Prayer. Dear God, we give thanks for the life of our departed member, Joe Harris. We are blessed that he did so much for our club and for Rotary International. Our thoughts are for him and for his family.
True and Living God, Lord of city streets and country roads, of urban congestion and rural openness, you are the Lord of life in every type of community. But at the outset of this month with its national focus on Rural life, we offer grateful and special prayer for those who till the soil and reap the harvest, who provide the products we consume.
We thank you for the gift of food and the experience of fellowship. We are grateful also for the assurance that as we leave this place today, we will be accompanied by your spirit. Amen.
Birthdays And Anniversaries.
Birthdays:
John Sewell May 7
Anniversaries
None
Membership Anniversaries
Stephen Stenmark 9 years, May 11
months
May 03 201
Proposed New Member Announcement
Huiming “Rita” Sun ( pronounced “ Soon” ) has been proposed for membership in the Rotary Club of North Jackson by Uriel Pineda and is sponsored by Past President Don Roberts.
Rita is the owner of Wealth Management LLC and her office is located in the Mississippi Farm Bureau Building on Ridgewood Road in Northeast Jackson.
Born and educated in China, she came to Mississippi College in 2008 to study and obtain her Master of Business Administration degree. Rita is a Charted Financial Analyst (CFA®) and a member of The CFA® Society of Mississippi.
Rita is married and lives in Clinton with her husband, Xiao Luo, and their two children, Joshua and Joanna.
This is the 2nd publication of this proposed new member.
This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about becoming a Paul Harris Fellow or what a $1000 dollar contribution can do.
A US contribution of $1000 helps provide seven toilets in Sri Lanka. More than 2.6 billion people still lack access to proper sanitation. Most people in the developed world do not think about their sanitation system unless it is not working properly, but in Sri Lanka many people lack access to proper sanitation facilities. The Rotary club of Ja-Ela Kandana, Sri Lanka partnering with the Rotary Club of Madras Northwest, India took the matter into their own hands and obtained a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant to provide sanitation to a small community comprising 15 families. They built14 toilets providing the families with proper sanitation. This will insure a reduction in illness and increase the health and wellness of this community. Rotarians meet the needs of the world by working through the Rotary Foundation.
Chance L. McDavid, Division Director of the Asset Development Division of the Mississippi Development Authority spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s April 30, 2019, meeting. The subject of his talk was Asset Based Community Development. He began by stating that the purpose of the Asset based Development Division is to facilitate growth through asset‐based community development activities that build on existing resources to strengthen local and regional economies to increase wealth and improve quality of life in Mississippi Communities.
Mr. McDavid used the example of the redevelopment of Tupelo based on the Tupelo Model developed by George McLean who he identified as the Tupelo Man. That model shows Economic Development at the top of a pyramid on which Human Development is the base or lowest layer.
He cited examples of successful asset based community development in Water Valley and an ongoing effort i West Jackson. Another example is the Area around Bentonville, Rogers and Fayetteville, Arkansas where the impact of the University of Arkansas and Walmart has created a very vibrant community. The quote that he presented from American Cultural Anthropologist Margaret Mead is most telling about asset based community development: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Mr. McDavid is shown in the following photo with Club President Anna Powers and Club Member Marisa Davidson who arranged Mr. McDavid’s talk to the Club and introduced him. We thank Mr. McDavid for his work improving our State.
At its April 30, 2019, meeting, the Rotary Club of North Jackson recognized 5 Club members for their perfect attendance. One, the late Joe Harris, was recognized for his 47 years. The others recognized were Erik Hearon (41 years), Jim Stanley (38 years), Charles Johnson (26 years), & Bill Osborne (1 year). The four in attendance are shown in the following photo: from the left, they are Charles Johnson, Jim Stanley, Bill Osborne, and Erik Hearon. We congratulate them all for their commitment to Rotary.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson recognized 17 2019 Mississippi Economic Council Star Students and Teachers from North Jackson at the Club’s April 23, 2019 meeting. Students from Jackson Academy, Jackson Prep., Madison Ridgeland Academy and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and their Star Teachers were recognized. The recognition consisted of having each student describe their school, what it has meant to them, identify their Star Teacher and why they selected that person, and identify their future education plans.
In an effort to encourage scholastic achievement among the state's high school students, the STAR Program has two specific purposes:
Emphasize scholastic excellence and encourage greater scholastic effort among Mississippi students.
Recognition of the teaching profession.
A total of 342 STAR Students were recognized statewide in the spring of 2019.
The STAR Student program seeks to recognize students for academic and ACT test achievement. Students are awarded a certificate and medallion as recognition upon becoming a STAR student. In addition, the Rotary Club of North Jackson, awarded each Star Student a check for $100.
The STAR student program does not directly award scholarships - any scholarship a student is granted is given through the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Charitable Foundation, Inc. or other outside organizations.
STAR Student Requirements
To be eligible for the STAR Student honor, a student may be a regularly enrolled senior or an approved dually enrolled student in an accredited public or private high school and or an accredited post-secondary institution. The student must be completing his or her last year of work and must be eligible to receive a diploma in the current school year. The student must have an overall ACT composite score of at least 25 and an overall average of 93 or above in selected subjects in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and first-semester twelfth grades.
Selection of a Star Teacher.The STAR Student is asked to designate his or her STAR Teacher. The STAR teacher should be one of his or her elementary or secondary classroom teachers (active, former, or retired). The teacher selected is, in the STAR Student’s opinion, the person who has made the greatest contribution to the student’s scholastic achievement.
STAR Student Julia Mitchell was the second runner up in the M. E. C. Star Program, which recognized 342 STAR Students statewide and will receive a $16,000 Scholarship from the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Charitable Foundation, Inc. Madison Ridgeland Academy STAR Student Wilson Benton is the son of North Jackson Rotarian Brad Benton. The Rotary Club of North Jackson congratulates these students and teachers on their accomplishments.
2019 Star Students.
The Students and Teachers are shown in the following photo. They are as follow: Shown (from left standing)Andrew Watson, Prep; Kimberly Van Uden, teacher Prep; Judy McKeigney, teacher JA; Anna Griffin, teacher Prep; Cory Caton, teacher Prep; Kimberly Reedy, teacher Prep; Laurie Babb, teacher MRA; Jharick Shields, teacher St. Andrew’s; Donna Patrick, teacher St. Andrew’s; Sarah Shaw, JA and Burkette Moulder, JA. Shown (from left seated) Eliza Burnham, Prep; Columbia Holeman, JA; McKenzie Nichols, Prep; Genevieve Hurst, Prep; Abigail Pittman, Prep; Wilson Benton, MRA; Ishan Bhatt, St. Andrew’s; Julia Mitchell, St. Andrew’s and Henry Sanders, St. Andrew’s. Not pictured are Jackson Prep Star Students Alex Gibbs & Charlie Ott. We congratulate all on their accomplishment.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson conducted its annual Blood drive Tuesday, April 16, at the Rickhouse by the Manship Wood Fired Kitchen. In lieu of its regular meeting, Club members experienced fellowship while eating box lunches prepared by the Manship. The Blood Mobile was parked in front of the Rickhouse on Poplar Blvd. The following photo shows Ms. Sherri Book, MS Blood Services representative, in front of the Blood Mobile. A total of 30 North Jackson Rotarians attempted to donate blood. Twenty-four were successful. Thanks to all who attempted and who successfully donated and to MS Blood Services for theircommitment toMississippians.
North Jackson Rotarian Rob Farr II received his third Paul Harris Fellow recognition at the April 9, 2019, meeting of the Rotary Club of North Jackson. This Paul Harris Fellowship award is in recognition of Rob’s third one thousand dollar donation to the Rotary Foundation. Club Foundation Director Suman Das (left) presented the award to Rob. Both of them are shown in the following photo with Club Secretary Lee Carney. We congratulate Rob on this recognition and thank him for his long term support of the Rotary Foundation.
Ashby Foote III, the Jackson City Council Representative for Ward 1 in Northeast Jackson, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s April 9, 2019, meeting. Mr. Foote discussed the status and ongoing activity of the City Council and the results being obtained by the current City Administration, particularly in the use of the 1% additional sales tax approved by the Citizens.
Mr. Foote noted that he is the only Republican on the City Council reflecting the demographics of the Ward that he represents. He was very positive on the new Public Works Director, Robert Miller, and what he is accomplishing. We thank Mr. Foote for his comments to our Club and for his service to the citizens of Jackson. He (right) is shown in the following photo with Club Vice President Greg Campbell (left) and Past President Wyatt Emmerich who introduced him.
