Bringing the Rotary family closer together 

Dr. Micah Walker and Ms. Becky Russell spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson about Direct primary Care at the Club’s July 31, 2018, meeting. Direct primary care is a reversion to the older method by which you pay a physician a monthly fee to provide direct primary care to you and your family. The monthly fee is $69 for an individual under the age of 60 years, and $89 for individuals 60 years of age and over. A family costs $149 for two adults and one child.

Ms. Russell is a public relations consultant who subscribes to direct family care, is a graduate of Auburn University, and a native of Mexia, Texas. Dr. Walker is the founder and CEO of NewCare MD, LLC, a direct primary care provider in Madison, MS. He received his medical training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS.

The program that Dr. Walker and Ms. Russell were describing is for primary care, emphasizing the availability of the physician and the personal care provided. They also discussed supplemental catastrophic care such as that provided by Liberty Health Share.

Ms. Russell and Dr.  Walker are shown in the accompanying photos prior to and following their presentation. We thank them for the presentation, for their ideas, for their service to our community, and for their time responding to numerous questions following the presentation.

Bob Miller, Public Works Director for the City of Jackson spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s July 24, 2018 meeting. Mr. Miller joined the City in the fall of 2017 after completing 9 years in a similar capacity in New Orleans. He said that he joined with four specific goals: solve the problems with the City’s water billing system; improve the city’s streets, address the consent decree problems on the sewer system, and address the drainage problems where citizens are being flooded by creeks that overflow during periods of heavy rains.

Mr. Miller is a native of Louisville, KY. He is a graduate of the University of Louisville and of the University of Indiana.  Prior to going to New Orleans, he was CFO of the Louisville water system.

Regarding his four priorities, Mr. Miller said that when he arrived, approx. 23,000 of Jackson’s water, sewage, garbage customers were not receiving bills. He negotiated a new contract with Siemens to rectify the billing issues. Now, 55% of the allotted time into the contract, 56% of the previously “stranded” customers are being billed. He also announced that today the city is announcing that the previously suspected lead problem has been corrected.  

The Downtown streets were paved prior to the April 2018 grand opening of the two new museums. Currently, two potholes repair trucks are in operation repairing potholes and he is bidding-out for a third crew to accelerate the work.

Mr. Miller met with EPA Region 4 this spring, opened up to them about the city’s problem meeting the Consent Decree provisions and hopes to renegotiate the decree later in 2018. Per Mr. Miller, many of the sewer problems occur because restaurants dispose of grease into sewers rather than have it properly disposed of. The grease in the sewer clots and plugs up the sewers causing sewage overflow.

We thank Mr. Miller for his talk and for his service to our City. He is shown during his talk and following it with Club President Anna Powers and club member Charles Lindsay who introduced him in the accompanying photos.

Mr. Miller was accompanied in the meeting by Ward 7 Council Representative Virgi Lindsay and her assistant Alice Patterson. We thank them for attending.

Rotary Club of North Jackson Donates $30,000 to local charities

The Rotary Club of North Jackson recently donated $30,000 to 16 local charities. The local charities are: Stewpot Community Services, Gateway Rescue Mission, Magnolia Speech School, Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army, Operation Shoestring, Mississippi Blood Services, Mississippi Food Network, Brain Injury Assoc of MS,  Alzheimer's Association, CARA Animal Shelter, Harbor House of Jackson, Children's Hospital of MS, The Jackson Zoo, Mustard Seed, and Make-A-Wish Mississippi. Shown (from left) Greg Campbell, President-Elect; Don Roberts, Admin. Secretary/Treasurer; Anna Powers, President; Lee Carney, Secretary; Matt Monsour, Director; Uriel Pineda, Treasurer; and Jeff Adcock, Director.

Penny Chiasson, owner of Genesis Hypnosis, Nurse Anesthesia, and pain management hypnotist spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its July 17, 2018 meeting. Chiasson informed club members and guest how hypnosis can help with pain management, ways to relieve stress and end bad habits. We thank Ms. Chiasson for her presentation and for her service to patients in Mississippi. She is shown in the accompanying photos during her speech and following it with Club President Anna Powers (left) and Club Director Matt Monsour (right), who introduced her.

Greg Campbell, Vice President & President-Elect, Rotary Club of North Jackson spoke to the Club at its July 10, 2018 meeting about the Rotary International Convention he attended as a representative of the club June 23-27, 2018. In his presentation, he discussed his arrival, the accommodations, and the activities associated with the convention. He also discussed a tour that he took of Niagara Falls including a helicopter tour during which he took many pictures.

Greg discussed the fact that the convention was attended by a princess, three prime ministers and a former first lady of the United States. Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, of the United Kingdom, expressed thanks to Rotary for taking a central role in working to eradicate polio. Former first lady of the United States Laura Bush challenged Rotarians to keep early childhood education a priority.

Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and one of the architects of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, joined 2017-2018 RI President Ian H.S. Riseley for a discussion about gender equality and the crucial link between the environment, poverty, hunger, and peace. In a video message, Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant addressed the convention before the announcement of the creation of HANWASH, a collaboration between Rotary and the Haitian government’s water agency that will tackle that nation’s water and sanitation challenges.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accepting Rotary’s Polio Eradication Champion Award, thanked Rotary for working with governments worldwide to eradicate polio. Rotarians play a critical role in the fight to end polio, Trudeau said. “Together we will make that happen. Prime Minister Trudeau also pledged USD 75 Million for finalizing the eradication of polio, making Canada’s past and committed spending for polio eradication USD 640 million.

Sixteen former Rotary presidents and their partners appeared on stage, and Rotary’s next president, Barry Rassin, motivated convention goers by speaking on his 2018-19 theme: Be the Inspiration.                           

And in a gracious gesture to his successor, Rotary’s 2017-2018 President Riseley finished his closing remarks by urging listeners: “It is vital that we be the inspiration.”

In addition to focusing his remarks on the convention, Greg related a mix-up in his convention credentials in which a different Greg Campbell was identified as a chemical engineering educator. Thankfully our Greg was able to get his proper credentials when he arrived at the convention facility.

Greg reported on the 6 focus areas of Rotary: Promotion of Peace, Fighting disease, Providing Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, Saving Mothers and Children, Supporting Education, and Growing Local Economies. Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio have been immensely successful with the no. of worldwide cases being reduced from 350,000 annually to 22 in 2017. Those 2017 cases were in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

Vice President Greg is shown during his presentation in the accompanying photograph. We thank him for his presentation and for his service to our Club.