Almighty God, in these waning days of summer, as we anticipate the seasonal change build into the universe, we are grateful that your sustaining love and grace remain constant. Throughout all seasonal transitions, your call to service is clear, your expectations of us are challenging, and we ask for your help in fulfilling both.
We acknowledge with gratitude the gift of food and the opportunity for fellowship which are vital parts of our gather-ings. May nothing be done or said here today that will dishonor your name and demean our club. Amen.
Former Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. President of the 100 Black Men of Jackson, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club's August 20, 2019, meeting. Mayor Johnson informed members and guests about the 100 Black Men of Jackson that provides long-term mentor relationships for multiple stages of life to area youth that expand the possibilities of what can be achieved.
Club members provide expanded educational experiences and advocacy in the areas that significantly affect the community and addresses systemic issues and bridges opportunity gaps for African American youth. Mentoring begins in the third grade and continues through high school. The objective is to prepare the youth for life shills, be it work, community college, trade school or 4-year college.
The Jackson chapter was formed in 1990 and has 80 members. There are 10,000 members of the 100 Black Men of America in 100 chapters. At the 33-rd annual conference of the 100 Black Men of America June 12-16, 2019, in Las Vegas, NV, the Jackson Chapter was recognized as the Medium Chapter of the year. This is the fourth time that the Jackson Chapter has received this award.
100 Black Men mentors youth in five areas: Social Skills, Education, Healthy Roles, Economic Empowerment, and Leadership Development. The organization works with 9 Jackson Public Schools: Barr, Galloway & Walton Elementary schools, Hardy, Powell, and Brinkley Middle Schools, and Provine, Jim Hill, and Lanier High Schools.
We thank Mayor Johnson for his service to our City, in particular for his service to the youth of Jackson, and for his presentation to our club. He (second from left) is shown in the following photo with North Jackson Club President Greg Campbell (left), 100 Black Men of Jackson Executive Director John Hardy (second from right), and Rotary Club of North Jackson Director Larry Anderson (right) who introduced Mayor Johnson.
Three new members of the Rotary Club of North Jackson made vocational talks at the Club’s August 13, 2029, meeting. Those members are as follow:
Rita Sun, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Suzy Tubb, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Collier Graham, Attorney at Law
Ms. Sun is a native of China, as is her husband. She came to the US to pursue her Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Mississippi College. Her husband is also a native of China who came to further his education at Mississippi College. Ms. Sun owns her own financial advisory service, Wealth Management, LLC in Clinton.
Ms. Tubb is a native of Brandon, MS. She received her degree in Accountancy and her Masters in Taxation from the University of Mississippi and is a CPA with GranthamPoole in Ridgeland.
Mr. Graham, is a native of Meridian, MS, and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the University of Mississippi School of Law. He is an attorney and shareholder with Wise Carter Child & Carraway.in Jackson.
We welcome these three new members to our club, thank them for their service to the citizens of Mississippi, and for their presentations to our Club. They are shown in the following photo after their talks. From the left are Ms. Sun, Ms. Tubb, & Mr. Graham.
North Jackson Rotarians Stephen Stenmark and Bill Osborne were recognized as Paul Harris Fellows at the Rotary Club of North Jackson’s July 30, 2019, meeting. Judy Lyons, Club Foundation Director presented the awards.
The Paul Harris Fellow award recognizes Rotarians who have contributed, or have contributed in their name, $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation. Rotary created the Paul Harris award in 1957 to recognize people who made significant financial contributions to Rotary. The first Paul Harris awards in 1957 were for 1946 gifts to Rotary. In 2006, the one-millionth Paul Harris Fellow was recognized.
Rotarians Osborne (left) and Stenmark (center) are shown holding their Paul Harris Certificates with Rotarian Lyons in the following photo. We congratulate them for achieving this distinction.
Tom Harmon, Executive Director of Art for All- Mississippi spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s July 30, 2019, meeting. Mr. Harmon, who is retired from the U.S. Army, discussed the history, mission, and activities of Art for All-Mississippi. The Mission of Art for All - Mississippi is to provide art opportunities for persons with disabilities. The organization was founded by Jean Kennedy Smith as a program of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in Starkville, MS as Very Special Arts. Over time the name evolved to VSA Arts and ultimately to its current name Art for All - Mississippi. The mission remains unchanged. The organization has an art studio in the Mississippi Arts Center at the corner of Lamar and Pascagoula in downtown Jackson. This studio provides opportunities for persons with disabilities to develop their art skills. He introduced some of their clients on a first name basis and showed and distributed some of their work. Mr. Harmon also discussed that Art for All is developing a new program with the Flowood YMCA to expand their activities to Rankin County and a Community Art Group in Vicksburg to support persons with disabilities and the elderly. Each of these new programs will provide a studio and a gallery for the clients’ work He emphasized that Art for All fits the mission of the YMCA and that the new Vicksburg center will provide marketing opportunities with river cruise tourists.
We thank Mr. Harmon for his work on behalf of the elderly and the disabled in the art field. He (right) is shown in the following photo with Chuck Galey (left) who is an Artist in Residence at the Jackson Art Studio and with Rotarian Larry Anderson who introduced Mr. Harmon and the program.
This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is the September 2019 President's Message from 2019-2020 RI President Mark Daniel Maloney.
"Here in the United States, another summer is winding down. And for the Maloney family, every summer ends with a return to my hometown of Ridgway, Illinois, for the annual Popcorn Day festival, where I am honored to serve as the “Popcorn King,” the master of ceremonies for the day’s events.
Regardless of the season, every family has its own traditions. I would like to suggest a new one for yours: Find an opportunity to introduce your family to Rotary. One of my family’s traditions is to take our daughters and grandsons to the Rotary International Convention. The 2020 convention in Honolulu will be a wonderful way to introduce your child-ren and grandchildren to the interna- tionality of Rotary. We are planning many family-oriented events for everyone to enjoy.
Any time is a fabulous time to bring family members on a Rotary service project or to a fundraising event. But perhaps you have not seen many family-friendly events at your club. That is precisely why one of my top priorities this year is to make most Rotary events welcoming to family members.
We must foster a culture where Rotary does not compete with family but complements it. We should never expect our members to choose between the two. That means being realistic in our expectations, considerate in our scheduling, and welcoming of children at Rotary events on every level.
Often, the young professionals that Rotary needs to attract in order to remain a dynamic 21st-century service organization are the very people who have the greatest family responsibil-ities. We must not keep these pros-pective young members away from their families by holding events on evenings and weekends at which their children are not welcome.
For too long, we have closed the doors of many Rotary events to children and sometimes even spouses. What wasted opportunities these are! Every chance we have to pass on the gift of Rotary to young people is one we must take if we are going to grow Rotary and ensure that the next generation is fully engaged in our mission.
So let us open our doors and do it in a fun way, with opportunities that make our children and grandchildren want to learn more about Interact, Rotaract, and Rotary membership. Start small if you must — perhaps by holding some of your meetings at more family-friendly times — but think about how you can continue these kinds of events for years to come.
Bringing children to Rotary events is not just fun; it also exposes them to the world! Make this a memorable year for your family — and an unforgettable year for the ever-expanding family of Rotary as Rotary Connects the World."
MARK DANIEL MALONEY
President, Rotary International
The 2020 convention in Honolulu will be a wonderful way to introduce your child-ren and grandchildren to the interna- tionality of Rotary. We are planning many family-oriented events for everyone to enjoy.