Club Business
President Jim Cartner opened the meeting. Mary Thomas Gilbert led us in prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Jim shared some interesting historical trivia for this date. Ed Woodall introduced his guest, Caprice Linville, who recently moved to the area. Congrats to Thomas and Lea Phelps, who are celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary this week! Joseph Williams has the program next week.
Click here to see all scheduled program dates and responsibilities.
May Birthdays and Anniversaries
4 | Philip Smith | 1 | Cathryn & Gary Hartwell |
27 | David Moore | 3 | Brad & Mel Moser
Micah & Kari Fox |
12 | Ben & Katy Wooten | ||
14 | Jeff & Nancy Bright | ||
16 | Brooke & Nancy Carpenter |
Club Announcements
- Time to send in your annual gifts to the Rotary Foundation.
- Please support Rotary Reads this month and in May. We are in the middle of a big push to raise funds for our joint Rotary Reads project. The four local clubs are selling $100 chances for a dream vacation for two. As of the Tuesday meeting time, 45 tickets had been sold of the 100 we set as our cut off point. The deadline has been extended to May 15. One other change is that the winner has the choice of receiving a trip or the $4500 cash. Here is your link for more information and to purchase your ticket – http://www.grahamrotaryclub.org/2019-fundraiser.html.
- We need more people to sign up as volunteers to read to kids as part of our Rotary Reads initiative. Don’t miss this great opportunity to serve. Here is your link to contact Tracy Taylor @… Rotary Club of Alamance Rotary Reads Signup
Happy Dollar Announcements
- Katie Dukeshire thanked Micah, Mary Thomas, and Jim for helping her out at the recent District Conference DGE reception. (Mary Thomas said all they had to do was show up, since Katie had done all the work.)
- Randy Perkins thanked our club for the marvelous District Governor Elect reception we helped sponsor at the conference. Randy also encouraged club members to support Rotary Reads and the vacation raffle.
- Francois Masuka proudly announced the birth of his son, Antoine Benoit. Congrats!
- Micah Fox announced that he and Kari will celebrate their eleventh year of marriage. He, like most of us men, married up.
Presentation
Jim Cartner proudly presented his Rotary mentor, Brian Dement, with a pin acknowledging his being a Paul Harris Fellow + 4, which means he is half way toward becoming a major donor. Congrats, Brian.
Program: Quarterly Club Assembly
Rotary Reads
Jim Cartner reminded us that we are in the middle of our Rotary Reads program. This week we have three schools to which we will supply readers and one next week. We still have some open slots. Micah Fox gave a personal account of his recent time at Sylvan Elementary. He said he thoroughly enjoyed it. Jim said that over the next two years we will step up our presence in local schools to once a week with some additional tutoring.
District Conference
Randy Perkins said it was an outstanding conference. Mary Thomas Gilbert agreed, saying that Ed Woodall’s daughter, an exchange student we sponsored, was one of the best speakers. Mary heard a quote that encouraged her to keep working toward improvement, which she hopes our club will achieve next year.
Ed Woodall told us that he was proud of Randy’s inspirational keynote presentation. He said he met many great folks at the conference and thoroughly enjoyed Greenville, SC.
Jim Cartner acknowledged the increased role Ed will be taking at the district level with the Youth Exchange program. Of the four exchange students at the conference, two were sponsored by our club. We also presented a check to the district for $1500 for Polio eradication. Jim said that because of matching grants from the district and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that amount becomes $9000, which is 9% of the total donated by our district.
Micah Fox said that he was proud of the numerous mentions our club received at the conference. He said the District Governors come and go. Some leave a mark of accomplishments, but others do not. Micah remarked that Randy has already left a big impression by the initiatives that he is leading even before officially assuming office. He is developing a long overdue district strategic plan and is overhauling the antiquated Gold Club requirements. On June 18, he will be given a reception as the incoming DG at 6 pm at the Alamance Country Club. Tickets are $50 per person. We are looking for business sponsors. You will be able to sign up at the district website.
Jim Cartner said that we are lagging behind as a club in adopting an automatic fee of $25 per quarter to cover each person’s donation to the Rotary Foundation, enabling us to be a 100% sustaining club. He said he will be proposing this at the May board meeting.
Conclusion
Francois held the winning ticket in our weekly raffle, but failed to draw the Queen of Diamonds. Only 46 cards are left! Jim adjourned the meeting by leading us in a recitation of Rotary’s four-way test.