Rotary Bulletin

March 9, 2015

Meeting Minutes

President Jerry called the meeting to order. He announced that March is Rotary Literacy Month, a program that is supported already by our club. The necessity of emphasizing literacy is underscored by the fact that one-third of all entering kindergarten students do not have the basic skills to learn how to read.

Walter Sprouse led the club in the pledge to the flag and the invocation. Richard Harmon introduced the club's visitors and guests. Rick Hall introduced three outstanding Richmond Academy students visiting from the Interact Club.

Last week's CART challenger was Jimmy Richards and $220.00 was contributed. Today's challenger is Laverne Gold and the outside sponsor is Jessie Cumming.

The incomparable Richard Rogers brought the Sunshine Report. Within a storehouse of other interesting information, he gave a list of the ten jobs that bring the highest satisfaction. Among those were principal, executive chef, loan officer, website developer and systems developer.

District Lieutenant Governor Kathy Tuckey reminded everyone to purchase raffle tickets in support of the district conference.

President Jerry extended greetings to our new member Brenda Durant, Executive Director of the Augusta Arts Council. He then called on T. R. Reddy to present a Paul Harris Fellow recognition. T.R. introduced his friend Bob Richards. Bob came to Augusta in 1972 and started a highly successful career in the auto dealership business and is equally known for his outstanding citizenship and community service. Congratulations to Bob.

Frank Mulherin then introduced our speaker for the day- Bill Kirby, columnist and editor for The Augusta Chronicle. In his forty years as a journalist, Bill has received over two hundred awards for his work in writing and editing. He remarked that it has been twenty-five years since he last spoke to our club and wondered if there was any significance to that.

Bill's topic was Augusta Journalism in the Twentieth Century. It was a marvelous walk down memory lane as he showed pictures and talked about the highlights of significant community leaders who either worked their entire careers as journalists or got their start in the field. Some of the people he mentioned and spoke about were:

• former City Editor John Barnes the author of the "Our Town" column;
• Columnist Margaret Twiggs who served as a World War II Red Cross nurse and was involved in the liberation of Nazi death camps;
• Photographer Robert Simms;
• Cartoonist Clyde Wells;
• J.B. Fuqua who founded WJBF and went on to become one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs;
• Author Erskine Caldwell of Tobacco Road fame who started as an Augusta Chronicle Sports Writer;
• former Mayor Bob Young who started as a reporter and became news anchor of WJBF TV before he was elected Mayor;
• reporter Frank Thomas of WJBF, Augusta's first black TV reporter who in 1981 became executive director of the Human Relations Commission;
• Broadcaster Jim Davis who served as news director at each of the Augusta TV stations;
• George Weiss the owner of WBBQ radio who left his station and other assets in what was at the time the largest gift ever made to the Medical College of Georgia;
• Paul Hemphill, who was a sports editor at The Chronicle and went on to become a nationally recognized and noted author;
• Augusta Chronicle editorial page editor Louis Harris for whom the West Augusta Rotary Club named its annual Journalism Award;
• Chronicle writer Don Rhodes, the longest serving country music writer in the United States;
• Marshall Frady, who started delivering newspapers in Augusta and went on to become one of the country's most respected writers and authors about the Civil Rights movement; and
• W.S. (Billy) Morris, III who started as a delivery boy for his father's newspapers and has created a media company with operations throughout the United States and in several overseas countries.

President Jerry then adjourned the meeting by leading all in the recitation of the Four-Way Test.

Upcoming Meeting Topics

3/16/2015 Invitation out to Renee' Kelley, Principle of Davison Fine Arts Magnet 
3/23/2015 Mohammad Davoud, Dean of the College of Engineering at GSU 
3/30/2015 Invitation out Scott Peebles, Secure School Solutions 

Cart

CART buckets
Inside Challenger: LaVerne Gold
Outside Challenger: Willie Cummings
Total

$79.04
$79.04
$100.00
$258.08

Guests

Guest
Bill Kirby
Katie Ard
Bill Kuhlke
Davi Morrison
Tyan Walters
Hap Harris
Sheri Osburn
David McDaniel
Brian Taylor

Guest Of
Club, Speaker
Gould Hagler
David Hogg
Jita Morrison
Jita Morrison
Dee Bruker
Paul Dainer
Haskell Toporek
Jeff Schwab

Visiting Rotarians

Name
Kathy Tuckey

Club
Rotary Asst. Governor

Richmond County Interact Club

Makayla Tanksley
Tashyrra Shepherd
Taylor Gillman

Meeting Makeup

Pete Michenfelder 3-3-15 Augusta South
Marilyn Bowcutt 2-12-15 Sandersville Rotary Club
Darryl Leech 3-9-15 On-Line Make up

Absentees

Forester Adams
Tony Lever
Bob Baisden
Ben McElreath
Greg Baker
Rob McKenzie
Dee Beaird
Chris McKinney
Steve Bogolea
Brad Means
Bill Bohling
Andrew Mize
Greg Capers
Russ Morgan

Mike Cash
Susan Parr
Tom Coghill
Jonathan Powell
Charles coleman
Ed Presnell
Len Collins
Susan Rice
Guy Daniels
Harold Scott
Neal Dickert
Stan Shepherd
Sandy Dykes
Jeff Spears

Jeff Flowers
Stan Stanton
Kevin Grogan
Kevin Steffes
Jason Haddox
Charles Stewart
Aimee Hall
Stacy Tallent
George Hall
Sonny Tucker
Rick Herring
Scott Williams
Steve Hobbs
Randall Zapata
Darryl Leech

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Member
Eddie Booth
Neal Dickert
Bobby Gagnon
Jim Hawkins
Chris James
Scott Kelly
Darryl Leech
Carolyn Maund
Marc Miller
Jita Morrison
Susan Rice
Stan Shepherd
Sonny Tucker
Thom Tuckey
Butch Whiddon

Years
39
7
2
7
7
5
22
25
9
2
24
19
3
12
8

March Birthdays
Trex Bolick
Larry Broyles
John David
Jeff Futrelle
Richard Harmon
Randy Hatcher
David Hudson
Darryl Leech
Mahendra Mandawat
Rob McKenzie
Carlisle Overstreet
Susan Rice
Charlie Shaefer
Sonny Tucker
Butch Whiddon

Date
25
19
2
13
30
7
13
4
13
18
31
17
30
17
9