Prayer. Father of all mercies, on this summer day we gather here to not only to break bread together, and to enjoy social interaction, but to be reinforced in our commitment to serve. Help us to use both our affluence and our influence in corporate structures, in private enterprises, and in social interchange, to advance the principles and causes we espouse as Rotarians.
Accept our thanks for our manifold blessings, for food, for friendship, for commonality of effort. Grant to each of us the personal peace derived from faith and courage drawn from commitment to truth,
We give thanks for the long membership of our departed member, Tom Bowen. He is missed! We keep his widow, Norma, and his family in our thoughts and our prayers. Amen.
Club Announcements
Please keep Tom and Norma Bowen in your thoughts and prayers. Norma is ill. Tom is recently deceased.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Birthdays
Lori Greer July 11
Trost Friedler July 12
Seymour Pooley July 16
Wedding Anniversaries
Eric & Lori Bragg July 14
Membership Anniversaries
Dave Orlansky 10 years, July 15
Social Media.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 Club of North Jackson Charitable Donations. Please see the following from Past President Witt Ruffin.
"The board has voted to send an equal $2,000 ($30,000 total) to the top 15 charities receiving votes. Thanks to all who voted and for everyone's continued support of the Rotary Club of North Jackson!
1) Stewpot Community Services
2) Habitat for Humanity
3) Mississippi Blood Services
4) Brain Injury Assoc of MS
5) CARA Animal Shelter
6) Children's Hospital of MS
7) Clean Water for Malawi
8) Mustard Seed
9) Gateway Rescue Mission
10) The Salvation Army
11) Mississippi Food Network
12) Alzheimer's Association
13) Harbor House of Jackson
14) The Jackson Zoo
15) Make-A-Wish Mississippi"
This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about the cooperation between two Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program alumni.
Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program alumnus, Francis Kabosha was busy repatriating refugees in Zambia back to their homeland in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). Through the repatriation process, Francis also educated the leaders of the repatriated groups in the ways of peace to help them build and maintain peace in their home areas. He called his fellow RPCS alumnus, Abdulai Jalloh, logistics officer for the United Nations in DRC, to say, “I’m giving them the tools to build peace, you must ensure they reach their destinations safely.” Francis and Abdulai now work together to build peace in the region.
Keep in mind, every dollar that you contribute to The Rotary Foundation goes to actual program spending.
Be the Inspiration – and together we can, and we will inspire the world."
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. Contact Jenny Price (662) 213-1294 for more information. Our reading for the 2017-2018 school year is complete, but please sign up for 2018-2019.
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
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:
“Service above self; they profit most who serve best.”
P. O. Box 9528, Jackson, MS 39286-9528 www.northjacksonrotary.org
Posted on
A tribute to a tireless polio eradication volunteer
By David Waring, Past President, Breakfast Rotary Club of Barrington, Illinois, and Past Governor of Rotary District 6440
When polio is finally eradicated from the planet and we look back on Rotary’s role in making that happen, one of the first persons history is certain to smile upon will be Jack Blane. Sadly, Jack did not live to see the day that we all look forward to, but his remarkable contribution and tireless efforts live on as we bring this worthy battle to its conclusion.
I first met Jack in 1999 at a district conference. By that time, Jack had already been deeply involved in the fight against polio for 20 years. Jack was governor of Rotary District 6440 in Northern Illinois in 1979, when the Rotary war on polio began. Rotary made a commitment to deliver the oral polio vaccine to six million children in the Philippines, the first project conceived under Rotary’s new Health, Hunger and Humanity (3H) program.
Personal commitment
I soon learned from Jack that his personal commitment to fight polio grew out of his experience at a Boy Scout summer camp in 1937 when two boys died, six were paralyzed, and the others were sent home and quarantined until school started. Jack said he had felt blessed not to be affected and had vowed that he would someday try to prevent others from being stricken.
Jack and I found that we had much in common – from Boy Scouts to Rotary – and we just became fast friends. Jack also became my mentor. When I became a district governor in 2006, I felt honored to have Jack do my installation.
Rotary’s success in the Philippines spurred the commitment not only to fight polio but to end it around the world. That experiment showed that we could master the logistics – transportation, distribution, and education. In 1986, Jack was appointed International Executive Coordinator of the Campaign to Eradicate Polio World-Wide. Over the next three years, he traveled to 30 countries to help educate and organize their national committees. Jack and his group reached out to every Rotarian and said, “I don’t want just your money, I want your time, I want your labor, I want you.” They recruited an army of dedicated Rotarians numbering in the thousands.
Rotary set a fundraising goal of $120 million. The campaign brought in a staggering $247 million! I’d like to put that accomplishment in perspective: This was before cell phone, internet, laptop computer, and teleconferencing. Communication was through letters, expensive phone calls, and in-person contacts.
As Jack got deeper into understanding the critical value of immunization, he came to believe that we also had to confront the danger posed by other infectious diseases in our own backyard. In 1999, Jack and his wife, Joan, donated $1 million to The Rotary Foundation to establish the Blane Community Immunization Grant program, which provided matching funds for Rotary club projects that increase immunization rates for at-risk populations in their local communities. Countless diseases prevented and lives saved. Thank you, Jack and Joan.
Eventful dinner conversation
Early this century, Rotary launched the Polio Eradication Private Sector Initiative in partnership with the United Nations Foundation. Jack led the Midwest Region and invited me to serve on his committee. At a meeting with the CEO of Dow Chemical, I saw Jack work his magic. In 2007, when I became district governor, I was able to get Bill Gates Sr., and Past RI President Luis Vicente Giay, who at that time was the Trustee Chair of the Foundation, to attend our district conference.
One of the smartest things I ever did was to sit Jack next to Bill Gates Sr. at our dinner on Thursday evening. I knew that Jack would be able to answer every question that Mr. Gates had, in addition to questions that he didn’t even know needed to be asked.
That evening, Jack made the pitch. The next morning, Luis Giay met with Bill Gates Sr., and closed the sale. Before that meeting, the Gates Foundation was a generous donor to the polio eradication effort. After that meeting, Gates became a full partner. Six months after our district conference, the Gates Foundation announced its challenge grant of $100 million. That challenge grant led to another, and since then, that matching program has led us past the once unthinkable contribution level of $1 billion.
Jack Blane was a proud Rotarian from 1962 until February of this year when he passed away — 56 years of selfless service during which he embodied the best of Rotary. He became president of the Rotary Club of Wheeling, Illinois, in 1975-1976, and again in 2016-2017 at the ripe young age of 93!
Rotary’s finest hour
Jack’s fundraising achievements are astonishing, but for him, it wasn’t about the money raised. It was about the children’s lives saved. Jack would not be pleased if I called him “Billion Dollar Jack.” But if we call him “Billion Children Jack,” he’d be good with that.
Billion Children Jack. It’s now up to us to honor his legacy and carry on his work. We must collectively become “Billion Children Rotarians.” That’s what Jack would want. He lived by that Boy Scout motto “Always leave the campsite better than you found it.”
That historic convention in Philadelphia 30 years ago, when the results of the fundraising campaign were announced, is known as Rotary’s “finest hour.” As I heard Jack say more than once, “There will be an even finer hour coming up.” We’re this close. Let’s finish the job. For Jack, for those he inspired to be like him, and for all the children whose lives we can save.
At its July 2, 2018, meeting, the Rotary Club of North Jackson installed its 2018-2019 Officers and Directors as follow:
Anna Powers - President.
Greg Campbell - Vice President & President-Elect
Lee Carney - Secretary
Uriel Pineda - Treasurer
Jeff Adcock - Director
Suman Das - Director
Matt Monsour - Director
Luther Munford - Director
Steven O’Neill - Director
Suman Das and Luther Munford were unable to attend the meeting and will be installed when they are able to attend.
The new officers and directors are shown standing in the accompanying photo. From the left: Matt Monsour, Director; Jeff Adcock, Director; Anna Powers, President; Witt Ruffin, Past President; Gregg Campbell, Vice President & President-Elect; Lee Carney, Secretary; Uriel Pineda, Treasurer. Not pictured are Suman Das - Director and Luther Munford- Director. We congratulate the new office holders and express our appreciation for their dedicated service to the Rotary Club of North Jackson.
The following photo shows Past President Witt presenting the gavel and president’s pin to the Club’s newly installed President, Anna Powers. Congratulations President Anna and thanks to Past President Witt for a job well done!
At its July 3, 2018 meeting, the Rotary Club of North Jackson recognized William G. "Bill" Osborne as the 2017-2018 Rotarian of the Year. Bill is shown in the accompanying photo receiving his plaque from 2017-2018 Club President Witt Ruffin. Bil has been a member of the Rotary Club of North Jackson since May 2010 and has edited the Club's newsletter, the "Wheel" since 2012. Congratulations, Bill, on this recognition.
George T. Malvaney,native Jacksonian, high school dropout, Ku Klux Klansman, federal convict, college graduate, and businessman spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s June 26, 2018, meeting. In his presentation, Mr.Malvaney discussed his life, his recognition that he had to turn it around, his subsequent service to the State of Mississippi, and his current work as a businessman and author. The accompanying photos are of the meeting. The first photo shows him with Club Programs Director Matt Monsour (right),
The second photo shows Mr. Malvaney during his presentation.
The third photo shows Mr. Malvaney (center), Matt Monsour (left), and Club President Witt Ruffin (Right) following his speech. We thank Mr. Malvaney for his time and his presentation
JPD Precinct 4 Officer Nicole Keys was recognized as Pct 4’s “Officer of the Quarter” by the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s June 26, 2018, meeting. The recognition was for her interceding in a domestic violence situation where a mother attacked a grandmother and then removed the children from the grandmother’s home. Officer Keys att arranged for medical transportation for the grandmother to take her to a hospital. She then recovered the children and apprehended the mother.
The accompanying photos show Officer Keys during and following the recognition service. The first photo shows Club Past President Edley Jones presenting her awards. The second photo shows Officer Keys(second from right) with Mr. Jones (left) Club President Witt Ruffin (second from left) and Pct. 4 Commander Keith Freeman (right). We thank Officer Keys for her outstanding service to the citizens of Jackson.
Long time club member Julian Carroll was recognized by the Rotary Club of North Jackson for his outstanding service as Chairman of the Club’s Classification Committee. Carroll’s service as Chairman began in 1974 and he served continuously until the current club year, a span of 44 years. Carroll was named an Honorary Member of the Club.The accompanying photos show Julian receiving his Honorary Rotarian pin from Past President Tom Parry and his certificate as an Honorary Rotarian from Club President Witt Ruffin.
Christopher Freeze, FBI Agent in Charge for the State of Mississippi, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s June 19, 2018 meeting. The subject of his speech was the FBI Citizens Academy and more particularly how it is working to preventat-risk young people from entering a life of crime and becoming an active client of the FBI. He was accompanied by Angela Mallette of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. Mr. Freeze said that in a group-discussion with high-risk youthshe asked the question “what would it take for you to be a better student?”. The young man’s surprising answer was food.
Ms. Mallette’s is the Coordinator for Stand Up, Mississippi (www.standupms.org) and the Opioid Grant for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. The FBI is one of the key stakeholders of the Stand Up, Mississippi campaign. Our efforts intersect in many ways, but primarily in understanding and educating groups on how childhood trauma is often the root cause of addiction and criminal behavior later in life.
We thank Mr. Freeze and Ms. Mallette for their work in the State of Mississippi, in particular, their work with at-risk youth. The two accompanying photos show Mr. Freeze during his speech to the club and Mr. Freeze (second from left) and Ms.Mallette with Club member Jeff Adcock who introduced them and Club President Witt Ruffin.
