October 14, 2003

NEXT MEETING, OCTOBER 20…we’ll hear from Ray Mabus, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

LAST MEETING, OCTOBER 13... David Willson, Director of Bands at Ole Miss, gave us an outstanding talk about his work with college kids (and before that, high school kids) in band. He pointed out that having an outstanding band requires long hours of practice, support from parents and administrators, and lots and lots of patience. With many anecdotes, David told us how a good band director must provide motivation, discipline, and work with good students and bad to produce a product that reflects well on the school and the community. David got one of our very rare standing ovations. Thanks to Bill Allison for arranging and introducing this program.

THE ROTARY SPOTLIGHT…swung around on October 13 to shine on Phil Reed, Director of Voice of Calvary.

DISTRICT GOVERNOR KAY STEED… tells us that the current issue of National Geographic has an article about the eradication of polio by Rotary, working with WHO, CDF, and UNICEF. Nice to see Rotary International get some long overdue credit for this fantastic project.

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:
• Buddy Parham, President, Parham Group (Consulting). Buddy was proposed by Jack Spradling.

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS… number six and seven of this Rotary year. Introduced to the club at the October 13 meeting were…
• Kenny Griffis, Attorney and Court of Appeals judge. Kenny was introduced by his proposer, Heber Simmons III.
• Brian Bishop, Owner, Document Solutions. Brian was introduced by his proposer, Mary Fuller.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER… The highest honor a local Rotary Club can award is to recognize a person as an Honorary Member. At the October 13 meeting, we were pleased to recognize two persons who have been voted to Honorary Membership by the Board. Wally Conerly was the 86th President of our club and recently retired as Vice Chancellor from the University Medical Center. Leon Thomas has been a member of our club for 53 years, and seldom misses a meeting. Both are longtime Paul Harris Fellows. We congratulate them on this singular honor. Also recognized at the October 13 meeting were new Paul Harris Fellow Gib Ford, Benefactor yours truly, and Level 5 Paul Harris Fellow Lewis Lipscomb. Congratulations to all. – Haden