July 22, 2019
Meeting Minutes
President Scott Williams rang the bell and called the meeting to order. David Hudson gave the pledge and invocation. Thanks to our inside challenger Len Collins and outside challenger Georgia State Floral Distributors we raised $280.47 for CART at our last meeting. This week the inside challengers are Steve Hobbs and Stan Stanton. Steve Munn introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians. Bill Keogh gave the Sunshine Report.
Announcements:
- Rotary Family Night will be held Thursday August 1 at the Greenjackets baseball game. Flyers are on the tables today. Please reserve your tickets through Ridge Whitehurst by Wednesday July 31.
- District Assembly will be held July 27 in Dublin. Anyone interested in attending can register at www.rotarydistrict6920.org.
- Haskell Toporek provided the club with a Hull Fund report, which included welcoming two new members, TR Reddy and Ashley Duren. He also thanked Faye Hargrove and Ridge Whitehurst for their service to the committee as they step off due to term limits. Haskell also reported that the fund has provided nearly $60,000 in grants, student loans, and scholarships during the last year.
- President Scott announced that the GRSP and Hull Fund Committees would be meeting immediately following the club meeting. Our GRSP student will be arriving August 3.
2018-2019 Perfect Attendance Awards: President Scott recognized Matt Barrett and Herb Upton for one year of perfect attendance.
Program:
President Scott called on Shell Berry to introduce our guest speaker and club member, Dr. Linda Tucciarone, who is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Heritage Academy.
The Heritage Academy is a K-8 school serving 260 students founded in 1998 with the mission of bringing a Christian education to those who could least afford it. The school relies heavily on donations with only 15% of its current budget coming from tuition. Since inception, the Academy has raised over $18 million to fund their operations and facilities. Since 2001, the school has operated out of the old Houghton School on Greene Street.
Nearly five years ago the school embarked on a mission to help those struggling with dyslexia. It is estimated that 1 in 6 people have this disability yet most of the public schools are not equipped to deal with it. Heritage Academy provides a free outreach program serving 50 students. This program involves one to one screenings and tutoring sessions.
Looking at the challenges currently facing our country, Dr. Tucciarone, lamented that we lack a skilled workforce in spite of all of the opportunities to get a degree. The Academy wants to help prepare individuals to earn a “family sustainable wage” by obtaining marketable skills that do not necessarily require a degree.
They are offering two programs, Cyber Aces and Commercial Aquaponics, to address early workforce development. These programs are intended to give students exposure, education, and experience that will translate into marketable skills. The Cyber Aces program will provide 300 hours of instruction during 6th – 8th grades in the areas of hardware, software, installations, security, and coding. Students will also take national tests to measure their knowledge and skills.
The Commercial Aquaponics program is a result of a donation from Chick-fil-a, which will provide students with skills needed to make the system, market the product, and manage the resources needed to produce the product.
Following her remarks, President Scott led us in reciting the four-way test and then adjourned the meeting.
Easy links to pages on our website
Rotary schedule of meeting dates and speakers
Member Proposal Form
Online directory - Find a member or update your information
Bulletins - Weekly bulletins from 2014-current
CART
CART buckets
Inside Challenger: Steve Hobbs
Outside Challenger: Stan Stanton
Total
$160.93
$125.00
$125.00
$410.93
Guests
Guest
Dr. Linda Tucciarone
Ed Tarver
Carolyn Jackson
Guest Of
Speaker
De Pearce
Janice Jackson
Richmond Academy Interact Club
Westminster Interact Club
Augusta Tech Rotaract Club
Visiting Rotarians
Name
Club
Meeting Makeup
Jeanette Cummins 7-22-19 On Line Make Up
Leigh Porterfield 7-22-19 Rotary Board of Directors Meeting
Shanda Vaughn 7-22-19 Rotary Board of Directors Meeting
Ray Walters 7-15-19 On Line Make UP
Josh Nolan 7-22-19 Red Badge Orientation
Kevin Wade 7-22-19 Red Badge Orientation
The following will receive a make up for attending the Rotary Red Badge Orientation on Monday July 22, 2019:
Kevin Wade
Ed Presnell
Frank Mulherin
Herb Upton
John Whitwell
Scott Williams
Bill Kemp
Josh Nolan
Absentees
Forester Adams
Russell Keen
Stacie Adkins
Ronald Lampkin
Bob Baisden
Rick Lowe
Tony Bernados
Robetta McKenzie
Chris Bird
Linda McKnight
Barclay Bishop
Gene McManus
Felita Brady
Travis McNeal
Conley Braun
Connie Melear
Josh Nolan
Dave Brendza
Robert Osborne
Bennish Brown
Sheri Osburn
Carl Brown
Natalie Paine
Larry Broyles
Sue Parr
David Bullington
Jeff Partl
Nate Cartwright
Leigh Porterfield
Gretchan Caughman
Jonathan Powell
Tom Clark
Angela Pringle
Patrick Cullinan
Jimmy Richards
Jeanette Cummings
Harold Scott
Rob Dennis
John Sebby
Chris Etterlee
Stan Shepherd
Susan Everitt
Jeff Simless
Jeff Flowers
Debbie Sleeth
Rick Franza
Steve Smith
Mark Gilliam
Stan Stanton
A K Gulati
Kevin Steffes
Aimee Hall
Kyle Titus
Chad Harpley
Sonny Tucker
Cecil Harrison
Shanda Vaughn
Randy Hatcher
Kevin Wade
James Heffner
Willie Williams
Dora Hogg
George Williams
Chris James
Dustin Young
Brooks Keel
