Club Business
President Mary Thomas Gilbert brought the meeting to order. Micah Fox led us in prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. We
sang happy birthday to Debbie Porch, who celebrated her birthday today. See below for our other January birthdays. Ryan Risko introduced the entourage from Western High School’s Interact Club, pictured on the right. William let us know that his club recently met with the Salvation Army leadership and will be conducting a weekly sports camp with the Boys and Girls Club. He thanked us for our support of their club. Their Interact Club is doing a fantastic job.
Pete Beck introduced his friend Chris Jernigan, who is our latest membership applicant. He is an account representative with Boxboard Products. Today was his first reading before the club. Chris acknowledged knowing Rodney Councilman and hoped that would not be held against him. He was assured that is not an issue; although, Rodney asked if it was too late to veto his application.
Mary Thomas asked us to promptly pay any outstanding dues since a new invoice will be soon coming our way.
Valentine Fund Raiser Planned
Micah Fox asked all members to save the date of February 11 for our Rotary fundraiser. It will be in lieu of the lunch meeting that day and will be held at Burlington Beer Works at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $50 per couple, which will provide for heavy hors d’oeuvres and a complimentary pint, thanks to the generosity of BBW. Other alcoholic drinks will be available on a cash basis. Part of the ticket cost will accrue to the club. It will involve a reverse raffle, door prizes, gift baskets, music, and other games. Stay tuned for more information. Dick said we are looking for donations for gift baskets and other door prizes. This will be open to people outside our club. Let’s invite friends and relatives to join us on this important night.
Micah announced our new online directory, which is built into our website. He said he would email a link. It will be our choice to reveal our phone numbers and email addresses or not. We can also update our photos.
January Birthdays and Anniversaries
4 | Thomas Phelps | 21 | Matt & Bharna Patel |
14 | Debbie Porch | ||
20 | Carolyn Rhode | ||
23 | Mikie Morrison | ||
29 | Cliff Parker |
Happy Dollars
Betty Andrews paid a dollar to ask us to support Hospice, which will have a Festival at the Farm on May 2 at the Circle K Ranch. Sponsorship are available. Contact Betty or Brooke for details.
Randy Perkins has the program next week. His speaker will be Chris Justice.
Click here to see all scheduled program dates and responsibilities.
Program: Dr. Sam Powell – Aviation @ the Burlington Airport
Dr. Sam Powell filled in for Matt Patel today to provide a very interesting update on the Burlington Airport. Sam is a member of the board of the Airport Authority and a long time pilot, giving him a lot of first hand knowledge. The Burlington Airport is the second largest business airport in NC. Statesville is #1. Concord lost that ranking when it became reclassified as a commercial facility. Our airport has over 150 flights per day.
The Burlington Airport has the latest safety features, including high intensity runway lights and local weather reporting. The largest jets landing here can carry up to fifty passengers. Lab Corp is the most frequent user. 150 planes are stationed at the airport, including 8 jets. This brings in significant property taxes for the county. Burlington and Alamance County both provide the airport with over $200K toward its budget.
The plan is for our airport to extend its runway to 7000 feet, allowing larger jets to take off fully fueled. Longer runways allow for insurance breaks for pilots using them, since they are safer. The airport is continually transitioning to provide the best service possible.
Sam said he has been flying since 1974, mostly for business purposes. He remarked it makes a big difference for our community to have such a nice airport.
Q&A
Deva Reece asked how the airport plans to extend the runway. Sam said the funding comes from the federal government as a pass through to local governments. The total funds for our state are divided up on a priority basis. This requires our airport to have its plan priced and ready to go. The improvements will occur in stages. We have the necessary room to extend the runway, but it will be very costly, mostly due to the expense of the fill dirt needed.
Mary Thomas said that Sam has been instrumental in bringing these improvements to the airport. She asked how Honda Aero has contributed. Sam remarked that Honda is a private company which provides employment at the airport. Some 200 employees work at the airport every day. He let us know that Honda’s jet engine is the first new design since WWII, using advanced ceramic technology to achieve 30% greater efficiency. He said it is being built in cooperation with General Electric.
Conclusion
William Lee drew the winning ticket #797, which was held by the table of Pete Beck, Chris Jernigan, Richard Atkins, and Debbie Porch. Pete pulled the King of Clubs, leaving the Ace of Spades among the remaining 47 cards. Our odds are greater each week. Mary Thomas led us in a recitation of Rotary’s four-way test before we adjourned. See you next time.