Prayer. O God most high, as we gather here today, we are grateful that we can be lifted out of ourselves and our private concerns to share with others in a fellowship of like-minded people. May the good-spirited banter between us, the fun of being together, and the awareness of a camaraderie in a common cause, enrich our lives.
We thank you for the physical food, and social fellowship enjoyed here today. May some good ensue from this experience, for ourselves and others.
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:
Cynthia Till July 17
Steven O'Neill July 19
Charles Johnson July 21
Justin Croft July 21
Wedding Anniversaries:
None
Membership Anniversaries:
Damon Williams 3 years, July 21
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 a Rotarian going the distance for the Foundation.
Running, biking and swimming 482 miles in the course of a year or even a month is hardly the marvel of sports headlines. But racking up that distance in three days staggers the imagination. Jeff Glidden did just that through his Ultra Distance Triathlon Challenge, raising over $100,000 for the Annual Programs Fund. “It was difficult,” said Glidden, “but it was more rewarding than anything I have ever done. Many Rotarians that had never given before contributed and supported me,
that was definitely one of my goals” Corporate sponsors helped fuel Glidden’s mega-triathlon challenge by each contributing at least $1000. Local media coverage also raised overall awareness of Rotary. All the proceeds from Glidden’s challenge went to support The Rotary Foundation.
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
Retreating to advance peace
Participants in the Peace Fellows Retreat represented nine nationalities who had worked in more than 100 countries.
By Mayer Ngomesia, 2006-07 Rotary Peace Fellow, Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
After a two-hour drive from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu along a winding road, 10 Rotary Peace Fellows and I from around the world gathered in the village of Nagarkot, nestled in the Kathmandu Valley at the foothills of the Himalayas for the third Rotary Peace Fellow Leadership Retreat. It was a rare opportunity to step back and reflect on the difficult realities and high-stress environment of our peace work, and to ponder, why the work we do matters.
Made possible by a generous donation from The Benter Foundation, the retreat was both simple and complex. Jenn Weidman and Charlie Allen (Chulalongkorn Class of 2010) from Space Bangkok, an organization working to promote resilience and innovation, facilitated the retreat. On one level, it was a straightforward opportunity to ponder the uncertainties of our field and build our resiliency. Yet, on another, the complicated nature of our work, and the diversity of our perspectives, added a rich complexity to the event.
From cooking to jazz
Collectively, we represented nine nationalities who have lived and worked in over 100 countries. We currently serve on the ground in some of the most intractable situations including ongoing conflicts from Afghanistan to South Sudan or post-conflict Columbia. We manage socioeconomic development and political affairs initiatives across the world, from Laos to Ethiopia. Our stories are even more multi-layered, considering that our experiences include swimming across a Norwegian fjord, performing as a jazz musician, earning respect as a traditional Thai martial artist, and earning national acclaim as a cooking guru.
Like most retreats, various tools were used to evoke reflection. As people who are by nature skeptical to any formulaic assertions about our work, it could not be taken for granted that the haikus, wood carving, exercise, poetry, meditation, hiking, introspections, etc., would create their intended purpose. Yet Space Bangkok, the retreat facilitators, made it work. The complex mix of experiences amplified the point that working for peace is indeed multidimensional. This is central to the Rotary Peace Fellowship, which uniquely forges multifaceted, global clusters of Peace Fellows.
Inevitably though, the question that arises is: Why does this even matter? Turns out that may be the simplest part of all. Peace does matter. To you, me, and especially to those for who it matters most. Sometimes, creating the space to ponder our complicated role in it all is one of the most important things we can do.
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.
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.
