Category: Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the April 29, 2021 meeting of the Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by club president Claire McCarron at 12:15 PM.
Invocation: Kim Kelly offered the invocation.
Pledge: Tommy Blankenship led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed guests of members.
Student Guest: There was no student guest this week.
Announcements: Claire made the following announcements:
• The founders Day Cruise will be held the evening of May 14th and today is the last day tp purchase discounted tickets.
• The Daphne/Spanish fort Rotary Club has announced plans for the 2nd Annual Eastern Shore Pickleball Tournament (a type of paddle ball) to be held on May 15 at 8AM in Daphne’s Lott Park. The club president has extended an invitation to all Rotarians to participate in this fundraising vent. For full information please visit: www.facebook.com/DaphneSpanishFortRotary
Program: Olivia McCarter, Forensic Genealogist
Virginia Guy introduced Olivia McCarter, a sophomore at the University of South Alabama who is also an experienced Forensic Genealogist. In addition to taking a full class load at South, Miss McCarter explained she is working two jobs in addition to studying Forensic Genealogy using DNA samples from volunteers to solve cold case files dating back decades.
Her passion for this subject, she said, was especially strong in the cases involving the murder of young children who have been buried for years as a John or Jane Doe since the identities were a mystery.
One case quite close to home was a baby girl thrown from a bridge into a river in Pascagoula. The very troubling fact in this case was that there was water in her lungs which meant the toddler was alive when she was thrown in, she added. No missing children were reported in the area she said, making this a mystery for decades.
The organization she works for is Redgrave Research Forensic Services. Since most police forces do not have funds to pay for the lab work involved, they typically reach out to the community in which the crime occurred. Using DNA samples it was proven that the child was a native of Joplin, MO who was en route with her mother and her boyfriend to Florida in 1982. While the little girl’s name is known and she has received a proper grave marker, neither her mother nor the boyfriend have been found. The mother’s family feel very strongly that their daughter met a similar fate and await further closure.
Miss McCarter said that today’s DNA testing can prove up to an 8th cousin and that samples collected as far back as 1880 have solved past mysteries involving rapes and murders. This testing freed a man held for 10 years for the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in Canada and proved that a neighbor had done the crime.
After sharing a number of other case histories with her audience she then answered questions. Claire thanked her for speaking to our club noting that a donation to Reach Out and Read Alabama has been made in her honor.
Claire announced just a single birthday (Norman Pittman’s) and adjourned the meeting at 1:50 PM.
Tom McGehee

Minutes of Rotary Meeting
April 22, 2021
By Kathy Miller
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Claire McCarron, President of the Rotary Club of Mobile, at 12:00 p.m.
Invocation and Pledge: Virginia Guy gave the invocation and Tommy Blankenship led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members’ Guests and Visiting Rotarians: Tommy Blankenship introduced Members’ guests and visiting Rotarians.
Student Guest: Garrett Williamson introduced LaTasha Robinson, Senior Counselor at Vigor High School, who introduced JaMiayah Snow as the student guest. After Ms. Snow spoke to the Club, Claire presented Ms. Snow with a certificate.
New Member: Bob Chappelle, standing in for Meg Fowler, introduced new member Tiffany Ginn.
Announcements: Claire reminded members about the Founders’ Day Event on May 14, 2021.
Program: Virginia Guy introduced James H. Shumock, Chair of the University of South Alabama Board of Trustees. Mr. Shumock presented a program outlining developments at the University of South Alabama. He noted that at present there are over 14,000 students and a $1 billion plus budget. He said the University’s economic impact on the region includes the impact of its over 85,000 alumni, 48,000 of whom reside in Alabama. He noted that the medical school is particularly successful in retaining physicians in the state. He gave the statistics for the fall class of 2020 which included an average GPA of 3.7 and 205 members with a 30 or more on the ACT. He described the University’s emphasis on staying engaged with students, which is a major predictor in their success and graduation. He discussed the renovations to the March Library, which has been reimagined as a collaborative space, and the South Cares program. He discussed a number of new academic programs at the University including a PhD in Systems Engineering and endowed program in Marine Conservation and Resource Management. He noted that there are more than 1,700 students involved in the Pathway USA program, which facilitates students moving from community colleges to USA. He described the many new facilities on campus including the McQueen Alumni Center across from the Clock Tower, Hancock Whitney Stadium, and the Jaguar Training Facility. He also discussed the school’s success in the Sunbelt Conference and that USA has the highest academic progress rate in the Sunbelt Conference. He also outlined the growth in USA Health and the new facilities in that division including the new College of Medicine building and the Fanny Meisler Trauma Center which recently opened. He also reported on the status of the Presidential transition. Claire thanked Mr. Shumock for speaking to the Club.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment: Claire announced members’ birthdays and the program for next week. She adjourned the meeting at 1:00 p.m.
Kathy Miller
Contributing Editor
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Minutes of the April 15, 2021 Meeting
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Claire McCarron at 12:15 PM.
Lori Myles offered the invocation. Tommy Blankenship led the Pledge of Allegiance and introduced the meeting guests.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Board meeting today
• Reminder to club members to update roster photos and info
• Founders Day evening is May 14.
NEW MEMBERS
None
Program: Sheriff Sam Cochran, Sheriff of Mobile County.
Sam Cochran is a native Mobilian who graduated from the McGill Institute and went on to attend the University of South Alabama where he holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in criminal justice and public administration. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He began his law enforcement career with the Mobile Police Department as a police cadet where he spent 31 years working his way through the ranks, serving the last 10 years as Chief of Police. In 2006, Sam Cochran was elected Sheriff of Mobile County and re-elected in 2010, 2014, and 2018.
The sheriff’s remarks were in two main areas. The first was the lack of growth in the city of Mobile and the second had to do with current police conditions. His general theme was that the city needed to show some growth after many decades of stagnation. In fact, the city has not grown in population since the 1960s. There have been various opportunities to annex areas adjacent to the city limits. Those opportunities were declined by the various city councils over the years. In the sheriff’s view, it is important for the city to grow to help fund infrastructure and the corresponding tax base it would come with annexation. According to the sheriff, there are some 80,000 citizens of Mobile County reside near the city limits.
The sheriff then talked generally about recent gang related instances of shootings and other serious crimes. Because of the current national political environment of police pushback, his department is having a challenge with recruiting in addition to high turnover.
President McCarron thanked Sheriff Cochran for his presentation and noted that, in his honor, a donation had been made by the club to “Reach Out and Read Alabama”
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 12:59 PM.
Rob Diehl

Minutes of the April 8, 2021 meeting of the Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by club president Claire McCarron at 12:15 PM.
Invocation: Allen Ladd offered the invocation.
Pledge: Tommy Blankenship led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Student Guest: There was no student guest this week due to Spring Break for area schools.
Announcements: Claire made the following announcements:
• A board meeting will be held next week following the regular meeting.
• Rotary Happy Hour was held this past Tuesday evening at El Papi and a great time was had by all. Be sure to watch for the next one.
• Please submit updated photos or changes in contact information for the upcoming Roster ASAP.
• Watch the mail for your invitation to the Founders Day cruise the evening of May 14 and please RSVP since space is limited.
Program: Mike Lee: President and CEO of Page & Jones, Inc.
Virginia Guy introduced Mike Lee who brought the club up to date on the latest activities around our port. Included were:
• Dredging of the ship channel to a depth of 50-54 feet to allow larger ships as well as existing ships with larger loads. A planned widening of the channel will permit two ships to pass each other as well. Mike said funds are in place and that routine dredging is underway in the meantime. This will reduce wait time for ships and make the port more appealing to shippers. 2025 is the target date for completion of the project he added.
• The container terminal has been improved and can handle 500,000 containers on site. There are new cranes, and now two ships can be unloaded at once. A new refrigerated warehouse, the largest in North America has been completed and can store 42,000 pallets of frozen food and is in use by Walmart.
• The automobile terminal will allow an increase in the shipment of automobiles through Mobile thanks to a public/private partnership. This will assist in cars manufactured around Alabama as well as up into Tennessee.
• The cruise ship industry is awaiting permission from the CDC to start up and in the meantime is petitioning courts to allow that decision in future to be made at a state, not national level. Cruises may begin in some Gulf ports by July but Mobile’s cruises may not begin before August or September.
• Amtrack Passenger Service is in the news he said and added that the Port Authority and a wide range of businesses are against it unless Amtrack comes up with the funds needed to add an additional track and needed infrastructure. Mike reminded his audience that the passenger trains are given the right of way and without an additional track this may well have a detrimental effect on commerce and as a result, jobs.
Mike answered a number of questions before Claire thanked him for speaking to the club and presented him with a certificate noting that a donation in his honor has been made to the Reach Out and Read program. After announcing the upcoming birthdays of Rotarians Claire adjourned the meeting at 1:00 PM.
Tom McGehee

MINUTES OF THE ROTARY MEETING
April 1, 2021
By Dr. Leona O. Rowan
Call to Order : The meeting was called to order by Claire McCarron, President of the Rotary Club of Mobile, at 12:15 p.m.
Invocation : Cart Blackwell gave the invocation.
Pledge and Welcome: Tommy Blankenship led the members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed members’ guests.
Student Guest: William Latta introduced the representative from Theodore High School and student of the week, Eva Burch. Eva spoke of her own experience with service to others as an Azalea Trail maid.
Announcements: Claire announced there will be a happy hour on Tuesday, April 6th at El Papi. Also, she reminded all members to submit any changes to roster info to Peggy Buggs. This includes an updated photo or changes in contact information.
Program: Virginia Guy introduced the guest speaker, Mr. Owen Bailey, Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate Vice-President for Medical Affairs at USA Health. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health administration from Auburn University and a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Alabama Birmingham.
Owen began his presentation by displaying the motto of USA Health which is: “We help people lead longer, better lives.” He went on to explain that USA Health is the only academic health system in our region AND it is the only Level 1 trauma center in our area. Its trauma center ranks in the top 10% for number of patients with positive outcomes. In recent years, USA Health has seen explosive growth which has positively impacted healthcare and economic expansion. The system includes USA College of Medicine, University Hospital, Children and Women’s Hospital, the Mitchell Cancer Institute, as well as physician services.
USA Health currently employs 4,500 full-time and part-time employees, making it one of the largest employers in the area. Three hundred medical students are currently enrolled in the College of Medicine and there are 240 residents and fellows. Owen noted that approximately one-third of doctors in the Mobile area received their training at USA Health. During March of 2021, a midtown Mobile clinic opened, and plans are underway for the Mapp Family healthcare facility in Baldwin County. To address the Covid-19 pandemic, USA Health partnered with the City of Mobile to provide vaccinations at the city auditorium and with the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce to provide vaccinations at area businesses. Similarly, an outreach program offered vaccines in nine different locations throughout the community.
After questions from the floor were answered, Claire thanked Owen for speaking to our club and presented him a certificate noting that a donation has been made in his honor to the “Reach Out and Read” literacy initiative.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment: Claire announced member birthdays and reminded everyone the meeting next week will include guest speaker, Mike Lee, President and CEO of Page and Jones, Inc. She adjourned the meeting at approximately 1:00 p.m.

Minutes of Rotary Meeting
March 25, 2021
By Kathy Miller
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Claire McCarron, President of the Rotary Club of Mobile, at 12:00 p.m.
Invocation and Pledge: Destiny Maynard gave the invocation and Tommy Blankenship led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Members’ Guests and Visiting Rotarians: Tommy Blankenship introduced Members’ guests and visiting Rotarians.
Student Guest: Jeff Luther introduced Blair Fischer, Head of School at St. Paul’s Episcopal School, who introduced Marie Robinson as the student guest. After Ms. Robinson spoke to the Club, Claire presented Ms. Robinson with a certificate.
Announcements: The next Rotary Happy Hour will be on April 6, 2021 at El Papi. Claire asked that members submit any roster changes or updated photos to Peg.
Program: Casi Callaway introduced member Suntrease Williams-Maynard, Executive Director of the The Maynard 4 Foundation and Special Counsel, Adams & Reese, LLP. Ms. Williams-Maynard introduced her family, who serve as the other officers of the Maynard 4 Foundation: her husband, Stephen Maynard, her son, Dareon Maynard, and her daughter, Destiny Maynard. Ms. Williams-Maynard said that the Foundation was created by her family in order to serve the community as a family. Their family is passionate about four areas: education, culture, social justice, and health equity. Ms. Williams-Maynard outlined the Foundation’s objectives and current and planned work in these areas. The Foundation is about promoting freedom, love, kindness, and civility and breaking free from any type of chains, whether physical, emotional, or mental. The Foundation is promoting the “GOT A.I.R.” Campaign (accountability, integrity, and respect). The Foundation is sponsoring “May-nard Day”, a carnival-style program involving young people and law enforcement to encourage young people to understand law enforcement. Ms. Williams-Maynard said she and her husband encouraged Destiny and Dareon to work for their positions with the Foundation. As part of the program, Dareon presented a history of Juneteenth. Destiny has spear-headed, “Tea Times with Destiny”. In each Sunday afternoon on line session, Destiny discusses the history of a black woman based on Destiny’s research. Ms. Williams-Maynard also discussed the Boys Leadership Institute which her son will help spear-head. Claire thanked Ms. Williams-Maynard and her family for speaking to the Club.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment: Claire announced members’ birthdays and the program for next week. She adjourned the meeting at 1:00 p.m.
Kathy Miller
Contributing Editor
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MINUTES OF ROTARY MEETING
March 12, 2020
By Monde Donaldson Call to Order​: The meeting was called to order by President Tom McGehee at 12:15 p.m. Christopher Jones offered the invocation and Tommy Blankenship led the club in the song and pledge accompanied by Bill Oppenheimer. Student Guest:​ Milliah Lilly of Vigor High School was introduced by Jeff Luther as Student of the Week. New Member: ​Neil Christopher was introduced by Bob Chappelle. Announcements:​ In keeping with our mission to help fund projects in the community, the Environmental Studies Center was awarded a $3,000 grant.
Program: Judge Edmond Naman, Presiding Judge Mobile County Juvenile Court
“The Effect of Community Collaboration on the Mobile County’s Declining Juvenile Crime Rates”
He was introduced by Norman McCrummen.
Judge Edmond Naman began his talk describing the challenges he saw in the juvenile court when he took the bench in 2007. Sharing statistics, Judge Naman stated that in 2008-2009 there were 12 murders and 70 first degree robberies committed by children under the age of 16. Our violent crime rate was higher than Birmingham, Montgomery and Huntsville combined. Drugs, violent crimes and property crimes were the highest in the state, he said.
Realizing it was “like a war zone”, Judge Naman began to reach out to community partners to see what could be done to curb violent crime and to help these young people who were in crisis. That’s when he and Norman McCrummen began to look for ways to provide stability for these offenders but to show them a different path. In 2010 NEST was born. NEST is a local mentoring program that matches teams of community volunteers with at risk youth and families. A NEST consists of two or more court appointed volunteers. NEST works with the Mobile County Juvenile Court and the Department of Human Resources and partnering agencies to match teams with youth referrals. The team and youth and family work together during the court appointed probationary period or a designated period of six months or more. The hope is that the team and family will develop a lifetime relationship.
Judge Naman said the teams are everyday citizens. They are the catalyst to change failures to successes for these children. Since the inception of NEST, there has been a 300% decline in youth crimes. He cited several agencies that have worked with youth such as the Boys and Girls Club, Keep Mobile Beautiful, Mobile Urban Gardens and the Galliard Summer Program that are positively impacting these young lives.
He encouraged others to become servant leaders. It is because we reached out and said help that this community has swelled around us, he explained. These volunteers are making an impact on these young lives, he said, thanking all for their support of NEST.
Adjournment​: The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

3/5/20 Minutes
Submitted by Tommy Fulton, Contributing Editor
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Tom McGehee, President of the Rotary Club of Mobile.
Janet Hayes gave the invocation, followed by Larry Sindel with a song and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Introduction of Guests & Visitors: Tommy Blankenship introduced our Member’s Guests and visiting Rotarians.
Student Guest: Jeff Luther introduced Anna Lee from UMS-Wright High School.
New Members: N/A
Announcements: District Conference May 1-3 at The Wharf in Orange Beach.
Rotary Children’s Foundation Grants – Bo Mattei
Easter Seals Camp ASCAA ($32,000.00)
Goodwill Easter Seals of the Gulf Coast/Children & Family Services ($16,000.00)
Goodwill Easter Seals of the Gulf Coast/Medical & Technical Programs ($16,000.00)
Program:
Christopher Jones introduced our speaker, Daniel Nance who operates the Chick-fil-A locations in Daphne and RSA-Downtown. His topic was “What You Get/What You Pay For!”
Mr. Jones was a banker. His Dad was the 13th store owner of Chick-fil-A after leaving Eastern Airlines for Pensacola. Eventually our speaker became the operator for his own Chick-fil-A’s stores.
Mr. Jones told the story of Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. Mr. Cathy and his brother, Ben, opened The Dwarf Grill, a pre-cursor to Chick-Fil-A. They were located near the Ford plant and were open 24 hours a day except for Sundays. In 1967, he opened the first Chick-fil-A in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Shopping Center.
This was the beginning of the food-court concept. Mr. Cathy developed the first chicken sandwich in 1946. At that time, the breast was the least desirable part of the chicken.
Mr. Cathy brought together his leadership team to create their “Corporate Purpose.” It was, and continues to be, “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.”
He believed that there is no distinction between biblical principles and good business practices. Now they have more than 2,200 stores in 50 states. They have developed a program for excellent customer service, which has been given to competitors as a presentation, which includes McDonalds.
Mr. Jones said, “The key to our success begins with their recruitment.” Their philosophy is rooted in Matthew 5:41 which says, “whoever will have compelled you for one mile, go with him two miles.”
During a Q&A session, Mr. Jones explained the controversy regarding their donations to Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The Corporation is not a Christian company, but is run by Christians. He stated that the Salvation Army is re-applying for their grant.
Tom McGehee thanked Mr. Jones for his presentation and presented a certificate to him, noting that a donation in his honor had been made to the Rotary International Foundation.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm.

MINUTES OF ROTARY MEETING
February 13, 2020
By Monde Donaldson
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Tom McGehee at 12:15 p.m. Tommy Fulton offered the invocation and Tommy Blankenship led the club in the song and pledge accompanied by Bill Oppenheimer.
Student Guest: Bryson Smith from Theodore High School was introduced by Jeff Luther as Student of the Week.
Announcements: In keeping with our mission, several grant and foundation gifts were announced. The Dumas Wesley Center received a gift from the Rotary General Fund. Rotary Children’s Foundation Grants were announced by Bo Mattei. The recipients were: United Cerebral Palsy, Altapointe and Mobile Infirmary.
Program: Sandy Stimpson, Mayor of Mobile
He was introduced by Saty Putcha.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson gave us an inspiring talk on how to build a better Mobile. The theme of his talk was – “Do you want survival, success or significance? He detailed how we could all work together to build One Mobile.
He started with showing population statistics. In 1960, the population of Mobile was 194,856. In 2017, it was 192,085. The highest number in the last 57 years was 200,452 in 1980. The population has remained flat, he said. The mayor explained that we can no longer count on government alone to grow the city. He challenged all to work collaboratively to build a vibrant city. He asked Rotarians – what do you do to build a better city? What does your company do? For One Mobile to work it has to be a strong partnership with public, private and corporate entities, he explained
Mayor Stimpson said many city leaders and community leaders are reading two books he suggested –The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek and Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change is Reshaping America by Quint Stuber. Stimpson said Studer is from Pensacola and has hosted some of the city’s leadership team to share his insight. He encouraged Rotarians to read the books and asked for a show of hands of members who had read them. About a fourth of the room had read one of the two books. If more leaders and citizens followed some of the principles set forth in Studer’s book Mobile would be advancing in population rather than remaining flat, Stimpson said.
He presented a slide for One Mobile that showed a circle entitled – safer, more business and family friendly city. It was surrounded by goals to achieve: improve the quality of life, empower citizens, vibrant city and generate more revenue. If we follow the circle around the center, we will successfully build One Mobile, he said.
If we embrace the One Mobile concept, here are some of the outcomes he predicted – our children get a better education, we have better job opportunities, we are safer, it is easier to grow your business, our property values increase and our quality of life improves.
Will you help us build advance your city, he asked. He welcomed participation and partnerships on the city’s efforts by leaving handouts on each table asking Rotarians to give their ideas on how to build a better community. The handouts gave his contact information. He ended his talk by saying, let us all work together to be a city of significance.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

2/6/20 Minutes
Submitted by Tommy Fulton, Contributing Editor
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Tom McGehee, President of the Rotary Club of Mobile.
Bill Kinnaird gave the invocation, followed by Larry Sindel with a song and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Introduction of Guests & Visitors: Jeff Zoghby introduced our Member’s Guests and visiting Rotarians.
Student Guest: Jeff Luther introduced Becca Clark from St. Luke’s Episcopal School.
New Members: N/A
Announcements: Board Meeting next week.
Rotary General Fund Grant Award to Prichard Preparatory/Claire McCarron
Rotary Children’s Foundation Grants – Bo Mattei
Dauphin Island Sea Lab: Jo Ann Moody
Camp Rap-A-Hope: Madi Pickering & Ralph Neal
Mulherin Home: Jamie Yerby & Lenny
Program:
Saty Putcha introduced Don Davis, Judge of Probate & Chief Election Officer, Mobile County. Judge Davis spoke on “2020 Elections in Mobile County.
Judge Davis began by pointing out that this year’s primary is in March because of the Presidential Elections. Usually these are held in June. He explained that the Probate Judge is the only judge to have ministerial and executive duties in addition to judicial responsibility.
Other bodies are also heavily involved in our elections. The Mobile County Commission determines the precincts, locations, number of voting machines and the budget for elections.
The Board of Registrars maintains the voter rolls, including work with provisional ballots. Judge Davis said that contrary to popular belief, all valid provisional ballots are counted. The Sheriff, Circuit Court Clerk and Judge Davis are all working together for fair and accurate elections.
In 2016, there were approximately 1,600 poll workers. Mobile has a unique challenge in that our community is in the midst of the Mardi Gras season. This has contributed to the shortage of about 130 workers in our system. This has caused another wrinkle in that our local holiday is one week before the primary. Our deadline is February 17th while the rest of the state has a February 15th deadline.
Judge Davis said that we will have all new voting machines in our 88 voting places. One of the logistics challenges is making sure that we have all of the ballots and supplies in place prior to voting day. Our voting machines are not tied into the internet, therefore we can expect that there will be no Russian hacking here. One week before the elections, all of the machines are tested, inspected and sealed. There is extensive documentation of the chain of custody.
The Probate Judges website will give the most up-to-date results for the day of voting. Also, within seven days, they will canvass all of the provisional votes. To finalize the vote, all parties must be represented for certification.
After the question and answer session, Tom McGehee thanked Judge Davis for his presentation and presented a certificate to him, noting that a donation in his honor had been made to the Rotary International Foundation.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm.