Speaking at the October 12 meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville was Danny Porter, District Attorney for Gwinnett County.   Reflecting on cases he has handled over the years, he asserted that he had learned that he can’t say “I’ve seen it all.”  There are surprises all the time.  The most fascinating parts of his job currently are dealing with social media and utilizing the capabilities of Smart phones.  He said it’s amazing what some criminals decide is appropriate for a Facebook or Instagram picture.  With search warrants and court orders, his office can get lots of information starting with a site on social media.  70% of cases involve cell phones, social networks, or computers.  He raised questions about our reasonable expectations of privacy, recounting an example of his wife searching out the location of a thief by starting with his Instagram pictures and working through geo-tag, and Zillow to locate an address.  During the question period at the end of this talk, he voiced concerns about technological vulnerabilities and about sophisticated techniques used to push along drug money via games.

On September 28 members of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville participated in a vocational tour of Creative Enterprises, Inc. at 701 Hi Hope Lane.  This was a follow-up program to the talk given at our January meeting where we learned about Creative Enterprises.  Leigh McIntosh reminded the group of Creative Enterprise’s mission: “to assist adults with disabilities and others with barriers to employment in maximizing their potential.  They offer a variety of programs and services to help these individuals obtain an optimal level of social, vocational, and economic independence.”  Leigh introduced Karl Heinlan and members of the CE Board that were present.  Then the group toured the Thrift Shop, the workshop, and the greenhouse.

Lisa Johnson, Principal of Lawrenceville Elementary School, spoke to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on September 14 about the successes and challenges at her school.  She thanked the group for their help in maintaining the courtyard at the school and in reading to students.  Population at LES remains constant near 700, but each week finds ten leaving and ten coming in, a fact which presents challenges to her teachers.  She described the population of the student body (51% African American, 2% Asian, 10% White, 35% multi-racial) and some of the special programs (30% are English learners and 95% are on free/reduced meals).  Most of her talk focused on the community support that helps the school so much:  along with Rotary other individuals and groups which help are Mayor Johnson, Kohl’s Cares, a Level Creek student project with books, Read Across America Day, the Fall Festival, Kids Hope USA Mentor Program, Bags of Hope Food Pantry, and an Eagle Scout project.  She emphasized the need for family involvement and listed several events designed to encourage that involvement:  a Candlelight Luncheon, the Kindergarten Harvest, Intern Night, Literacy Night, STEM Night, and Parent Training Classes.  Organizations in the school encourage leadership development, including the 5th Grade Beta Club, Our Girls Are Pearls Club, and Young Knights.  She praises her teachers for “beating the odds” when students score much higher than expected on test scores.   She credits the “Positive Behavior Interventions and Support” program for a dramatic decrease in discipline problems.

District Governor Alan Smith opened his comments to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on August 31 with his personal Rotary history.  He commended the Club on its willingness to make changes to improve retention and to energize the Club and its policy of sending new members to Rotary leadership workshops.  He recommended more publicity and encouraged the group to be the group where people went “to make a difference in the community.”  He focused on the efforts of Rotary’s 1.2 million members to eradicate polio from the world and brought the group up to date on the few lingering places where polio exists (Pakistan and Afghanistan).  He ended his comments by having the group chant, “I am a Rotarian and I will make a difference.”

This year’s 46-member class of the Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) entertained Rotarians at the 2015 GRSP Conclave on the campus of Georgia Gwinnett College on August 29.  The Rotary Club of Lawrenceville was one of the Gwinnett County clubs sponsoring the event on August 28-29.  At the Saturday night Cabaret students sang, lip-synced, danced, and recited poetry to the delight of a large audience in the Cisco Auditorium.  The students, who are enrolled at colleges and universities throughout Georgia, talked about their home countries.  Some wore colorful ethnic costumes and performed native songs and dances.  This group of young people thoroughly delighted their audience with their talents and charm.

Below are some outtakes from this past weekend’s event for your enjoyment.  The young man at the podium and in the cowboy hat is Juan Londonos from Colombia, whom the club is sponsoring this year. In the first picture he is introducing his host family, the Gibbs; in the second he is lip-syncing a Spanish number along with other GGC GRSP students.