May 11, 2004

NEXT MEETING, MAY 17… Stan Buckley, new pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, will be our speaker.

LAST MEETING, MAY 10… Janet Scott, Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Alliance, told us about the importance of the arts in community life, and the edge an education in the arts provides for virtually every other activity. Janet introduced representatives from the Alliance who each gave a brief summary of the work of their specific organization. Representatives from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the International Ballet, the Mississippi Symphony, the Mississippi Museum of Art, New Stage Theater, the Old Capitol Museum, Polarity Dance Theater, the Puppitry Guild of Mississippi, and VSA (Very Special Arts) of Mississippi all had their say – and provided booths in the meeting room with information about their subject. Thanks to Jennifer Hall, the incoming President of MAA, for introducing this program.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS… can help a young subachiever learn to read. If you have some books around the house that are appropriate for kindergarten through third grade, consider donating them to the Barksdale Reading Institute. We’re talking to the Barksdale people about possibly working with them next school year, but there is a real need now for books that can be given to children to read over the summer. So pick up a book or two that your children or grandchildren enjoyed, and share it with this excellent program. At the next two meetings, we’ll have a box to collect books. And we’ll say more later about other possibilities.

COMMITTEE PREFERENCE FORMS… are included with this copy of the Rotagram. President-Elect Danny Williams really needs to know on which of our 29 committees you’d prefer to serve. If you let him know, he’ll most likely be able to grant your request. Otherwise, he’ll have to just place you somewhere. So get those forms in before June 7.

PROGRAMS COMING UP… Here’s what we have to look forward to:
¦ May 24: Linda Montgomery, The Community Foundation
¦ May 31: NO MEETING, Memorial Day
¦ June 7: Rotary Mentor Scholarship Program

PRESIDENT’S CORNER…When Howard Catchings surveyed our membership last year, many of our members wanted a "hands on" service project. From that we created Barbara Dorr's Community Service Committee that will be sponsoring a cleanup day in the near future. Currently we are investigating serving with the Barksdale Reading Institute, which dovetails nicely with our Mentor Scholarship Program. Our first step with this is the request for children's books mentioned above. Watch for more information on service opportunities in the near future. -