PHIL SAVAGE, JR.
Executive Director, Senior Bowl
Named Executive Director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl in June of 2012, Phil is a native Mobilian and returned to the Port City after spending 20 years in the National Football League as a coach, scout, personnel director and general manager. Phil will be joined by Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett, who has been selected to coach the North Team of the 2016 Reese’s Senior Bowl. It is the fifth time the Cowboys’ staff has coached the Senior Bowl, but the first time since 1965. Tom Landry and his staff coached in the game four consecutive years (1962-1965).
JASON C. GARRETT
Dallas Cowboys, Head Coach
Coach Garrett (born March 28, 1966) played college football at Princeton University. At Princeton in 1987 and 1988, Garrett completed 366 of 550 passes (66.5%) for 4,274 yards and 20 touchdowns and won the Asa S. Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League Player of the Year. Garrett signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 1989 and joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1993. In the Cowboy’s 1994 Thanksgiving Day game, Garrett led the Cowboys over the Green Bay Packers by completing 15 of 26 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns in a second-half comeback. That game was named in 2008 as the fourth-best moment in the history of Texas Stadium by ESPN. Garrett also played for the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins before retiring in 2004.
After retiring as a player, Garrett became the quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2005–2006 under head coach Nick Saban. In January 2007, Garrett was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as offensive coordinator. He guided the Cowboys to the 2nd best offense in the NFL. On November 8, 2010, he was named as the Dallas Cowboys’ interim head coach following the firing of Wade Phillips after the Cowboys’ 1–7 start for the 2010 season. On November 14, 2010, Garrett won his first game as a head coach, beating the favored New York Giants 33–20 in the Meadowlands. The next week, he led the Cowboys to a 35–19 victory over the Detroit Lions, their first home win all season. On January 6, 2011, Garrett was named the official Cowboys head coach and the 8th in Cowboys history.
Jan. 21, 2016–Brad Israel
Brad Israel serves as Director of Development for a national real estate development firm, Elcan & Associates, Inc., headquartered in Mobile, AL. Originally from Mobile, Brad graduated from UMS-Wright Preparatory School in 2000. He attended Hampden-Sydney College and graduated in 2004 magna cum laude with a major in Political Science and a minor in Public Service. Brad joined the Army in 2005 earning his commission through the Officer Candidate School as an Infantry Officer. After successfully graduating from Ranger and Airborne School, Brad was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy. He led an Airborne Rifle Platoon, a Heavy Weapons Platoon, and a Scout Reconnaissance Platoon, all in combat in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. Brad earned a Bronze Star, an Army Commendation Medal with a “V” device for Valor in battle; he also published a photography book, “Faces of the Future” from his time working with the locals in the villages. Brad went through the Special Forces Assessment Selection in 2008 and was selected to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course earning the coveted “Green Beret” and Special Forces Tab in February 2011. He was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group and served as a Detachment Commander for an elite mountain detachment in southern Afghanistan and led a water infiltration detachment in Colombia, South America; he earned his second Bronze Star and a Meritorious Service Medal for his leadership in 7th Special Forces Group. Brad’s earned numerous other military medals and achievements over the course of nearly ten years while on active duty.
Brad returned to Mobile in January of 2014 and immediately got involved in the community through the Military Affairs Committee with the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Boards for the Chamber of Commerce, the Child Advocacy Center, and Habitat for Humanity. Outside of Elcan & Associates, Brad still serves as a Green Beret with 20th Special Forces Group, and leads a public speaking and leadership consulting entity, FM Solutions, LLC.
Brad is married to Anna Bender Israel of Mobile, and they have three boys, Lyon, Jackson, and Hutch.
Jan. 14, 2016–Todd Greer / The Exchange
After almost two decades of on-the-ground work in nonprofit organizations, building capacity through communications and leadership development, Todd Greer, PhD. (Organizational Leadership, Regent University) recognized a need for a 3rd space (not the traditional image of home or corporate environment) that could facilitate the movement of people, ideas, services, products, and organization. His mission in life is to grow others through the engagement of their “sweet spot” where they can thrive in teams, organizations and, especially, as people.
As the Chief Catalyst for the Exchange, Todd focuses on: Business Development, Community Relations, Operations (the “BIG” picture), Community Culture, & Innovation
Jan. 7, 2016–Master Chief Jon Port
M aster Chief Port was born in West Chester, Penn. He enlisted in the Navy in May 1986 and completed Basic Training in Orlando, Fla. He spent 18 months as a non-rated Seaman prior to reporting to the Defense Language Institute (DLI), Monterey, Calif. for Russian language training, and was selected to remain for six months of extended intermediate Russian language training. He completed technical training at Naval Aircrew Candidate School and Morse code training prior to reporting to Naval Security Group Detachment, Brunswick, Maine. He accumulated more than 1,000 flight hours, 600 of which were combat flight hours in support of Operation Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Provide Hope, and Continue Hope. He was awarded an Individual Action Air Medal for a mission flown over Mogadishu, Somalia. In 1994 he returned to DLI for the Advanced Russian Interpreter course prior to duty with the On-Site Inspection Agency, now the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, in Washington, DC. He logged an additional 1,500 flight hours onboard the OC-135B Open Skies aircraft, the Navy Research Lab P-3C, ES-3 as well as 110 flight hours flown onboard a Russian IL-38 ASW aircraft, the first US-Navy Air Crewman to do so.
Selected for Chief Petty Officer in 1997, he served at Navy Recruiting Command Headquarters. He was selected to Senior Chief Petty Officer in 2000 and attended the Senior Enlisted Academy before reporting to the Naval Security Group Activity Kunia, Hawaii as Senior Enlisted Advisor (SEA) and Leading Chief Petty Officer. He was selected to Master Chief in 2003, and joined the Navy’s Command Master Chief ranks in 2004. As a CMC he served with Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 (HM-15) in Corpus Christi, Texas, and led the squadron through multiple Middle East deployments as well as four major natural disaster recovery operations. Master Chief Port reported to PCU George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) as the CMC, commissioning the ship January 10, 2009 and becoming a Plank Owner. He served as the SEA to the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) Chief Operating Officer, and CMC to NETC’s Learning & Development Division (N7) in Norfolk, Va., and in May 2010 reported as Force Master Chief, Navy Personnel Command/Bureau of Naval Personnel, Millington, Tenn.
Master Chief Port holds a Masters in Business Administration, a B.S. in Political Science, is a designated Master Linguist, attended the Navy Senior Leader Seminar and is a KEYSTONE graduate. His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards), Meritorious Service Medal (3 awards), Air Medal (Individual Action), Navy Commendation Medal (3 awards), and the Navy Achievement Medal (4 awards).
Master Chief Port reported for his current assignment as the Naval Education and Training Command Force Master Chief in Feb 2013.
December 17, 2015
Minutes of the December 17, 2015 Meeting
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by club president, Robby McClure at 12:15 PM. Stephanie Alexander offered the invocation and then Gordon Korb led the group in song accompanied by Les Greer on the piano. Tom Martenstein welcomed club guests.
Youth Merit Award: John Dukes introduced Alexandria Eubanks of Leflore High School who spoke on service noting the strong influence in her life by her mother and grandmother who were in attendance. Miss Eubanks plans on attending UAB.
Announcements: Robby McClure said that club elections are scheduled for January 14, 2016.
Rotary Children’s Foundation Distribution: Bo Mattei presented a check to Terri Baldwin who represents GoodWill – Easter Seals. The money will be used for their Child Development Center as well as their Medical Assistance Program.
Program: Little Sisters of the Poor
Tommy Fulton introduced Sister Marie Cecilia who described her journey from the business world to this Catholic order charged with caring for the elderly poor. She said that she has found her life with the Little Sisters of the Poor to be very rewarding explaining that while she may not be able to make water into wine she can strive to turn sorrow into joy for those in her care.
Robby thanked her for speaking to the club and said that in her honor a donation has been made to the Providence Hospital Foundation. He then reminded club members that our next meeting will take place on January 7, 2016.
Tom McGehee
December 10, 2015
Minutes of the December 10, 2015 Meeting of
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 12:15 PM by club president, Robby McClure. Les Greer offered the invocation followed by Larry Sindel leading in song accompanied by Bill Oppenheimer on the piano. Tom Martenstein welcomed members’ guests and visiting Rotarians.
Announcements: Robby McClure made the following announcements:
• Thanked Laura O’Connor, Douglas Kearley, Barney March and Tom McGehee for their assistance with yesterday’s Children’s Christmas Party.
• Reminded members of the Old Spanish Trail Rotary Smoker taking place tomorrow here at the Battle House in the Oakleigh Room.
• Recognized Tommy Zoghby as a Paul Harris Fellow.
Ken Niemeyer reminded the group that he is collecting books for school children from Kindergarten to the third grade for the lending libraries Rotary is sponsoring.
Bo Mattei made distributions from the Rotary Children’s Foundation to representatives of the Mobile Infirmary, United Cerebral Palsy and MARC.
Program: Hidden Gems in our Neighborhood: Murphy and McGill
Cart Blackwell introduced two of our club members: Nick Holmes, III and Bry Shields.
Nick Holmes began the program with a power point showing the renovation of Barton Academy, the adjoining Yerby School as well as the repairs and renovations to Murphy High School following a tornado.
Barton Academy, he explained, had last been painted in 1970 and was in terrible condition. Photos showed the repairs made to the dome and replacement of missing columns and capitals. When the new windows were seen in the Yerby School behind Barton, members of the school board agreed to a change order to replace those in Barton as well. The new windows are all impact resistant he said.
Nick explained that the work at Murphy High School is about 70% complete and includes a completely remodeled kitchen and new air-conditioning throughout. Dropped ceilings were eliminated with the new air-conditioning and all wood trim has been refinished. The auditorium’s roof was replaced and its interior is now being restored to its late 1920’s appearance.
Bry Shields then discussed the many physical improvements being made to the campus of McGill-Toolen where he said the school motto is “Knowledge for the Love of God,” and where his students are expected to achieve the highest level possible. He said that McGill has invested $30 million in improvements over the last 20 years.
His power point program showed the school’s new science building, the Moorer Technology Center, the Banks Harris Track facility, the Lipscomb Stadium Complex, as well as the Crow Fitness Center. When the band hall doubled in size he said that the size of the band doubled as well.
In July of 2016 the new student center and dining hall will be completed. He said that the architectural style of the Spanish Colonial is being used to blend in with the surrounding buildings which include St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the original Toolen High School which was completed in 1928. That same style of architecture had been employed by Murphy High School just two years earlier, he added.
Robby McClure thanked Bry and Nick for talking to the club and said that in their honor a donation has been made to the Fuse Project of Mobile. The meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM.
Tom McGehee
November 19, 2015
Minutes of the 11.19.15 Meeting of the Rotary Club of Mobile
The meeting was called to order by President Robby McClure with Henry Seawell giving the invocation accompanied by Les Greer on the piano and Gordon Korb leading the song.
Our student of the week was Paige Reach from Citronelle High School who was introduced by Lena Llindsey, CHS Counselor. Ms. Phillips, grandmother to Paige was in attendance.
Cart Blackwell introduced our speaker, John Sledge, a notable local author and journalist who discussed his new book The Mobile River”.
Sledge began by telling the origin of the terms ‘stevedore’ and ‘longshoreman’. The former comes from the Spanish meaning ‘to pack your stuff’ while the latter is a nineteenth century Canadian term.
He told that the Mobile River began about fifty miles above the city near the present location of the formerly named TK plant where the Alabama and the Tombigbee join. The Mobile River drains about 45,000 square miles of the southeast.
He was inspired to write this by another series “The Rivers of America” which unfortunately, did not include Alabama rivers.
He described the river traveling through upland bluffs, marshy land and the bluffs.
Regarding local lore, the word Mobile is reportedly a Choctaw word meaning to paddle. When the French arrived c. 33 Mobile Indians were left due to disease brought by the Spanish. About 90% of the Mobile Indians died due to disease.
He went on to show pictures of local personages and scenes from the river noting the river was used in the 19th Century for commerce, industry and recreation and later shipbuilding came to be done on the river.
In the 1920s, the State Docks were developed ushering in a new and critical feature on the river. Next came the Bankhead and Wallace Tunnels. He mentioned that when the Bankhead was opened, local citizens were invited to walk through the tunnel for a period of days to get acquainted. One young boy eagerly came into the tunnel on roller skates, enjoying half the ride until he discovered the tunnel was build with an angle meaning the lowest point was in the middle. Sad for this child to reach the center to his surprise.
President Robby adjourned the meeting at 1 pm announcing a board meeting.
Submitted,
Rose Johnson
11.20.15
December 3, 2015
Dr. Michael Finan is the Cancer Center Director for the University of South Alabama’s Mitchell Cancer Institute. He spoke of the Center’s 5-year plan for expansion and why it is so important for our area. The Mitchell Cancer Institute is the referral facility for an area that includes East Louisiana, South Mississippi, South Alabama and West Florida. Not only does the Center work toward the cure of existing cancer cases, they have a huge emphasis on cancer prevention.
One of the examples of prevention includes a partnership with the Culinary Medicine center at Tulane University. South Alabama’s center has researchers working 24/7 to find cures and effective means of prevention. Many drugs are being developed to fight all kinds of cancer. In fact, they currently have a 50,000 lb. compound library for work on drug development. DNA is the source for all cancers, which is why the research is so focused on DNA.
In 2014, there were almost 3,000 new cases of cancer referred to USA’s Mitchell Cancer Institute. The “referral zone” mentioned by Dr. Finan includes more than 16,000 new cancer cases each year. Many of the patients in this zone are poverty stricken.
One of the major goals for Mitchell Cancer Institute is to become NCI-qualified by forming a Consortium with UAB. Dr. Finan mentioned that Mitchell has created 5 spin-off Bio-Tech companies for our area. Also, while minorities average ten percent of the patients nationally, MCI treats approximately thirty-nine percent minority patients.
In the next five years, USA expects to build a 20,000 square-foot facility at USA Health, a 12,000 square-foot facility in Fairhope, and a 48,000 square foot facility on campus.
Invocation was Laureen Lynn, Gordon Korb led us in the Song and Pledge, and Les Greer played the piano.