July 27, 2017–: Thad Beeker, M.D. – USA Mitchell Cancer Center

Today’s Speaker, July 27, 2017: Thaddeus A. Beeker, M.D.
Dr. Thaddeus Beeker is a graduate of Wake Forest University and East Carolina University School of Medicine in Greenville, N.C. He fulfilled a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and has practiced medicine in Mobile for nearly 30 years.
In March of 2007 he joined Southern Cancer Center where he specializes in the fields of hematology and oncology and he has received numerous prestigious awards for his work in those fields.
He and his wife Kelly live in the Oakleigh Garden District where they have been excellent stewards of one of the most beautiful homes on Government Street. They have two adult sons, Curry and T.J.

July 20, 2017–Stephen McNair, PhD. "Impact of the new Alabama Historic Tax Credit legislation"

Stephen McNair, Ph.D. is the owner and senior consultant of McNair Historic Preservation, Inc., a national full-service historic preservation consulting firm. The firm specializes in historic tax credit projects (commercial and residential), National Register nominations (individual and districts), design, materials, compliance, and government relations. Prior to establishing the company in 2015, Stephen has served in various government and non-profit roles furthering the cause of historic preservation in New Orleans, Scotland, and Alabama. Dr. McNair received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alabama, a Master’s in Historic Preservation Architecture from Tulane University, and a Ph.D. in Architectural History from the University of Edinburgh.

May 25, 2017

Minutes of the May 25, 2017 Meeting
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by John Dukes in the absence of club president Les Greer at 12:15 PM. Norman Pittman offered the invocation and Jeff Zoghby welcomed members’ guests and visiting Rotarians. Larry Sindel led the club in song and the Pledge of Allegiance
Announcement:
• John Dukes asked members to obtain current photo’s of themselves for the upcoming roster.
Program: Aaron Beam: HealthSouth Part II
Aaron Beam, former COO for HealthSouth returned to discuss the rest of his story. He noted that CEO Richard Scrushy was found not guilty but Beam was sentenced to three months at Maxwell. While the facility was designed for non-violent offenders he said a great number were Miami drug dealers.
Upon his release, he said he had to find a job since all of his material wealth was essentially gone. Unable to find employment he started a landscaping business.
He said his wife encouraged him to go to his alma mater, LSU and talk about his mistakes to MBA students. This was the era in which the real estate bubble burst, Enron collapsed and the nation’s largest accounting firm was out of business.
Beam said he discussed the similarities of the CEO’s behind many of the scandals as being smart and either charismatic or able to lead through intimidation. They typically measure success in dollars, and frankly he said, Americans put successful rich people on a pedestal.
He now lectures college students and warns accounting majors to hold true, that temptations are strong, especially when you get in with the wrong crowd. Beam said he is living proof of it.
After answering a number of questions from the audience, John Dukes thanked Mr. Beam and noted that in his honor a donation has been made to the Rotary International Foundation.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM.
Tom McGehee

May 11, 2017

Minutes of the May 11, 2017 Meeting
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by John Dukes in the absence of club president Les Greer at 12:15 PM. Michael Pierce offered the invocation and Tom Martenstein welcomed members’ guests and visiting Rotarians. Larry Sindel led the club in song and the Pledge of Allegiance
Announcements:
• Robert Greer announced that members’ name badges will be marked thanking them for donations to the Rotary Children’s Foundation.
• John said that a board meeting will follow next week’s meeting.
• Tom McGehee announced that the new Rotary year begins on July 13 with the Passing of the Gavel and that he welcomes suggestions for the new year’s programs. His email is tmcgehee@bellingrath.org
• John reminded members that next week’s meeting will honor 2017 graduates and that the speaker will be Norman McCrummen.
Program: Ruth Carmichael, PhD.: Manatee Sighting Network
Ruth Carmichael of the Dauphin Island Sea lab delivered a power point presentation describing the tracking of manatees as they take their annual seasonal trip from the western coast of Florida to the Mobile Bay area. As the water warms manatees begin a northern trek and have been sighted in both Dog and Fowl rivers where they eat vegetation which often clogs boat engines.
Dr. Carmichael described the careful placement of tracking devices on the manatees and a portion of her presentation showed how they were traced from Dog River, down the Mobile ship channel and over to Florida via the inter-coastal waterway.
Manatees have a curious nature, said Dr. Carmichael and have few natural predators. Their worst enemy is the propeller of a speed boat as they float just under the water’s surface. Dr. Carmichael also said that she relies on volunteer efforts as they study the migratory patterns and distributed a sticker with a contact phone number for anyone on our local waterways to have on hand should they spot a manatee.
After answering a number of questions, John Dukes thanked Dr. Carmichael for sharing her information with the club and noted that in her honor a donation has been made to the Rotary International Foundation.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM.
Tom McGehee

May 4, 2017

May 4, 2017 Minutes
Submitted by Tommy Fulton, Contributing Editor
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Les Greer.
Sam Siegel gave the invocation, followed by Larry Sindel, who led us in song and the Pledge.
Introduction of Guests & Visitors: Tom Martenstein introduced our guests along with visiting Rotarians.
Announcements: May 18th will be “Graduation Day”, in honor of high school and college graduates.
Ken Robinson spoke about the Paul Harris Foundation.
Program: Ernest Ladd introduced Elizabeth Stevens as our speaker. Elizabeth is the President and CEO of the Downtown Mobile Alliance, as well as a member of the Rotary Club of Mobile.
Elizabeth stated that residential development is on the rise in Downtown Mobile, with approximately 600 units either under construction or in the planning stage. Several of the properties have recently been completed and are currently in the rental/purchase market.
She listed several projects including the Meridian @ the Port, which will feature about 260 rental units. The Staples Pake building will begin renting units in July. Other projects include the following:
Fort Conde Apartments (still in conceptual stage)…130-150 units.
Gayfers Building…80 units + 3,000 sf Commercial space.
Temple Lodge…12 units + 4,000 sf Commercial space.
Russell School Lofts…28 units (technically located in Oakleigh).
Marine Street Lofts and Old Shell Road Lofts.
360 Dauphin Street…8 Residential units, plus Southern National Restaurant.
Warren Street Cottages, near Congress and Cedar.
603 St. Michael St. is an AirBnB.
Hilton Garden Inn…93 rooms and a restaurant/bar.
Elizabeth went on to mention that there are approximately 51 eateries in the downtown area, with more to come. We have the new Moon Pie General Store open now, as well as two new breweries which should open soon. Automobile Alley is seeing a lot of new interest and development including Precision Engineering and Innovation PortAL in the Threaded Fastener building.
Other properties of interest include the new Federal Courthouse, the Old Mobile Antiques project (25,000 sf) and the Fowler Lighting project. Also, several properties are using special incentives to upgrade their parking facilities.
Elizabeth mentioned the Isom Clemon Park Initiative, which is supported by our Rotary Club. She also lauded the efforts by the Business Improvement District (BID), which supports downtown on a 7-day a week basis.
Les Greer thanked Elizabeth 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.