Club Business
President Brian Dement opened the meeting. Joseph Williams, just back from Mongolia and suffering from an advanced form of jet lag, prayed and led us in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Pete Beck introduced his daughter, Marie Janssen, who has her own photography business, Blink of an Eye Photography. Betty Andrews presented Cindy Andrew, who works at Betty’s business. She also introduced Matt Evans, an intern who attends Elon University. He has a cello concert coming up, and he is going to LA to record music. Next week John Beshel will provide our speaker. Brian announced that our District Conference will be at Pinehurst, May 25-27. The club can offer limited financial assistance to those who plan to attend. He also encouraged each member to give $100 to the annual fund. Time is running out to give this year. Brian introduced our newest member, Scott Gasque, who is a manager at Alamance Glass. Carolyn Rhodes mentioned that our new member directories are available, compliments of Jason Crutchfield and PIP Printing.
Happy Dollar Announcements
- Joseph Williams said he is happy to be home.
- Brian Dement said he filed his taxes just in the nick of time.
New Paul Harris Fellow
Brian presented Cliff Parker with an acknowledgement that he is our club’s newest Paul Harris Fellow. Congratulations, Cliff!
Club Member Responsible for Our Program: Betty Andrews
Betty has been a member of our club since 1988. She owns Betty Andrews Investment Management, which is preparing to move into a new location, the former Wishart-Norris building, now owned by Fisher Wealth Management. She is a Paul Harris Fellow.
Program: Dr. Janie Brown – Words of Wisdom
Betty was able to talk Elon University’s Health and Human Performance Professor Emerita Janie Brown, who now serves as president of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, to speak today. She shared with us some of the life lessons she has learned since moving into the country in 1988.
- Roots – Long roots help a plant to stand tall. Our roots are comprised of the set of beliefs we have gained over the years that keep us strong, healthy, and stable. It takes a long time to forge strong roots, and they cannot be easily pulled out. The deeper the roots, the less visible they are.
- Weeds – Janie said she admires weeds for their persistence. We need to be more like weeds and abandon any temptation to dwell on the “if onlys” in life.
- Buckeyes – Janie said that her Dad always kept a buckeye in his pocket, which she still has. She told us that she once owned another buckeye, which she planted and it is now a small tree. One day it will be large enough to produce more buckeyes and provide shade and shelter. That buckeye is gone, but a tree remains. Sometimes we have to give up something, die to something, in order to gain lasting fruit. We can be ornamental or be planted.
She encouraged us to always be alert and ask ourselves what we can learn from what we see.
After her words, Micah Fox thanked her for reminding us that we need to put down our phones and observe God’s creation around us. Cliff Parker voiced his appreciation for what Janie meant to him and his wife over the years. Janie taught Cliff and David Moore.
Conclusion
Deva Reece had the winning raffle ticket today, but he failed to draw the winning card. We all stood to recite Rotary’s four way test before Brian adjourned the meeting.