NEWSLETTER

MAY 2004

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:


Fellow Rotarians:

It’s hard to believe, but here I am in my 11th month as your President and we have accomplished so much in such a short time. In fact, the only event left to us is our GSE Team visit on May 8th. Our Team comes to us from Taiwan and consists of five ladies and one young man. I heard them speak at the District Conference and they are all professionals, very charming and interesting. They will be in Jasper from around noon on the 8th until around 9:00 p.m. You’ll have the opportunity to meet them at our Annual Gathering on the evening of the 8th, or spend the day with us, touring Jasper.
Speaking of the District Conference, if you haven’t been to one, you should go. You really get a feel for the enormity of this organization, which of course is the oldest civic organization in the world. There are 56 clubs in our district, which covers the northern half of Alabama. All of these clubs work to improve the lives of their brothers and sisters all over the world. Multiply that by the multitude of districts in the world and you get a lot of people working on behalf of humanity.
In celebration of Rotary’s Centennial Anniversary, which is February 23, 2005, there will be numerous events. Please try to attend at least one. There will be a District celebration at the Harbert Center in early February, next year’s District Conference will be in Decatur in mid-April and the 2005 International Convention will be in Chicago June 18 - 22, 2005 - the President’s Representative Mike McCullough expects 60,000 Rotarians to be in attendance which will make this the largest International Assembly in the history of the club. The theme for the 2004/05 Rotary Year will be “Celebrate Rotary” - so let’s do!

Yours in Service
Pam Fikes




Birthdays                            Anniversaries
John Wills 7th                      Cliff and Pamela Rhodes 8th
Clyde McSpadden 15th       Keith and Pat Lewis 9th
Lou Vick 15th                     Pam and Max Fikes 16th
Pat Maddox 19th                John and Susan Wills 16th
Walker Wilson 23rd           Charles and Lorrie Stephens 20th
Gerson May 28th               Skip and Jane Newman 23rd
                                          Bill and Alice Ashenfelter 23rd
                                         Pat and Becky Nelson 27th
                                         Linda and Ray Lewis 29th
                                         Pat and Dale Maddox 29th

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next Rotary Board Meeting will be Monday, May 10th at noon.

Rotarians responsible for speakers in June: George Mitnick - 1st, Roger Hill - 8th, JC Poe - 15th, Sabrina Keating - 22nd, Awards Day - 29th.

A very successful Annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 10th raised $7,636 for our programs. Thanks to all who sold tickets, helped plan the event and worked the day of the Hunt.

District Awards: Our club was recognized on April 24th at the District Conference Awards Dinner for our excellent programs and the hard work and dedication of all the members of Jasper Rotary. Our club was judged with other medium sized clubs. There are 56 clubs in the district, 15 of which are medium sized clubs.

International Service Award - Third Place. This award is for our Honduran Dormitory Project.

Community Service Award - Honorable Mention. This award is for our First Annual BBQ that benefitted the Jasper Area Family Service Center.

Vocational Service Award - Third Place. This award is for our participation in the Annual Job Shadow Day Activities. Rotary had 7 members on the planning committee and 27 member businesses participating in the event.

Foundation Giving - Second Place. Our club donated $10,375 to the Rotary International Foundation during the Rotary year 2003/04. That breaks down to $122 per capita.

Club of Distinction - All clubs who met the prescribed criteria in each Avenue of Service set forth by the International President received a ribbon.

President’s Theme Project - Lend a Hand Award. First Place. Clubs whose overall activity for the year best met the spirit of the yearly theme - Lend a Hand.

Congratulations to all of you - these are your awards! You have worked hard this year, giving physically and financially whenever asked. Our District Governor, Don Hadden, thanks you all for your service and appreciates everything our club has done this year. You should be very proud of your accomplishments!




Jasper Rotary Annual Gathering

This year, instead of our annual banquet, we will have a reception-style affair so that we may better enjoy our visit with the GSE Team from Taiwan. The reception will be Saturday, May 8th at 6:30 p.m. at St. Cecelia’s Catholic Church which is located at 2159 Hwy 195 in Jasper. The Knights of Columbus will provide the food, which will be picnic style. Dress will be casual and the atmosphere will be informal. We will be serving bbq chicken, smoked sausage, ribs, slaw or salad, potatoes and bread. Beer and wine will also be served, along with soft drinks and tea. Please plan to attend and bring a guest.
Earlier in the day on May 8th, we will pick the GSE Team up at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens around 10 a.m. Upon arrival in Jasper, we will have lunch and then attend the Jasper Spring Festival for a couple of hours. At around 2:30, we will take our visitors to the home of Trudie and Reza Seirafi where they will relax and enjoy the lake until around 6:00 p.m. After that, the team will attend our reception and will be returned to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, leaving Jasper around 9 p.m.
We look forward to seeing you on the 8th!


 

SPEAKERS


May 4      Jackie Matte, Independent Scholar and member of the Speaker in the House series of the Alabama Humanities Foundation will present a program entitled “Highlights of Alabama’s Historical Sites, or Alabama Really Does ‘Have It All’!” Guests are welcome. We will begin at 12:15.

May 11    Speaker provided by Chad Hood

May 18   Speaker provided by Linda Burns

May 25   Speaker provided by Bill Wells