Great and gracious God, whom the heavens cannot contain, whose sovereign will our human waywardness cannot thwart, the depth of whose sacrificial love cannot be fathomed, we are grateful for every evidence of your love and mercy in our lives and for every evidence of your awesome power in the world.
Bless all aspects of our meeting today and then go with us afterward that our labor may be fruitful and acceptable in your sight. Amen
Club Announcements:
Upcoming Events:
1. President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) March 5-7, Natchez, MS
2. Women in Rotary Luncheon, Country Club of Jackson, March 17
3. Multi-District Conference, New Orleans, April 17-19.
Proposed New Member Announcement
Nelson A. Atehortua De la Pena, Ph.D., has been proposed for membership in the Rotary Club of North Jackson by Dr. Suman Das and is sponsored by Past President Don Roberts.
Nelson, or “Dr. A” as his students call him is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at Jackson State University. JSU’s School of Public Health is located at the Jackson Medical Mall on Woodrow Wilson Drive.
He will be loaned the classification, Education – JSU Public Health after his membership is approved by the Board.
He is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Madison – Ridgeland. His membership there will terminate once he becomes a member of our Club.
A native of Columbia, Nelson earned an M.D. degree and a Master of Healthcare Management before coming to the United States. He earned his Ph.D. in Health Education at Texas A&M University, after obtaining a Master of Public Health at Western Kentucky University.
Nelson is married. He and his wife, Stella Patino have lived in Flowood for two years Stella is Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Metropolitan YMCA.
This is the 2nd publication of this proposed new member.
Hon. Virgi Lindsay, Ward 7 City Council Representative and President, Jackson City Council, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s February 25, 2020 meeting. She discussed challenges and progress the City is making and has made. Progress includes the recently announced settlement by the City with the Siemens Corporation over the water metering system installed several years ago and which has had a long series of problems. The city is progressing on the improvement of some major thoroughfares throughout the City. She referenced projects in Ward 7, which includes a large portion of Jackson from Byram in the south to Meadowbrook Dr. in the north. In total, the City of Jackson has sewer, water, street and road projects totaling an estimated $600 million to $2 billion far beyond its capability to fund. The projects stem from 100 plus-year-old infrastructure and decades of neglect and deferred maintenance.
We thank President Lindsay for her comments and, in particular, for her service to our City. She is shown in the following photo with Rotarian Rob Farr (left) who introduced her and Club President Greg Campbell.
Nora R. Miller, President of Mississippi University for Women (The “W”) spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s February 18, 2020, 2020. The subject of her presentation was “The W”, how it is today and how it is progressing. Ms. Miller received her BBA and Bachelors in Accounting from the W and her MBA from Mississippi State University. She is a CPA. She joined the staff of the W in 2001 and served as vice president of finance and administration for the W for 11 years prior to becoming president. She said that the W was created in 1884 and that it became coeducational in 1982. The current enrollment is 80% female.
Miller served as chair of the University Press of Mississippi and has served on the Board of Directors of the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (SACUBO). She serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Southern Universities Conference. She is active in a number of organizations including the Mississippi Chapter of the International Women’s Forum, Town and Tower, serving as chair in 2014-2015; Columbus Air Force Base Community Council; and Rotary Club of Columbus, serving as president in 2008-2009, and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow. A member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, she has served on the Vestry and as Senior Warden in 2015-2016. Miller was also on the Board of Directors of St. Paul’s Episcopal School, serving as chair in 2009-2010.
Miller served as Chair of the Tenn-Tom Chapter of the American Red Cross in 2007-2009 and has also been a member of the Northeast Mississippi Chapter and the Mississippi Regional Advisory Council of the American Red Cross.
A Leadership Mississippi graduate, Miller was named one of the Top 50 Businesswomen of the Year by the Mississippi Business Journal. Other honors include being named a 2019 Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts Heart of the South council, and a Rotary District 6820 2019 Champion of Change. Most recently, Miller received the Mississippi Distinguished Civilian Medal of Honor for her responsiveness to the soldiers and airmen of the Mississippi National Guard. A member of the Mississippi University for Women Alumni Association, she has served as treasurer for the MUW Alumnae Association and the MUW Ecumenical Council.
Miller emphasized that the W is a bargain in higher education with annual tuition and fees of about $15,000 for Mississippi residents. A program for moving Registered Nurses (RNs) from RN to BSN is one of the university’s stronger programs. The students in this program are non-traditional with much of the program being offered online.
The W is recognized as a great place to work and is a ‘best value” among Southern public universities. The university has an enrollment of 2813 students, with an average age of 24.6 years reflecting the emphasis on RN to BSN students. 86 % of the students are from Mississippi, 37%are African-Americans, 45% of the students are in health-related professions, again reflecting the RN-BSN program. The student-faculty: ratio of 13.1 is the highest in MS public universities. From 2010 - 2019, the W increased the number of undergraduate degrees by 67%. In 2019, the W graduated 911 students. The W’s graduates have a system low average indebtedness of students with loans of $29,393.
We thank Ms. Miller for her presentation and for her commitment to the youth of Mississippi. She is shown in the following photo with Club Director Larry Anderson (left) who introduced her and club president Greg Campbell (right).
Mark A. Tullos, Jr. President and CEO of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) in Meridian spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s February 11, 2020 meeting. Prior to joining The MAX, he served several capacities in Louisiana and Mississippi, including Assistant Secretary for the Louisiana Office of State Museum, Director of the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana and founding director of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. Tullos received a degree in visual arts from Louisiana State University. He attended graduate school at Stephen F. Austin University and also participated in Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University.
Mr. Tullos’ presentation to the club was highlighted by a brief video clip on The MAX. He said that The MAX has inducted 18 members into its Hall of Fame, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Jimmy Buffett, Sela Ward, Jimmy Rodgers, Elvis Presley, Morgan Freeman, Leontyne Price, Margaret Walker Alexander, John Grisham, James Earl Jones, B. B. King and that 4 more members will be inducted in 2020.
The Max is an interactive cultural experience that fosters creativity in the visual and performing arts, such as pottery, painting, music, dance, to name a few. The objective of The MAX is to become a destination for interstate, intrastate, and international visitors.
We thank Mr. Tullos for his presentation to our club and for his contributions to our state. The following photo is from his biographical information.
The second photo is during his presentation to the club.
Gabriel Joseph “Gabe” Grothe was inducted into the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s February 11, 2020, meeting. He (right) is shown in the following photo with his proposer Rotarian Eric Sokolosky. He was sponsored by past club president Don Roberts.
Gabe is a Landscape Designer with Martinson’s Garden Works in Ridgeland. He has lived in the metro area for 28 years. He graduated from Madison Central High School in 2009. In 2014, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Contracting and Management from Mississippi State University.
Gabe is married. He, his wife, Claire, and their daughter, Olive Jeanette, live in Madison.
This Week's Rotary Thought is the March 2020 President's Message from RI President Mark Daniel Maloney
"Dear fellow Rotarians and members of the family of Rotary,
March is the month we celebrate Rotaract — and this has been quite a year for our young partners in service. Last spring, the Council on Legislation elevated Rotaract in our constitution: Rotary International is now the association of both Rotary clubs and Rotaract clubs. Then in October, the Rotary Board of Directors eliminated the artificial Rotaract age limit and took other steps to break down barriers that were preventing Rotaract from growing in some parts of the world.
Not only do we need to open our doors to our young colleagues, but we also have to open our ears and minds to the Rotary experience they find most engaging.
These steps were long overdue because Rotaract is a vision of what Rotary must become. Not only do we need to open our doors to our young colleagues, but we also have to open our ears and minds to the Rotary experience they find most engaging. That is one of the best ways we will meaningfully grow Rotary.
When I say grow Rotary, I mean it in many ways. We need to grow our service and to grow the impact of our projects. Most importantly, however, we need to grow our membership, so that we can achieve more. Rotaractors provide this opportunity, not only because they can transition to Rotary at the time that is right for them, but also because they understand what it will take to attract others like them.
Business, as usual, will not work for us anymore. Bringing in more members to replace the ones we lose is not the answer. It is like pouring more water into a bucket full of holes. We need to address the root causes of member loss in many parts of the world: member engagement that is not what it should be, and our mem-ber demographic that skews steadily older.
It is time to make some fundamental changes. We already know what the barriers are to an engaged and diverse membership. It is time to act on what we know: creating new membership models, opening new paths to Rotary membership, and building new Rotary and Rotaract clubs where the existing clubs do not meet a current need.
New club models represent an opportunity to connect with a more diverse group of individuals — particularly those who are unable or unwilling to join our traditional clubs. While new club models have been emerging for some time, it is up to district governors to make them a reality. In January at the International Assembly, our incoming district governors took part in an exercise called Build Your Own Club Model. It was a wonderful experience that put them in the right frame of mind for the work ahead.
Ultimately, however, it will be up to Rotaractors and young Rotarians to create new club models that are most meaningful to the next generation. We may think we know what young people want from Rotary clubs in the future, but I am confident that what young people say will surprise us. It will be our job to support their innovation, for it will help us grow Rotary as Rotary Connects the World. "
