April 26, 2005

NEXT MEETING, MAY 2…our speaker will be U.S. Senator Trent Lott.

LAST MEETING, APRIL 25… Larry Gregory, Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, gave us a regulatory view of the gaming industry in Mississippi. Gaming is big – more than $3 billion in gross revenues, $350 million in taxes, and 35,000 jobs – and is booming. Larry pointed out that in nearly a decade of operation, there has not been a single incident of impropriety. He attributes this largely to the character of the Commission members appointed by the Governor (including our own Victor Smith), and to the policy of unlimited licensing, which lessens the possibility of under-the-table payoffs or other kinds of improper action. The Commission oversees every single aspect of casino operations – from checking the machines to background checks on every employee to audits of corporate books. The Commission’s goal now is to increase the percentage of work done at the casinos by Mississippi vendors. Thanks to Bill Allison for arranging and introducing this program.

TENNIS, ANYONE? Time to get out your racquet and sunglasses. Our annual tennis tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, at 3 pm at the River Hills Club. Sign up with Chairman Johnny Louis at Monday’s meeting. Or call him at 601 362-8877.

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS… number 31 and 32 of this Rotary year. Introduced to the club on April 25 were…
¦ Evangeline Robinson, Director of Institutional Advancement, Jackson State University. Evangeline was introduced by her proposer, Marco McMillian.
¦ Jim Albritton, Sales and Marketing Manager, Impact Personnel Service. Jim was introduced by his proposer, Sue Cherney.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER… Your club was well represented at last weekend’s District Conference at Lake Tiak-O-Khata, near Louisville. District Governor John Fair, with the assistance of many volunteers form his Louisville Rotary Club, staged a grand event. The fellowship with our fellow Rotarians and the educational sessions were enjoyed by all. You should be proud of our club for achieving the Presidential Citation Award. This took a lot of effort from many of our members to achieve this well-deserved recognition. Congratulations to all of you! As I mentioned in my remarks at the meeting today, Rotary needs our continued contributions to the Rotary Foundation. I’m pleased to say we have another member that has contributed the necessary $1,000 to become a Paul Harris Fellow. We are very close to our goal for the year and I challenge each of you to consider becoming a Paul Harris Fellow. Finally, welcome to our newest members, Evangeline Robinson and Jim Albritton. Yours In Rotary, Danny