Micah called the meeting to order and Dick O’Donnell led the prayer and pledge.
Announcements
- We did have enough interest in organizing a Rotary blood drive so Gary Brant will be planning. Location and date to be determined.
- A sign up sheet will be passed around today for members requesting their Sustaining Member $100 donation be billed to your account in October.
- Today will be the 2nd reading for prospective new member, Chantelle Stoughton
Happy Clams
- Chuck Stedman celebrated the recent Tennessee and UNC football wins.
- Julian Griffin shared he was recently invited to a family reunion for a family from a church where he served as pastor. He married nine of the couples in attendance!
- Randy Perkins invited everyone to attend the Chamber’s After Hours at Prime Personnel Resources tonight at 5:30.
- Dick O’Donnell recently attended the Chiropractor Show and won the Best Booth award. Dick has attended the show for the last 7 years and was able to gain new business from this year’s event.
Member Spotlight – Sam Powell
- Sam is the President of Powell Enterprises which is a property management company. He has been a member of our club since 1986. He believes Rotary is the best way to be involved in the community.
- Sam is married to his wife, Karen, and they have two children and three grandchildren. In June, they cruised to Alaska.
- Who is your hero? Sam loves history so George Washington is one of his heros.
Next Week’s Member Spotlight – Carolyn Rhode
Matt Matheny – Elon Basketball Head Coach
Deva Reece owns Sir Speedy and has been married for 45 years. He and his wife have two sons who live in Raleigh. Deva has been a lifelong Elon basketball season ticket holder and introduced our speaker, Matt Matheny.
Matt was born in Shelby, NC and is married to his wife, Jennifer. He has two children, Brock and Ava, who attend Burlington Christian Academy. Matt is a graduate of Davidson College where he was Captain of the basketball team. Matt served as Assistant Basketball coach at Davidson for 10 years. He is now in his 8th season as head basketball coach at Elon. In 2013, Matt won the conference Coach of the Year.
Elon is looking for basketball to be the “front porch of the university.” Matt is trying to grow the program the right way with the right kind of kids. He is committed to recruiting young men who are “student first athletes.” Currently, the basketball team’s average GPA is 3.00. He works to attract players who can also be role models for our children and grandchildren. The players truly get connected in the Elon community. Many stay around over the summer months to coach the summer basketball camps.
Elon is now a member of the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) which is ranked 9th as a conference. The new conference allows Elon to play more games on a national level. Opponents for the upcoming 2016-2017 season include UNC-Charlotte, Florida International, UNC-Asheville, and Duke.
Elon is building a new convocation center named the Schar Center which will be the home for future basketball games. Games will only be played in Alumni Gym for two more seasons. The ground breaking will be October 21st. Dwight and Martha Schar having naming rights to the new building which will take 18 months to build. Mr. and Mrs. Schar have two sons currently attending Elon.
The Schar Center will have two practice courts and can seat 5000+ (Alumni Gym currently seats 1600). The new building will allow Elon to create a “WOW” factor and enhance the game day experience. Matt asked for our help in “doing something special” at Elon. The team needs our support in the stands!
Card Drawing
The winning card was not drawn. The pot continues to grow…
The meeting was adjourned and we all stood to recite the Rotary Four Way Test. Until next week….