Adam McWilliams, Weekend Meteorologist for Jackson channel 16, WAPT, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s September 24, 2019, meeting. McWilliams is a native Jacksonian and a graduate of both Hillcrest High School and Mississippi State University (2012). His MSU degree is in Broadcast Journalism. He began broadcast journalism at Hillcrest when he was in the first grade and continued through high school. When he was 16, he was an intern with WAPT’s Chief Meteorologist, David Hartman. Before coming to 16 WAPT, Adam was the weekend meteorologist and reporter for WXVT-TV in Greenville, MS.

McWilliams talk was entitled “Are Hurricanes Getting Worse.” He quickly proved that question to be false by showing a record of hurricanes over the past 80 years. He did say that with the oceans becoming warmer, hurricanes are accompanied by greater rainfall due to the ability of warmer air being able to hold more moisture and to discharge greater amounts as rain. 

McWilliams said that our ability to forecast the paths of hurricanes has improved greatly in the last 10-15 years and that as a result of better warnings are available. He also cited lessons that could be learned from Hurricane Katrina in 2005: Prepare early, prepare often. Other things that he said that exacerbate our ability to prepare for a hurricane are that most people have discontinued their telephone landlines and many people do not have transistor radios. His point was that cell phones will likely not be operating during and after hurricanes because of infrastructure damage, but that a battery-operated transistor radio can help you get warnings and post-storm information.

We thank Adam for his presentation and for his service to our community. He (center) is shown below with Rotarians Matt Monsour (left) who introduced him and Jeff Adcock

Dr. Somprasong Songcharoen, MD, of the Premier Plastic Surgery Center in Madison and Jackson, made a donation to Rotary’s Polio Plus program at the Rotary Club of North Jackson’s September 24, 2019 meeting.  Dr. Songcharoen is a native of Thailand where he received his undergraduate and medical education. He interned at Grace Hospital in Detroit Michigan and completed a surgical residency at the University of Maryland in Baltimore followed by a fellowship in Hand Surgery at Grace Hospital. He completed his Residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

Dr.Songcharoen (left) is shown below presenting his donation to Club Member and Past District Governor Jim Stanley

We thank him for his generous donation to Polio Plus. 

Polio Plus is a global program of Rotary International. Since 1985, Rotary International and its partners have donated in excess of $1 Billion for the eradication of Polio. As a result, the number of global polio cases has decreased from 350,000 annually to 30. Polio has been eradicated from all countries except Pakistan and Afganistan.

St. Dominic Health Services and Hospital President Lester Diamond, presented a check for $5,000 to Rotary District 6820 Governor Mark Fields to help sponsor World Polio Day. Eleven Jackson area Rotary clubs will celebrate World Polio Day on October 24, 2019. Shown (from left)  Fields, Diamond, and Suman Das, District 6820 World Polio Day Chair. Since the mid-1980s, the efforts of Rotary International and its partners have reduced the global incidence of Polio from 350,000 cases annually to 30. Polio exists now in only Pakistan and Afganistan.

Rotary District 6820 2019-2020 Governor Mark Fields spoke to The Rotary Club of North Jackson at its September 17, 2019 meeting. Fields, informed club members and guests about the six areas of focus of Rotary International plus other district news. The six areas of focus of Rotary International are:

• Promoting  Peace

• Fighting Disease

• Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene

• Saving mothers and children

• Supporting Education

• Growing local economies

District 6820 covers the central portion of Mississippi from US Highway 82 in the north to US HIghway 84 in the south. Per Governor Fields, there are 11 Rotary Clubs in the Jackson Metro area.

The Rotary Club of North Jackson meets at noon on Tuesdays at the Rickhouse in Jackson. Shown (from left) Davis Clark, District 6820 Deputy Governor; Megan Little, District 6820 Assistant Governor; Mark Fields, District 6820  Governor; Greg Campbell, Rotary Club of North Jackson President and Suman Das, Club member and District 6820 Polio Chair.

Dr. Ann Kemp, M.D. Professor of Pharmacy & Professor of Family Medicine, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Chair of the UMMC Opioid Task Force spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s  September 10, 2019, meeting. The subject of the talk was “Opioid Guidelines, Regulations, and Clinical Pearls.” She commented that the talk is the same one that she gives to medical students in their training. 

She emphasized several times that opioid prescribing requires a balance of goals, risks, and benefits from opioid use and that the prescribing physician should always consider non-pharmaceutical pain relief alternatives. She further commented that opioids should be prescribed for chronic pain and pain from cancer and that the physician should counsel patients on the adverse effects of opioids and their safe disposal when the course of treatment is completed.

We thank Dr.Kemp for her talk and for her commitment and service to the citizens of Mississippi. She is shown below with Club members Patrick Smith (left), who introduced her, and Erik Hearon (right).

The Rotary Club of North Jackson honored the JPD Precinct 4 Officer of the Quarter during its September 17th meeting. JPD Corporal Patrick Smith was honored for his quick action and investigation of a shooting at a Northeast Jackson hotel that led to the arrest of a suspect that was also wanted for other crimes. 

The Rotary Club of North Jackson meets at noon on Tuesdays at the Rickhouse in Jackson. Shown (from left) JPD Precinct Commander Keith Freeman, Corporal Smith, and Club member. Steve Orlansky who chairs the Club’s JPD Officer recognition program.

Mr. Ray Harrigill, owner and managing member of Sunray Companies, LLC made a donation to the Rotary Club of North Jackson for the Club’s Polio Plus project at the club’s September 3 meeting. Polio Plus s the international project of Rotary International which has committed over $1 billion to eradicate polio. The project has successfully reduced the number of global Polio Cases from 350,000 annually to less than 30. The only two countries that have experienced polio in 2019 are Pakistan and Afganistan. Mr. Harrigill (left) is shown in the following photo presenting his donation to Club Administrative Secretary-Treasurer Don Roberts. We sincerely thank Mr. Harrigill for his generous donation.