October 12, 2004

NEXT MEETING, OCTOBER 18… our speaker will be Molly Gregory, who was one of our Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars. We’ll also hear a brief report about the proposed Convention Center from Beau Whittington.

LAST MEETING, OCTOBER 11… Nehemiah Flowers, who serves as the United States Marshal for the Southern District of Mississippi, told us about this oldest of all U.S. law enforcement agencies. Nehemiah is a Mississippi native who went off to Oklahoma during the sixties to play some outstanding football for Bud Wilkinson. He was appointed to his present position by President Bush in 2001, after serving for 29 years on the staff of U.S. Senator (and fellow Rotarian) Thad Cochran. The Marshal Service dates back to 1789, when George Washington appointed 13 Marshals, one for each state. There are now 94 Marshals and many more Deputy Marshals, who are career law enforcement officers. Nehemiah told us how the Marshal Service is helping fight the war on terrorism and how they protect the courts and the judicial process. He is especially proud of the Fugitive Task Force, which ensures cooperation between the Marshals and other law enforcement agencies. Thanks to Brad Prewitt for arranging and introducing this program.

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBER… number eight of this Rotary year. Introduced to the club on October 11 was…
•Hayes Dent, President, Southern Strategy Group. Hayes was introduced by his proposer, Brad Prewitt.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS… has approved the following membership proposal. If no objections are received within seven days, he will be introduced to the club as a new member:
•Tom Schweitzer, General Manager, Marriott Hotel and Resort. Tom was proposed by Bobby Welch.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER… First, I would like to welcome our newest member, Hayes Dent. Please be sure to introduce yourself to him in the next couple of weeks. That reminds me… you can find a good number of our newer Rotarians at the “COG” table, close to the desserts. Stop by and introduce yourself. As you have grown accustomed, next week’s program will be one of the best - I heard Molly Gregory speak to a district meeting earlier in the year about how Rotary has touched her life, both as a Mentor Scholar and Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar, sponsored by our club. Finally, many of our committees are hard at work. Everything from having our Centennial Project well under way, to plans being made for Rotarfest on November 8th, golf tournament plans, membership development, a Rotary Foundation meeting, to Family of Rotary activities. Thanks for everyone’s hard work in helping us accomplish our many challenging goals. - Yours in Rotary, Danny