Mississippi State Trooper Mitchell Chappell spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson about his survival and recovery from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) at the Club’s May 14, 2019 meeting. Trooper Chappell was injured on September 11, 2016, while responding to a call about a wreck on Interstate 55 when his cruiser hydroplaned sending him into a tree-filled median. He was evacuated by MHP troopers, and taken to King's Daughters' Hospital in Brookhaven and ultimately transferred to UMMC in Jackson. Trooper Chappell suffered other injuries but the most severe was the TBI.

Following the accident, he remained at UMMC for 30 days after which he was transferred to the Select Specialty Hospital in Ridgeland to continue his recovery. Ultimately he was transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA. Seven months after his injury, Trooper Chappell was discharged from the Shepherd Center and returned home to MS. Trooper Chappell showed photos of himself shortly after his injury at the Select Specialty Hospital and at the Shepherd Center. He still has no memory of the accident or of what happened before he arrived at the Shepherd Center. HIs presentation to the Rotary Club was his first public speaking engagement since his injury, nearly three years ago. Trooper Chappell is shown in the following photo with Club Secretary Lee Carney following his speech. We thank him for his speech and for his service to the citizens of Mississippi.

Tom Sheppard, Head of School, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, spoke to the rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s May 7, 2019, meeting. The subject of his talk was “Why St. Andrew’s Matters to Mississippi.” He started his talk by citing that the school’s students have an average composite  ACT score of 30, which on a national basis is the 95th percentile.

Mr. Sheppard came to St. Andrew’s in the fall of 2018 from the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ, where he was Dean of Enrollment Management. He is a graduate of Washington & Lee University and received his M. Ed.. from Lehigh University.

He presented three key points on why St. Andrew’s Matters to Mississippi: People, Program, and Partnership.

A key point is that PEOPLE are the key to St. Andrew’s, He emphasized the impact St. Andrew's graduates are having. For our state he cited  Robert Langford, Executive Director of Operation Shoestring in Jackson, Lucien Smith, head of the Mississippi Republican Party, North Jackson Rotarian Jack Allin, Principal Architect with Wier Boerner Allin Architects plus other graduates making a global impact including  Dr. Anita Goel, Chairman and CEO of Nanobiosym, Andrew Chatham with Google and Chief Engineer of Google’s Waymo subsidiary that is developing driverless vehicles, and Alexander Clark Founder and CEO of Technolutions.

Mr. Sheppard’s second point regarding St. Andrew’s was that the School’s PROGRAM serves as a magnet for making a difference. His final key point was that service via PARTNERSHIPS with others makes a difference to our community and the world. Examples of this service were the school’s partnerships with UMMC, The Piney Woods School, Jackson Public Schools, McWilllie and Boyd Elementary Schools. Although not included in the 3 Ps, the St. Andrew's Honor Code is a key factor for the school:  

"On my honor as a St. Andrew’s student, I pledge that I will neither lie, nor cheat, nor steal.”

We thank Mr. Sheppard for his presentation to our Club and for his commitment to Mississippi. He is shown below with Rotarian Lee Moss (left) who introduced him and with Club President Anna Powers.

Shown below are Mr. Sheppard (center), with Lauren McMillin, St. Andrew’s Director of Alumni and Public Relations, and Rotarian Erik Hearon (right).

Mr. Sheppard was accompanied by Jay Philpott, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Stephanie Garriga, director of Institutional Advancement. Mrs. Garriga is shown in the following photo with Rotarian Jack Allin, a St. Andrew's alumnus.

Chance L. McDavid, Division Director of the Asset Development Division of the Mississippi Development Authority spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the Club’s April 30, 2019, meeting. The subject of his talk was Asset Based Community Development. He began by stating that the purpose of the Asset based Development Division is to facilitate growth through asset‐based community development activities that build on existing resources to strengthen local and regional economies to increase wealth and improve quality of life in Mississippi Communities.

Mr. McDavid used the example of the redevelopment of Tupelo based on the Tupelo Model developed by George McLean who he identified as the Tupelo Man. That model shows Economic Development at the top of a pyramid on which Human Development is the base or lowest layer.

He cited examples of successful asset based community development in Water Valley and an ongoing effort i West Jackson. Another example is the Area around Bentonville, Rogers and Fayetteville, Arkansas where the impact of the University of Arkansas and Walmart has created a very vibrant community. The quote that he presented from American Cultural Anthropologist Margaret Mead is most telling about asset based community development: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Mr. McDavid is shown in the following photo with Club President Anna Powers and Club Member Marisa Davidson who  arranged Mr. McDavid’s talk to the Club and introduced him. We thank Mr. McDavid for his work improving our State.

At its April 30, 2019, meeting, the Rotary Club of North Jackson recognized 5 Club members for their perfect attendance. One, the late Joe Harris, was recognized for his 47 years. The others recognized were Erik Hearon (41 years), Jim Stanley (38 years), Charles Johnson (26 years), & Bill Osborne (1 year). The four in attendance are shown in the following photo: from the left, they are Charles Johnson, Jim Stanley, Bill Osborne, and Erik Hearon. We congratulate them all for their commitment to Rotary.