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.

It is that time of year again for the RCL March Madness Basketball Tournament.

The entry fee is $10 is due to Beatty prior to the start of Round #3. Call Beatty with any specific questions: 770-363-1849

Payout:

• First Place: 50%
• Second Place: 20%
• Third Place: 10%
• RCL: 20%

Register Online by 3/17/16 @ 12:15 p.m.

We’re going from the dark ages (paper) to the New World (internet hosted) with our RCL March Madness Pool this year!
In order to join, you must:

1. Register as a user at http://www.poolhost.com.
When registering, you will choose a personal username and provide your
e-mail address.  When you click Join, PoolHost.com will send you an e-mail
with a password to login to the site.

2. Login to PoolHost.com with the username you chose and the password sent
to you.

3. Go to the ‘Pool Tools’ menu and choose ‘Join a Private Pool’.

4. Choose College Bracket Challenge.

5. To Join the pool you need to enter the Pool ID and the Pool Password.
For the Pool ID type: RotaryBrackets
For the Pool Password type: GardenPlaza

That’s it and then you’re in!  The next time you login in to
http://www.poolhost.com, you can get back to your pool(s) by going to ‘My
Pools’ where you’ll see all the pools you’ve joined.  Clicking on a pool
name will take you to that pool.  You can switch to a different pool by
going to ‘My Pools’ again at any time.

To Register, click here:
http://www.poolhost.com/index.asp?page=register.asp

At the February 22 meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville two presentations preceded the program.   Past-president Art Kleve accepted a banner recognizing 100% member participation in donations to the Rotary Foundation in 2014-15.  The club belongs to an elite group of Rotary Clubs which have 100% participation.  President Freya Myers presented a check from the Club for $1,000 to the Shelter Box group to help with shelters for homeless refugees.

Rotarian Mike Clifford then shared a video about the career and legacy of Buck Lindsay with the group.  The video was presented on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the architectural firm which is now Lindsay Pope Brayfield Clifford and Associates.  Buck Lindsay was known for his leadership in many areas:  in his profession, in Rotary, in his community, and around the world.  In the video, testimonials to his influence and achievements were given by architectural colleagues, long-time clients, family, and Rotary friends.  The group left with a keen appreciation for a man who has led a productive, full life and continues to made valuable contributions to our world.

On February 15, 2016, Elizabeth Danley, Project Manager for United Way, and  Deputy Strauss, of the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, spoke to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville about the various programs serving the homeless population in Gwinnett County.  Elizabeth described several programs, including the Streets to Home Program, Vets Connect, and Kids Home Initiative, but she focused mainly on GRIP, the Gwinnett Re-entry Intervention Program.  The main goal of the program is to reduce the recidivism rate, and in its three years of functioning, the recidivism rate for those individuals in their program is a low 8.2%.  Inmates have to refer themselves for the program, and when they are accepted, help is provided with housing and health services. Over 1,100 people have been pre-screened and referred to reentry services.  Elizabeth praised Faith Based Partnerships for their valuable assistance.

At the February 1, 2016, noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville, Rotarian Leigh McIntosh introduced the group to the merits of essential oils. She defined “essential oils” as “naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants.” With a history that goes as far back as the Bible and the Egyptians, essential oils were shown to have efficacious results in relieving stress, improving sleep, and relieving occasional aches and pains, among other things. Leigh explained what essential oils are, why we should explore nature’s solutions for our health instead of synthetic ones, and how the oils are effective. She, with her colleague Sue Helzerman, represent doTERRA, a leading industry in marketing essential oils.