Happy Holidays! The Rotary Club of North Jackson will not meet on December 25, Christmas Day, or January 1, 2019, New Year's Day.
Prayer.Most Holy God, to whom we turn in the midst of Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations, we are thankful for the meaning of these holidays. We acknowledge that our needs are more than physical so we rejoice in the spiritual provisions for those needs in the overtures of your love and grace conveyed to us through our churches and synagogues. In our respective worship situations outside of Rotary, we pray that inspiration may be gained to better fulfill our Rotarian calling to look to the needs of others. We are grateful for all men and women who have responded to that call through the years. Make us zealous to accomplish more.
Bless all special family gatherings held during these holidays. Bless our guests who have come to share with us. With grateful hearts, we acknowledge the gift of food and the opportunity for fellowship.
Keep us in your loving care until we meet again. Amen.
Club Announcements:
Birthdays and Anniversaries:
Birthdays:
Mark Kennedy December 28
Bill Osborne December 30
Bob Ridgway December 31
Joe Harris December 31
Wedding Anniversaries:
Bob & Naomi Ridgway December 28
Patrick and Tessie Smith December 28
Brad & Bridget Benton December 30
Tag & Dot Gamblin December 31
Membership Anniversaries:
None
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 about Service Above Self.
Plagued by famine, the impoverished nation of Niger struggles to feed its citizens. But Rotarians like Ernie and Sally Montagne, of Arizona, USA, are helping to break this
cycle of hunger and grinding poverty. During a planning trip to Niger on a Volunteer Service Grant, the Montagnes saw firsthand how The Rotary Foundation’s humanitarian
efforts are supporting sustainable projects there.
“The Rotary Foundation is our vehicle of choice to enable ordinary Rotarians to make a lasting difference in the lives of thousands of villagers in Africa.”
Ernie and Sally Montagne
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:
Pam Smith, 2018-2019 Governor of Rotary District 6820 spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s December 18 meeting. The primary subject of her speech was Rotary and its 2018-19 “Be the Inspiration” theme developed by 2018-19 Rotary International President Barry Rassin of The Bahamas. She also said that if you include the global Rotaract and Interact members, Rotary is the world’s largest service organization and that its 1985 initiative to end polio has been 99.99% successful.
Gov. Smith also talked about the importance of Rotarians buying the Rotary automobile license. She reiterated that the District will pay the first year’s $31.00 fee for the new tags provided that the order is received by Dec. 31, 2018. She is shown below during her presentation. She noted that Rotary’s “End Polio Now” initiative has reduced polio cases by 99.9% since the initiative was started in 1985 when there were 350,000 worldwide polio cases. There have been 14 cases in 2018 as of World Polio Day, October 24, 2018
The following photo shows Gov. Smith during her talk. We thank her for visiting our club and for her service to Rotary.
On December 12 & 13, Rotary Club of North Jackson volunteers assisted the Salvation Army by ringing bells in the Army’s annual Christmas fund drive. The following photos are of club members during their bell-ringing shifts.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson inducted Neelan Goel and Collier Graham into the club at its December 11, 2018 meeting. Ms. Goel is Office Manager for PSP Medical Clinic in Canton. Mr. Graham is an attorney and shareholder with Wise, Carter, Child, and Carraway Attorneys at Law in Jackson. They are shown below following their induction.
Mr. Graham is shown standing on the left in the photo. Ms. Goel is standing at the right. Also shown are Rotarians Cooper Morrison who proposed Mr. Graham, Past President Don Roberts who sponsored both of the new members and Past President Ann Sommers. Ms. Goel was proposed for membership by Rotarian Suman Das who is not shown in the photo. We welcome both Ms. Goel and Mr. Graham to our club.
Ms. Kyra D. Roby, a Partnership Specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson about the upcoming 2020 U. S. Census and the need for all Mississippians to respond to it at the club’s December 11 meeting. Census Day is April 1, 2020. People can respond to the Census questionnaire via the internet, telephone, and paper. Per Ms. Roby, responses are needed because the census determines congressional representation for the State and the allocation of federal funds for various federal programs. She noted that because of the 2010 census results, Mississippi lost a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and there is a concern that this could happen again in 2020 if all Mississippians do not respond. She further said that historically less 70 % of Mississippians have responded and been counted.
We thank Ms. Roby for her service to our country and for her presentation to our club. She is shown below seated (left) at the head table during her introduction by Rotarian Lori Greer.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson held its 2018 Holiday Party at The River Hills Club on December 4th. Photos from the event follow. Music was provided by Legendary Blues Guitarist Jesse Robinson. Thanks to Club Vice President, Greg Campbell for organizing the event and thanks to The River Hills Club for a nice evening! A good time was had by all who attended!
Robert Langford, Executive Director of Operation Shoestring, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s November 27 meeting. Mr. Langford discussed the history, role, and future plans of the organization. He is shown in the following photo with Rotarian Lori Greer who arranged for him to speak and introduced him.
One of Operation Shoestring’s strategic objectives is to enhance the educational achievement of the school-aged children it serves. For example, he pointed out that 97% of its 2017-2018 third graders passed the Third Grade Reading Proficiency Exam and were promoted to the fourth grade. This is a significant achievement in Shoestring’s service area. He also pointed out that 100% of the students in its high school Ambassadors program from all seven of Jackson Public Schools’ high school graduated from high school.
Shoestring is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2018. It was originally founded in Wells United Methodist Church’ facilities and is currently remodeling and enhancingitsfacilities on Bailey Avenue in a $2.5 million capital campaign to renovate its building and create an adjacent community greenspace and playground. Look for a grand opening of the transformed building and property in the late summer of 2019.
We thank Mr. Langford for his presentation to our club and for his service to the children of Jackson. He is shown in the following photo with Ms. Greer (left), Club President Anna Powers (second from right), and Ayana Kinnel (right), Operation Shoestring’s Communications Director.
Dr. Charles H. Beady, Jr., CEO, Mississippi Food Network (MFN) spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club's November 19 Meeting. Dr. Beady is a native Georgian and was formerly president of the Piney Woods School in Rankin County. The purpose of his presentation was to thank the Rotary Club for its financial support and to discuss the role and activities of MFN. MFN was formed in 1984. and it serves 150,000 people monthly. MFN's mission is "to relieve poverty-related hunger in our service area by distributing donated and purchased food and grocery products through a network of member churches and nonprofit organizations. We provide nutrition education to our needy clients. We also emphasize advocacy and related needs." Per Dr. Beady, MFN serves 150,000 people monthly.
MFN is the only food bank located in Mississippi. It is a member of Feeding America, the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization. From its beginning in 1985 when it distributed 139,000 pounds of food, MFN has grown to the point that 21.4 million pounds of food were distributed in 2017. MFN is governed by a 24 person Board of Directors, Chaired by Felicia Lyles. MFN's 2017 Form 990 shows total revenue of $24.1 million in cash, grants and food donations received and operating expenses of $19.3 million. Overhead and fundraising totaled $1.8 million.
MFN receives funding from a variety of sources, including grants, individual donations, churches, businesses, and foundations plus a small handling charge paid by member agencies for food receipts. Dr. Beady said that at any time, MFN will have 1.5 million pounds of food in inventory. Food is purchased when necessary. It is also received via food drives by local businesses, and donations from retail vendors such as Kroger, Sam's Club, & WalMart.
Dr. Beady is shown in the first following photo during his presentation and in the second with Club Vice President Greg Campbell who introduced him.
We thank Dr. Beady for his presentation and for his efforts on behalf of the needy citizens of Mississippi.
Mandy Jones Sisson, Community Relations Director of The Mustard Seed in Brandon Mississippi spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s November 13, 2018, meeting. According to its website, The Mustard Seed “seeks to meet the spiritual, physical, and intellectual needs of adults with developmental disabilities by providing a loving and protected Christian community with meaningful activities that allow the participants to fulfill the potential that God has created within them.” Ms. Sissons discussed the role and activities of The Mustard Seed and its seedsters. One of the things she discussed is the painted ceramics that The Mustard Seed sells to help finance its activities. She also discussed some of the seedsters view their lives and the fact that The Mustard has waiting lists for its residential and day programs. According to Ms. Sissons, the majority of seedsters are Down’s Syndrome affected.
Ms. Sissons is shown in the first photo below during her presentation and following it in the second photo (right) with Club Vice President Greg Campbell (second from right), Club Member Lori Greer who introduced her (second from left) , and Jon Wiener (left) of Bash Brothers Media who discussed his upcoming video show “Between the Pines”, Episode 2, “The Vet”, the history and story of Mississippi Veterans Stadium, which will air Saturday, November 17 at 9:00 PM on WLBT in Jackson and on Cspire.com.
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We thank Ms. Sissons for her presentation and for her efforts on behalf of The Mustard Seed.
