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Club Announcements:
The Rotary Club of North Jackson is meeting via Zoom due to the continuing high rate of COVID-19 cases in Mississip-pi. Zoom meetings will continue until a resumption of in-person meetings is authorized by the club's officers and directors.
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 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 reserve the first 15 minutes for fellowship and give our speakers nearly 30 minutes for their presentations.
Birthdays and Anniversaries.
Birthdays
Hugh Johnson February 5
Judy Lyons February 7
Wedding Anniversaries:
None
Membership Anniversaries
None
Prayer. Gracious God, as we unite in prayer, we give thanks for the spiritual dimension of human existence in which we find help and hope amid the secular realities which make insistent claims upon our time and effort. Hav-ing retreated from those pressures for this time of renewed fellowship with friends, we pray that you will grace our gathering with your presence.
Accept now our thanks for all earthly provi-sions for our needs, and for spiritual resources to pursue opportunities to serve others. Amen.
Derrick Johnson, Detroit native, Jackson Resident, and President & CEO of the NAACP spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s January 26 meeting. Johnson received his undergraduate education at Tougaloo College and his JD from the S. Texas School of Law in Houston, TX. Prior to assuming his current position, johnson was State President of the Mississippi NAACP. As State President of the NAACP Mississippi State Conference, he led critical campaigns for voting rights and equitable education. He successfully managed two bond referendum campaigns in Jackson, MS that brought $150 million in school building improvements and $65 million towards the construction of a new convention center, respectively. As a regional organizer at the Jackson-based non-profit, Southern Echo, Inc., Johnson provided legal, technical, and training support for communities across the South.
Johnson’s presentation to the Rotary Club focused on the national activities of the NAACP and changes needed in U. S. culture, specifically the elimination of tribalism.
We thank Johnson for his presentation to our club and for his efforts to improve equality in our country. He is shown during his presentation in the following photo.
The entire meeting, including John’s presentation, can be seen by clicking the following link: https://vimeo.com/505503719.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson announced the results of the election of officers and directors for the 2021-22 Rotary Year at its January 26 meeting. Those results are as follow:
Officers:
President - Suman Das, M.D.
Vice President, President Elect - Uriel Pineda
Secretary - Larry Anderson
Treasurer - Matt Monsour
Directors:
Marisa Davidson
Lori Greer
Bill Osborne
Jenny Price
Don Roberts
Congratulations to those who were elected and special thanks to all who stood for the election.
Fred L. Banks Jr., Chairman of the Board of the Mississippi History Foundation, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at its January 19 meeting on the work of that foundation, which supports the work of the Mississippi History Museum and the Civil Rights Museum in Jackson. He said a goal of the museums was to educate Mississippi’s students, and he expressed a hope that student visits would be able to resume in the near future. He also said that prior to Covid-19, attendance at the two museums exceeded expectations.
Banks, a Jackson native, is a graduate of Howard University and its law school. He practiced law and then served as a member of the House of Representatives, a circuit judge, and a Mississippi Supreme Court justice before joining Phelps Dunbar LLP as a Senior Partner in 2001. He also chairs the board of the Mississippi Convention Center and is head of the legal committee of the national NAACP governing board. He lives in Jackson with his wife, Dr. Pamela Banks, a Jackson State University psychology professor.
We thank Mr. Banks for his service to the citizens of the State of Mississippi and to our country. He is shown below in the following photo:
The meeting at which Banks spoke can be viewed at the following link.
Caroline D. Kemp was inducted into membership of the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s January 12 meeting. Kemp is employed by Regions Bank as a Financial Relationship Senior Consultant - Team Lead in Jackson. She received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business Administration from Millsaps College and is an 18 year resident of the Jackson Metro Area. We are delighted to have her in our club and look forward to working with her.
The Rotary Club of North Jackson recently donated 70 cases of bottled water to the Billy Brumfield Shelter. The Billy Brumfield Shelter (BBS), a shelter for up to 60 men a night, provides three services. It serves as an emergency shelter for homeless men, offering safe shelter, clean showers, nutritious food, and a supportive community. It also offers a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, supported by AA meetings, group and individual counseling, employment requirements, and a savings program. Shown from left, Greg Campbell, immediate past president; Lee Carney, president and Wilber Logan, BBS director.
Mary Margaret White, CEO of “Mississippi Today”, a digital news outlet for Mississippi, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s January 12 meeting. White discussed the changes in the print journalism market due to the sharp decline in ad revenues and a decline in print subscribers as consumers have begun to rely increasingly on digital media. “Mississippi Today” was created to fill the void in the state’s news outlets created by that decline. She pointed out that “Mississippi Today” is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit and that it relies on donations both from citizens and several large philanthropic foundations.
To quote from “Mississippi Today”: “We believe that an informed Mississippi is a better Mississippi. We center readers in everything we do, informing–and engaging–Mississippians through reporting, podcasts, events, and online communities.
Founded in 2016 as the state’s first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, “Mississippi Today’s” roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes sports. “Mississippi Today” is now one of the largest newsrooms in Mississippi, proving that free, nonpartisan news is the antidote to apathy and an essential key to government accountability.”
White said that “Mississippi Today” has an annual budget of $2 million with the bulk of the expenses being for its staff of well-recognized, seasoned reporters and editors.
We Thank White for her presentation to our club and for her work to inform Mississippians. She is shown in the following file photo from Mississippi Today’s website:
