Club Business
President Jim Cartner brought the meeting to order. Mike Morrison led the prayer and pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Ed Woodall introduced his daughter, Sophia, who recently spent four weeks in France with, Matilde’s, his other guest’s family in France. Matilde resides in southern France on the Mediterranean coast, near Marseilles. Her father commutes to work in Paris. Sophia are part of the Rotary Student Exchange Program, which Ed serves at the district level. He said that Matilde’s family showed Sophia Bastille Day and the World Cup. Ed’s family showed her Haw River! They just returned from a trip to D.C., where they experienced Hamilton. Jim Cartner let us know that Scott Gasque is recovering from a heart attack. Carolyn passed around a card for members to sign which she will send to him. Next week Trip Durham has the program, which will be Bruce Nelson, the former CEO of Office Depot.
- Cliff Parker proudly announced the birth of his fifth grandchild to his daughter, Meredith.
- Chief Smythe informed us that tonight forty block parties will be hosted by concerned citizens as part of the annual Neighborhood Night Out. These parties will be visited by police, fire, and other city officials.
- Thomas Phelps spent the weekend helping his former club, The Rotary Club of Annapolis, pull off its 73rd annual Crab Feast, which raised some $70K for charity. He was in charge of the beer. Over 350 bushels of crab were served. Great job!
- Jason Crutchfield is raising money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. He will participate in their Trailblaze Challenge and asked members to donate to the cause.
- Debbie Porch told us that her great niece, Hannah, just went to Disney World through that remarkable foundation.
Club Member Responsible for Our Program: Micah Fox
Micah has been a member of our club since 2009. He was sponsored by Pete Beck, who filled in for him to introduce our speaker. Micah is a husband, father, church leader, and businessman, who works for Northstar Marketing. He has served our club and the district in a number of capacities. He has been our Projects Chair, Membership Chair, and President. Currently he serves as the District’s Membership Advocate. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow. We tried to find someone who knows something “interesting” about Micah, but no one ventured to say anything but good things about him.
Willy Fisher – Studio 1
Willy is the current VP of Studio 1. He was born in Alamance County and returned here to live in 2005 with his wife Jill, with whom he has three daughters: Nevy (11), Nora (8), and Naomi (5). For the past nine years, Willy has been a Certified Financial Planner in Burlington at his family’s practice, Fisher Wealth Management, which his father launched almost thirty-seven years ago. He is an active member of First Presbyterian Church, Business Networking International, and the Alamance Builders Association. He enjoys live music, singing, songwriting, guitar, piano, musical theater, hiking, travel, camping, and coaching.
Studio 1 is entering its 7th season as a non-profit performing arts center whose mission is bringing unique, positive, and professional performing opportunities to the folks of Alamance County. It offers many opportunities for artists of all ages, abilities, and experience to grow in a safe, supportive environment. With a wide variety of classes, intensive camps, and Master Class Workshops in subjects from music and dance to performance and production work, there is something for everyone who wants to challenge themselves by learning something new. It offers four main stage productions each year at its Holly Hill Mall stage, which provides an immersive experience. In addition, three youth play productions are produced. They also do Shadowed productions where interpreters are on stage during the performance to provide a beautiful experience for the deaf. They just finished their third music theater camp, which runs daily from ten until five for two weeks, at a cost of $200.
Willy said Studio 1 exists to showcase talented area people, help people to take risks in a safe environment, and teach all the skills associated with producing a play or musical. He encouraged members to take in a production, saying he might even be able to “comp” some tickets. He recommended Once on This Island, showing October 5-7, if you are looking for something special. He encouraged us to consider becoming a sponsor, too, and to tell others about their work. Their website has all the information and is where people can purchase tickets and sign up for their various offerings.
Conclusion
Mike Morrison, using his prayer ticket, took a stab at pulling the Ace of Hearts, but failed as all have before him. There are 28 cars left in the deck; so, things are definite trending in the right direction probability-wise. The pot continues to grow. We all stood to recite Rotary’s four way test before Jim adjourned the meeting.
Until next time…