Month: April 2017

Minutes of the Rotary Meeting – March 30, 2017
By: Henry R. Seawell, IV
Invocation, Song, Music and Pledge
The meeting was called to order by club president, Les Greer. Frank Harkins offered the invocation. Larry Sindel led the Song and Pledge. Mr. Greer offered the Club a quote from Dr. Seuss, as well as his Rotary Tidbit of the week, informing us that The Rotary Club of Mobile sponsored the Crippled Children’s Ward at Mobile Infirmary in 1930, a sponsorship which grew and matured over the years. The dedicated contributions of our membership culminated in the formation of the Bedsole-Rotary Rehabilitation Center at Mobile Infirmary.
Introduction of Guests and Visitors: Tommy Blankenship.
Announcements: The Rotary District cruise is scheduled to begin on April 27, 2017. Brenda Litchfield offered information related to Project CATE, and announced that the Coastal Kids Quiz will be held at Daphne United Methodist Church on April 27, 2017. Rotarians were encouraged to bring used books in support of Little Free Lending Libraries, which have sprung up all over the area and now comprise of 14 libraries in Baldwin County and 12 in Mobile County.
Student of the Week
The student of the week was Teraney Jackson, a senior at Williamson High School. Teraney has a 4.09 Grade Point Average, is a member of the National Honor Society, theater, and choir. She intends to enroll at University of Alabama-Birmingham next fall, where she will attend on an academic scholarship.
Program
Speaker: Mr. Cart Blackwell, a member of our club and an Architectural Historian with the Mobile Historic Development Commission, was introduced by Robbie McClure.
Cart provided the club with a narrative on Alabama history, along with some important information leading up to our state’s bicentennial in 2019. The presentation offered our members insight into state nicknames, periods of relevance, as well as famous artists, writers, patriots and politicians.
Mobile was described as the “Paris of the South” during the Ante Bellum period and it was noted that Mobile had the country’s second largest banking system of that era, behind only New York. With all the developments of recent years, Cart postulated that we are entering a new golden age for the city. A kickoff event for Alabama’s three year Bicentennial Celebration will be held on Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 2017) at Cooper Riverside Park and all members are encouraged to attend. During the upcoming months, seven traveling exhibits will be making their way around the state recounting our history and tremendous promise. All Alabamians should be proud of our state and participate in our bicentennial.
The meeting was adjourned.

Minutes of the March 16, 2017 Meeting
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by club president Les Greer at 12:10 PM. Jessica Little offered the invocation and Tom Martenstein welcomed members’ guests and visiting Rotarians. Larry Sindel led the club in song and the Pledge of Allegiance
Student Guest: Samantha Lowitz, , a senior at UMS-Wright Prepatory School received the Youth Merit Award.
New Member: Sumpter McGowin introduced Brandon Simpson, a lender specializing in land and timber with First South Farm Credit as the club’s newest member. Les recognized Sumpter for his outstanding efforts in recruiting new Rotarians.
Announcements:
• A board meeting will follow today’s luncheon meeting.
• The first Rotary Golf Tournament will take place on April 18 and sponsorships are being actively sought. Please contact Jimmy Lyon for further details.
• There will be no luncheon meeting on April 20. Instead a dinner at the Battle House will take its place that evening at 5:30.
• A Caribbean cruise for the district meeting is scheduled for April 27.
• A visiting Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Columbia, KY spoke. As a native of Uganda he said he had personally received a polio immunization thanks to Rotary’s program to eliminate the disease.
Program: Jason McKenzie – Joe Jefferson Players/Playhouse
Ernest Ladd introduced Jason McKenzie, Executive Director of the Joe Jefferson Theater. McKenzie has recently been named to the post after actively working as a volunteer for the organization for a number of years.
Mr. McKenzie presented a power point presentation which stressed the importance of having a strong community theater in the recruitment of industry and businesses to the area. He invited his audience to become involved as a volunteer on stage or behind the scenes. Sponsorships of individual performances are sought, he said, and season tickets make excellent gifts.
Michael Green and Whitney Upton who will appear in the upcoming production of “Much Ado About Nothing” were introduced and performed a scene from the play.
The season will end with “Rock of Ages” said McKenzie, and in August the new season will open with “Annie” and the year will include “Peter the Star Catcher,” “Cabaret,” “Ragtime,” and others.
McKenzie then conducted a quiz about the Joe Jefferson Players with winners receiving tickets to attend “Much Ado About Nothing.”
The meeting adjourned at 12:55 PM.
Tom McGehee

March 9 , 2017 Minutes
Submitted by Tommy Fulton, Contributing Editor
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Les Greer. Ken McElhaney gave the invocation, followed by Larry Sindel, who led us in song and the Pledge. Bill Oppenheimer accompanied on the piano.
Introduction of Guests & Visitors: Tommy Blankenship introduced our guests along with visiting Rotarians.
Student Guest: Saty Putcha introduced Timothy Taldon of Theodore High School.
New Members: Les Greer introduced Bill Hart, and Dan McDaniel introduced KC Constantine.
Announcements: The Golf Tournament will be held on April 18th. The District Cruise will be April 27th. There will be a Board Meeting next week on March 16th.
Program: Sam Siegel introduced Ofir Rozenberg with the Mobile Area Jewish Federation.
Ms. Rozenberg was born and raised in a small town of about 150 families in Israel. As is true of all young Israeli’s, she served in the Israeli Defense Forces. She then gave a short description of Israel, beginning with the location, which has Israel in the middle of Africa, Asia and Europe. It is a very small country, and though most people in the world think of Israel as desert, she showed pictures of the very diverse and modern aspects of her country.
She explained that 74.8% of the population is Jewish, 20.8% Arab and 4.3% made up the rest. The total population is more than 8.5 million. Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948 and is a parliamentary democracy. The language is Hebrew, but most everyone also speaks English. Some of the well-known nicknames for Israel include Zion, the Holy Land, the Promised Land, and the Land of Milk and Honey.
Once Israel was established, Jews came from all over the world to settle there. The culture is very diverse in appearance.
For virtually all Israelis, military service begins after high school. Women are required to serve two years, while men serve three years. In addition to defense of Israel, the purpose of the military is to teach the youth about Israel and its values. The military is also active in humanitarian aid. One example includes sending help to the United States after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Although many people are not aware, Israel is a leader in technological development, including the development of the USB drive, pill cam and cherry tomatoes. Also, the defensive capabilities used by the U. S., nicknamed the Iron Dome, was co-developed with the United States.
Finally, Ms. Rozenberg showed pictures of life in Israel, which showed lush green areas and beautiful beaches among the more historic Holy Land, Jerusalem, Nazareth and the Dead Sea. She closed by stating that Israel is open to Christians to practice their faith, unlike so many of the other surrounding states.
Les Greer thanked Ofir Rozenberg for her presentation and presented a certificate to her, noting that a donation in her honor had been made to the Rotary International Foundation.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm.