Prayer:
(Psalm 8:1)
O Lord, "how majestic is your name in all the earth!"
We stand in awe of your majesty and might, of your unconditional love and endless grace. As your earthly servants we turn to you in prayer to give thanks and to seek your blessing. In our world-wide Rotarian fellowship, many forms of religion are
represented, but we acknowledge one God. We
invoke your blessings on us now as we gather in the
spirit of compassion to pursue our mission of helpfulness.
As we come to the end of the month called Vocational Service Month being observed throughout the Rotary world, we are grateful for opportunities in the context of Rotary, to use our individual vocations to advance the cause of truth, fairness, and
beneficence and to build better relationships in clubs, com- munities and countries.
For this, we request your guidance and empowerment, as we commit ourselves to serving
others, with glory being given to you.
Thank you for the food prepared for us and for the fellowship which binds us together in doing your will in the world. Amen.
Club Announcements
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Birthdays
Stephen Stenmark Oct. 25
Paul Miller Oct. 26
Larry Anderson Oct. 30
Anniversaries
Andy & Caroline White Oct. 24
Membership Anniversaries
Lee Jenkins 5 years, Oct. 30
Rotary Foundation Thought. This week’s Rotary Foundation
Thought is about Changing and Saving Lives.
Have you ever considered that your contribution to The Rotary
Foundation may mean the difference between life and death?
Rotary Foundation Matching Grant projects have helped provide
he Malawi Children’s Village (MCV) with everything from clean
water, food and medications to blankets, sewing machines and
a windmill. The Rotary Club of Canandaigua, New York, USA
and Chakunga Sibale, director of the MCV, founded the program
in 1997 and it is supported locally by the Rotary Club of Limbe.
“The MCV has had a very great effect to relieve the suffering of
children in my country,” says Sibale. Rotarian’s contributions to
this project have literally meant the difference between life and
death for many of the children in the MCV program.
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 in-
terested in sponsoring a month, the est. cost is $180 for
the food. Mike Dawkins is project chair and can be reach-
ed @ 601-351-2428 or mdawkins@bakerdonelson.com.
Between the Lions. Please remember to sign up for Be-
tween 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 will resume reading when the children the new school
year begins.
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
Dr. Koko Khurram Rizwani takes a selfie with colleagues.
By Dr. Koko Khurram Rizwani, Rotary PolioPlus Memorial Scholarship recipient
About a year ago, I was facing many anxieties and worries about how I was going to complete my graduate studies and realize my short and long-term goals of improving public health in Pakistan. Receiving Rotary’s PolioPlus Memorial Scholarship has been like a dream come true.
I have always felt a bit at odds with many of my peers, to the point that I have often times been labeled an “odd lot.” I see problems or broken systems and I want to fix them. I cannot accept the usual quick-fix approach that is practiced a lot here in Pakistan.
I have had a passion for medicine since secondary school and completed my Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Dow Medical College. I was gratified that I now had the knowledge to be able to ameliorate some of the pain in other people’s lives.
But as time passed, and I started my medical practice, a new problem emerged as I confronted the state of affairs in the health profession. Questions kept coming up. Why is this done this way? How can anyone ignore this? How can the government neglect such basic needs? Why is there no realization of how to stem such an endemic contagious disease? And on and on it went.
I see problems or broken systems and I want to fix them. I cannot accept the usual quick-fix approach that is practiced a lot here in Pakistan.
I could not go on as a medical doctor and feel powerless to change the policies and practices for the betterment of society. I knew my present qualifications were not enough. So after many days of contemplation, I decided to pursue an advanced degree in public health.
Postgraduate work with two children and a husband in the armed forces who is always on the move can be very challenging. But like they say, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
I set out to search for all the colleges offering post-graduate degrees in public health and enrolled at the Dow University of Health Sciences. By some means and much difficulty, I managed to pay the first semester fees and began my coursework with enthusiasm. Always in the back of my mind, however, was the anxiety of how I was going to pay the next semester fees.
The Rotary PolioPlus Memorial Scholarship recipients from Pakistan (four women at left and student at far right) with Aziz Memon (center grey suit) chair of Rotary’s National PolioPlus Committee in Pakistan.
How in the world would I get a scholarship here? It seemed inconceivable; yet something to aspire to. And that is when I heard about Rotary.
I cannot express my appreciation enough for this scholarship. My uncertainty and stress have diminished, and I have met an enthusiastic team who are as keen as I am to address the problems in the system. I am recommitted to working with great care and perseverance to learn all I can studying full-time.
Most importantly, I feel this scholarship will become the cornerstone for achieving my dream of improving the health care system, or as I like to put it, “debugging” the system and changing behaviors and practices that will benefit people throughout Pakistan.
Without Rotary, this dream of mine would have been much more difficult, if not impossible.
About the scholarship: The Rotary PolioPlus Memorial Scholarship was established to recognize front-line health care workers, some who have sacrificed their lives, carrying out polio immunizations and other community-based health activities. This year’s scholarships were awarded to five scholars in Pakistan and three in Nigeria. Each recipient is assigned a Rotary member as a host counselor to support the scholars and provide a connection to the Rotary community in their country.
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
Tony Klingler was recognized for making his grandson, Jacob, a Paul Harris Fellow at the Rotary Club of North Jackson’s October 3, 2017, meeting. Tony is shown in the accompanying photo receiving Jacob’s certificate from Rotarian Joe Harris.
The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of US$1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.
It was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage substantial contributions to what was then the Foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships.
The first Paul Harris Fellows include 1937-38 RI Director Allison G. Brush and longtime RI Treasurer Rufus F. Chapin, both for donations made in 1946. Mrs. Adan Vargas was the first woman to receive the recognition, for a gift made in 1953. Mrs. Harry L. Jones was the second, and one of only five people recognized for contributions made in 1957.
Early Paul Harris Fellows received a certificate of recognition. In 1969, the Foundation unveiled the first Paul Harris Fellow medallion at the RI Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Japanese metal artist Fiju Tsuda created the piece under the direction of then-past Foundation Trustee Kyozo Yuasa. Today, Paul Harris Fellows receive a certificate and pin. They are also eligible to purchase a Paul Harris Fellow medallion.
Rotarians have a tradition of supporting the Foundation by honoring others. Ida LeTulle Taylor became a Paul Harris Fellow in 1978 when her husband, then-District Governor Vann Taylor, made a donation in her name in honor of their 34th wedding anniversary. The gift also made her the 25,000th Paul Harris Fellow.
At the International Assembly in 1979, then-RI President-elect James Bomar challenged each Rotary club to make one non-Rotarian a Paul Harris Fellow. The Rotary Club of Pikesville, Maryland, USA, responded by making a donation in the name of Mother Teresa in 1980. The entertainer Pearl Bailey also became a Paul Harris Fellow through a joint effort of the Rotary clubs in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Many other notable figures have been named as Paul Harris Fellows, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and Jonas Salk.
The number of Paul Harris Fellows reached the one million mark in 2006. Contributions for Paul Harris Fellows havemade possible a 99.9% reduction in global polio cases in addition to funding many other Rotary projects.
Rusty Bryant and Scott Taylor, President and Vice President, respectively, of Brilla Soccer Club spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Rotary club’s October 3, 2017 meeting. They discussed how Brilla was formed in Clinton, MS as an outreach ministry focused on soccer programs. Brilla sponsors a Premier Development League Program for young men wanting to pursue a career in professional soccer, an Urban Soccer League, and youth soccer for boys and girls. Bryant said that Three of Brilla’s alumni are currently playing high level soccer, two in the MLS and one in Spain.
Taylor discussed that Brilla is a Christian ministry that uses soccer as a vehicle. Brilla was formed under the umbrella of a similar program in Memphis that uses basketball as its vehicle.
We thank Rusty and Scott for their presentation and for their commitment to the young people. The accompanying photo shows Rusty at the lectern and Scott seated at the table.
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