https://vimeo.com/45088494

https://vimeo.com/45091526

https://vimeo.com/43228812

Kim Conroy, Director of the Gwinnett County Department of Transportation, spoke at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on May 21, 2012.  His subject was the Transportation Investment Act, which will be up for vote in the referendum on July 31.  He emphasized that his main goal was to educate and provide information; he was not indicating how to vote.  First, he provided factual information about the provisions of the act, emphasizing that it covers a 10-year collection period beginning January, 2013, and that the vote was region-by-region.  It could be approved in one region and not another, and funds raised in one region were to be spent in that region.  Gwinnett is part of the Atlanta Region, a 10 county group.   Projections for Gwinnett’s share of the funds are that 85% would be allocated for regionally identified projects ($898.9 million) and 15% for locally identified projects ($178.5 million).  He then went on to describe specific projects planned in Gwinnett County, focusing on improvements along the I-85 corridor, improved access to neighboring counties, and cross-county connectivity.  His Power Point demonstration offered detailed information on specific locations, as well as plans and financial breakdowns.

https://vimeo.com/42568015

https://vimeo.com/42341159

May 7, 2012:  Rima Gedeon, a GRSP student from Lebanon, gave a report to the group about her nine months in the United States at the Monday lunch meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville.  Rima has been co-sponsored by the Lawrenceville club, along with the Buford/NGwinnett, Gwinnett Mosaic, and South Hall clubs.  She completed two semesters at Brenau University in Gainsville and will be returning home after the District Conference. In her slide presentation she first showed pictures of her native Lebanon, describing its location, population, flag symbolism, money, religions, and culture.  She then shared photos of various holiday experiences with her host families (specifically Halloween and Christmas) and of the many places she was able to visit, including Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, Savannah, Tybee Island, Atlanta, and Destin, FL.  She said she would always remember this amazing experience, but most of all she would remember the amazing people.  After Rima fielded questions from the audience, her host, Carolyn Hill, proclaimed the money for this program very well spent and praised Rima as a particularly stellar GRSP student.

https://vimeo.com/41722782

On Monday, April 30, 2012, former club member Charles Summerour spoke to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville about the little known disease, Sepsis.
He had personal experience with the disease in 2002 and now talks to groups to raise awareness of the dangers of late diagnosis. He introduced a film about Sepsis featuring his friend Dr. Carl Flatley, who lost his daughter to the disease, and Dr. O’Brien, a physician working to raise awareness of the disease. The film provided statistics about Sepsis (215,000 deaths per year), alerted us to the warning signs (high fever, confusion, high blood pressure), and advised on measures to take if Sepsis is suspected. Sepsis is a toxic, systemic inflammation due to an infection and is often misdiagnosed. With an early diagnosis, administration of antibiotics and fluids can defeat the disease. But the longer it goes undiagnosed, the more dangerous and deadly it is. Charles recommended that we be proactive and take all infections seriously, seek medical attention as quickly as possible, and ask specifically about Sepsis. Using the word can alert physicians to the possibility of the disease.

https://vimeo.com/41318145

April 16, 2012: Charles R. Craig, Executive Director of the Gwinnett County Habitat for Humanity, spoke at the Monday noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville. He opened with a video demonstrating the type work that Habitat does in the United States and internationally and focused on the importance to families of having a home.
He outlined the basic requirements for families to qualify for a Habitat home: ability to pay a non-interest, low mortgage payment and utility expenses and an investment of “sweat” equity in constructing the home. In Gwinnett County 3,000 volunteers working with Habitat have constructed or renovated 116 homes. He pointed out that with the housing market as it is, the incentive currently is to redo a house rather than build a new one. Currently the group is seeking grants to enable them to buy blighted properties. One source of revenue for the group is the ReStore on Riverside Parkway. The ReStore accepts gently used items, including building materials, for resale. He encouraged donations of items (other than clothes) and purchases by club members as ways to help Habitat. Other ways to help are to volunteer to help with construction and financial sponsorships. He acknowledged that Rotarians are regular volunteers and donators to Habitat for Humanity and expressed his appreciation.

https://vimeo.com/40475316

New Lawrenceville Spkr Rodney Camren from Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on Vimeo.

On April 9 Rodney Lee Camren explained to the members of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville what role the networking group “New Lawrenceville” plays in developing the Lawrenceville community.  The non-profit group began as a networking group of local businesses on the Square and has grown to a much wider base of volunteers of varied interests, not just businesses.  There is no charge for belonging to the group; all membership requires is a commitment to making Lawrenceville a better community.  He outlined four activities of the group:  (1) They maintain an email list and send out weekly announcements about matters of interest to the community, from city functions to local school activities. (2) They provide free trolley tours on the Lawrenceville Trolley on Sunday afternoons from April to June.  A local historian comments on places and names of historic interest as the trolley progresses around town. (3) They sponsor the Fall Festival on the Courthouse Square. (4) They sponsor the St. Patrick’s Day Festival, their largest event which drew 6,000 visitors downtown this year.  Funds from their events go to community service groups.  Their website is http://www.NewLawrenceville.com

https://vimeo.com/40030775