Minutes of the February 22, 2018, Meeting
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by John Dukes at 12:15 PM. Kathy Miller offered the invocation and Larry Sindel led the club in song accompanied by Les Greer. Jeff Zoghby welcomed visiting Rotarians and members’ guests.
John Dukes recognized Police Chief Lawrence Battiste who was here as a guest of George Talbot. The club gave him a standing ovation.
Youth Merit Award: Bob Chappelle introduced Sarah Kate Stokely, a senior at Saraland High School. Miss Stokely discussed her participation in a program called Project Outreach which aims to pair up each special needs student with a mentor/friend. She plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi and major in speech pathology and audiology in the fall.
Announcements:
• John Dukes thanked Joe Mareno and his committee for their successful Mardi Gras parade party.
• A board meeting will be held today following the meeting.
• John discussed several recent grants from the club:
a. Money was given to assist members of Young Life to build stoves in a Guatemalan village.
b. A grant to the Dumas-Wesley Center allowed for a needed gym upgrade which has been completed.
c. A grant to Prichard Prep will assist in an update to their theatre.
d. Ken Niemeyer will soon announce the installation of another mini-lending library.
Program: Scott Page, U. S. Marshall
Judge Billy Cassady introduced Scott Page of the U. S. Marshall’s Service. Page discussed the need for all businesses to implement a plan for the handling of a shooter. Recent current events indicate that these situations are a reality of our lives today, he said and having a plan in place is good for employee morale as well as safety.
Police forces are spread thin he said and response time might be as long as 30 minutes so every second counts. Page said this is another reason to have a plan in place. Employees should know where every exit is located and each floor should ideally have a “safe” room where employees can wait safely. Cinder block walls are especially good given the fire power of many weapons being used, he added.
A special notification system with a code should be established to notify employees in the event of a shooter and to avoid panic. These can be arranged over an intercom or through emails and text messages which can be sent instantaneously to all employees.
Page said that in every case numerous law suits have followed. Having an established policy in place may not avert a lawsuit, he said, but would certainly help in the defense.
The Mobile Sherriff’s Department can assist in the setting up of a feasible program and he said that David Robinson at (251) 574-1994 is trained to assist.
John thanked our speaker and said that in his honor a donation has been made to the Rotary Children’s Foundation.
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM.
Tom McGehee