Minutes for the May 12, 2016 Meeting
The Rotary Club of Mobile
Call to Order: Robby McClure called the meeting to order at 12:15 PM and invited Michael Pierce to offer the invocation. Larry Sindell led the group in song accompanied by Bill Oppenheimer on the piano. Tom Martenstein welcomed visiting Rotarians and guests of members.
Announcements:
• Robby said that a board meeting will take place after the May 26 meeting.
• Updated photos or changes to contact information for the new rosters should be given to Peggy as soon as possible.
• Robert Greer announced that next year’s Rotary International Conference will take place in Atlanta on June 10-14, 2017. A block of rooms at the Ellis Hotel on Peachtree Street is now being held and he asked that those interested sign up by May 28, 2016 to take advantage of a much reduced rate.
• New Member: Bo Mattei introduced the Hon. Henry Callaway as the club’s newest member. After a lengthy career at Hand Arrendall, Henry was recently named a U. S. Bankruptcy Court judge.
Program: Al Hutchinson, President & CEO Visit Mobile
John Dukes introduced fellow Rotarian Al Hutchinson who brought the audience up to date on developments relating to Mobile tourism efforts. A power point included a video promoting Mobile’s new logo of “Born to Celebrate” showcasing many of the city’s best features and attractions. Charts also revealed that some 15,000 are employed in the field which has a $1 billion economic locally.
Al noted that Mobile is enjoying 3 million visitors a year – a number our mayor would like doubled. Some of the plans to achieve that include a new Facebook site appealing to future cruise ship passngers as well as a revamped website which allows potential visitors to book everything from local hotels to dinner reservations on a single site.
He also discussed a new Tourism Ambassadorial Program which is designed to help train volunteers and front line employees at local hotels and restaurants about Mobile’s unique history and attractions. This will allow them to successfully interact with out of town visitors he explained. He invited all to visit www.Mobile.org for further information.
Robby thanked Al for speaking to us and said that in his honor a donation has been made to the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM.
Tom McGehee