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Speakers
Mar 22, 2022
Millsaps College
Mar 29, 2022
Rotary District Governor Visit - Update
Apr 12, 2022
Woodward Hines Education Foundation
Apr 19, 2022
Top High School Students and their teachers as recognized by Miss. Economic Council
Apr 26, 2022
Top High School Students and their teachers as recognized by Miss. Economic Council
May 03, 2022
Organ Recovery
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Executives & Directors
President
 
Vice President
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Director - Foundation
 
Director - Membership
 
Immediate Past President
 
Director - Public Relations
 
Director - Club Administration
 
Director - Club Service
 
Executive Secretary
 
Sergeant-at-Arms
 
Upcoming Events
North Jackson Board Meeting
The Rickhouse
Apr 12, 2022 1:00 PM
 
North Jackson Board Meeting
The Rickhouse
May 10, 2022 1:00 PM
 
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Bulletin Editor
Greg Campbell
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Club Announcements:
 
 
Proposed New Member Announcement
Leigh Ellen Gault has been proposed for membership in the Rotary Club of North Jackson by Jenny Price. Past President Lee Carney is serving as her sponsor. Leigh is the owner of the RE Wellness, a medical clinic which is about to open in Highland Village Shopping Center in Jackson. She is a Nurse Practitioner and is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. A graduate of Mississippi College with a BS in Nursing, she earned her MS in Nursing from the Mississippi University for Women. She received further medical training at George Washington University’s Institute of Functional Medicine. She and her husband, Brian, live in Clinton and are the parents of 6 children ranging in age from 13 – 20 years old. She will be loaned the classification Medical Clinic – Wellness when her application for membership is approved by the club’s Board of Directors. This is the 1st publication of this proposed new member.
 
50th Anniversary Spring Member Social
Mark your calendars for our club's 50th Anniversary Spring Member Social, Tuesday April 5, 2022 from 6:30p.m. until 8:00p.m. at the Rickhouse. We will not have a regular meeting that day. There will be hors d'oeuvres and fellowship. There will also be a "Pick One to End Polio Wine Sale" where members can pick a wrapped unknown bottle of wine for $25 that might be a bottle of Opus One that some years sales for as much as $350 per bottle. The cost to attend the Social is $25 per person that includes the hors d'oeuvres and one drink ticket. A signup sheet will be at this week’s meeting.
 
Club Assembly
Save the date for Tuesday May 24, 2022 for our Annual Club Assembly. It will be held at St. Andrews Cathedral in downtown Jackson from 6:00p.m. until 8:00p.m. More details TBA.
 
Prayer
Sovereign God, having come to these tables to add yet another experience of Rotary fellowship to the adventure of life, we give thanks for the opportunity to be adventurers in our respective fields of endeavor. Give us the courage and will to employ the Four-Way Test in decision-making and in relationships. We thank you for food to sustain us, fellowship to enrich us, and ideas to inspire us. Be present with us as a silent guest at our tables, and give us your blessings. Amen.
 
 
 
 
Birthdays:
Ben Walton  March 27th
Anniversaries:
None
Membership Anniversaries:
Christopher Brantley   3yrs.  26th March
Stories:
Brad White, Exec. Dir. of MDOT Speeks
Brad White, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its March 15, 2022 meeting. White informed club members about the challenges that MDOT is currently facing. One challenge according to White is getting funding from the state legislature and improving MDOT's relationship with them. According to White, this is happening. The largest challenge said White, is staffing. The senior experienced employees have left. They are having to use outside consults which cost more that in house employees. Because of the employee shortage, the maintenance techs are having to cover more area that results in longer times to get the work done. According to White, the salaries are increasing resulting in more hiring of employees. Mississippi has a 65-66 billion dollar investment in roads and bridges and five billion dollars in needs according to White. The MDOT budget is 1.2 billion. Funding from the state lottery has helped alone with the federal money to fill in the gaps said White. MDOT received 3.6 billion in funds through the COVID relief bill according to White. MDOT also are responsible for airports, ports and railroads besides roads and bridges. White said he is now concerned about the inflation and completing projects. According to White, another concern for MDOT is how they are going to get funding in the future. Here is the link to the meeting video https://vimeo.com/688902234. Shown in the photo below from left, club member Pete Perry, White and Club President Uriel Pineda.
 
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MMA Director Speaks to Rotary Club of North Jackson

Betsy Bradley, Director of the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA), spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s March 8 meeting. She discussed the museum, its mission,  history, and upcoming exhibitions and activities. Bradley is a native of Greenville, MS, received a BA in English from Millsaps College and an MA in English from Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining the museum in 2001, she was Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission. Since joining MMA she has overseen significant growth of the institution, shepherding two capital campaigns that resulted in a move to a completely renovated facility, and the creation of The Art Garden, the first new public green space in downtown Jackson since the 1970s. Committed to making MMA relevant to its community, Bradley works in partnership with many local cultural, social service, and history organizations to create opportunities for mutually beneficial collaborations.  This work has resulted in prestigious federal and national foundation grant awards and recognition for MMA, including the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts for Leadership and the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  

Bradley was elected to membership of the Association of Art Museum Directors in 2012 and has served on the boards of Americans for the Arts, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and the Southern Arts Federation.  She has also served on the Steering Council for the Mississippi Economic Council’s Blueprint Mississippi Project, the 50th Reunion of the Mississippi Freedom Riders, and the executive committee of Downtown Jackson Partners.

Bradley stated that the mission of MMA is “to connect Mississippi to the world, and the power of art to the power of community.”  “The museum is committed to honesty, equity, and inclusion, the Mississippi Museum of Art is a leader in engaging art, artists, and participants in the critical work of reckoning with the past, connecting with each other in the present, and envisioning a future without division.”

She cited the MMA’s major programs such as the Annie Laurie Swain Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series, the Bi-annual Mississippi Invitational where exhibits are curated by guest curators, and aggressive multimedia and multipurpose public programming schedule. The MMA has created a Center for Art & Public Exchange t (CAPE) that is funded by a $1.4 million W. K Kellogg Foundation grant over 3 years that has been extended for an additional 3 years by an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant.CAPE  activities include adding to the MMA’s collection, creating artist residencies, public programs, a Community Advisory Council, and consulting programs.

The MMA has partnerships with the Baltimore Museum of Art, MS Dept. of Archives and History in addition to the CAPE Community Advisory Council.

The next exhibit at the MMA will be the Legacies of the Great Migration which opens April 8. The great migration references the historic phenomenon that saw more than six million African Americans leave the South for cities across the nation. Americans leave the South for cities across the United States. “This incredible movement of people transformed nearly every aspect of Black life, in both rural towns and urban metropolises. The impact of the Great Migration spurred a flourishing Black culture and established a new cadre of artists, writers, musicians, and makers.When the migration began, 90% of all African Americans were living in the South. By the time it was over, in the 1970s, 47% of all African Americans were living in the North and West. A rural people had become urban, and a Southern people had spread themselves all over the nation.

The premises supporting the exhibition are:

  • The impact of The Great Migration on contemporary visual artists has not been explored as the impact on musical traditions and literary artists.

  • The exhibition includes only new artwork, created by 12 leading African American artists with familial ties to the Deep South.

  • Each artist was given a $50,000 research grant to track their families’ journeys across the country.

The exhibition will be at:

  • MMA: April through September 2022, 

  • Baltimore Museum of Art: October - January 2023, 

  • the Brooklyn Museum: February - May 2023, 

  • California African American Museum: June-December 2023. 

  • Negotiations are ongoing to exhibit in Chicago and Detroit for 2024.

Bradley gave specific examples of artists involved with the exhibit, including Carrie Mae Weems, Theaster Gates, Mark Bradford.

She said that the exhibition will include a multi-platform, interactive digital storytelling portal. A digital platform will be available via the exhibition website as well as an in-gallery storytelling kiosk that will travel to each of the five (5) exhibition venues. One of the curatorial aims of this exhibition is to dispel the singular notion that the migration was simply an exodus out of the South; many families chose to stay, move within the South, or have since returned. This digital portal “ hopes to make these connections to time, place, geography, and theme in order to represent the everyday acts of those directly connected to the Great Migration as well as connect this history to other.”

Programming Highlights for the exhibition are:

  • Opening Weekend

    • Free admission

    • A symposium featuring artists, writers, and others

    • Performances by Theaster Gates and the Black Monks

    • A concluding performance by the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra of a symphony by Florence Price.

  • National Teachers Institute

    • Educators from all six venue cities

    • Partnership with Facing History and Ourselves

    • Co-creation of curriculum to be used nationally

  • Closing Weekend

    • Lecture by Isabel Wilkerson

    • Performance of Two Wings by Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran

We thank Bradley for her presentation on MMA and for her service to the citizens of Mississippi. She is shown in the following photo with North Jackson Rotarians who helped raise her in Greenville. Shown, from the left, are Paul Watson, Bradley, Nate Adams, & Dave Orlansky.




 
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The City of Jackson Planning & Development Director Speaks
Jordan Rae Hillman, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Jackson, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its March 1, 2022 meeting. Hillman informed club members and guest about recent changes to the planning and development development including creating online services. Hillman outlined the changes with the digital transformation, code enforcement, JTRAN, ordinances and homeless response. According to Hillman, she has been busy modernising city services online. Now citizens can apply for building permits, code enforcement information, fire department inspections and public works plan reviews all online. Business licenses and zoning enforcement will be online in the coming weeks. The code enforcement office has moved from the police department to the planning department. JTRAN has had a digital transformation and new routes have been created. Crime data is now online according to Hillman. Hillman said that code enforcement is now focus on the whole process and not just tearing down buildings. Changes have been made as well in policy work. A safety plan is now online as well as retail registry, ordinances, traffic calming ordinances and zoning changes. Hillman said that there also is a new homeless response in Jackson. There is now a housing first approach that focuses on a stable place for them to live. The department according to Hillman, is working with Stewpot Ministries and a local hotel to help with the homeless problems. Hillman is also working with the State Legislature on changes to the abandon property laws. Here is the link to the meeting video https://vimeo.com/684728190. Shown in the photo below from left, Club President Uriel Pineda, Hillman and Club Executive Secretary-Treasurer Don Roberts.
 
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Joanne Wilson Speaks About the Travel Industry
Joanne Wilson, owner of VIP Travel in Jackson, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its February 22, 2022 meeting. Wilson, who has owned VIP Travel for 25 years, gave club members and guest an update on the travel industry during the pandemic. Wilson said that international travel will not fully recover until 2024. The hotel occupancy is back up to 61% since 2019. The cost of an average domestic trip has gone up from $2,745 in 2019, to $4,428 in 2021 according to Wilson. Cruising is rebounding due to the lessons learned from 2020. The ships are new cleaner and safer. Wilson said that there is a pent-up demand to travel and travelers have become accustomed to COVID protocols and are no longer inclined to change their travel plans. Most international countries require that travelers be vaccinated before entering their country. Half of Americans plan to travel internationally during the next two years according to Wilson. The top three domestic destinations for 2022 are Seattle, Washington; the Florida Keys and Denver, Colorado. The best places for families is Orlando, Florida; Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. The top destinations for couples is Maui, Hawaii and Palm Springs and Napa Valley, California. According to Wilson, it is a good idea to use a travel agent due to their knowledge of the industry, connections with the industry and if a problem happens during the trip, you just have to make one call to your travel agent to help solve the issues. Here is the link to the meeting video
https://vimeo.com/681517671. Shown in the photo below from left, Club President Uriel Pineda, Wilson and Wilson's daughter Claire Barwin.
 
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David Turner Speaks on Belhaven Development
David Turner, owner of David Turner Companies, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its February 15, 2022 meeting. Turner, a residential and commercial developer, gave club members and guest an update on development his company is doing in the Belhaven neighborhood. Turner, a Belhaven resident, started his company in 2000. The mission of David Turner Companies is to build authentic places, encouraging creative thinking and nurture meaningful relationships. He developed several residential communities in Madison County before developing Fondren Green on Old Canton Road near Meadowbrook Road in Jackson. Turner moved his focus to developments in the Belhaven neighborhood in 2010 with the Belhaven Town Center. The Belhaven Town Center houses Spectrum Sips, a coffee shop, District Donuts, Elvie's Restaurant and some work spaces at the corner of Manship and North Jefferson Streets. Turner then started developing the old Baptist Medical Center's laundry facility that boarders Poplar, North and North Jefferson Streets. In May of 2020, The Fertile Ground Beer Company and the Laundry Market will open up in the old laundry facility. In July of 2021, Turner and his family moved from Madison County back to Belhaven. He moved his mouth to where his money was said Turner. Construction has begun on the Terrace an outdoor event space at the corner of Manship and North Streets. It will have a small amphitheater, courtyards and small shops with the purpose to be used by local art and music groups. It should be finished by May of 2022. Another development almost ready to open is the Belhaven Town Center Lofts which will consist of 12 residential unites on the top floors and retail on the lower floor. Here is the link to the meeting video https://vimeo.com/679264227. Shown in the photo below from left, Club Director Jenny Price, Turner and club member Jay Cooke.
 
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Dr. Dorthy "Dot" Anderson Speaks on Love & Relationships
Dr. Dorothy "Dot" Anderson spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its February 8, 2022 meeting. Anderson, Ed.D, BC-TMH, LMHC, LPC, NCC, a professional counselor, spoke about marriage, love and relationships. Anderson said that regardless of our age, look at what the heart wants, your heart needs remains the same. She said there is no universal language of love. How we communicate love is based on how we grew up and how our family loved us. Anderson said that your partner can have grown up with a different love language, but the two of you can adjust to each others feelings of love. The pandemic according to Anderson, brought out a high interest in who are you and who am I. She said that if you are uncomfortable asking yourself how I want to be loved then asking your partner can be a challenge. One of the most plain sited hidden secrets according to Anderson is, there is no one who does not want to hear someone they care about saying to them "I love you". The heart says I value you, I care about you, I am protective of you and important to you. All relationships also need humor in it according to Anderson. Here is the link to the meeting video https://vimeo.com/675556978. Shown in the photo below from left, Club President Uriel Pineda, Anderson and Club President Elect Larry Anderson.
 
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