Mardi Gras Meeting - notes 2 19 09

We stared off today's Mardi Gras themed meeting with Justin Beck leading the first half of the Groaner. Interestingly, Roger Nicholson piped up with the punch line (something about a deposit on a BMW), so he gets partial credit for the Groaner as well. Nice job, guys!

Paul Parks then lead us in the prayer. Reed Eubanks lead the Pledge and George Harley lead us in the 4 Way test.

A very significant set of Happy Dollars came from Bob Spilman - who was celebrating his 90th Birthday. He gave the club a Happy Dollar for that and $100 to the Rotary Foundation for his "Every Rotarian Every Year" contribution. Lead the way Bob, Happy Birthday!

Next we had a short announcement from a student at UWF (Sarah Dennis) who let us know about a new intern program offered through the accounting fraternity, Beta Alpha Psi. Go to www.uwf.edu/bap/intern for more information.

Heidi Blair introduced our 2 visiting Rotarians; Dan Livingston from Pensacola North and Beverly Livingston from Gulf Breeze. She also introduced our 3 guests; Bud Garrett (guest of Wayne Etheridge - cool story, high school buddies reunited), Corrine (Al Swan's new blushing bride), and David Williamson (guest of Mark Smith).

Skip Dennis (no relation to Sarah) was our Woolly today. He fleeced us all with some questions about the history of Mardi Gras, and we learned a little bit about Ferd's great-grandfather who was the first ever "Rex" king of Mardi Gras in new Orleans. Yes I asked, and yes, he had a beard. No, I can't remember the dude's name.

Justin Beck won the raffle, which is getting interesting with only 15 cards left and $643 in the pot. He didn't pick the ace of spades, however and generously donated his $10 consolation prize back to the pot.

Huntley told us some sobering news about his recent trip to Aruba, and Al Swan lifted us up with a second Groaner. Thanks to both of you!

Since the King and Queen of Spain required the services of our regularly scheduled program, Sandi Starr was our guest speaker today - wearing some bling-tastic Mardi Gras beads, and filling us in on the event history in Pensacola. Following the earlier trend with the Groaner, Roger Nicholson stepped up and added some historic details to Sandi's story.

Most significant, we inducted 2 new members today! Win Boyles, sponsored by Bill Spain and Charlie Stokes, sponsored by Bill Cleary, both became the newest Rotarians in the world. Please make these 2 new members very welcome and get to know them. They are good folks and anxious to participate in club projects. Please come this week as we have at least one more new member to induct and we will hear a little bit more about this year's Boat Show!

2-12-09 Meeting Notes - Leigh Broxton - Hands on NWFL

Greetings All! We had a great meeting today, as we inducted Mark Smith (lower photo) as the newest Rotarian in the world! Mark is the manager of the WalMart on Mobile Highway and we are glad to have him with us!

Leigh Broxton (top photo, posing with our Ronnie Arnold) was our guest speaker. She told us all about the volunteer opportunities she coordinates, most notably the wheelchair ramp construction projects. May be a possibility for us in the future.

Tom Johnson lead us off with a Groaner, then Wayne Etheridge lead the prayer, Jay Overman said the Pledge, and Johnny Fayard lead the 4 Way Test. We had lots of notable happy dollars today, but Al Swann announcing his recent marriage definitely topped the list! Charlie Haas had several concurrent anniversaries to celebrate and Brett Parra had an apology happy dollar relating to his bragging about LSU's recruiting class. First time I remember on of those!

Greg Threadgill introduced our 4 visiting Rotarians; Vince Currie, Leon Hirsh, Rex. McKinney and Leigh Broxton. And our 3 guests; Win Boyles, guest of Bill Spain, Terry Gribble, guest of Jay Overman and my guest Dave Williamson. We hope to see all of you back soon!

Bill Sheffield had a special President's Day Woolly , "liberally" fining everyone - for the good of the foundation! Bobby Carroll won the drawing for a chance at the $616 pot. With only 16 cards remaining, the odds are getting pretty good, but alas, she didn't draw the Ace of Spades, and rolled the $10 consolation prize back into the pot.

Ted Kirchharr gave us a reminder about the Ethics in Business award (May 9th at New World Landing). If you have someone in mind to nominate, please let me know and I'll give you the scoop. Remember, this year we will be able to nominate a small business and large business candidate. Ted also contributed his EREY birthday check, Thanks TED!

Trisha just returned from her Costa Rica trip, and gave us a quick update - can't wait to see the photos of the 300 school kids she gave the SubWest Rotary backpacks to!

Heidi told us about the Fellowship Committee's "Guess who's coming to dinner event." If you are interested in hosting a guest in your home from Milan, Italy let me know - there is a rotary Group Study Exchange coming to Pensacola, from April 4 to May 1, 2009.

See you Thursday! BC.

Meeting Notes 2 5 09 - Bill Cadwallader - RI Programs for Healthy Families

Today's program featured Dr. Bill Cadwallader, a veterinarian by trade, who has dedicated himself to RI's programs helping 3rd world mothers and families. He talked about all the ways that RI is helping to reduce infant mortality, from giving moms folic acid, to helping ensure clean water supplies, to educating men and women about better health practices. It was a sobering discussion, highlighting some topics that are quite frightening when you stop to consider the millions of people who are affected by these problems. It is nice to be part of an organization which is making a difference in the world. Bill was joined by his wife, Jean and they are both pictured with RI President DK Lee and his wife, Young, on this month's edition of Fragile Earth. My camera phone picture of Bill isn't very good, hopefully Johnny Fayard has a better one I can use!

Of course, we managed to have a good bit of SubWest fun, with Bill Sheffield leading off with a groaner about a lady who thought Saturday was Sunday (you had to be there). Huntley lead us with a memorable prayer (made me want to toast to old Ireland), Jay Overman lead us in the Pledge and Bob Stone lead the 4 Way Test.

Today's happy dollars focused on the football National Signing Day, and Andy Hinton bragged that Alabama did best, Bret Parra countered that LSU was on top, Ronnie Arnold stood up for his beloved Gators, and Bill Sheffield was heard remarking about UT. Brett then introduced our visitors and guests.

Bobbye Carroll was our Wolley today and she did a fine job. She started off talking about a computer games she uses to stay mentally sharp. The game includes a piano player and one of the melodies seems to annoy her. Consequently, she made the Wolley into a signing contest over which table could come up with the best song to clear her mind of the other one. Some of you had really good songs, some were kind of lame (if you heard my doo-wop song you know what I mean). Bill Sheffield was the winner with his rendition of 99 bottles of beer on the wall, so his table only paid a dollar each. The rest of us were fined $2. Nice job, Bobbye!

Jay Overman had the winning ticket today, but did not pull th Ace of Spades. He graciously rolled the $10 consolation prize into the pot, which was at $596 with only 17 cards remaining!

Jack Brown and I gave our Birthday Checks to support the RI Foundation. During the Happy Dollars, Jack reported that Vince Whibbs Cadillac/GMC was the top seller in their zone! Way to go, Jack!

Next Week we will be inducting 2 new members. Please be sure to attend, it should be a great meeting. Please invite those folks you think are interested in joining. We are entering a vibrant time for our club, the boat show is our most visible example of the SubWest Spirit and it would be great to have some new folks see what we are all about!

See you Thursday! BC.

Meeting Notes 1 29 09 - Dr. Sue Hill and Julius Daniel - PJC

Our own Patrice Whitten (right) introduced todays program on "Who is a PJC Student?"

The program today featured PJC's Assistant Provost, Sue Hill (below left) and a student who is attending PJC because of the scholarships you help provide! I think it was especially timely since we are getting ready for the Boat Show. In fact, you may remember that last year, Immediate Past President Buck Hall re-branded our "Used Boat Show" into the "Rotary Scholarship Boat Show." Julius (below right) was here to thank you all for your generosity and support. He is 52 years old, and is training to be a nurse. He said he could not have done this without your help.

The PJC scholarships are just one of the types you have helped made happen. I just got a thank-you letter from The Foundation for Excellence in Education, letting us know how the grade school student we have helped with the Take Stock in Children scholarships are doing. In 2006 we sponsored a young man named Kahill, who was just promoted to the 8th grade and is succeeding in middle school now. The 2007 recipient is a young lady named LeeAnn, and she is also succeeding in middle school. We made this years contribution early so it could be matched through other foundations, and we will be sponsoring a young man named Michael. Guess who his mentor is? None other than Ferd Salomon! Sally Lee, Program Coordinator closed her letter by thanking you for helping to change lives. Please give yourselves a pat on the back!

Jerold "Buck" Hall is in charge of the Boat Show this year, and has arranged to have it at Cordova Mall, between Village Inn and Red Lobster. I know it will be awesome - please be ready to lend him a hand making this one of the best shows ever!

Here's the short version of meeting details:

Groaner - Skip Dennis

Prayer - Don Gregory

Pledge - Jerold Hall

4 Way Test - Mike Woods

Visitors and Guests - introduced by John Boivin - 3 guests; Dr. Jim Yenzer (my guest), Ryan Hatler (guest of Jay Bradshaw), Ervin Byrd (guest of Regina Baniakas). Hope you enjoyed yourselves - please come back!

Don Gregory gave us an update on a fellow Rotarian that needs your prayers and support.

Bill Sheffield - was our Woolly today but got Ronnie Arnold to come up and tell us tall tales about chaperoning school field trips - good stuff Ronnie!
Jay Overman won the drawing, but with only 18 cards left was not lucky enough to win the $573 in the pot! Tell your friends at other clubs to come for a make-up - the pot is getting serious now!

Card Night - Thursday Night - The Club Fellowship Committee did another excellent job. Molly and I went for Card night and thoroughly enjoyed the food, fun and fellowship! We were busy making cards with all of Alecia's cool machines and tools, and the river-boat gamblers were busy in the adjacent room. It was down to 4 players when we left; Buck (sly one ) Hall, Johnny (I'll call your bluff) Fayard, Craig (go Vandy) Smith, and another intrepid player whose name escapes me right now (was it John Blair?). The game sorted itself out pretty quickly, and Buck Hall rode home victorious. Thanks to Heidi and her team -especially The Overmans and the Fayards for making this event so much fun! Hopefully we can get some photos of the event...

See you Thursday at lunch time - we may be inducting 2 new members!

BC.