PRESIDENT UPDATE & COMMITTEE REPORTS
President Jasmine Mills kicked off the meeting with the 4 way test and reminded us the following:
- If you have purchased a meal and cannot attend the meeting, let Leigh know so she can re-sell it!
- Goal: every member needs to be on a committee. Get plugged in!
CLUB UPDATES:
- December Birthdays: D.J. Spisso, Laura Lee Bocade, Alfred McGuire, George Seaborough, Jessica Pedigo, Jasmine Mills, Liza Smith
- Club Anniversaries: Amelia Harper (10), Elizabeth Summerell (4), Patton Dugas (11), Whitney Shephard (11)
- Re-Purpose Rendezvous raised over $17,000 for our ASP and other Rotary-related charitable endeavors this year!
- GRSP: The selection process for next year has begun! Kristen Crawley, our PE, is reviewing the hundreds of applications. She would appreciate any of your input/support. Reach out to her directly if you want to be on the committee.
- Keep an eye on our Metro Facebook page where you can see what our club has been up to lately! Jamie Arkins keeps this updated so if you have anything to share, please send them to Jamie.
- Jessica Pedigo has agreed to chair the Roastary! anyone interested in joining the committee please reach out directly to Jessica.
DISTRICT EVENTS:
- District conference in Jekyll Island - lots of fun activities and dynamic speakers: April 26th-28th, 2024
MEMBERSHIP:
- Classification talks coming up by Fitz Hale, Data and analytics consultant, United Way. Sponsors: Kristen Crawley, Jordan Chase
- New Member Program:
- Ruth Hutson, outside sales rep for SESCO Lighting. Sponsors: Laure Lee Bocade & Denise Grabowski
- Katie Rudder Fender, Director of Community Outreach for South University. Sponsors: Kristen Crawley & Jamie Arkins
UPCOMING DATES (PROGRAMS, SERVICE, SOCIALS):
- 12/9: Bonus Social/Service: Jaycee's Reindeer Games
- 10am-12noon Jaycee Park Tybee
- $20 to participate in corn hole tournament
- Lunch at Huc-a-poos after tournament
- Bring pet toys - $30 + for service credit
- 12/13: Holiday Social: The Bar Bar on Wilmington Island - Register yourself and guests
- 12/16: Everyone is invited to Aaron Miller’s party- 2:00-5:00 Bar Julian. Text him at 404.313.1773 if you can make it!
- 12/19: Scott Scheidt, Chief Security Officer, Seimitsu
LEGACY PROJECT:
- 15th anniversary in 2027, currently saving $ for this
- Currently have 8 nominated projects
- Project nominees are acquiring more information from “owners”, 12/15 deadline, top 2-3 will present to club
- Next meeting: 1/18 at 10 AM via Teams
Metro’s FY24 Rotary Foundation Wall of Pride:
- Leigh Acevedo
- Darron Alvord
- Cecilia Arango
- Jamie Arkins
- Kelley Boyd
- Jeff Brady
- Sam Carroll
- Jordan Chase
- Chris Corey
- Kristen Crawley
- Patton Dugas
- Denise Grabowski
- Will Gruver
- Reshma Johnson
- Katie Joyner
- Suzanne Kirk
- Robert McCorkle
- Denise McCoy
- Jasmine Mills
- Clint Murphy
- Brad Patrick
- Ro Patrick
- Jessica Pedigo
- Cari Phelps
- Patrick Phelps
- Whitney Shephard
- Sarah Smith
- Elizabeth Summerell
- Josh Yates
FEATURED SPEAKER: Felix Smith, Rotary District #6920 Governor 2023-2024
Dr. Felix Smith holds a BS in Animal Science and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia. He owned and operated his own clinic and practiced in Perry, for 40 years before retiring in 2021. Felix has been a dedicated member of the Perry Rotary Club since joining in 2002. He has served as the chair for club membership, programs, and club president in 2009-2010. He was awarded The Rotarian of the Year by his club in 2014 and is a Rotary Foundation PHF +8 and Major Donor. Felix is a Paul Harris Society and a Polio Plus Member. Felix is also a member of the CART fund’s Roger Ackerman Circle and was selected for the CART fund Changemaker Award in 2023. Felix served in district leadership as an Assistant Governor from 2018-2021 and has been a host family for the Georgia Rotary Student Program. Felix has served as President for both the South Georgia Veterinary Medical Association and the Middle Georgia Veterinary Medical Association. He has served on the Board of the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce and is currently serving on the City of Perry Public Facility Authority. Felix is an exercise enthusiast and spends much of his free time cycling, swimming, and running. He has travelled all over the world participating in biking events, triathlons, and competitive endurance events. For relaxation, he plays pickleball and likes to garden.
46,000 clubs worldwide. 1.4 million members across the world. Our district spreads far and wide...58 clubs and we're soon adding a 59th club in Ludowici with 35 founding members. Dr. Smith is very excited by this and honored to be a part of it. It’s tradition of the Gov to travel and visit clubs, often via his camper and staying in state parks. He wants to engage us in reciprocal help with projects, highlighting the worldwide projects that Rotarians do.
Dr. Felix’s biggest local passion is literacy. The average reading proficiency of 3rd graders in GA is 37% (2021) and mentioned it’s not our teacher’s faults, board of education, etc. Family dynamics have changed drastically since he grew up. Between electronics, gadgets, drug addictions, children raised by grandparents, etc. there are
many factors affecting this. For example, Butler is at 9%. 3rd grad is so important because by 4th grade, a child needs to LEARN. Without reading, it’s going to be hard to learn. This data can be used to predict the number of prison beds that will be needed in the future.
Resources:
- publicschoolreview.com
- getgeorgiareading.org
- Georgia Dept. of Education GaDOE.org
Felix wants to encourage us to participate in Read United, a 1 hour per week commitment. He shared personal stories of reading in Perry to two boys, both named Kadin (sp?), who changed his life. 84% of the students they tutored were reading at the 3rd grade level by the end of the program.
Closed with the thought that children are NOT the ones responsible for our literacy problem. Not just via United Way, but lots of other programs out there (i.e. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, etc.)
Felix asked Denise Grabowski to respond to his comments. She claimed the current numbers are not based on 2021criteria. Denise will provide new number and claims that data doesn’t lie, but it doesn’t tell the whole truth. New Superintendent, Denise Watts, is calling literacy our North Star with big investments in teachers. Retraining teachers in how to teach reading. It is a skill to teach reading.
Felix switched topics to Polio Eradication. In 1985 over 100 countries still had Polio with 350,000 kids dying or disabled every year. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations, giving Rotary International $2 for every $1 raised. Continued vaccination is needed but we are down to 2 counties with only 10 cases so far this year in Afghanistan & Pakistan. Successful negotiations with the Taliban to have access to remote villages. The experts think we only have 2 more years to go, so the Polio Plus club asks for $100/year until Polio is eradicated. A Polio Free World is Rotary's gift to our planet.
Next he addressed Alzheimer’s. He’s very encouraged by our CART blue buckets! The CART Fund website hosts two Zoom meetings each month to attend - the a la carte meetings are at 12:00 once per month (link on website) and you can learn about various research by experts.
Rotary International also focuses on malaria, diarrhea diseases, etc. in 4 Sub-Saharan Countries. There’s a new vaccination coming out to help with this. Keep an eye out!
The final area is the environment. He’s ordered white oak saplings for us to plant. They will deliver in early January. We need to be thinking about where to plant these trees.
District Conference in Jekyll. Lots of fun activities and dynamic speakers: April 26th-28th, 2024
Dr. Felix closed with encouraging news that Metro has given $140,000 to the Foundation and he’s so proud of us! “Together we see a world, where people unite and take action.” (exact mission statement)