President Katie Dukeshire opened the meeting. Joseph Williams gave the invocation and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Carolyn Rhode served as secretary.
Guests and Visitors
- Philip Stewart brought a guest from the Boy Scouts – Johnathan Clapp.
- John Brooks visited from the Breakfast Rotary Club. He announced that the Breakfast Club has a new meeting time and day – Wednesdays at 7:00 a.m. at the Ramada.
General Announcements
- Debbie Porch asked all members to respond to the survey that her committee developed. We will receive the results at the meeting on September 1st.
- Katie announced birthdays and anniversaries. See below.
Upcoming Programs
- August 25 – Joseph Williams: Update on Feed the Hunger Ministry, particularly with reference to food shipped to Iraq
- September 1 – Richard White and Debbie Porch: Membership Committee Report and Plans
- September 8 – Mac Williams
Happy Clams
- None this week.
Dan Seiler: Husband, Small Business Owner, Rotarian
Katie called up Dan Seiler, who was filling in as host for Bonnie Whitaker. Dan noted that he had never had to find or host a speaker before because he had always been bumped for one reason or another. He noted that he owns Seiler Cleaning Services with his boss and wife, Lori. He turned the program over to Tanya Jisa, MSW (Founder and Exec. Director), and Abby Goodman from Benevolence Farm.
Program: Tanya Jisa and Abby Goodman – Benevolence Farms
Benevolence Farms is located on 13 acres on Thompson Mill Road in Graham. Tanya Jisa noted she got into the business of helping ex-offenders transition from prison for a variety of reasons:
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Her parents were very involved in her hometown of Mansfield, OH.
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A close friend whom she grew up with has been in and out of prison due to addiction issues.
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The Shawshank Redemption was actually filmed in her hometown and she finds the story very inspiring.
Tanya noted that many women are in prison due to addiction or violence. She told the story of Darla who shot her husband who had terribly abused her for many years. She went to prison for that crime. She mentioned that the U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world and that thousands of women (including mothers) are imprisoned now in North Carolina. In 2014, 2700 were released from prison in NC including 50 that originally came from Alamance County. Of the women released, two-thirds have been historically rearrested and one half re-incarcerated. Benevolence Farm is located in Alamance because it is centrally situated between the four women’s prisons in NC. It costs $28,000 to incarcerate a woman for a year, compared to $14,000 per year for this program. The goal of Benevolence Farm is to help women transition from prison into stable, self-supporting lives through career skills, housing, improved physical, mental, and financial health, and the creation of ties to community support.
Benevolence Farm allows the women in residence to learn farming and food preparation skills. They sell their produce locally at farmers markets and the co-op to support themselves and the program. Benevolence Farm received startup funding from the Snider Family Foundation, and their land was also donated. Many volunteers have been involved in helping them get started, including a group of NCSU students and a Rotary club from Raleigh. Neighbors were initially nervous about the women moving in, but have since been informed and now see them as good neighbors seeking a better life.
Once fully functional, the facility will house 12 women, for 6 to 24 months, and they will work 25 hours per week at $10 per hour. There will be other structured activities for the women to help them ease back into “normal” life. The program was well received by the club with much applause at the end.
Card Drawing
A consortium led by Mark Laferriere pulled the winning card of the Jack of Hearts!! As a result, $100 will be sent to the Rotary Foundation and $100 will be divided among Mark, Peter Barcus, Deva Reese, Randy Perkins and Dale Greeson. The secretary thinks that Peter Barcus and Mark should sit on their hands for a while and let others have a turn at winning. Mark beat the odds by picking the Jack of Hearts out of thirty-nine remaining cards. We know Mark to be an honest man; so, we are absolutely sure that no one “mark”ed the cards. Congrats to his table. Each person in that pool won an astounding amount. This is why we invest our money- for the big payoffs!
Closing
President Katie Dukeshire Katie noted District Governor Larry Lassiter’s upcoming visit on September 15, thanked Richard and Debbie for their work on the survey, and also thanked Deva, Tripp and Dick for their work on various future fundraisers. 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
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 |