talk was raising the State of Mississippi from last place in the US based on per capita income. He presented data demonstrating that the problem is not racial or geographical, but is primarily due to educational achievement levels in the state. He said that employers do not want to locate in the state because of the shortage of well educated workers. He said that the lack of educational achievement is due to limited choice of educational alternatives because students are assigned to districts and schools based on where they live and he believes that the educational process would be more effective if the students had more options regarding schools.
Representative Bomgar said that he committed to his constituents that he would develop a detailed plan for getting Mississippi out of last place in the US on a per capita income basis during his initial 4 year term. He further said that he is two years into his term and that he is committed to finalizing that plan by the end of his four year term. The accompanying photo shows Representative Bomgar at the head table during the meeting with the title slide for his presentation on the screen “Rising Out of Last Place.”To his left at the table is Rotarian Jeff Adcock who introduced him to the club. He presented extensive data supporting his conclusions that the proble of low per capita income is neither racial nor geographical within the state. The supporting data were in comparison with the racial make-up of Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, & South Carolina.
The second photo is of Rep. Bomgar with the last slide in his presentation. It show's his objective for the sate of Mississippi.
The third photo is of Rep. Bomgar (center) with Rotarians Don Roberts (left) and Tom Parry (right) following his presentation.
We thank Rep. Bomgar for his presentation to our club, for his commitment to our state, and for his willingness to share is ideas for raising the state from its 50th position
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