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Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
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Speakers
Apr 21, 2020
Apr 28, 2020
Members speak on the impact of the Pandemic on their business or personal lives. No politics!
May 05, 2020
May 12, 2020
Junior League of Jackson
May 19, 2020
MPB
May 26, 2020
Community Foundation for MS
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Bulletin Editor
Bill Osborne
Executives & Directors
President
 
Vice President
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Director - Foundation
 
Director - Membership
 
Director - Public Relations
 
Director - Club Administration
 
Director - Club Service
 
Executive Secretary
 
Please note that beginning on March 31, our meetings will be Online Zoom meetings. President Greg sent connection data to members by email. Please plan to attend. The April 14 meeting will commence at 12:15 PM. Recordings of the Zoom meetings should be available the day after our meeting; i.e., Wednesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 15.
 
Note from the Editor: If you are infected by the Coronavirus or if you know of other Rotarians who are infected by it, please let me know at wgoii2@gmail.com. They will be in our prayers!
 
Please look for service opportunities keeping with our Motto of "Service above self." Remember from our March 31 meeting that President Greg asked for suggestions as to nonprofits needing donations. Email, text or phone call to Greg will all work.
 
 

Prayer. Loving God, we pray for those adversely affected by the Coronavirus and for those working to manage the disease it causes.

Almighty God, under whose constant surveillance we live, by whose love and goodness we have been lavishly blessed, and by whose summons we are called to serve others above ourselves, from a myriad of responsibilities we have come to cultivate and enjoy our fellowship and to pursue the purposed to which we have committed ourselves as Rotarians.

 

Bless now our fellowship. Confirm with your blessings our efforts to serve others, to openly espouse the high ethical standards to which we subscribe as Rotarians. Amen

Club Announcements:

Upcoming Events:
 
All planned events are either canceled or postponed. The Club Assembly, originally planned for May 19 has been postponed until June 30 when it will include the "changing of the guard."
 

Birthdays

  • Dick Dickerson                                 April 18
Wedding Anniversaries:
  • Nelson Atehortua & Stella Patino    April 16
Membership Anniversaries
  • Tag Gamblin                                    14 years, April 18
  • Jeff Bonner                                      16 years, April 19

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Stories
Entergy MS President & CEO Speaks to Rotary Club of North Jackson

Haley Fisackerly, President & CEO Entergy Mississippi spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its April 14, 2020 meeting. The subjects in his presentation were: how COVID 19 & the most recent storms have affected Entergy Mississippi and how the company is preparing itself for the future.

Fisackerly has said that COVID-19 has greatly affected how the company works. Anyone who can perform their function from home is doing so. Field employees are adhering to the social distancing rules and where three field employees would have shared a truck to go to a work location, the three employees are using three trucks to get to the site.

COVID-19 could not have come at a worse time. The GrandGulf Nuclear facility is down for major work including refueling and a turbine control system upgrade.  The plant was recently re-licensed by the NRC for 20 years extending its plant life to 2044. During the pandemic, Entergy is providing extensive customer assistance, including suspending disconnects for nonpayment of bills.

With respect to the recent storms, he said that outages in their service area were not as bad as they could have been. The damage was much worse north and east of their service area. Most of Entergy’s damage was in the northwest quarter and the Delta. Damage to their Arkansas sister company was much worse with over 110,000 customers without power.

Fisackerly said that Entergy is nearly complete with a project to replace all of the meters in their system in a project called  Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The new meters permit automatic billing, better outage reporting, and anticipation of system problems. They are also able to measure and report both the consumption and production of electricity by customers.

Entergy recently received regulatory approval to build a multi-acre solar farm in the Mississippi Delta and is looking at ways to reduce the cost of electrical energy. For example, he discussed the installation of high-efficiency gas turbines which use 50% less energy than the ones they are replacing.

We thank Fisackerly for his presentation and for his leadership of Entergy Mississippi.

 
 
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City of Jackson Public Works Director Speaks to Rotary Club of North Jackson
Robert "Bob" Miller, the Public Works Director for The City of Jackson, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club's April 7, 2020 Zoom meeting. The first part of Miller's presentation was devoted to Crisis Communication. He has had a full career in which he has had to deal with a number of crises ranging from the current Coronavirus Pandemic to hurricanes in  New Orleans and crises in previous incarnations with the City of Louisville, KY. The bottom line of his crisis communication plan is to adhere to the Rotarians 4-way Test; i.e., "is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, is it beneficial to all concerned, will it build goodwill and better friendships." His complete presentation is available on the club's website.
 
In addition to crisis communication, Miller described his primary responsibility as Director of Public Works is dealing with the metering, billing, and collection systems. Those systems have been under increased scrutiny for several years and he is spending a significant portion of his time trying to get them operating accurately and effectively. The water/sewer business administration has undergone significant changes since he arrived in an attempt to correct the billing and collection issues. He noted that changes range from the arrest of citizens for stealing water by bypassing the meters, to corruption in the department that led to retirements, resignations, and terminations
 
He also noted that the City is under a consent decree with the U.S. EPA and that he is in the process of trying to renegotiate the terms of the consent decree to conditions that the city can reasonably afford to meet. We thank Miller for his service to our city and for his presentation to our club. As a final point, he said that he expects to retire in about 15 months or June 2021.
 
 
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School of Public Health Professor speaks to Rotary Club of North Jackson
Dr. Nelson Atehortua, The Rotary Club of North Jackson's newest member and a professor in the Jackson State University School of Public Health spoke to the club at its March 31 Zoom meeting. Dr. A., as he is called by his students, discussed the facts and myths surrounding the coronavirus. He covered the origin of the virus in China, its mutation from an animal virus to one that can infect humans, its spread globally, its impact on the United States and Mississippi plus myths and facts that are circulating about the virus.
 
As of April 1, 2020, the US is experiencing more than 200,000 cases with over 4,000 deaths. Globally the number of cases is close to 1 million with over 45,000 deaths. It is clearly a global pandemic. Dr. A. cited that the US can expect 100,000 to 200,000 deaths from the disease even with the current level of mitigation in place. That mitigation includes in excess of 80 million Americans being under "Shelter In Place" orders.
 
We thank Dr. A. for his presentation, for joining our club, and for his work to educate students and all Mississippians about Public Health, in particular, the coronavirus and its impact on us.
 
 
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March 25 Rotary Club of North Jackson Board Meeting
The Board and Officers of the Rotary Club of North Jackson held a Zoom Board Meeting on Wednesday, March 25 to discuss the path forward on meetings. The Board decided to conduct meetings on the normal day, but to begin the meetings at 12:15 pm via the club's Zoom account.  The meetings will follow the traditional agenda. This process will be in place until the work from home orders are lifted. It includes the Star Student Recognition meeting on Tuesday, April 21. 
Here is the view of this zoom meeting on Club President Greg Campbell's laptop.
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This Week's Rotary Thought

is about E-Clubs

posted on 

Members of the the E-Club of the Caribbean explain how to get online with Zoom during a video presentation.

By Diana White, club treasurer and past governor of Rotary District 7020

During the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, club president Brent Leerdam and members of the E-Club of the Caribbean, provided immediate support to the family of Rotary clubs across our district. The club offered to setup meeting times for other clubs using the club’s Zoom account until these clubs could make online arrangements for themselves. The goal was to make sure clubs lost no time maintaining their routine of weekly fellowship meeting. A second goal was to empower clubs to immediately create action plans to support their community, all within a safe online environment.

Encouraged by District 7020’s Governor, Delma Maduro, the e-club produced a short video explaining the advantages of meeting online during the Coronavirus outbreak. The video was followed up by an invitation to all clubs in the district to attend a virtual meeting that explained the key components of holding interesting and successful meetings online. The e-club continues to offer support, advice, and guidance, and has extended a district-wide invitation to online guest speaker events.

The E-Club of the Caribbean has been using Zoom for the past 7 years and has considerable experience with the platform. With the generous 20 percent discount offered to Rotary by Zoom, this online meeting platform is proving to be a lifeline for many.

Many districts around the world have an e-club. Reach out to these clubs for help getting online quickly. They already have practice and experience mastering these tools. Groups of clubs can share an online account, and assistant governors can help connect clubs to each other and get them online fast.

People of Action take the lead during times of change. We are leading the way by being leaders in our communities. Let your e-club show you the way as we find new and innovative ways to connect the world and open opportunities.

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