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