1. Effective May 7, 2015, the Madison Ridgeland Club is meeting at Embassy Suites, 200 Township Place, Ridgeland, MS 39157, Thursday's at noon.
Posted on June 4, 2015
Trying a different type of
district conference
By Quentin Wodon, a member of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill
For the past four years, I have conducted evaluations of the district conference we hold in District 7620 using surveys administered through the web. This year our conference was different, and some of the things we learned I thought could be valuable to share with Rotary members everywhere.
This year our conference was shorter and cheaper to attend. On the first day, attendees had several opportunities to participate in community service projects with local NGOs. We achieved substantially higher attendance (425 registrations) than previous conferences.
Our conference focused largely on fun and fellowship, with only a few sessions on Rotary matters. And it involved multiple locations with transportation provided from one location to the other. Because the conference was located in an area with several Rotary clubs nearby, many participants were also able to attend without having to book a hotel night.
Did the new format of the conference work? A total of 155 participants responded to the evaluation survey. Almost half of participants rated the conference as better than previous conferences. This is slightly below the results for last year’s conference, where 60 percent of the responses rated it higher than the previous year. But those results are still impressive given that for the two years before that, most respondents rated the conferences about the same as previous experiences.
The survey rated some 25 different sessions, with a criteria of having at least nine respondents per session to pull reliable conclusions. Six of the 25 sessions got 75 percent or more “very good” ratings, and these were two of the service project sessions, the high school Four Way Test speech contest, the Interact session, a Saturday evening dinner with Dean Rohrs our guest speaker, and the subsequent Rock Tenor music performance. So service projects, interactions with youth, and the Saturday capstone events stole the show!
The survey revealed there is still room for improvement. When asked what types of sessions they would like to see more off, respondents said they would want sessions discussing successful projects, and debates/discussions on Rotary and its future. More information on our conference evaluations is available on my blog, Rotarian Economist.
What have you found works at your district conference?
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Prayer: Gracious God, to whom we owe gratitude and praise for blessings unnumbered, we express our thanks today for this gathering and the opportunities it holds for us. Help us, however, to go beyond just voicing our gratitude to living daily with a grateful spirit.
Bless our local efforts to serve others, to infuse our community with the proven principles we espouse, and to be standard bearers for truth in our spheres of influence. Bless and strengthen us through food and fellowship for the pursuit of our purposes as a club. Amen.
New Rotary Club of North Jackson Members Make Vocational Talks
New members of the Rotary Club of North Jackson, Ken Booker and Steele Dehmer made vocational talks at the Club's June 2, 2015 meeting. Ken Booker is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelors degree in Forestry and an MBA. He lives with his wife, Nicole, and four children in Clinton. Ken is employed by Regions Bank as a forester. He discussed his career and the current economic conditions in the timber industry. He said that beginning with the 2008 recession, timber prices have fallen 30 - 50% with a similar impact on the value of timberland. A number of sawmills have closed due to the economic conditions. Ken is shown to the right during his talk.
Steele Dehmer is a graduate of the university of Mississippi with degrees in psychology and sociology. He is employed as a Producer (Insurance Agent) with Insurance Protection Specialists in Flowood. He and his wife Katherine live in Madison. Steele is shown below during his presentation to the club.
WE thank them both for their presentations and for their membership in our club.
Carol Penick, Executive Director of The Women’s
Fund of Mississippi and Jamie Holcomb Bardwell, Deputy Director of the Women’s Fund, spoke to
the Rotary Club of North at its May 26
meeting. The ladies informed the club of their
Consider This program. The program is an
advocacy network dedicated to creating a better
Mississippi for women and their families. They
highlighted the issue of teen and unplanned
pregnancy in Mississippi. Shown are from left,
Bardwell, Penick and Sean Culhane, Club
President. The Rotary Club of North Jackson
meets at noon on Tuesdays at St. James
Episcopal Church.
The Between the Lions program at William Walton Elementary School in Jackson completed its program year with an advancement ceremony in which the pre-Kindergarten children were promoted to Kindergarten for the next school year beginning in September. For the past 9 months members of the Rotary Club of North Jackson have been reading to the Pre-K children on a weekly basis. The program is one sponsored by Mississippi public Broadcasting. The Rotary Club of North Jackson is a co-sponsor along with MPB. Rotarian Dr. J. Clinton Smith has chaired the project. Approximately 8 members of the club have actively participated this year. It has been a wonderful year introducing the children to books and, as lead by Dr. Smith, a little bit of exercise. Our program is coordinated by Ms. Kat Jordan of MPB. Our hosts are Ms. Angela Sandifer. Pre-K teacher, Ms. Gewn Gardner, Principal, and Dr. Shevonne McDuffy-Oatis, Resource Specialist.It has been a marvelous year watching these children absorb the knowledge. The large crowd at the assembly is shown on the right. We thank MPB, Jackson Public Schools, and the adminstration and teachers of Walton School for the opportunty to participate.
Jeff Good, local restauranteur and civic activist, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its May 19, 2015 meeting. The subject of his talk was Locally Invested Food Trade or LIFT. He described the loss of the ability to use locally prodcued food products in Mississippi bussiness, particularly restaurants.
Early in the 20th century Mississippi produced nearly all of the food products consumed in the State. However, with the passage of time and some regulations, particularly to protect the consumer, most of food production relocated out of state. This is ironic since Mississppi is a vast agricultural state with large number of hungry citizens. The purpose of LIFT is to develop local sources of foodstuffs. Jeff is shown on the right during his talk. WE thank him for speaking to our club.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson held its annual Club Assembly at St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson on the evening of May 12, 2015..Two photos from the assembly are shown on the right. A fine dinner was prepared by St. Andrew's Holy Smokers. Dinner consisted of grilled beef tenderloin, au gratin potatoes, grilled asparagus and a mixed green salad. A great time was had by all. Thanks to the Holy Smokers and to St. Andrew's for our wonderful evening.
No meeting August 4. The Rotary Club of North Jackson will not meet on August 4, 2015. St. James Church has a Rummage sale that will require the Parish Hall that week.
No meeting June 16. The Rotary Club of North Jackson will not meet on Tuesday, June 16 because St. James Church is having Vacation Bible School that week and will be using the Parish Hall.
Changing of the Guard. The 2015-2016 officers and directors for the Rotary Club of North Jackson will be installed at the club's June 30 meeting.Members need to be certain to attend this important renewal of our annual ceremony recognizing our outgoing leadership team and installing the new one.
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 @ St. James @ 5:15 and then travel together to Billy Brumfield. Also, if you are interested in sponsoring a month, the est. cost is $180 for the food. Joe Myers is project chair and can be reached @ 601-291-4568 or jmyers11@comcast.net.
Between the Lions. We finished our Between the Lions reading sessions the week of May 18. We read almost weekly at WilliamWaltonElementary School on Bailey Ave. since October. Please consider signing up to read next year. It is a wonderful experience! The children are truly information sponges and very willing learners. Contact Clinton Smith (601) 668-2366 for more information.
Member Care Committee reminder: 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 membership application, check classification availability, and discuss occupational qualifications.
· 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 Facebook page to stay up to date on the latest happenings. Search us out at Rotary Club of North Jackson or click the link:
This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about Every Rotarian, Every Year. June is Rotary Fellowships Month.
Every Rotarian, Every Year. “The cries for help from pain, suffering, and death can be heard from over one-third of the world. Every 10 seconds, a child dies in the world. Rotary is a humanitarian organization that can make a difference. By meeting our district Annual Programs Fund goal, we can make the world a better place. Support the Every Rotarian, Every Year effort. Give to the Annual Programs Fund. Your gift is a gift of life.” — Rotarian Bob Holloway
“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, MS 3 9 2 8 6 - 9 5 2 8
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Deputy Director of the Women’s Fund, spoke to
The Between the Lions program at William Walton Elementary School in Jackson completed its program year with an advancement ceremony in which the pre-Kindergarten children were promoted to Kindergarten for the next school year beginning in September. For the past 9 months members of the Rotary Club of North Jackson have been reading to the Pre-K children on a weekly basis. The program is one sponsored by Mississippi public Broadcasting. The Rotary Club of North Jackson is a co-sponsor along with MPB. Rotarian Dr. J. Clinton Smith has chaired the project. Approximately 8 members of the club have actively participated this year. It has been a wonderful year introducing the children to books and, as lead by Dr. Smith, a little bit of exercise. Our program is coordinated by Ms. Kat Jordan of MPB. Our hosts are Ms. Angela Sandifer. Pre-K teacher, Ms. Gewn Gardner, Principal, and Dr. Shevonne McDuffy-Oatis, Resource Specialist.It has been a marvelous year watching these children absorb the knowledge. The large crowd at the assembly is shown on the right. We thank MPB, Jackson Public Schools, and the adminstration and teachers of Walton School for the opportunty to participate.
