Club Business
President Mary Thomas Gilbert brought the meeting to order. Cliff Parker led us in prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Mary Thomas shared the history behind Thanksgiving, going back to the William Bradford and the Plymouth Colony.
Don’t forget to mark your calendar. We hope for a great turnout at the next Packathon on December 4.
Brooke Carpenter, who chairs the Youth Services Committee, introduced several members of the Western Alamance High School Interact Club, which we sponsor. William Lee, Sang Ho Lee’s son, who is also president of the Interact club, shared, along with others from the club. William thanked our club for its support over the last four years. He said they are wrapping up a fund raiser for the Salvation Army Boys and Girls club.
Vice president Maddie Grajzar told us that in the spring they are planning a 5K race to raise more money. Inspired by Rotary Reads, their club has been reading to students at Elon and A-O elementary schools twice a month. Other members who were present were Savannah Bernstan, (president elect), Macie Coe (secretary), Carson Swain (member with the most hours), and Cameron Rhinehardt (public relations).
Richard Atkins, a guest of Cliff Parker and a former member of the Guilford Rotary Club, was on hand. Today was the first reading for him as a prospective member. Also Charlie Nolette visited. He is the general manager of the Alamance Country Club. He said they are interested in a corporate membership. He and his wife Sarah and their son Seth just moved to the area. Jwan Johnson (JJ) represented Blackwell Funeral Home, our newest corporate member.
There were no birthdays or anniversaries to announce. Next week Brad Moser will provide the program. Following that is Dick O’Donnell. On the 12th we will have our Dirty Santa party. We will not meet on 24th and 31st of December.
Click here to see all scheduled program dates and responsibilities.
December Birthdays and Anniversaries
2 | Stuart Sioussat | 10 | Jeffrey & Kimberly Smythe |
4 | Jim Cartner | 27 | Sam & Karen Powell |
6 | Brian Dement | 31 | Sang Ho & Allison Lee |
11 | Ed Woodall | ||
25 | Joseph Williams | ||
26 | Dick O’Donnell | ||
30 | Freebird McKinney |
Happy Dollar Announcements
- Francois Masuka happily celebrated his son’s 8th month birthday. He is already walking and into everything.
- Pete Beck took out a loan, which Carolyn Rhode covered, to tell the club about his recent ministry trip to Honduras.
- Carolyn Rhode said she was thankful that Pete was back. That relieves her from doing double duty taking notes on the meeting in his absence.
Program: Dr. Michael Brown – Administrator of Burlington Christian Academy
Our president, Mary Thomas Gilbert, was responsible for our speaker today. She introduced her boss, Michael Brown, who has headed up BCA for the last 30 years, during which time the school has grown from 100 to over 700 students. Michael was formerly a book reviewer and is an ordained Presbyterian minister. He is married to Becky, with whom he has two sons, Staley and Grady.
Michael began his presentation by commending the WA Interact Club members on hand for their service to the community. He mentioned that Alamance County has a fine education establishment, which includes public schools, secular private schools, and Christian academies. He said that we must take seriously the job of educating our children, teaching them how to view things correctly in an upside down world. Citing Plato, Michael said educators are to teach children what to love.
BCA is composed for four different schools – pre-school, elementary, middle, and high school. It began in 1978 with a mere 25 students. Today’s enrollment is 768. BCA is accredited by SACS and ACSI, in an effort to guarantee superior competency. Five counties and 14 nations are represented in the student body. BCA is rated in the top 15% of all schools in the country, which is the highest rating possible. Its students perform significantly above grade level in standardized testing. In addition to teaching academics, BCA instills its students with a Christian worldview. The student body represents 100 different churches and non-churched people as well. This is done by focusing on the essentials of the faith and granting latitude for divergence of beliefs on the non-essential. In all things – love.
Conclusion
Micah Fox’s table held the winning ticket today, but, sadly and all too predictably, he failed to pick the winning Ace of Spades. Only 48 cards remain. Our odds will be slightly better next week. Mary Thomas led us in a recitation of Rotary’s four-way test before we adjourned. See you next time.