The Rotary Club of North Jackson continues to meet virtually via Zoom.
Zoom meeting invites with the link and password will be sent to all club members on Mondays. The Zoom meetings will continue to start at noon on Tuesdays with club member fellowship with the meeting starting at 12:15 p.m. If you have any issues connecting to the Zoom meeting or would like the link sent to you, please email Past President Greg Campbell at gregcampbell2@comcast.net.
We reserve the first 15 minutes for fellowship and give our speakers nearly 30 minutes for their presentations.
Recognition
The Rotary Club of North Jackson has been recognized for their support to the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund. Out of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs worldwide, we were one of only 3,400 clubs worldwide and 4 in our district 4820 to attain status as an Every Rotarian, Every Year Club. This achievement is for clubs that achieve a minimum Annual Fund contribution of $100 per capita during the Rotary year, and every dues-paying member must personally contribute at least $25 to the Annual Fund during the year. The other clubs were the Flowood, Lexington, and Madison-Ridgeland. The club was also recognized as one of only 4,000 clubs worldwide and 3 in District 6820, to become a 100% Foundation Giving Club. This achievement is for clubs that achieve an average of $100 in per capita giving and 100 percent participation, with every dues-paying member contributing at least $25 to any or all of the following during the Rotary year: Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, approved global grants, or Endowment Fund. The other clubs were the Lexington and Madison-Ridgeland clubs. At the end of every Rotary year, contributions directed to the Annual Fund-SHARE from all Rotary clubs in the district are divided between the World Fund and the District Designated Fund, or DDF. DDF funds is where clubs get grant money for local and international projects. For the 2019-20 Rotary year, the Rotary Club of North Jackson received $8,099 in matching district grant money for 8 projects. The grants are a 50-50 match.
Birthdays
Jeff Adcock Sept. 15
Lee Carney Sept. 16
Trip Barnes Sept. 19
Matt Monsour Sept. 20
Wedding Anniversaries:
Joe & Maybelle Dove Sept. 18
Membership Anniversaries
Chris Brantley 5 years, Sept. 1
Rotary International and Toastmasters International have entered into a partnership. The objectives are still being finalized, however, the two similar organizations offer their respective members many opportunities via the partnership. Rotary is a service organization and Toastmasters teaches members how to be better speakers and better leaders.
Four North Jackson Rotarians are members of the High Noon Toastmasters in Jackson: Clinton Smith, Suman Das, Ed Sentell, and Bill Osborne. Suman & Clinton are past presidents of High Noon and Bill is the current president. High Noon meets via Zoom at noon on Mondays. Any of the 4 Rotarians can provide you with the link to the meeting. Prior to COVID-19, High Noon met at the Eudora Welty Library. The club anticipates returning to the library when normal times return. Please understand that every North Jackson Rotarian is invited to attend and participate in High Noon meetings.
Thank you.
Bill Osborne,
Editor the "Wheel", Rotary Club of North Jackson bulletin & President High Noon Toastmasters Club No. 2028
Prayer. O God, whose ways we sometimes only dimly understand, but whose love is brightly revealed, whose grace is broadly given, whose goodness flows to us in abundance, we ack-nowledge that we live within your overarching providence. We ask for help in fulfilling the expectations of us who are committed to serving others above ourselves.
We offer thanks for fellowship to refresh our relationships. And as we go about our tasks during the remainder of the day, keep us, we pray, in your protective and sustaining hands. Amen.
2020-2021 District 6820 Governor Ed Thurmond spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club's September 8 meeting. He recognized the club's achievements in the 2019-2020 Rotary Year, identified service opportunities, and in particular recognized Charles and Ellen Johnson as Major Gift Donor 2 contributors to the Rotary Foundation. The recording of the meeting, including his presentation can be found at the following link https://vimeo.com/456261960.
We thank Gov. Ed for attending our meeting and for his presentation to the Johnsons. He is shown in the following photo during his presentation to the club.
Gov. Ed was accompanied by Celeste Herbert, Regional Major Gifts Officer for the Rotary Foundation. Ms. Herbert is shown in the following photo.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson along with Ed Thurmond, Rotary District 6820 Governor and Celeste Herbert, Regional Major Gifts Officer for The Rotary Foundation, honored Charles "Charlie" and Ellen Johnson during it's September 8, 2020 Zoom meeting for their contribution to the Rotary Foundation as a Major Donor 2 level donor. The Johnsons join club member and Past President, Jim Stanley as having reached this significant level of giving in our club's 50 year history. Shown are Charlie and Ellen and the crystal recognition gift given to them along with Governor Ed and Herbert.
Cotie Bailey, Donor Relations Manager for The Nature Conservancy of Mississippi spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its September 1, 2020, meeting. The subject of Bailey’s presentation was the activities of The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi. Examples she highlighted were Loch Leven, Coffee Point, the Pascagoula River, and restoring the longleaf pine plantations. The link to the meeting including her presentation is https://vimeo.com/454062695. Since 1965, The Nature Conservancy has been working to conserve lands and waters in Mississippi that have provided a sense of place and connection to our natural heritage for many generations. TNC has played a key role in protecting and restoring some of our most iconic landscapes, totaling over 139,000 acres across the state. Together, we are making a measurable, lasting difference in Mississippi.
Longleaf Pine forests a Southern Treasure.
As fire rushes through the grasses of a longleaf pine forest, shrubs ignite in quick, hot bursts and the bark of the pine trees blackens. Younger longleafs, still in their grass stage, shield their precious buds from the heat with their long, tightly packed needles. Gopher tortoises are safe in their burrows. Insects take flight. The fire moves quickly through the grasses, and the trees are all the better for it.
A controlled burn at the Talisheek Preserve in Southeast Louisiana was set with drip torches by The Nature Conservancy’s Louisiana burn crew. Throughout the southeastern United States, TNC’s longleaf pine management relies on controlled burns to replace the natural fires that longleaf pine communities rely on. This crew burns up to 10,000 acres in Louisiana and Mississippi each year. Nearby neighborhoods have been notified to expect smoke—like many tracts of longleaf pine in the southeast, Talisheek is in the middle of a quickly developing region.
A DIVERSE LANDSCAPE SHAPED BY FIRE
Longleaf pine was once the dominant plant community of the south, covering 90 million acres from Virginia to east Texas, through all of the states in TNC’s Southern U.S. Division. Rather than thick woods, healthy longleaf pine forests are more like savannas, characterized by diverse open grasslands. A great diversity of plant and animal species made up these longleaf pine forests across its historic range, but two features were ubiquitous—the presence of longleaf pine itself and the regular occurrence of low-intensity fire.
Mississippi.
The Nature Conservancy’s Mississippi state program, for example, is on the cusp of a significant floodplain restoration project protecting nearly 6,000 acres through agricultural wetland easements at Loch Leven in Wilkinson County. An existing ring levee will be enhanced to reconnect the Mississippi River with its historic floodplain, benefiting critical wetland habitat and surrounding communities.
The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) in the Farm Bill includes two vital components: Agricultural Land Easements and Wetlands Reserve Easements. Agricultural Land Easements protect the long-term viability of the nation’s food supply by preventing conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses, while Wetlands Reserve Easements improve water quality and supply, provide habitat for fish and wildlife and support outdoor recreation.
In the 2018 Farm Bill, TNC successfully fought to restore funding for ACEP up to $450 million each year, better enhancing our ability to conserve land, water and the quality of life for millions of Americans.
The Pascagoula River.
The Pascagoula River is the largest undammed river in the contiguous 48 states.
THE SINGING RIVER
The Pascagoula is often called the "Singing River." According to legend, the peace-loving Pascagoula Indian tribe sang as they walked hand-in-hand into the river to avoid fighting with the invading Biloxi tribe. It is said that on quiet nights you can still hear them singing their death chant.
The Pascagoula Watershed also rings with the calls of 327 species of birds that breed among the sprawling cypress-tupelo swamps, oxbow lakes and pine ridges. Wading birds croon as they forage throughout the bayous, and graceful swallow-tailed kites hunt for prey in the extensive bottomland forest. Even the distinctive clattering bugle of the rare Mississippi sandhill crane can be heard within the pine savanna.
In 1974, The Nature Conservancy and other dedicated conservationists rallied to bring 35,000 acres of the watershed under public protection. This "grassroots epic," as E.O. Wilson called it, led to a river corridor presently buffered by almost 70,000 acres of public and private conservation lands.
TNC has remained committed to this river treasure, helping establish the Pascagoula River Basin Alliance in 2001. In recent years, with the help of partners, TNC acquired 2,100 acres along the Leaf and Pascagoula Rivers in the George and Greene County region of the Pascagoula River Basin—the chapter’s first land acquisition in more than 10 years.
In addition to making a conservation impact across the state, the purchase connected more than 450,000 contiguous acres between the De Soto National Forest and the Pascagoula Wildlife Management Area, now the largest tract of contiguous conserved lands in Mississippi.
In October 2016, this land was transferred to the Mississippi Forestry Commission for future management and protection. The transfer happened approximately 40 years to the month after the Conservancy signed 32,000 acres of pristine bottomland over to the State of Mississippi to establish the Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area (WMA). These two achievements bookend 40 years of conservation milestones in Mississippi and signal a bright future for conservation efforts. The Pascagoula Watershed remains a priority for The Nature Conservancy, from the forests to the coastal estuaries, and the Singing River itself.
We thank Ms. Bailey for her presentation and for her work preserving Mississippi’s natural treasures. She is shown below during her presentation. The background is a swamp in the Mississippi Delta.
Brian Gault, Assistant Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Desean Dyson, Head of School at The Redeemer School (TRS) spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club's August 25, 2020, meeting. The subject of their presentation was racial equality. The link to the meeting, including Gault's and Dyson's presentation follows: https://vimeo.com/451947350.
Gault came to Redeemer in 2018 from the Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) where he served for 23 years and received a Masters of Theology degree. His current responsibility is for Shepherding and Discipleship. Dyson came to TRS in 2014 from Hinds County Public Schools where he was an administrator. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Education degree at the University of Mississippi. He is also an adjunct instructor at Belhaven University.
Gault's thesis is that our country only can achieve racial reconciliation if we follow biblical principles. He quoted both Old and New Testament scripture saying that if we follow only the Darwinian principles we will pursue the exercise of power, whereas the biblical references refer to all people. He proposes a three-legged stool as the basis for reconciliation. The first leg is the image of God. God says that all persons are equal, Our founding fathers said: "We hold the truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." The second leg is justice. He referenced the "Black Lives Matter" movement saying that black lives haven't mattered for most of the 400 years black people have been on the North American continent and that we all have an inherent sense of justice. We should not show partiality in our lives be that racial, class, or others. Justice means looking out for those who do not have power. The third leg of the stool is Love. In order to move to racial reconciliation, we must have love. Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as your self." Move from defensiveness to confession. Avoid partiality and listen with care and concern. Deeply listen to someone different from yourself.
Dyson said to resist fatalism He used the example of a birdcage, where one bar is insufficient to hold the bird, but twenty bars properly placed can do the job. He also used the example of British educator, Sir Ken Robinson, who argued that children do not grow into artistic creativity but are educated out of it by school systems that prioritize academic achievement and conformity instead of liberating imagination and initiative. We shouldn't put our children in educational bird cages. Dyson then gave the example based on a study that concluded young black males are over disciplined. He said the at TRS, they tell parents that a child may be expelled or suspended for disciplinary reasons, but that is the last straw. First, the school will confer with the parents and try to develop a plan for the child that they can all accept. He practices giving people the benefit of the doubt and has his teachers follow the same principle.
We thank Gault and Dyson for their presentation and for what they are doing for our youth. The link to the meeting and their presentation follows:
Editors note: The following blog post was written before COVID-19. It has been edited with permission to reflect the impact of social distancing and meeting virtually. Please visit the Rotary and Toastmasters websites for further info about how these organizations are keeping members safe and connected during the pandemic.
Al Brothers
By Alfred Brothers, governor of District 6540 and a member of the Rotary Club of Anthony Wayne (Fort Wayne), Indiana, USA
I had heard of Toastmasters, but never got involved with the organization until last year, when Rotary members from our area and I attended the 2019 Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany. There we heard about Rotary’s collaboration with Toastmasters.
The two organizations truly complement each other. Toastmasters is a great way for Rotarians to learn and develop enhanced speaking skills. As professionals, communication is our gateway to reaching customers and clients, and promoting our service projects.
When we returned from Hamburg, our International Service director Floyd Lancia invited leaders from the Toastmasters district that covers Indiana to participate in our Zone Institute in October. Scott Brown, a divisional leader from Fort Wayne, and Jean Wolf, a program quality director, answered questions we had about Toastmasters and led a public speaking workshop for district leaders. The workshop took a championship level speech and reverse-engineered it to demonstrate how to develop a remarkable presentation. I was impressed by the depth of the programs and the number of Toastmasters clubs in our local area.
Scott invited me to speak at a local training session in Fort Wayne. I received a warm welcome and provided an overview of Rotary, our district, and our clubs. I brought members of one of our Rotary clubs who were also Toastmasters members. It was fascinating to hear an engaging and energetic speech by Pres Vasilev, Toastmasters 2013 World Champion of Public Speaking, who is both accomplished and world-renowned.
I began using our district newsletter to send information and encouragement to clubs in our district to reach out and invite Toastmasters to speak to their clubs. We are hopeful that Scott can join us during a virtual meeting this year.
While the alliance is still new, clubs are already experiencing the benefits of working with their local Toastmasters club. They are making new connections, which is opening the door to more professional growth opportunities. Members are expanding their networks in new ways. This increased interaction between Toastmasters and Rotary clubs has even lead to an increase in Toastmasters members inquiring about joining Rotary. Our district is setting the stage for a great partnership.
