June 3, 2003

NEXT MEETING, JUNE 9… Dr. Wayne Bennett, Dean of the College of Engineering at Mississippi State University, will be our speaker.

LAST MEETING, JUNE 2… U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, a member of our club and a former Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, addressed the proverbial question of “What’s going on in Washington?” by giving us a rundown of his current activities on our behalf. Thad is a ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Chair of several of its subcommittees, including the one on Homeland Security. He told us about working on funding for the various groups, including Labor, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Interior, Energy and Water, and the largest of them all, Defense. Thad also commented briefly on some of his other activities, including his role on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian and the Board of the Naval Academy. We’re proud that Thad represents us so well, and appreciate his homecoming talk. Thanks to David Scott for introducing his former boss.

HONORARY MEMBER PAUL WILSON… has moved to the Waterford Retirement Center. If you’d like to drop Paul a line, his address is 619 Highland Colony Parkway, Apartment 155, Ridgeland, MS 39157.

ARE WE MOVING OR NOT?... we keep getting asked. The answer is “not yet.” We’re still discussing things with our potential new hosts, and we’re waiting on some things to be done (like paving the parking lot at the Ag Museum). Our deadline on a move/no move decision is September 1. So stay tuned…

PRESIDENT’S CORNER… As you know, we have stressed increasing membership throughout the year and asked each member to try to solicit one new member. We are very appreciative of those who have done so. At the beginning of this Rotary year (July 1, 2002), we had 343 members. During the year, we have lost 26 members, either by death, moving, change in job status, etc., and gained 39 members, which gives us a net gain of 13. This leaves us with 356 members as of today. However, we have 10 members who have not attended a meeting since January but have paid their dues, and three who have not paid their dues or attended since January. Personal letters have been sent to them, and we are very hopeful that we can retain these members. – Howard

UPCOMING PROGRAMS… Just to keep you informed, here are our upcoming Rotary programs…
• June 9 – Dr. Wayne Bennett, Dean, College of Engineering, MSU
• June 16 – Scholarship program
• June 23 – Barbara Travis, MS World Trade Center
• June 30 – Annual Changing of Rotary Officers