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Club Announcements:
The Rotary Club of North Jackson is meeting both in-person and via Zoom. Reservations are required to attend the in-person meetings. Respond to the email from Don Roberts to make one.
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 and with the meeting starting at 12:15 p.m. If you have any issues connecting to the Zoom meeting, please email Past President Greg Campbell at gregcampbell2@comcast.net. We give our speakers nearly 30 minutes for their presentations.
Mark your calendars for our upcoming event:
Rotary Club of North Jackson 50th Anniversary Gala at the Country Club of Jackson on July 20. The Gala will start at 11:00.
More details are to come on this event. It is listed in our club calendar
SERVICE Opportunity!
For several years, North Jackson Rotarians have been reading to pre-K students at Walton Elementary School on Bailey Avenue in Jackson. With time, our cadre of readers has diminished as some of them moved away. If you are interested in becoming a reader, please contact Bill Osborne (601-594-5698). For 2020 & 2021 we have joined the class remotely via Zoom, but we hope to get back to in-person reading in the fall. Our last opportunity to read this school year will be Wednesday, May 19.
Birthdays and Anniversaries.
Birthdays
Pat Vivier May 19
Virginia Carlton May 20
Suzie Baker May 24
Wedding Anniversaries:
None
Membership Anniversaries
None
Prayer. O God, our Refuge and Strength, we are grateful for the confidence with which we can live because you are the Source of our ultimate security and hope. Grant us those blessings in response tour tenacious holding onto integrity and faith.
Help each of us to be among those who set worthy examples of integrity and compassion. Bless our gathering here today, including the food of which we partake and the fellowship we enjoy. Amen.
North Jackson Rotarian Virginia Carlton was recognized by the club and by Rotary District 6820 for her lifetime of public service at the club’s May 11 meeting. Carlton who is now a Presiding Judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals has served her state and country as a military officer where she rose to the rank of Colonel before retiring. Prior to becoming a Court of Appeals judge, Carlton served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives and as an assistant district attorney.
Carlton’s recognition was originally scheduled for the Women in Rotary luncheon in 2020, but that recognition was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The following photos are from the event.
Carlton holding her “Champion of Change” Trophy with North Jackson President-Elect Suman Das.
From the left: North Jackson President Lee Carney, Fran Thurmond, District Governor Ed Thurmond, Past District Governor Barbara Travis.
From the left: Fran Thurmond, Ed Thurmond, Suman Das, Barbara Travis.
We congratulate Carlton on her recognition and thank her for her service to Rotary, to the Citizens of Mississippi, and to the United States.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of its charter, the Rotary Club of North Jackson has installed two benches and a trash bin in Parham Bridges’ Park in North Jackson. The benches are at the edge of the walking trail that is used by hundreds of Jacksonians daily.
The following photos are of the benches and bin being installed and of the completed installation. A commemorative plaque will be part of the installation. The plaque is shown prior to its installation. It will be installed between the two benches and in front of the waste bin.
Dr. Stuart Rockoff, Executive Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC), spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club's May 4 meeting. Dr. Rockoff is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a BA in History and of the University of Texas with an MA and a Ph.D. in American History. Rockoff was born in Ft. Worth, Texas, and raised in Houston. He has been Executive Director of the MHC since 2013.
Rockoff discussed the MHC, its role, and its work in Mississippi. He said that the MHC is an "independent nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for Mississippians to learn about themselves and the larger world and enriches communities through civil conversations about our history and culture." The MHC receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mississippi Legislature, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Federation of State Humanities Councils, several foundations, and private donors. In 2018, MHC's total funding totaled nearly $1 million. Uses of its funds we 5% for fundraising, 17% for administrative, and 78% for Program Services. Activities and services it funds include grants to nonprofit agencies, a Family Reading Program, Museums on Main Street in smaller communities across Mississippi, Ideas on Tap, Humanities Awards, a Speakers Bureau, and Prison Education. Quoting from the MHC 2020 Biennial Report, Rockoff says" We are a creator, funder, and catalyst for public programs that explore Mississippi's history and culture. The breadth of programs we develop and support reflects our core belief that humanities are for everyone."
We thank Rockoff for his presentation and for his service to Mississippi and Mississippians. His presentation may be seen at the following link of the meeting: https://vimeo.com/545762780. The following photo is of Rockoff during his presentation:
At it’s April 27 meeting, the Rotary Club of North Jackson honored the Star Students and Teachers from North Jackson high schools. Students and teachers from Jackson Academy, Jackson Preparatory School, Madison Ridgeland Academy, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School were invited. Unfortunately, the students from Jackson Academy were unable to attend. The honorees attended the meeting virtually via a Zoom link. Each student was asked to discuss their school, name their Star Teacher and why that teacher was chosen, and where they intend to attend college in the fall, and their intended field of study. The student and their teachers are as follow:
The Mississippi Economic Council was represented at the meeting by Vickie Powell, Senior Vice President, Foundations. This year’s Star Student and Teacher recognition is the 56th year that the MEC has recognized the Students and Teachers. We congratulate all of the students and teachers and thank the MEC for conducting this program for our state's youth.
The complete meeting, including the presentations by each of the students, can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/542932169.
Charles “Charlie” Johnson, past president of the Rotary Club of North Jackson, recognized Thomas C. Turner III as a Rotary Foundation Benefactor at the club’s April 20th meeting. The recognition was given in honor of the late Dr. Thomas C. Turner, Jr., a former member of the club. A Rotary Foundation Benefactor signifies a gift of $1,000.00 or more to the Permanent Fund of the Rotary Foundation. Shown from left, Johnson, Turner and Lee Carney, club president.
Nick Walters, with the National Hemp Growers Co-Op, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its April 20, 2021 meeting. Walters informed club members and guests about the difference between hemp and marijuana and the uses of the hemp plant. Shown from left, Walters, Lee Carney, club president, and Don Roberts, club administrative secretary-treasurer.
Walters is a seventh-generation Mississippian from Wiggins, Mississippi. He holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in History from Mississippi College. He and his wife Lisa and their three children live in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Walters has been active on many boards and commissions that keep him active in his church and community.
Walters said that hemp can have a maximum of .03% THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, more fully, tetrahydrocannabinol) whereas marijuana contains on the order of 6% THC. He stressed that all parts of the hemp plant are useful, with the buds harvested for oil production, the seeds for grain, and the stalks for rope, and other high-strength products such as biodegradable plastic and hempcrete, a building material. Thus hemp is used to produce many useful products.
Beginning Wednesday, April 28, the National Hemp Growers Cooperative will be hosting a Wednesday webinar at 2:00 PM CDT. The first webinar will feature “Adrian Zelski – Principal and Chief Business Development Officer with Center Pivot Group in Longmont, CO. Center Pivot is an industry leader and supply chain management firm that focuses on hemp production, logistics, and distribution. Zelskiwill brings a wealth of knowledge to our webinar series.” The link to Center Pivot is https://www.centerpivotgroup.com/.
We thank Walters for his very informative presentation. His presentation and the entire North Jackson meeting can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/539863688.
