Nov. 19, 2015–John Sledge / Author

John S. Sledge is senior architectural historian for the Mobile Historic Development Commission and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. He holds a bachelor’s in history and Spanish from Auburn University and a master’s in historic preservation from Middle Tennessee State University. Sledge is the author of three books on Mobile’s historic architecture, as well as a collection of literary criticism, Southern Bound: A Gulf Coast Journalist on Books, Writers, and Literary Pilgrimages of the Heart, published by the University of South Carolina Press. He and his wife, Lynn, live in Fairhope, Alabama, half a mile from Mobile Bay.

Nov. 12, 2015–DG Michael Chambers / Rotary Dist. 6880

Michael Chambers currently serves as District Governor. He has previously served as president of the Rotary Club of Mobile, Assistant Governor and District Chair of Global Grants. He has been awarded the Certificate of Meritorious Service by the Rotary Foundation, the Service Above Self Award by Rotary International and is a Paul Harris Fellow and Major Donor.
In 2000 he co-founded and served as CEO of InnoRx, an ocular drug delivery company that he sold in 2005 to SurModics (NASDAQ:SRDX). He previously served as chairman of the board of ProUroCare, a public company based in Minneapolis. In 2010 he founded Swift Biotech, a company developing screens for ovarian cancer.
In 2012 he founded the Gulf Coast Angel Network and co-founded in 2014 the entrepreneurship program known as 1702. He served in 2014 as the Chairman of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and was named that year as Alabama’s Start-Up Executive of the Year by Alabama LaunchPad. He serves on various corporate boards, as well as the EDPA and BioAlabama.
He received a B.A. and law degree from the University of Alabama, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship for studies in France and a Swiss Confederation Scholarship that led to a Ph.D. at the University of Geneva. He has been recognized as one of the Best Attorneys in the United States in Commercial Law, Arbitration and Mediation and as a Top Lawyer in health care.
He is married to Circuit Judge Rosemary Chambers. They have two daughters, Carmen and Camille, who both attended Yale University and are now in law school at Georgetown.
He was recently named to a newly created position at the University of South Alabama: Assistant Vice President for Research Innovation.

Nov. 5, 2015–Keri Coumanis / "Revolving Funds & Neighborhood Renewal"

Keri Renee Coumanis is currently employed as an Assistant City Attorney with the City of Mobile, Alabama. Keri began her career in historic preservation and obtained a Master’s Degree in preservation from the Tulane School of Architecture. Upon graduation in 2001, she worked for two preservation-oriented non-profits in New Orleans (Preservation Resource Center and Felicity Street Redevelopment), and, subsequently, for the Alabama Historical Commission, the State of Alabama historic preservation office. Recognizing the strong correlation between successful historic preservation efforts, land use regulations and public policy, Keri began law school at the University of Alabama. Upon graduation in 2008, she began her career with the City of Mobile. There, she advises on legal matters related to urban planning, historic preservation and neighborhood revitalization. Keri drafts ordinance changes or statutory amendments necessary to implement policies that alleviate blight and encourage neighborhood revitalization.
Additionally, Keri undertakes all legal work necessary to attain marketable and clear title for properties held in the City’s land bank, as well as manages the selection, acquisition and disposition of the properties. Keri has also served as a staff attorney for the Mobile Historic Development Commission, Mobile Tree Commission, Downtown Development District, Architectural Review Board and HUD entitlement programs. Keri is a member of the Mayor’s Innovation Team, a Bloomberg Philanthropy Project, and the Mayor’s Deepwater Horizon settlement advisory team.

October 15, 2015

Minutes of the October 15, 2016
Meeting of
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Les Greer at 12:15 in Robby McClure’s absence. Chip Hale offered the invocation and Gordon Korb led the club in song, accompanied by Bill Oppenheimer on the piano. Tom Martenstein welcomed a visiting Rotarian and several guests of members.
Student Guest: Saty Putcha introduced Tyler Lott, the 2016 valedictorian of Bryant High School who discussed the benefits he has received from serving others.
Announcements: Les said a board meeting will follow the October 22 meeting.
Program: Danny White of Team Focus
Rob Hackbarth introduced Danny White, the Regional Director of Team Focus, a mentoring program seeking to assist young men aged 10-18 who are growing up in homes without a father or any positive male influence.
Mr. White said that the program was started in Mobile by former coach Mike Gottfried who was inspired by memories of his childhood without a father around. The program’s success has led to its duplication in cities stretching to California –although currently only six are in full force. Mentors are drawn from volunteers who go through background checks before being admitted.
One aspect of Team Focus is a summer camp which is conducted at either Spring Hill College or the University of Mobile. The participants stay in dormitories over a three day period and are taught various subjects in classroom settings, meet in groups and exercise. He said that all of the local colleges and universities have been generous about letting the young men meet their athletes.
White said that the young men who go through this program are assisted in making important decisions about their futures with a goal of becoming productive members of our community. He said that it is most successful when there is a strong female who is reinforcing the program in the participant’s home.
After answering a number of questions from the audience, Les thanked Mr. White and presented him a certificate noting that in his honor a contribution had been made to the Girl Scouts of South Alabama. The meeting adjourned at 12:55 PM.
(For further information about Team Focus see www.teamfocususa.org)
Tom McGehee

October 8, 2015

Meeting date: October 8, 2015
By Monde M Donaldson
Speaker: Dr. Chris Puto
President of Spring Hill College
“Re-Introducing Spring Hill”
Invocation, Song Music and Pledge
Robbie McClure called the meeting to order. Patrick Williams gave the invocation.
Gordon Kolb led the song and pledge. He was accompanied by Bill Oppenheimer.
Program
Dr. Chris Puto, the 37th president of Spring Hill College was the speaker. He holds the distinction of being the College’s first lay president in its history. He took office in June and was officially installed in late September. A 1964 graduate of the College, he first came to Mobile in 1960. He has been here many times over the years, particularly in the last decade when he served on the College’s Board of Trustees. He said
he had been preparing for this job his whole life.
Spring Hill is the oldest college in Alabama and the third oldest Jesuit college in the United States. There are 28 Jesuit colleges in the country.
He explained that Spring Hill is a residential Catholic liberal arts college, although 40 per cent of the student body is non-Catholic. One third of this year’s freshmen class was from the State of Alabama. The College received application from 47/49 contiguous states and enrolled students from 27 states and 9 countries. This fall’s group of students was the second largest in the College’s history at 415 and they had the highest academic credentials.
Dr. Puto said his goal is to gain national recognition for Spring Hill as the crown jewel of the Jesuit universities. His platform will begin by developing a strategic plan for the campus to prepare the College for 2030, the 200th anniversary of the school. There will be 48 planning units comprised of faculty and staff members who will begin by examining the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This plan, once developed, will be sent to the Board of Trustees for their approval. Once in place, a campaign to build the endowment will be adopted. He also wants to make a Spring Hill education affordable for all who are admitted.
One issue facing higher education is salaries for faculty and staff. This is a nationwide issue and one he plans to address with a capital campaign in the years to come.
His focus will be providing the best possible educational experience and value to all students in the Jesuit tradition. Dr. Puto wants Spring Hill to play a greater role in the community. Already, almost half of the student body is volunteering regularly at schools and non-profits as part of the Foley Center.
The meeting was adjourned.