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.
We confess to taking for granted the blessings of food and gifts of fun and fellowship. Accept our thanks today for these blessings. Amen.
Club Announcements:
Proposed New Member Announcement. Dudley Collier Graham, Jr. has been proposed for membership in the Rotary Club of North Jackson by Cooper Morrison and is sponsored by past president Don Roberts. His Rotary name willbe Collier
Collier is a Shareholder in the law firm Wise Carter Child & Carraway, P. A., locatedin the HeritageBuilding on Capitol Street, in Downtown Jackson.
Collier attended Millsaps College and earned a BA at Vanderbilt and his JD from the University of Mississippi. He and his wife, Beth, have 3 children and live in Belhaven. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity-MS Capital Area.
This is the 2nd publication of the announcement for this pro-posed new member.
Administrative Announcement. Please see the following from our club's Administrative Secretary-Treasurer, Don Roberts:
"As you know, last year District 6820 began promotion of a Car Raffle. From a District perspective, proceeds of the Raffle support The Rotary Foundation ( 50%), Polio Eradication[ also The Rotary Foundation] ( 25%), and the District 6820 Foundation [supports small clubs] ( 25 %). Again, this year the District is holding a Raffle, this time of a Ford F-150 pickup truck with proceeds being divided the same as last year. ( Truck Raffle Flyer attached)
Our Club’s Board of Directors has decided to more strongly support the District Raffle. As part of this decision, this year we will not hold our annual Pancake Breakfast.
For several years, we have held our annual Pancake Breakfast at St. James. All Club members have been asked to support this effort by volunteering to work and to purchase tickets. Proceeds from this event were designated to support PolioPlus with some funds available for local charities.
This year, instead of being asked to buy 9 Pancake Breakfast tickets at $ 5.00 each ($45.00), all members are being asked to purchase 2 raffle tickets at $ 25 each ($ 50.00). Members will be charged for their two tickets on the next Club Invoice issued within the next week.
Of course, there will be Club members who would like to purchase additional raffle tickets. These will be available at all Club meetings starting on October 23rd. Members may purchase additional tickets at $ 25 each. Since the tickets are also priced at “5 for $ 100” , members may purchase 3 additional. tickets for only $ 50.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson shares in the proceeds of the Raffle by keeping 25% of ticket sales as an instant fundraiser. All proceeds received by our Club will be contributed to the Rotary Foundation’s PolioPlus Fund to continue the work of polio eradication."
Remember to purchase your District 6820 Dream Raffle Tickets. See Flyer.
Birthdays and Anniversaries:
Birthdays:
None
Wedding Anniversaries:
Jim & Eula Stanley November 06
Membership Anniversaries:
Justin Croft 2 years, Nov. 08
Social Media. Do you want to keep up with the service activities and members of the Rotary Club of North Jackson? Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@RotaryNorth) and Instagram (rotarynorthjackson)
Rotary Foundation Thought. This week's Rotary Foundation Thought is the November President's Message from 2018-2019 Rotary International President Barry Rassin.
"One early June, more than 30 years ago, I had a business trip scheduled to Las Vegas. I had been a Rotarian for about six years, and I thought of myself as an active member: I attended every meeting, I’d served as club secretary, I knew everyone in my club. But for me, Rotary was very much a community organization. It connected me to Nassau and perhaps even to the Bahamas — but no farther.
I had never given much thought to Rotary beyond the Bahamas, and it had never crossed my mind to travel to a Rotary convention. But that spring, I realized that my trip to Las Vegas would coincide with the Rotary International Convention and thought, why not? I sent in my registration and paid my fees, never suspecting that the experience would change my life.
When I walked through the doors of that convention, I was stunned. It was one thing to know that I was part of a global organization with over a million members around the world. It was something else altogether to stand there in the middle of it. I went to every general session, looked in at every booth at the House of Friendship, and learned about projects that I hadn’t even known you could do in Rotary.
That convention didn’t just open my eyes. It opened my mind. It inspired me to completely change the way I saw Rotary, what Rotary could do for me, and what I could do through Rotary. That inspiration has stayed with me ever since — and is renewed every year, at every Rotary convention.
In June 2019, Rotarians from all over the world will converge in Hamburg to Capture the Moment at the 110th Rotary International Convention. Many, like me, will have been coming to conventions for years; many others will be coming for the first time. Whether they’re looking to connect with old friends, to find inspiration for a new Rotary year, or simply to see what Rotary is all about, each of them will find their own moment in Hamburg.
Hamburg is a port city that connects Germany to the world and that has been an economic and cultural hub for centuries. It’s a wonderful place to visit — to stroll the shores of the city’s lake, take a boat trip on the Elbe River, dine out, hear great music, and explore fascinating museums. It’s also the ideal place to kick off a European vacation.
If you’re a regular convention goer, you absolutely won’t want to miss out on the friendship and inspiration you’ll find in Hamburg. And if you’ve never been to a convention, please consider this my personal invitation. Register at riconvention.org by 15 December for the best rate — and let this convention Be the Inspiration for your Rotary journey."
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 mdawkins@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. Please sign up for 2018-2019. Call Bill Osborne @ 601-594-5698 to sign up. This year we will be reading on Tuesdays and Fridays at 09:00.
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) He will provide a membership application, check classification availability and discuss occupational qualifications.
Rotary Membership Occupational Qualifications Applicant should be one of the following:
A corporate officer
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 Facebook page to stay up to date on the latest happenings. Search us out at Rotary Club of North Jackson or click the link:
Members of the Rotary Club of North Jackson distributed dictionaries to third-grade students in 6 north Jackson elementary schools the week of October 22nd: Boyd, Casey, Dawson, McWillie, McLeod, and Spann. This is an annual project for the club as it has been occurring for at least 11 years. The Rotarians emphasized that the dictionaries belong to the students, that they should put their name on the faceplate at the front of the book, they demonstrate how to use a dictionary and what information it contains in addition to words and their definitions. The following photos are from the event.
Mississippi State Senator Hob Bryan spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its October 30, 2018 meeting. Senator Bryan is a native of Amory, Mississippi. He represents Itawamba, Lee, & Monroe counties in the Mississippi State Senate and is a graduate of Mississippi State University and the University of Virginia Law School. Sen. Bryan is also a member of the Rotary Club of Amory. Senator Bryan is shown during his speech in the following two photos The second photo also shows Rotarian Luther Munford who introduced Senato Bryan at the speaker’s table.
We thank Sen. Bryan for his presentation to our club and for his service to the citizens of Mississippi.
Mr. Jay McDaniel, Deputy Director, Mississippi Gaming Commision spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s October 16, 2018 meeting. He discussed the history and extent of legalized gambling in the state and the role of the commission in supervising gaming. Mr. McDaniel is an attorney and a graduate of the Mississippi College School of Law. Prior to joining the Gaming Commission, he practiced law with the Butler Snow lawfirm.
Per its website, “The mission of the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) is to enforce the Gaming Control Act and Charitable Gaming Laws of the State of Mississippi. The MGC will establish and enforce regulations under the authority of those laws in such a manner that will ensure the integrity of the State of Mississippi and maintain the public confidence in both the charitable gaming and casino gaming industries by working in conjunction with the industry. The Mississippi Gaming Commission will work in concert with international, national, state, county, local regulatory and law enforcement agencies to establish a safe and crime-free environment. In addition, the MGC will ensure economic development that is in both the best interest and safety of the citizens of the State of Mississippi.”
According to Mr. McDaniel, Mississippi currently has 28 supervised casinos plus the Choctaw Indian Nation's Pearl River Casino. The Mississippi Legislature legalized dockside casino gambling with the passage of House Bill 2 in the 1990 Special Legislative Session. This bill established the Mississippi Gaming Control Act to be in force and effect from and after its adoption on June 29, 1990. The Gaming Control Act established the Mississippi Gaming Commission to regulate dockside casinos. The Commission regulates charitable gaming pursuant to the Charitable Bingo Law. The Mississippi State Tax Commission initially regulated gaming in order to prepare the Commission to assume this responsibility October 1, 1993. The Commission is headed by three Commissioners who are appointed by the Governor. Each Commissioner serves staggered four-year terms. The law also provides that no Commissioner will serve more than ten years of total service. The Governor appoints the Chairman. The Commissioners are responsible for hiring a full-time Executive Director who is responsible for all authorized positions.
The Charitable Gaming Law authorized the play of bingo in order to fund groups, associations or clubs that are registered with the Secretary of State’s Office as non-profit organizations. It also limits the times and number of games that are allowable each day and week.
The first regulated bingo hall opened in October 1992. Charitable gaming is now conducted in about half of the counties in Mississippi.
Mr. McDaniel noted that the 2018 Special Session of the legislature authorized a lottery for the State of Mississippi, but that the Lottery will be supervised by a Lottery Corporation and not the gaming commission. He also discussed the introduction of Sports betting which has greatly increased gaming in the state and has proven to be a boon to gaming activities since it was legalized by a May 2018 U. S. Supreme Court decision.
We thank Mr. McDaniel for his presentation to our club and for his service to the citizens of Mississippi. He is shown in the following photos during hs presentation and following it with club president Anna Powers and club member Jeff Adcock who introduced him.
Mr. Drew Snyder, Executive Director of Mississippi’s Division of Medicaid Spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s October 9, 2018 meeting. Mr. Snyder discussed the State’s Medicaid program, how it functions and its budget. In response to questions, he generally discussed Medicaid Expansion, under the Affordable Care Act and the cost of providing Medicaid services to qualified Mississippians. One point he made is that ⅔ of the births in Mississippi are under Medicaid.
Executive Director, Drew Snyder
As Executive director, Snyder administers Mississippi’s Medicaid program, subject to state and federal laws and regulations and policies as approved by the Governor.
Snyder joined the Division of Medicaid after having served in several public sector leadership roles, including most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff, Policy Director, and Legal Counsel for Governor Phil Bryant. Prior to joining the Governor’s Office, Snyder was as an Assistant Secretary of State for Delbert Hosemann.
Snyder serves on the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees and chairs the Business Law Section of the Mississippi Bar. He was the non-legislative member of the Legislative Tax Reform Working Group. He also is a member of the Uniform Law Commission. Before entering the public sector, Snyder practiced law at Hollingsworth LLP in Washington D.C., specializing in complex and multi-district litigation, with a focus on pharmaceutical and medical device matters.
A native of Eupora, Snyder received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law.
We thank Mr. Snyder for his presentation to our Rotary Club and for his service to Mississippi. He is shown in the following photo during his speech and in the second one following the speech.
Major Robert Lyle of the Jackson Command of the Salvation Army spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s October 2, 2018, Meeting. Major Lyle discussed his personal history with the Army and the history of the Salvation Army itself. Major Lyle is a native of Paris, Texas. He attended seminary at the Salvation Army seminary in Atlanta, GA and he has served posts in South and North Carolina and Chattanooga, TN before coming to Jackson. He expects his tour in Jackson to last about 3 years.
The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 as an evangelical movement. When William Booth held Christian services in London, he preached messages of hope and salvation to congregations that were utterly destitute. Among those listening were thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards. Thus, he desired to lead these people to Christ by providing for their physical as well as spiritual needs.
Those who converted to Christianity under William Booth’s teaching became known as Salvationists. Between 1881 and 1885, some 250,000 people were converted through his ministry. Programs evolved to meet changing needs but remained focused on “Sharing God’s love by serving others” and continue to meet critical needs at the point of need. The Salvation Army ministry now serves in virtually every corner of the world.
The Salvation Army was also in the forefront of encouraging women to take a place of prominence in ministry. The first female general was William Booth’s daughter, Evangeline Booth, serving from 1934 to 1939.
The Salvation Army’s mission has remained the same since the day it began – to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
In his talk, Major Lyle discussed the Army’s Angel Tree program for needy children and it's red kettle program in which the Rotary Club of North Jackson participates. He noted that again this year the club will be at McDade’s on Northside Drive in early December.
We thank major Lyle for his presentation and for all that he does for our needy citizens.
Rotarian Suman Das reminded the Rotary Club of North Jackson that our club will participate in World Polio Day this month. Our club meeting on October 23 will be devoted to the Polio Day celebration. World Polio Day is actually October 24. Dr. Das posted a large sign reminding Rotarians that the incidence of polio has decreased by 99.9% since Rotary International began working on eliminating polio in 1986. There were 350,000 worldwide cases of polio in 1986. This number decreased to 10 cases in 3 countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria in 2017. Dr. Das’s sign is shown in the following photo.
We thank Dr. Das for reminding us of upcoming PWorld Polio Day and for leading our Club’s involvement in its celebration.
The Rotary Clubs of District 6820 Dream Raffle is now underway. This year's Grand Prize is a 2019 Ford F150 XLT SuperCrew 4x4 [or choose $40,000 cash] !!! There will also be 10 additional $500 cash prizes !!!
Tickets are 5 for $100 (or $25 each). Every club gets to keep 25% of ticket sales as an instant additional fundraiser. All clubs have received their tickets to distribute, so be sure to ask your Club President if you have not seen them yet.
Our goal this year is to raise over $400,000 for the great works of Rotary !!! To reach our goal, we are kindly asking every club to fully participate and sell a quota of just 10 tickets per member. Tickets may be sold, purchased or alternatively a donation in kind may be given toward the effort and cause. We can reach our goal but only if everybody does their part.
CRUISE TO COZUMEL, MEXICO GIVEAWAY !!! The member of Rotary District 6820 who sells the most tickets will be awarded 2 cruise ship tickets to Cozumel, Mexico to attend our District Conference May 2-6, 2019 !!! The flyers follow:
Mike Pepper, Executive Director of the Mississippi Road Builders Association spoke to the Rotary Club of North JACKSON at the Club’s September 18, 2018, meeting. The subject of his talk was the condition of Mississippi's roads & bridges and the results of the 2018 special legislative session to address infrastructure issues. He summarized by saying that Mississippi needs $350-400 million annually to address the transportation infrastructure issues. The legislature approved an estimated $200.million annually from a lottery, the proceeds from internet sales taxes, and a portion of the BP oil spill settlement proceeds. According to Mr. Pepper, this is a start, albeit, a tenuous one. What is really needed in his judgment is an increase in the gasoline tax and a tax on electric vehicles that use the infrastructure.
Mr. Pepper showed photos of failed bridges in the state. Rotarians will remember that many bridges in the state were recently closed due to their failed state. The photos clearly made the intended point. Mr. Pepper is shown in the following photo during his talk. We thank him for his presentation to our club and for his service to Mississippi.
Dana Larkin, Executive Director of Growing Up Knowing and Ken Hodges of Wells United Methodist Church spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s September 11, 2018 meeting. Mr. Hodges spoke about WellsFest, an annual fundraiser conducted by Wells Church. Growing up Knowing is the beneficiary of this year’s WellsFest. WellsFest is held the last Saturday in September, September 29. It features, music, a run, an art auction, a coffee house, and grilled picnic fare. L.last year, WellsFest raised about $70,000. The goal this year is $50,000. All of the funds raised go to the beneficiary. In the first photo, Mr. Hodges is shown discussing WellsFest.
Growing up knowing is targeted at reducing teen pregnancy and the transmission of STIs, particularly by teenagers. According to its website: GROWING UP KNOWING engages young people and their families in real conversations about sexual health and staying safe. The program consists of parent-child sessions with elementary age and middle-school children. The sessions are held at non profit organizations such as Stewpot Community Services, Operation Shoestring, and the Boys & Girls Clubs. Ms. Larkin distributed a fact sheet on teen pregnancy and STI rates for MS and the US.
The second photo is of Ms. Larkin during her presentation.
The photo below shows Ms. Larkin,(2nd from right), and Mr. Hodges (2nd from left) along with Leah Wittenberg, Program Specialist with Growing up Knowing (left), and Club President Anna Powers (right)
We thank Ms. Larkin for what her organization is doing for Mississippi’s youth. We also thank Mr. Hodges and Wells Church for the 35 years that the church has sponsored WellsFest to benefit the Jackson Metro area.
Noah Barbieri, a 2018 graduate of Millsaps College spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its September 4, 2018, meeting. Mr. Barbieri was named a Rhodes scholar in November 2017. He was previously named a Truman Scholar in April 2017. At Millsaps, he was class Valedictorian and Student Body President with Philosophy and Economics majors and a minor in Mathematics. He intends to pursue a Masters & Ph.D. in Economics at Oxford, UK, to be followed by a J.D. once he returns to the US.
Mr. Barbieri is a native of Belden, Mississippi in Pontotoc County. He intends to return home once he completes his schooling to pursue a career in Public Service. He joins 6 previous Millsaps graduates as a Rhodes Scholar. His desire is to focus on retaining Mississippi college and university graduates to pursue their careers in their home state.
His speech centered on his life experiences, including being homeschooled for the first 7 years of his education because of extreme allergies. He (right) is shown in the first Photo with club member Matthew Turnage who scheduled his talk to the club and in the second photo during his speech.
The third photo is of Club member John Sewell who introduced Mr. Barbieri.
We thank Mr. Barbieri for his presentation and for his commitment to Mississippi. We wish him success in his studies across the Pond and look forward to hearing him again upon his completion of those studies.
