The District Conference was held in Savannah, GA, on April 14-17.  Members who attended from the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville reported to the group on their experience there.  David Freeman testified to the inspirational value of interacting with members from other clubs, seeing what projects they had accomplished, and experiencing the fellowship the meeting offered. In general, the Conference celebrated and showcased district accomplishments.  David described a tour of the Savannah Port facility, which impressed him with its volume and efficiency.  There was a golf tournament which raised money for the GRSP endowment and talks by various Rotary officers and inspirational speakers.  Al Hombroek reported on the GRSP activities, and Nina Freeman shared the awards received by the club: a Gold and a Presidential Citation.  Art Kleve encouraged members to attend next year and shared his positive experiences.  All encouraged members to look to the 100th Rotary International Conference to be held in Atlanta in 2017.  Cheapest reservation tickets can be secured during the window of May 28 to June 6 ($265).

Seven enthusiastic members of the Peachtree Ridge High School Robotics Team presented information about their activities to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on April 4.  The 80-member group is a student-led organization that participates in FIRST Robotics as well as VEX Robotics Competitions.  Members described how the competitions worked and how the group went about preparing their robots for the competitions.  The group is not only about engineering and business tasks; it is also about building relationships, developing leadership skills, engaging in teamwork, and doing outreach with the community.  They displayed two of their robots and showed a video about the “Robo Lions spirit” that won a prize at a recent competition.

A very enthusiastic Chantel Dunham shared information about the research libraries at the University of Georgia with the Rotary group on Monday, March 28.  The first Director of Development for the University of Georgia Libraries, Chantel described some of the remarkable treasures from the Special Collections.  In the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library are artifacts from the Colonial to the Confederate Era, with a tremendous Civil War collection.  Another collection documents the history of theater from around the world through costume and set designs.  The Library has the largest collection of Margaret Mitchell materials.  The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies has over 300 collections of politicians, observers and political organizations.   The history of broadcasting is preserved in the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection.  Chantell emphasized that all of us have access to many of these materials.  Her slides showed some of the most valued pieces in the collections, including the original Confederate Constitution, native American materials, Confederate War diaries and documents, rare maps, a costume design collection, and information about the Peabody Awards.

  Sherry Laboon

At the March 14 meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville, Sherry Laboon informed the group about a project proposed by the Rotary Club of Oconee County which involves meeting the water and sanitation needs of two areas in Bosnia-Herzagovina.  She provided background information about the geographical region, pointing out that in this mountainous area war damage and bi-annual flooding problems create a serious need for clean water.  Corrupt governments and religious tensions make progress in solving the water problem difficult.  The plan calls for focusing on two projects, one in Velecevo and Dubocani and one in Dzevar-Brdar/Stari Majdan.  She described the situations and history of these areas and sought the Club’s help raising the $42,000 needed to create a long-term solution to the water issues there.

Dr. Yu has been interim Dean for the School of Business at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) since 2015. He served as Associate Dean from 2007-2015 and has been a Charter Faculty member since 2006. Dr. Yu holds a Master of Accountancy from Kennesaw State University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Mississippi State University. Before accepting a position in Administration, Dr. Yu taught Accounting and Economics at the university level for more 20 years, primarily at Mercer University in Atlanta, Ga. He lives in Alpharetta with his wife.