D6910 CONFERENCE Notes – Disclaimers – Reminders

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District 6910 Clubs by Category as of 7-1-14

Guest speaker at the March 16 meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville was Jeff Ploussard, who spoke to the group about his experience working with Congressman Howard Wolpe during the Reagan administration and about the impact of gerrymandering on the American political system. He summarized Rep. Wolpe’s work with the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Sub-committee on Africa. Wolpe was instrumental in getting the sanctions passed by Congress against South Africa during the days of apartheid. Ploussard maintained that a major reason for the current ineffectiveness of Congress is the practice of gerrymandering where voting district lines are drawn by the political party in power in a way to best serve the party. He is a proponent for independent commissions being appointed to draw the lines in a non-political way. He closed with comments about his association with Rotary, as a Rotary Foundation Scholar and Ambassador when he was a young man and as a judge for this year’s Laws of Life Essay Contest.

Addressing the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville at its Monday, March 2, meeting was Bryan Ginn, the Chief Campus Officer of Georgia Campus—Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). He opened with personal reflections on being a third-generation Rotarian and having had a parent who was a polio victim. He then gave background information on PCOM and its major programs: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, and Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences. Their programs are designed to meet health needs in Georgia’s underserved areas. Founded in 2005 with a class of 80, they have grown to a total of 1,012 current students. They are funded primarily by tuition (78% of budget), and tuition is high, $44,000 a year. Students often leave with a debt of over $200,000. But competition is tough, with over 4,000 applicants for 135 slots in the Osteopathic program and over 1,000 for the 100 PharmD slots. He emphasized the positive impact of PCOM on the community, with its faculty payroll and its trained health care graduates.

On February 23 members of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville heard FeFe Handy speak about her non-profit literary organization Page Turners Make Great Learners. This group’s mission is “to expand children’s knowledge and understanding of the world, themselves and their unique possibilities through a love of reading.” The group grew out of her concern for her nine-year-old daughter, who didn’t like to read, and has grown by word of mouth into a multi-school and community program. They sponsor an after school book club which gives children in the 3rd-5th grades five books and one field trip. They host readathons, mostly in Title I elementary schools, where volunteers go into classes, talk about their professions and the value of reading, and read a book to the children. She characterized the experience as “bringing the dream to the child.” Emphasis is placed on the fun of reading and on the difference being a good reader makes in life.

Jennifer Reed is Office Manager for the Clerk of Superior, State and Magistrate Court, but she did not speak to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on Feb. 16 about that role. She is an active supporter and volunteer for the Gwinnett County Relay for Life program and spoke to the group about that upcoming event at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds. Last year Gwinnett Country received the honor of being named #1 Relay in the World, and she seeks support for the May 8-9 event to make it as good as ever. She explained that the event runs from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. to symbolize that “Cancer never sleeps.” She first dispelled myths about the Relay for Life: it is NOT a relay, nor a race, and one doesn’t have to run. She provided information about the various activities of the American Cancer Society, which was founded in 1986 and which has become a world-wide activity with 5,000 communities in 20 different countries raising over $5 billion dollars.  Services supported by the American Cancer Society include smoking counseling, diet and screening information, a 24/7 phone line, Hope Lodge to help families who have to travel for treatment, and transportation for those who need rides to appointments. Ways individuals can help are to form a team, join a team, register as a Survivor, raise funds and awareness, or volunteer on Relay days. Information is available at cancer.org.

At the February 9 meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville, Roy Whitehead, Snellville Chief of Police, gave a lively overview of the Snellville Police Department’s efforts to communicate with the community. They are active on Facebook where they share information about laws, with some humorous sidelines, and take comments from citizens. Criminals have been caught because of pictures on the site. He encouraged Rotarians to “like” and follow their Facebook page. Other community activities include volunteering in the Explorers program, sponsoring the Citizens’ Police Academy, visiting schools where they talk about texting and driving, and hosting an annual Halloween party for kids. He maintained that the perception that Snellville is crime ridden is unjustified. The media mistakenly locate crimes in Snellville that did not actually happen in Snellville, and he has appealed to media sources to be more accurate. He is proud of his department’s record in the past year when only 8 robberies, 11 aggravated assaults, two rapes, and no homicides occurred. Most of those crimes have been solved. Property crimes and shoplifting account for most of their work. He talked about profiling behaviors, the “CSI effect,” and the local Snellville Neighborhood Alert Program and recounted stories of how traffic stops, always dangerous, have led to the solution of major crimes.

On Feb. 2 the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville entertained numerous guests who came to hear a report from Chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, Charlotte Nash.  She first reported on the  $1.5 billion annual  budget.  One billion goes for operating , and SPLOST funding covers capital expenditures.  This year they are funding the new Fire Station #31 at Russell Road.  She explained that EMS calls account for 75% of the fire station calls and that firemen are all cross-trained as EMS providers and firefighters.  She commented on tax revenue flow, commenting that even during the downturn there were some increased demands for things such as transporting young offenders to other counties.  Population has continued to grow in the past five years and there are now over 880,000 people in the county.  As for the State Legislature, she maintained Gwinnett County is well-represented there.  She reported on SPLOST income and spending, saying the Commissioners try to be creative and look for different ways to meet the transportation needs of the county.  After fielding questions from the audience, she received applause for her good work for Gwinnett’s citizens.

Visiting the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville at their noon meeting on January 26 to talk about Creative Enterprises were Karl Heisman and Leigh McIntosh.  Karl is on the Board of Directors and Leigh is Executive Director.  Creative Enterprises assists individuals with disabilities in developing an optimum level of social, vocational, and economic independence in their community.  Karl showed a video which gave an overview of the activities available for their 145 clients on their six-building campus.  Activities are directed toward training, job placement, and lifelong learning. Karl described the multiple services provided, including a Workshop, Greenhouse, Day Habilitation, Art House, Thrift Store, Job Placement services, and classes.  They are currently developing an equestrian program and a weather station.  Leigh told of their recent Best Non-Profit Award from the Chamber of Commerce and of several grants obtained for building and parking lot repairs.  Information is available at www.ceisite.com.