Prayer: Almighty God, under whose surveil-lance we live, whose majesty and might are beyond our comprehension, whose sovereignty is supreme in the universe, and who has condescended to reveal yourself to us in multitudinous ways, we are grateful for the embrace of your love and grace, and for the ability created in us to receive your love, and to respond with commitment to serve you above all.
Thank you, God, for life and all its blessings, for food prepared for us today, and for friendships we cherish. Amen.
Club Announcements:
1. Please note that there will not be a regular noon meeting on October 22. Instead, we will meet noonish on Thursday, October 24 at the St. Dominic facility on the I55 North Frontage Road to participate in the Rotary International World Polio Day event. Box lunches will be served. The building is between Lakeland and Eastover Dr. There will be more details later.
Please see the flyer below about the Rotary District 6820 Polio Plus 5 K Run/Walk on October 19, 2019, at the Renaissance Shopping Center in Ridgeland. You can register at http://www.msracetiming.com and you can get more information on how Rotary impacts the world at http://www.rotary.org.
2. The Rotary Club of North Jackson Blood Drive will be Tuesday, November 12. Please be alert for details.
Residential Realtor Lindsay Buford was inducted into the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club's October 1, 2019, meeting. Mrs. Buford is affiliated with Crye-Leike Realtors. She and her husband, Justin, are the parents of one daughter and live in Brandon. Lindsay is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Business Administration. She is shown below with her proposer Uriel Pineda, and her sponsor Past President Tom Parry. We welcome Lindsay to our club.
Mary Kitchen's, Founder and Director of the Mississippi's Toughest Kids Foundation spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club's October 1, 2019 meeting. Mrs. Kitchens, who is married to Ms. Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens, discussed the founding of the Foundation and the creation of its camp, Camp Kamassa, located in northwest Copiah County. The word Kamassa is a Choctaw word meaning tough, persevering, and not giving up. Per Kitchens, this definition describes the campers for which the camp is designed. It is located on a 326-acre parcel owned by the Foundation. Every building and every facility in the camp is handicapped accessible. The loans with which the property was purchased has been paid off. The camp is being built by U. S. military reservists under the Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Initiative of the Defense Department. Military personnel from throughout the U.S. work on the camp as part of their annual training. Kitchens said that they do not have a long term commitment for the availability of IRT personnel, but they do have a commitment for 2020.
The toughest kids name reflects on the fact that the campers are all affected by debilitating childhood diseases from cancer to visual and hearing impairments, HIV, brain injuries, Tourette Syndrome, Celiac disease, and other diseases that hamper children. The long term goal for the camp is that when these children become adults, there will be a camp for them to enjoy.
We thank Kitchens for her speech to our club and for her commitment to the children of Mississippi. She is shown below during her presentation and with Club President Greg Campbell, and Club member Larry Anderson who introduced her. Anderson is holding the plan of Camp Kamassa.
Adam McWilliams, Weekend Meteorologist for Jackson channel 16, WAPT, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s September 24, 2019, meeting. McWilliams is a native Jacksonian and a graduate of both Hillcrest High School and Mississippi State University (2012). His MSU degree is in Broadcast Journalism. He began broadcast journalism at Hillcrest when he was in the first grade and continued through high school. When he was 16, he was an intern with WAPT’s Chief Meteorologist, David Hartman. Before coming to 16 WAPT, Adam was the weekend meteorologist and reporter for WXVT-TV in Greenville, MS.
McWilliams talk was entitled “Are Hurricanes Getting Worse.” He quickly proved that question to be false by showing a record of hurricanes over the past 80 years. He did say that with the oceans becoming warmer, hurricanes are accompanied by greater rainfall due to the ability of warmer air being able to hold more moisture and to discharge greater amounts as rain.
McWilliams said that our ability to forecast the paths of hurricanes has improved greatly in the last 10-15 years and that as a result of better warnings are available. He also cited lessons that could be learned from Hurricane Katrina in 2005: Prepare early, prepare often. Other things that he said that exacerbate our ability to prepare for a hurricane are that most people have discontinued their telephone landlines and many people do not have transistor radios. His point was that cell phones will likely not be operating during and after hurricanes because of infrastructure damage, but that a battery-operated transistor radio can help you get warnings and post-storm information.
We thank Adam for his presentation and for his service to our community. He (center) is shown below with Rotarians Matt Monsour (left) who introduced him and Jeff Adcock
Dr. Somprasong Songcharoen, MD, of the Premier Plastic Surgery Center in Madison and Jackson, made a donation to Rotary’s Polio Plus program at the Rotary Club of North Jackson’s September 24, 2019 meeting. Dr. Songcharoen is a native of Thailand where he received his undergraduate and medical education. He interned at Grace Hospital in Detroit Michigan and completed a surgical residency at the University of Maryland in Baltimore followed by a fellowship in Hand Surgery at Grace Hospital. He completed his Residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Dr.Songcharoen (left) is shown below presenting his donation to Club Member and Past District Governor Jim Stanley
We thank him for his generous donation to Polio Plus.
Polio Plus is a global program of Rotary International. Since 1985, Rotary International and its partners have donated in excess of $1 Billion for the eradication of Polio. As a result, the number of global polio cases has decreased from 350,000 annually to 30. Polio has been eradicated from all countries except Pakistan and Afganistan.
St. Dominic Health Services and Hospital President Lester Diamond, presented a check for $5,000 to Rotary District 6820 Governor Mark Fields to help sponsor World Polio Day. Eleven Jackson area Rotary clubs will celebrate World Polio Day on October 24, 2019. Shown (from left) Fields, Diamond, and Suman Das, District 6820 World Polio Day Chair. Since the mid-1980s, the efforts of Rotary International and its partners have reduced the global incidence of Polio from 350,000 cases annually to 30. Polio exists now in only Pakistan and Afganistan.
Rotary District 6820 2019-2020 Governor Mark Fields spoke to The Rotary Club of North Jackson at its September 17, 2019 meeting. Fields, informed club members and guests about the six areas of focus of Rotary International plus other district news. The six areas of focus of Rotary International are:
Promoting Peace
Fighting Disease
Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
Saving mothers and children
Supporting Education
Growing local economies
District 6820 covers the central portion of Mississippi from US Highway 82 in the north to US HIghway 84 in the south. Per Governor Fields, there are 11 Rotary Clubs in the Jackson Metro area.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson meets at noon on Tuesdays at the Rickhouse in Jackson. Shown (from left) Davis Clark, District 6820 Deputy Governor; Megan Little, District 6820 Assistant Governor; Mark Fields, District 6820 Governor; Greg Campbell, Rotary Club of North Jackson President and Suman Das, Club member and District 6820 Polio Chair.
Dr. Ann Kemp, M.D. Professor of Pharmacy & Professor of Family Medicine, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Chair of the UMMC Opioid Task Force spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s September 10, 2019, meeting. The subject of the talk was “Opioid Guidelines, Regulations, and Clinical Pearls.” She commented that the talk is the same one that she gives to medical students in their training.
She emphasized several times that opioid prescribing requires a balance of goals, risks, and benefits from opioid use and that the prescribing physician should always consider non-pharmaceutical pain relief alternatives. She further commented that opioids should be prescribed for chronic pain and pain from cancer and that the physician should counsel patients on the adverse effects of opioids and their safe disposal when the course of treatment is completed.
We thank Dr.Kemp for her talk and for her commitment and service to the citizens of Mississippi. She is shown below with Club members Patrick Smith (left), who introduced her, and Erik Hearon (right).
The Rotary Club of North Jackson honored the JPD Precinct 4 Officer of the Quarter during its September 17th meeting. JPD Corporal Patrick Smith was honored for his quick action and investigation of a shooting at a Northeast Jackson hotel that led to the arrest of a suspect that was also wanted for other crimes.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson meets at noon on Tuesdays at the Rickhouse in Jackson. Shown (from left) JPD Precinct Commander Keith Freeman, Corporal Smith, and Club member. Steve Orlansky who chairs the Club’s JPD Officer recognition program.
Mr. Ray Harrigill, owner and managing member of Sunray Companies, LLC made a donation to the Rotary Club of North Jackson for the Club’s Polio Plus project at the club’s September 3 meeting. Polio Plus s the international project of Rotary International which has committed over $1 billion to eradicate polio. The project has successfully reduced the number of global Polio Cases from 350,000 annually to less than 30. The only two countries that have experienced polio in 2019 are Pakistan and Afganistan. Mr. Harrigill (left) is shown in the following photo presenting his donation to Club Administrative Secretary-Treasurer Don Roberts. We sincerely thank Mr. Harrigill for his generous donation.
This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about Ambassadorial Scholar Alumni.
Four alumni who traveled from the USA to study in Buenos Aires, Argentina have formed Project Patagonia, which provides educational support for school children. The alumni are constructing a multi-media library to meet both short and long-term educational needs at two schools for low-income students in rural Argentina. They are also providing school supplies and nutritional support. Ambassadorial Scholars represent the very best in intellect and character and they are future Rotarians. Every Rotarian, Every Year – imagine all we can accomp-lish today and tomorrow. Consider inviting local
Rotary Foundation alumni to become members of your Rotary club.
When embracing your weakness helps you succeed
Posted on October 1, 2019
Steve Stirling. CEO of MAP International, with some of the medical supplies the organization provides to people in need worldwide.
By Steve Stirling, a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, Georgia, USA
They are typical job interview questions: What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness? But in my case, the interviewer often hesitates. After all, how do you ask a guy who is wearing leg braces and using crutches about his greatest weakness? It seems both obvious and insensitive. We all have weaknesses. Mine are just a bit more obvious. So I’ve learned to turn the uncomfortable moment around and confront the situation head-on. “My greatest strength is that I am what some people call ‘crippled,’” I say, purposely using the politically incorrect word. “Some prefer to call me ‘handicapped’ or ‘disabled.’ I’ve heard all the terms and I’m not upset by any of them. I’m not easily offended. “I’ve learned that my physical limitations have helped me build my mental and spiritual strength. I have an Ivy League degree and an MBA from one of the country’s most prestigious schools. I’ve had jobs in top corporations and nonprofits. I have enjoyed great success and yet I never forget what it was like to be a child who couldn’t walk, living in an orphanage. My greatest strength is what most people assume is my weakness.” Steve Stirling’s book My last interview was five years ago when a search committee was looking for the next president and CEO of MAP International, an organization that provides medicine and health supplies to those in need around the world. In some ways, it was a match made in heaven. You see, I walk with crutches because I had polio as a child. My life would be very different if the polio vaccine – costing approximately $.60 – would have been available to me and my family in Korea where I was born. My passion in life is to help other children receive the medicine they need to avoid life-long illness or even death. So when I told the committee interviewing me about my strengths and weaknesses, I could honestly say that I had a lifetime to prepare for the job of helping bring medicine to those in need. I knew first hand what it meant to suffer because an inexpensive dose of vaccine was not available. But I also know that overcoming my challenges each and every day makes me a better leader. It’s true that my daily life is more difficult than most people’s. A simple flight of stairs, a rocky path, a door with a difficult handle … these are typical occurrences that are major obstacles for me. Yet I have to prepare myself each day to handle the unexpected. Fortunately, I nailed that interview and now proudly lead an organization that brings millions of dollars of donated medicines and medical supplies to people in need around the world. It’s a big job and truly miraculous path for someone who spent his early years as a forgotten child. During my earliest years, I didn’t even have crutches and had to drag myself around on the ground. At that point, my greatest dream was to be able to go to grade school with the “able-bodied” children in the orphanage. I could never have imagined a successful life in the US or that I’d be able to write a book about my journey, “The Crutch of Success.” It was truly a miracle that I was adopted by a generous American couple who loved me and provided for me, including my special needs. Their love and support changed my life, but, of course, the physical damage had already been done. I have had the wonderful privilege of growing up in a country where I received a great education, married a wonderful woman, raised two terrific children, and had a successful career. But my disability is often the first thing people see about me. I try not to let it define me in their eyes. I try to put people at ease, explaining the I had polio as a child and while it affected my ability to walk, I am blessedly able in every other way. It’s understandable that they first see my disability as weakness. My goal is that once they know me, they see it as my strength. I find that many people try to hide their weaknesses. They dodge the question in an interview and spend their lives hoping no one sees where they struggle. They feel sorry for themselves and focus on the injustice of their circumstances. If you find yourself in that situation, I want to encourage you. Your weakness can become your strength. Whatever your weakness is – lack of education, the inability to speak clearly, a physical trait you consider unattractive, a disability – embrace it today. Decide what you can do to improve yourself. Take an evening class, join Toastmasters, ask for help. Then dedicate yourself every day to overcome the obstacles in your path.
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