Congressman Rob Woodall spoke at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on March 10.  Woodall, Representative for the 7^th District of Georgia, focused his discussion on the future of Social Security, which he characterized as the most clear-cut and manageable of the many problems currently facing the U. S government.  After featured quotations from Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King, Jr., he discussed the extreme division between liberals and conservatives in Washington,   D. C., and while conceding that representatives were obligated to support the views of their constituency, he asserted that those in Washington should be Americans first, and then Democrats or Republicans.  He believes  many tough decisions have to be made, some of which may hurt, but they will hurt less now than they will for later generations.

                     Focusing on Social Security, he described the coming crisis with rise in numbers of workers being much less than the rise in numbers of those who will want to draw benefits in the near future. He outlined options for saving Social Security:  increasing the payroll tax 1, 2, or 3% over varied periods of time, eliminating the taxable maximum, raising the years of earning to 68 or 70, and basing COLA on chained CPI.  He solicited responses from the audience on these various options.  A discussion ranging from letting the system fail to means testing of benefits followed.  Woodall concluded his presentation with a call for constituents to push their Representatives to do something really hard, something that may hurt in the short term but that would be good for America in the long term.  He asserted that we should care more about solving our problems than about giving blame.            

                     Rep. Woodall serves on the House Committee on Rules, the House Budget Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  He is the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s Budget and Spending Task Force.  He has served as the 7^th District Representative since 2010. He invited constituents to contact him with questions or suggestions for solutions at www.woodall.house.gov and at 202-225-4277.

Chris Reese of the Cirrus Business Group spoke at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on March 3. He works with businesses throughout the world to turn organizations around and help with their organizational development. He emphasized the advantages of a team structure where the outcomes are more than the sum of the individual parts and asserted that companies that are leaders are able to adapt and innovate. He went over the four stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, and performing. To develop highly effective teams he proposed the following commitments: 1. create an environment of trust, 2. understand and embrace healthy conflict, 3. seek true commitment, 4. embrace accountability, and 5. focus on the result.

https://vimeo.com/86356816

Lisa Sherman, Director of Economic Development for the City of Lawrencville, described her job and the role of her office in a presentation to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on Feb. 10. She, an Events Coordinator, and a Downtown Development Coordinator comprise a team which exists to support the Downtown Development Authority, the Tourism and Trade Association, the Gwinnett Business Bureau, and the City Council. They work to recruit new businesses to the City and to extend current businesses. Working with the local college and public schools, she focuses on making sure that programs exist to provide the skills needed in the work force. Currently they are working to develop a strategic plan and to offer marketing support. A new Marketing Manager will be hired soon, as well as two new part-time staff for the Tourist Center. She said that she loved her job because of the positive outlook that results from daily attempts to grow, build, and develop Lawrenceville.

Members of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville enjoyed a tour of the Gwinnett County Traffic Control Center on Feb. 3, 2014. Guides described the process whereby 695 signals are timed and coordinated using 188 cameras and impressed all with the complexity of such coordination. We learned about maintenance of the many signals and cameras and the challenges when dangerous weather conditions exist.

The Rotary Club of Lawrenceville earlier in the year committed to an annual donation of a Shelter Box containing medical supplies to an area with serious shortages of medical equipment and supplies. At the January 27, 2014, meeting, President Nancy McGill presented the first of a series of $1,000 checks to Shelter Box representative Charles Dollar. Shriner Bobby Williams talked to the group about the destination for the first Box donated by the club. It will soon be going to a Shriner Hospital for burned children in Paraguay. He, along with Rotarian Davis Stevenson, visited the hospital a couple of times and spoke to the dire conditions and the need for equipment to save these children, all of whom have life-threatening burns. The Burn Center is crowded and needs just about everything. They have great doctors and nurses but need supplies. Williams told of various ways to further contribute to the cause, including ez-Pay options and an “un-candy” or “un-flower” gift to friends and loved ones.

https://vimeo.com/85154094

RI President 14/15 Gary Huang: This is my challenge to you.

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       Rotarian Russ Weekley, senior pastor of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Snellville, spoke to his Rotary colleagues about end-of-life planning at the noon January 13 meeting. He recommended “caring conversations” between family members and loved ones to make sure that important information is available when it is needed. He pointed out that a will is not sufficient to convey all that needs to be communicated and that Georgia has a new four-part form for such planning. He shared a 30-page handout that if filled out would provide all the information survivors would probably need. It covered such issues as an advance directive for health care, final funeral arrangements, factual information about a person’s life with needed identification numbers, and biographical information. In the question period, lawyers, financial planners, and insurance advisors in the group supported his recommendations and emphasized the necessity of having correct beneficiary information on policies and investments