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Speakers
Aug 31, 2021
Update on Current Conditions in Home Building
Sep 07, 2021
NCADD work to address devastating effects of substance abuse on individuals , families , and friends
Sep 14, 2021
Zach's Story and 2nd Chance MS Mission
Oct 19, 2021
Update on Rotary's Polio Eradication Effort & Role of Vaccines in Disease Control and Public Health
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Executives & Directors
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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
Sep 14, 2021 1:00 PM
 
North Jackson Board Meeting
The Rickhouse
Oct 12, 2021 1:00 PM
 
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Bulletin Editor
Bill Osborne
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
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Club Announcements:
 
Proposed New Member Announcement.
John W. Garrard, II has been proposed for membership in the Rotary Club of North Jackson by Steven O’Neill and is sponsored for membership by Past President Don Roberts.

John is Owner and President of Optimum Financial Services. His firm provides investment advisory services. He has lived and worked in Jackson for the past 34 years.

John attended Mississippi State University and graduated with a B.B.A. in Banking and Finance. He worked in banking in Jackson before enrolling full time at Millsaps College where he earned
his MBA. He worked in the investment advisory field before forming Optimum Financial Services in 2007.

John and his wife, Susan live in Belhaven. He has been active in the community, serving as President of Young Jacksonians for the Symphony, President of the Gavel Society, Board Member of North Jackson Youth Baseball, and Catechesis leader at his church. Susan is Executive Director of The Mississippi Children’s Museum. They have 2 children, Jack, who is an
Investment Advisor Representative at Optimum and William, who is a Senior at Mississippi State University.

John will be loaned the classification, Investment Advisory Services, after his membership is approved by the Board.

This is the 1 st publication of this proposed new member.
 

Prayer. Today we pray that we receive Your special blessing because we are committed to being a real service organization to help humankind. May each of us in our daily routine come to know the joy of caring and sharing with others not as fortunate as we are. May our motto that includes serving, caring, and sharing be for us "life in service."

Bless our fellowship today, and bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, in your service. Amen.

 
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
 
Birthdays
  • Nelson Atehortua                August 31
Anniversaries
  • None         
 
Membership Anniversaries
  • Jim Stanley                       41 years, Sept. 1
  • Rob Whitley                      42 years, Sept. 1
 
Stories
Lynette Sutlar Inducted into the Rotary Club of North Jackson
Lynette M. Sutlar, a Ridgeland, Mississippi Realtor, was inducted into the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s August 24 meeting. Lynette is a licensed Real Estate Broker and is the owner of 1Star Realty LLC in Ridgeland. She holds Master’s degrees in both business and accountancy. 

Lynette is shown in the first photo with her sponsor Past Club president Tom Parry who is presenting her with her club badge. 

Club Administrative Secretary/Treasurer, Don Roberts is shown presenting Lynette with her Rotary pin in the next photo.

We welcome Lynette to the Rotary Club of North Jackson.

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Mississippi State University Director of Athletics Speaks to Rotary Club of North Jackson
John Cohen, Director of Athletics at Mississippi State University spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s August 24 meeting. He started his presentation with the school motto “Hail State", which is also the name of the school’s athletic website. 

Cohen discussed the successes of the athletes and teams both on the field and in the classroom as well as his history with the university both as a student and as a staff member. Cohen also brought the 2021 College World Series National Championship Trophy to the meeting. He is shown (left) holding the trophy with Don Roberts (Center), club Administrative Secretary/Treasurer, and Rotarian Jeff Adcock (right) who is a rabid MSU fan in the following photo.

Cohen played baseball at MSU and returned as head baseball coach in 2008. He was previously head baseball coach at the Northwestern State University of Louisiana and the University of Kentucky. He became MSU Director of Athletics in 2016. 

In his presentation, Cohen emphasized that  MSU athletes achieved a 3.18.grade-point average in 2020-2021. It should be noted that the national championship that MSU won this year in baseball is the first national championship in school history. 

In addition to discussing the successes of MSU athletes, Cohen reviewed plans to upgrade Davis Wade Football Stadium, the softball facility, and the renovation and modernization of Humphrey Coliseum. These projects follow the recent upgrade of Dudy Noble baseball facility.

We thank Cohen for speaking tour club and for his commitment and success at MSU. His presentation and the complete meeting may be seen by clicking the following link: https://vimeo.com/591965195.

 

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MADA Rep Speaks to N Jackson Rotary
 

 

Marty Milstead, President of the Mississippi Automobile Dealer’s Association (MADA), spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s August 17 meeting. He discussed the history of MADA, the current automobile marketing situation, the impact of the current economic situation on the  automobile business, and the position of MADA on the proposed tax legislation in Mississippi. 

MADA is a trade organization representing the franchised automobile dealers. He was named to the post in November 2015 and is responsible for the organization's affairs which includes representation at the state Capitol, the Mississippi Congressional delegation, the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission, promoting the franchised dealers, and serving as administrator of the MADA Self Insured Fund. 

 

Prior to serving as President of MADA, Milstead worked on the staff of US Senator Trent Lott, and the Republican National Committee. In 1988 he became Executive Vice President of the Home Builders Association of Mississippi where he grew the organization to become one of the top trade groups in the state. He successfully started two insurance companies, the Builders and Contractors Associations of Mississippi Self Insures Fund serving as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the National Builders and Contractors Insurance Company. 

 

Milstead earned a degree in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has held leadership positions on statewide and national boards, including but not limited to the NAHB Executive Officers Council, Mississippi Society of Association Executives, Business and Industry Political and Education Committee, and Mississippi Association of Self Insures. Milstead has served as an AAU basketball coach for the Mississippi Adidas organization and serves as a mentor to former players. He enjoys attending Broadmoor Baptist Church and serving as a deacon.

 

In his presentation, Milstead said that: 

 

MADA was  formed in 1941and is a collective voice for the dealers with advocacy, exclusive member benefits, and promoting the automobile industry.

MADA is a powerful and important part of Mississippi’s economy.  Approximately 176 new car dealers produce:

  • 18,473 jobs created by dealerships

  • $430 million payroll

  • $51,714 Average Earnings

  • $114 Million State and Federal Income Taxes Paid

  • $6.7 Billion total sales”

 

Milstead also discussed the impact of the current shortage of computer chips on the automobile industry. He said that the issue is one of supply and demand and that the average new automobile has over 1000 chips in it. The shortage is exacerbated by the fact that there is only one domestic producer of chips, Intel, and that a major Japanese chip  manufacturer has been shut down.

 

With respect to the proposed Mississippi tax legislation, he said that MADA will oppose it in the upcoming legislative hearings because the proposed bill to eliminate the state income tax would greatly increase the sales tax on both automobile purchases and automobile service. 

 

We thank Milstead for his presentation to our club and for his years of service to Mississippi and national organizations. He (Center) is shown in the following photo after his presentation with Club President  Uriel Pineda (left) and Treasurer Matt Monsour (right).

Milstead’s presentation and the entire meeting may be seen at the following video link https://vimeo.com/589029880 .

 


 
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Society of St. Andrew Speaks to Rotary Club of North Jackson
 

Langston Moore, Mississippi Regional Director, and Leigh Ann Blalock, Mississippi Program Coordinator, of the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA), spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s August 3 meeting. Per its website, the Society of St. Andrew brings people together to harvest and share healthy food, reduce food waste, and build caring communities by offering nourishment to hungry neighbors. The organization in effect gleans surplus foods and provides them to organizations that feed the hungry. Typically, the food is gleaned from farmers and food producers and distributed to food pantries.

 

SoSA was founded in 1979 by two Methodist Ministers and their families in Big Island, Virginia. It is organized into 8 regions, primarily in the Southeast United States. Its success speaks for itself. In 2021, through June, 

 
  • SoSA has gleaned, gathered, and distributed 33,133,079 pounds of fresh produce in 2,552 events, with 7,488 volunteers.

  • Food donated by 473 farmers has been distributed to hungry people through 1,156 feeding agencies.

The food that SoSA gleans is perfectly good to eat, but it is either excess or does not meet some quality standards. Typically, the standards not met are the size of the produce. SoSA uses volunteers to glean the food and frequently to deliver it to a food pantry. In response to a question, the speakers said that although the Stewpot Community Services Food Pantry doesn’t provide fresh produce to its clients, Stewpot uses produce gleaned by SoSA to prepare its daily meals for the hungry.

 

SoSA uses volunteers in many roles including gleaners, drivers, writers, teachers, speakers, fundraisers, and others. It is primarily a volunteer-driven organization with a very small professional staff. The Mississippi office consists of two people and it operates statewide.

 

We thank Moore and Blalock for their presentation and for what they do to feed hungry Mississippians. They are shown in the following photo with ClubPresident Uriel Pineda (right).

 

Their presentation and the remainder of the meeting may be seen at the following link: https://vimeo.com/583530035.


 
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Innovate Mississippi, The Mississippi Shark Tank!
 

Tony Jeff, President & CEO, Innovate Mississippi, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s July 27 meeting. Jeff described the situation in Mississippi where it lags all other states in businesses in the Fortune 500. Mississippi has only one, Sanderson Farms (#662), whereas Arkansas who was dead last in 1960 now has 6 firms in the Fortune 500: Walmart (#1), Tyson Foods (#80), Murphy USA (#279), J. B. Hunt (#395), Dillards (#439), and Windstream (#474). 

The salient question Jeff asked is “Why can’t Mississippi companies be the biggest in their fields? He showed the slide.

He responded “We can!”.  And we must “think bigger and identify bottlenecks,” Then he asked the question to the meeting attendees “What is stopping you from being the biggest in the world?”

 

Jeff then said “for every winner, there are dozens of losers.” He cited several technology laws, in particular Grove’s Law, “Only the Paranoid Survive!” This law was formulated by Andy Grove, the founder of Intel.

 

With respect to being a Shark Tank, Jeff said that in the past 36 months, 43 Mississippi companies have raised $17.7.M

The events that Innovate MS sponsors are listed on this slide:

 

Innovate MS considers itself a Co-Builder with entrepreneurial organizations; i.e., it is offering special events in the latter part of 2021 and in 2022.

 

It will be expanding its angel funds in 2022 & 2023 to include the South Mississippi area and Oxford and the delta in the next two years.

 

Innovate MS offers connections to capital

Innovate MS’s commercialization model is a three-phase one with technical, marketing, and business components based on the models taught in engineering and business schools.

Jeff closed by reminding the club member of Innovate Mississippi's success stories:

 

And reminding us of what they do and have done

And that Innovate Mississippi is Mississippi’s “Shark Tank.”

 

We thank Jeff for his presentation and for what Innovate MS is doing for our state. He is shown during his presentation in the following photo.

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