Club Business
President Dick O’Donnell was on vacation. Brooke Carpenter, our President-Elect, convened our in-person meeting at Burlington Beer Works. A Zoom connection was also provided. Mary Thomas Gilbert offered a prayer and led us in the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Jay Mebane, Burlington’s new fire chief and a Rotarian, visited today, as did Feraud Calixte, a friend of Mary Thomas and owner of Vantage Pointe Financial Planning.
Announcements
- Brooke reminded the club that we will meet next week via Zoom, alternating on the 2nd and 4th weeks at Burlington Beer Works.
- Brooke shared two recent birthdays, Sang and Brad.
- He also shared some historical trivia items of interest, but his jokes left us longing for Dick’s return.
- Next week our speaker will be Rachel Kelley, Burlington’s Assistant City Manager.
Happy Dollars
Mary Thomas Gilbert proudly announced that her son Maxton earned the Sharpshooter award at boot camp by hitting 40 of 40 targets with a pistol, twice!
Member Spotlight
Randy Perkins grew up in southeastern Guilford County. His parents taught him a strong work ethic, which he was able to hone at the family farm. As a boy, he loved water skiing and flying, soloing at age 16. The family farm in Julian still has an airstrip where is currently restoring a 1954 Aeronca Champion plane. Randy met his wife Reida when he was a freshman in college. They were soon married, which prompted him to go to work so she could graduate first. Afterward he finished his degree, too. He taught school for two years until he could no longer tolerate teaching the same lesson seven times a day; whereupon, he found a job in human relations with JP Stevens in Randleman and later Fayetteville. When he tired of the commute he was able to transfer to Burlington, which became his home. After ten years he made the decision to launch out and start his own company, Prime Personnel Resources, which is in its 22nd year. He immediately joined the Breakfast Rotary Club, serving as their president within a couple of years. He has served the District in various capacities, most recently as District Governor. He said he loved every part of that job. His enthusiasm for Rotary is obvious.
Meredith Peffley & Bria Miller – Crossroads, the Intersection of Hope and Healing
Ed Woodall introduced our speakers, Meredith Peffley and Bria Miller. Meredith is the Executive Director of Crossroads. She previously served at Cardinal Innovations and the Women’s Resource Center before landing her present position. Bria is the Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinator. She is a Victim Services Practitioner and a Child and Family Team meeting Facilitator. Her responsibilities at Crossroads include educating the community on human trafficking, child maltreatment, and sexual assault.
Crossroads was formed in 1976 to help victims of adult sexual assault. Today its mission is to eliminate sexual violence, child victimization, human trafficking and their effects through confidential counseling, advocacy, child medical treatment, education, and community awareness for adults and children. CrossRoads envisions a world where all survivors of sexual violence, child maltreatment, and human trafficking attain hope and healing, offenders are held accountable, and individuals are empowered to create an atmosphere in their communities where families thrive.
Crossroads has a number of services and programs aimed at victims of abuse of all ages. Their Child Advocacy Center provides a number of services that serve the unique needs of young children. It also serves adult victims of sexual abuse and victims of every age connected with human trafficking.
Bria shared that Crossroad provides volunteer opportunities of various kinds. Meredith talked about the finances, saying that they have a million dollar budget.
Brooke asked for more information about human trafficking in our area. Bria told us that victims are usually juveniles who are on their own and are tricked and trapped into working to pay off a debt. Immigrants are also often victims of deception and abuse. The third major group of victims entrapped by traffickers are opioid addicts. Sometimes even small children are trafficked by parents, as hard as that is to stomach.
Meredith spoke of the toll such work takes on staff and volunteers, who often need counseling themselves to deal with the harsh realities of abuse they encounter on a regular basis. Susan spoke up to say that we need to realize that it is not just “those people” who have problems. It includes those who live around us. In response to Micah’s question, Meredith said that the coronavirus crisis has not necessarily increased the number of cases, but it has increased the severity, since many cases go undiscovered for longer periods of time due to a lack of interaction with teachers and other adults in the community who might spot and report suspicions earlier.
Conclusion
Brook closed the meeting by leading us in reciting the Four Way Test.