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Club Announcements:
The Rotary Club of North Jackson suspended in-person meetings effective December 8, 2020, because of the continuing spread of COVID-19 and the guidance of the State's Public Health leaders. The meetings are conducted via Zoom.
Zoom meeting invites with the link and password will be sent to all club members on Mondays. The Zoom meetings will continue to start at noon on Tuesdays with club member fellowship with the meeting starting at 12:15 p.m. If you have any issues connecting to the Zoom meeting, please email Past President Greg Campbell at gregcampbell2@comcast.net.
We reserve the first 15 minutes for fellowship and give our speakers nearly 30 minutes for their presentations.
Birthdays and Anniversaries.
Birthdays
Edley Jones Dec. 18
Wedding Anniversaries:
Tommy & Marsha James Dec. 16
Membership Anniversaries
Suzie Baker 14 years, Dec. 19
Prayer. Ever-present God, having drawn aside, once again, from the demands and opportunities inherent in our daily work, we acknowledge with gratitude the privilege which is ours to be Rotarians, following in the footsteps of stalwart service-minded persons who, for more than a hundred years, have been faithful to Paul Harris' dream. Help us to be true to our Rotarian heritage by recommitting ourselves and our resources to the causes to which previous generations have given themselves.
For gifts of food and fellowship, we offer thanks, but also for faith and hope. Amen.
Jill Gordon, founder and CEO of Enrich MS spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson on the "Dangers of Vaping" at the club's December 8, 2020 meeting. Gordon founded Enrich MS in 2019. The following background information is from the organization's website:
"Our Mission. Our mission is to provide a community-supported Youth enrichment education program committed and dedicated to engaging and informing youth, parents, schools, and community partners. Enrich MS is already making a substantial impact in our communities across the state towards prevention for a variety of issues affecting our youth today. We have a clear vision and specific strategies to greatly reduce vaping, educate on the dangers of substance abuse, suicide prevention, social media use, and a variety of youth-related issues.
School Programs. Enrich MS has launched a program in Central MS for youth enrichment beginning with Vaping prevention. We also continually expand by offering programs on social media use and suicide prevention. We have a Peer to Peer Youth Leadership Team for high school and middle school kids. Enrich MS covers the entire state utilizing the best technology possible. To learn more about our youth leadership team click here...https://enrichms.org/youth-leadership-team
Speaking engagements and community outreach. Enrich MS hosts small group and virtual events throughout our communities and have a panel of experts lead discussions on these topics to provide answers and resources. We invite parents, youth, and other community leaders to further our mission and provide evidence-based quality information. Our community and business partners are featured and invited to these events as well. Invite us to speak to your group so we can work on enriching the lives of the youth of Mississippi together."
Gordon discussed the extent of vaping among students. She said that youth start vaping as early as the 5th grade. She emphasized the dangers of vaping with the example of a young man who had a seizure as the result of inhaling harmful chemicals in the vapor of an e-cigarette he smoked. Vaping is addictive, particularly the nicotine in the e-cigarettes, and e-cigarettes can be used to deliver harmful drugs as happened with the young man. Vaping among youth is now an epidemic. Since 2010, vaping among students has increased by 1700% and it has doubled in the past year. In January 2021, Enrich MS will be presenting a Virtual Vaping Summit. The summit's purpose is to increase awareness and share resources that address the vaping epidemic.
We thank Gordon for her presentation and for her work to protect our youth. She is shown during her presentation in the following photo:
The recording of the club's meeting, including her presentation, is available at the following website https://vimeo.com/489023052.
Members of the Rotary Club of North Jackson and of the Rotaract Club of Millsaps College “Rang the Bell” for the Salvation Army at the Corner Market store at 1200 East Northside Drive on December 1-3, 2020 This was the 12th year that the Rotary Club has done this activity that provides funds for the Salvation Army to support needy persons in the Jackson Area. Rotary Club Past President Robert Whitley has chaired the activity since it was founded. The following photos are from the activity. We thank the Rotarians and Rotaracters for their effort this year.
Ray Harrigill, President, and Founder of Sunray Companies spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its December 1, 2020 meeting. Harrigill spoke on the challenges during the pandemic as a business owner. We thank Mr. Harrigill for his presentation to our club. He showed us how an entrepreneur can successfully deal with adversity.
The Sunray Companies is a full-service hospitality, retail, and real estate development company co-founded in 1996 by Ray and Monica Harrigill. Based in Madison, Mississippi, The Sunray Companies operates best-in-class brands including Hampton Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Palm Beach Tan, Massage Envy, and Bumpers Drive-In.
Shown from left, Suman Das, club Vice President; Don Roberts, club Exec. Secretary/Treasurer; Harrigill; Monica Harrigill, Managing Member & Co-Founder Sunray; Wyatt Emmerich, club member, and Neelam Goel, club Foundations Chair.
The Rotaract Club of Millsaps College that is sponsored by the Rotary Club of North Jackson recently collected $1,300 for Polio Plus. Members of the club presented their check during a recent Rotary Club meeting.
Shown from left, back row: Dr. Nelson Atehortua, District 6820 Polio Plus Chair and club member; Dhruv Patel, Rotaract Club Vice-President; Spencer Wallace, Rotaract Club President and Lee Carney, Rotary Club President. Front row: Chris Bruni, Rotaract club member; Makayla Pfarr, Rotaract club member; Taylor Smith, Rotaract club member and Dr. Suman Das, Rotary Club Polio Plus Chair and Vice-President.
Shown from left: Dr. Nelson Atehortua, Rotary District 6820 Polio Plus Chair, Spencer Wallace, Rotaract Club of Millsaps College President presenting the check, and Dr. Suman Das, Rotary Club of North Jackson Polio Plus Chair and Vice-President.
Michael “Mike” Carraway, a CPA and partner with GranthamPoole CPAs spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson about the 2020 Cares Act (the Act) at the club’s November 24, 2020 meeting. Carraway is a Summa Cum Laude Graduate of the University of Mississippi with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accountancy. He focused his talk on the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) authorized by that Act. Per Carraway, the Act initially authorized the issuance of $349 billion in PPP loans to small and businesses with 500 or fewer employees. The authorization was subsequently increased. He said that as of April 15, 1.7 million loans were made and that as of August 8, 5.2 million loans were made totaling $525 Billion. Currently, the authorization is $659 billion with some of the funds unallocated. If certain rules are followed, the loans are interest-free and do not need to be repaid.
The purpose of the PPP was and is to keep people employed and to keep money in the financial system. He gave the example of a client who said that he had told his receptionist to stay at home. The client asked if he could continue paying the receptionist with PPP funds. Carraway responded affirmatively saying that paying the receptionist was consistent with the spirit and rules of the PPP.
Carraway further elaborated that Congress still has work to do with PPP since forgiving a loan creates income under existing tax law. For that reason, Congress needs to fix the legislation so that forgiven PPP loans do not create income. That still has to happen.
We thank Carraway for his presentation and for his service to the businesses of Mississippi. The complete meeting including his presentation can be viewed by clicking on the following link https://vimeo.com/483931050.
Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Galen Ohnmacht, of the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson about Lung Cancer at the club's November 17 meeting. Dr. Ohnmacht recently moved from Maryland to Jackson. He commented that he got tired of digging out of the snow in winter and was looking forward to a winter in Mississippi. Dr. Ohmacht completed medical school at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston and his residency at Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Ohmacht's bottom line was that if you don't want lung cancer, don't smoke. He said that people aged 55- 77 years in age who have 30 pack-years or more of smoking should have lung cancer screening. He defined a pack-year as the length of time smoked times the number of packs of cigarettes smoked daily. Thus 30 pack-years for a two-pack a day smoker would be 15 years. He described the screening process as a non-invasive low dose CT scan.
Per Dr. Ohnmacht, Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., accounting for 25% of U.S. Cancer deaths. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancer combined. In 2020, medical experts estimate that there will be 229,000 new cases and 136,000 deaths from lung cancer. The number of deaths is decreasing because of fewer people smoking and early detection. In Mississippi, the estimated number of new lung cancer cases in 2020 is 2500. Risk factors associated with lung cancer are smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, asbestos, diesel exhaust, coal products, arsenic, vinyl chloride, radon, radiation (especially radiation therapy to the chest), air pollution, and a family history of lung cancer. He said that lung cancer can be very advanced by the time people have symptoms.
The stages of lung cancer are
Stage I - cancer remains in the primary organ
Stage II - cancer is large and may or may not have spread to the lymph nodes and other structures
Stage III - cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and other structures
Stage IV - cancer has spread to other areas of the body
There are several imaging tests that can be used to screen for lung cancer, chest X-Ray, Computerized Tomography (CT) scan, and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan.
The treatment for lung cancer depends on the subtype, stage, molecular characteristics, patient co-morbidities, and other factors in combination or alone. Possible treatments include:
surgery
radiation therapy
chemotherapy
targeted therapy
immunotherapy
Dr. Ohnmacht listed the following preventative steps:
don't smoke
avoid secondhand smoke
avoid radon exposure
avoid exposure to known cancer-causing agents in the workplace
eat a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables
We thank Dr. Ohnmacht for his informative presentation and for his moving to Jackson. He is shown following his presentation in the following photo.
Shown in the photo from the left are Club Member Dr. Nelson Atehortua, Dr. Ohnmacht, Baptist System Community Outreach and Special Events Coordinator Caitlin Hayden, and Club President Lee Carney. The entire meeting, including Dr. Ohnmacht's presentation, can be seen at the following website: https://vimeo.com/481056960.
