The Rotary-CDC Partnership from Rotary International on Vimeo.

At the Nov. 3 meeting Kimberly Duncan talked about the “Delete Blood Cancer” program for which she is  the Southeast U.S. Recruiter and Trainer. Assisting her was Crystal Davaro.   They informed the group that blood cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths and kills more children than any other disease in the U.S.  When chemotherapy can’t beat the cancer, a bone marrow transplant may be a patient’s best hope for survival.  The need is great because only half of those in need are able to get a transplant and certain ethnic groups have more trouble finding a donor than others. They described the bone marrow donation process and outlined the requirements for donors (between the ages of 18-55, in good health).  They emphasized that the process was simpler and less painful than perceived.  Businesses were encouraged to consider a Delete Blood Cancer campaign as a visable way to serve the public.

At the October 20th meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville, Rosanna Szabo educated the group about the duties and role of the Solicitor General’s office.  It is responsible for the prosecution of all State misdemeanor crimes in the State Court of Gwinnett County and all county ordinance violations in the Recorder’s Court of Gwinnett County.  Her office handles over 100,000 ordinance violations a year.   Violations relate to traffic citations, DUI, property crimes, shoplifting, and domestic violence, among others.  She recounted four stories that helped demonstrate the type cases the Solicitor General handles.  One involved a 13-year-old boy killed accidentally at a gun show; one a vehicular homicide by a 72-year-old man; another featured a theft which led to deportation proceedings to send a woman to Yemen; the last featured a humorous DUI situation.  She solicited opinions on what the group considered appropriate sentences for the various misdemeanors she had described.

Video 2 on Vimeo

On October 13, Col. Davis Stevenson, Ret., the Club’s International Service Chair, updated the group on the status and details of the project to get aid to the Burned Children’s Hospital in Asuncion, Paraguay.   He provided background on the geography of Paraguay and on the medical needs there.  With the common practice of open flame cooking, accidents occur with young children, and these children need a better equipped facility than is currently available.  He showed pictures of the bare and minimal hospital and surgical rooms and noted that many children die from infections.  Our Club is helping out by paying $18,000 plus shipping for a MedShare shipment of medical supplies and used equipment to that hospital and a couple of others. Volunteers for MedShare repackage damaged goods and used equipment which would be discarded, store them in a large warehouse, and then ship them out.  Each container has $154,000 worth of equipment and supplies.  He and other Rotarians plan a trip to Paraguay to be there when the equipment arrives.

Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner Richard Steele addressed his fellow Rotarians of the Lawrenceville club on October 6 and updated them on developments at the Tax Office over the past year.    He first reminded the group that he was an elected official who had nothing to do with the bottom line of the tax bill.   His job is to advocate for the taxpayers and bill and collect the taxes that have been passed by state, county, and city agencies.  In 2013 his office, with 119 employees and a $11.4 million dollar budget, served over a million customers and dispersed 83% of the General Fund revenue.  Most monies came from property taxes, but Motor Vehicles saw an increase this year because of the new title tax . The office has concentrated on studying four main areas: net cost of operation, motor vehicle transaction costs, collection rates, and payment behavior.  He emphasized that it is cheaper to renew a tag online than it is to come into the office.  He ended by looking to the future, pointing out issues that the legislature may well address and improvements he would like to see made.

https://vimeo.com/107520555

On Sept. 29, 2014, Dr. Dan Kaufman updated the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce activities since he spoke to the group a little over a year ago.  He focused on population growth, the growing economy, the diversity in the population, and the types of businesses in the County.  He held up the County with its ethnic mix as a prototype for the U.S. of tomorrow. His message was an encouraging and upbeat one, noting the growth in small businesses, especially minority owned businesses.  He focused on the strengths of Gwinnett  County, particularly its strategic assets like accessibility to the metro area, nice weather, established infrastructure, a well-educated workforce, a relatively low cost of living, and at-will work policies.  He praised community leaders and touted the synchronization of the major educational and medical assets in the County.  He recognized key challenges like Balkanization of our diverse population groups and the need for investment in transportation improvements like MARTA expansion and new roads.  He emphasized making our communities friendly to young professionals. He closed by elaborating on the Chamber’s motto, “Think globally and act locally.” Forthcoming trips to Europe and Asia will promote Gwinnett County globally and free entrepreneurial workshops help local small businesses.

At the September 22 meeting President Art Kleve conducted a Club Assembly in which we reviewed the various duties of officers and committee members and got an update on activities of the club.  Art introduced the current officers, President-Elect Freya Myers, Secretary Russ Weekly, Treasurer Richard Steele, and Sergeant-at-Arms Marshall Boutwell.  He  called on each committee chair to report briefly on current activities and then called on Marshall Boutwell for a classification talk.  Two other talks by recently inducted members were planned, but we ran out of time.