President Katie Dukeshire opened the meeting. Micah Fox gave the invocation and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Sid Little filled in as secretary.
Guests and Visitors
- Susan Watson introduced her guest, Carla Smith, a realtor from Keller Williams. She is a prospective member.
- Katherine Segposyan and her mother Amy were on hand. Katherine is being sponsored by our club as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange program. Katherine will be going to Zagreb, Croatia on September 1 and will return July 2016. She will be staying with three different host families during her stay. She has been earning money by babysitting, packing, and writing on her blog in preparation for her adventure. This has been a two-year process for her. She thanked our club for its support. President Katie Dukeshire presented her with a farewell gift. (See photo on the right.)
- Micah Fox introduced Hannah Otis, a friend of Katherine, who is interested in finding out more about the Exchange program. She is a rising tenth grader at Williams High School.
- Beth Powell is back from her leave of absence!
General Announcements
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Baseball Game: Katie thanked all those who attended the recent district Family of Rotary baseball game in Greensboro. She reminded us of the upcoming Area Three Family of Rotary baseball game at Burlington Memorial Stadium on August 6 when the Royals will play Pulaski. Everyone should have received an email with the details.
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Canoe and Kayak Outing: David Moore presented his developing plans for a club canoe and kayak excursion on the Haw River sometime soon on a Thursday afternoon. The anticipated cost will be $35 for a single and $50 for a double, which includes rental and a guide. Afterward he hopes several will be able to have supper together at a restaurant in Swepsonville. The target dates are August 20, September 10, and September 17. Please let David know what dates will work for you if you are intending to attend.
Upcoming Programs
- August 4 – Chuck Stedman: Mac Williams, President of the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce
- August 11 – Dick O’Donnell and Tripp Hilliard: Rotary Update on Fundraising
- August 18 – Bonnie Whitaker: Tanya Jisa & Abby Goodman, Benevolence Farm
Happy Clams
- None this week
Lane Jones: Wife, Aunt, Family Girl, Social Media Professional, and Rotarian
Lane has been with our club since September 2011. Since that time she has taken an active role in our club and currently serves as the Public Image Committee Chair for our club and the District. She is extremely savvy when it comes to leveraging social media for business and organizational PR. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and serves on the boards of Hospice the the Arts Council. Lane earned a BS in Accounting and an MBA in Finance and now owns her own company, Fresh Take on Content. She is married to Charles and likes cooking and trying new recipes, reading, watching sports, and hanging out with her family.
Program: The Role of the Club’s Public Image Committee
Lane began her presentation by saying that as great as Rotary’s work around the world has been, our success in communicating that to the public has been less than stellar until recently. Membership worldwide and locally has been stagnant over the past few years as a result. There are some 1.2 million Rotarians around the globe, a number that has remained constant for a few years, in spite of several years of recession. Our own club has hovered around the 55 mark. Lane believes that the way to grow is by promoting a better public image. She showed a short video clip put together in 2009, which focused on what is the best PR for Rotary. You can view it below.
Lane gave us three goals for PR.
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Get the word out about Rotary and our club.
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Increase awareness of the our club’s projects and activities.
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Increase membership.
She suggested inviting prospective members to service projects to help them get a better feel for what we do in the community. Lane also suggested when people ask us What is Rotary?” that we convert our answer to say “Who is Rotary?.” Rotary is made up of the collective identity of our complete membership, but Rotary is also what each member does on his or her own. She encouraged us to tell our friends about Rotary using social media. Katherine Segposyan found our club on Facebook. Rotary International spent a large amount of money revamping its website and, as a result, has found new partners in its worldwide endeavors, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She also encouraged us to use photos when we publish news about events and projects. She asked us to take the time to “Like” our club Facebook page, which can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of this web page. If we tag our club on our own webpage, people will see the link, which can be beneficial to our business and the club. Our Twitter page can also be found by clicking on the appropriate link at the bottom of the page.
Card Drawing
Beth Powell’s table held the winning ticket, but she failed to pull the elusive winning card. Now only 41 cards stand between you, the jack of hearts, and the pot. Your odds are getting better every week.
Closing
As is our custom, we all stood to recite the Rotary Four Way Test, which was led by President Dukeshire, who afterward adjourned the meeting. Until next week…
Club Related Dates
District and Club Business
Thursday, August 6, 6 pm: Area 3 Family Outing at the Burlington Royals Baseball Game
2nd Tuesday of Each Month: Board Meeting for officers and committee chairs, 11 am until Noon.
September 15, 2015: District Governor’s Visit
September 29, 2015: Club Assembly
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Aug | Birthdays | Aug | Wedding Anniversaries |
5 | Steve Carter | 2 | Ed & Danielle Woodall |
6 | Mike Dunning | 8 | Charles & Mary Helen Cobb |
23 | Jeffrey Smythe | 10 | Dan & Lori Seiler |
24 | Sam & Lauren Holt | ||
29 | Mac & Stephanie Williams |