March 23, 2004

NEXT MEETING, MARCH 29… our speaker will be Matt Friedeman, Political Commentator.

LAST MEETING, MARCH 8… Claiborne Barksdale, with the Barksdale Reading Institute, gave us an update on this important project. With an initial endowment of $100 million, the Institute was set up to help our poorest performing schools in Mississippi with reading, the core for all future learning. Claiborne told us that 39 schools have already been invited to participate next year, and more will be forthcoming (there were 71 this year). The annual budget for grants and for personnel is $8 million, and grants include providing a regional reading coordinator to visit each school one day a week. The object is to improve the ways teachers teach their students in K-3 to read. Claiborne gave us some interesting statistics as to how important this is, and how well the Institute has succeeded in four years. Thanks to Stuart Kellogg for arranging and introducing this very informative program.

THE ROTARY SPOTLIGHT… swung around to shine on Ralph Ross, who was spotlighted by David Scott. Congratulations, Ralph.

OUR ROTARY DISTRICT CONFERENCE… will be held right here in Jackson on April 21-23 at the Hilton. Any member of our club is invited to attend, and you’ll learn a lot about how Rotary works. If you’d like to attend, please call our Rotary office at 352-8500, and we’ll get you registered.

OUR REGULAR CLUB MEETING… for April 19 will be postponed until Friday of that same week, April 23. We’ll meet at the Hilton that day in association with the other Rotary clubs in Jackson and the other Rotarians attending the District Conference. Our own Thad Cochran will be the speaker. Mark your calendar NOW.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS… has approved the following new member proposal. If no objections are received within seven days, he will be introduced to the club as a new member:
¦ Martin Willoughby, Attorney, Martin E. Willoughby, Jr. PLLC. Martin was proposed by Robert Leard.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER… When you receive the paper copy of this Rotagram, the Sweetheart Banquet will be a memory, but the Mentor Scholarship Committee will be just beginning to screen applicants to award funds to worthy students in our area. If you did not purchase a raffle ticket or make a donation, there is still time to help us fund at least a fourth scholarship. We are currently about $3000 short of doing this. Please contact Bill Dawson at the Rotary office, 352-8500, with your donation today. Thanks, Haden