Stop Hunger Now Event Planned for March 29th

Several local Rotary clubs (Cabarrus County, Concord, and SouthWest Cabarrus) as well as local Interact clubs and area businesses are coming together in response to the earthquake in Haiti and other international disasters to support Stop Hunger Now with a meal packing event. The clubs and businesses are raising funds to pay for the meals and will also actually package the meals on Monday, March 29, 2010 at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center. Stop Hunger Now has sent millions of meals to Haiti in the past several weeks and this effort will help support them as they replenish those meals and continue to meet the need of hunger in our world.

Click here to visit Stop Hunger Now’s web site to see updates and videos about this great organization. If you are interested in supporting this effort, contact Rotarian Frank Lapsley.

 

Meeting: Employment/Economic Trends

David Hollars and Michael Hurlbert

David Hollars was our guest speaker this week and he helped us understand the need to create a globally competitive workforce, explained the new talents and skills needed for the future. The basic math, reading, computer skills and work ethics remain at the top of the “what is and will be needed” list.

New member Steve Tozier shared with the club his experience at the District Assembly which was help the previous Saturday. Steve specifically addressed the impact of District Nominee Allen Langley’s presentation on his trip to India for a National Immunization Day with Rotary. The images and information about this Rotary effort really affected all those in attendance and made his own interest in eradicating Polio even stronger and he encouraged Cabarrus Rotarians to continue their support of this effort as well.

We were thrilled to be joined again by several of our youth from RCCC Rotaract and Mt. Pleasant Interact. Brittany shared the progress of their “Ton of Love” donation campaign and this week I received notice that they reached their goal of 2,000 pounds of food donated 4 months early! This club is so active and energetic in their service efforts! We also heard from Kelby with Mt. Pleasant Interact about their upcoming Shack-a-thon where they use cardboard to build structures and then camp out in them. Last year they won the most creative structure, for building a jail. If you can donate any cardboard for their effort this year, get in touch with Rotarian Stan Parnell.

 

Meeting: PolioPlus

President Lisa Perry and PDG Mark Markanda

At this week’s meeting, we were honored to have Past District Governor, Mark Markanda with us to share information about Rotary’s efforts to eradicate Polio. He shared Rotary’s progress and challenges. He told the club that there are only 3 to 4 more countries left to help in order to eradicate this disease. He encouraged all Rotarians to learn more about the disease, the Rotarian effort, and to contribute financially toward the RI Polio Eradication effort.

Our club is preparing to host our GSE Team visitors from Brazil in April. Rotarian Linda Earnhardt has been coordinating this effort and arranging for host families for the team. They will visit our club on Thursday, April 8th. Rotarian Linda Brown has put together another Red Cross Blood Drive for our club that will take place on Thursday, March 4th at Ben Mynatt Chevrolet from 9am – 1 pm. Please click here to go to the web site and find a time to sign up. Thank you to Rotarian Cyndie Mynatt for hosting this again this year at her dealership.

Rotarian Jim Craddock shared with the club the progress on the joint Rotary effort to build a house for Habitat for Humanity. Our clubs will be joining efforts with the Youth Build house that will start construction in March.

 

GSE Team Blog Launched

Our District’s GSE Team has launched a web site so we can follow them on their journey as they prepare and then travel to Brazil. It is especially exciting for our club this year, since we are sponsoring one of the team members, Tracy Blackmon, a middle school team at the Glenn Center. Click here to visit their blog.

Every year local Rotary Districts have the opportunity to participate in a Group Study Exchange (GSE) with a Rotary district from another country. The idea behind the exchange is that the local district sends 5 people over to the other international district for 4 weeks, and on the flip side the international district sends 5 people over here for 4 weeks as well. This year, the Charlotte GSE Team from District 7680 will be exchanging with a GSE Team from District 4750 in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

During the trip, the team participants give several presentations talking about life and culture here in the U.S. The team also stays with local Rotary families and spends time touring the other country and learning about their culture. Almost everything is paid for by the local and international Rotary districts–airfare, lodging and food are all provided. After the team returns, they are expected to share their experiences with local Rotary clubs and other organizations.

 

Junior Rotarians Volunteer at Morningside

Rotarian Catherine Brown organized a really nice opportunity for our Junior Rotarians to interact with residents at Morningside Assisted Living. The kids enjoyed getting popcorn, drinks and candy for the residents and then loved watching the movie “Up!” together. “Up” was a perfect choice since it focuses on the relationship between a senior man and a young boy. Everyone seemed to love it and we look forward to continuing to nurture the relationships between these two groups!

 

Holiday Social

Cabarrus Rotarians gathered at the home of Linda Brown for a festive evening of fun and fellowship. Linda’s home was decorated so beautifully and the entire social committee did a great job of preparing the food and drinks for this event. Certainly the hit of the party, was the champagne fountain and Christmas colored beverages! Rotarians and spouses enjoyed visiting and catching up during the busy holiday season. We even had a potential member and his wife join us…we hope this means he’ll be joining our club soon
This was a great way to wrap up the first of half of the year and look forward to 2010! Thanks to Linda and her team for all the planning for this great event!

 

Service at the top of the “To Do” List for Junior Rotarian Families

Our Junior Rotarians have become counted on kidpower at almost all of our service efforts and the holidays was no exception! It is so exciting to see families all over town serving together and learning about the true meaning of “Service Above Self” especially during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. JRs braved the cold on several nights, ringing the Salvation Army bell. They always seem to get the carols going and we hear about how much sales increase when our kids are out there spreading smiles!!

Many JRs also helped sell many beautiful items at the Carolina Mall to support Hospice. They also participated in the JR-specific event at Morningside. For some of our newly inducted JRs, this was their first opportunity to serve and make a difference!

A special thank you to all the JR parents for singing your kids up and doing this together. I know that some of my favorite memories in Rotary have been those service projects that I have done with my family and I hope you will share that same experience!

 

Cabarrus Rotarians Attend District Foundation Banquet

Approximately 20 Cabarrus Rotarians enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Embassy Suites at this year’s District Foundation Banquet. Event chair, Anita Brown did a great job coordinating the event and expressed her appreciation to all of the club members who volunteered to help as greeters and to help check in guests. Rotarian Steve Morris also did a wonderful job with the event decorations again this year.

Jody Zogran was the keynote speaker and she talked about her experiences while a nurse in the Polio section of Municipal Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA during the early 1950s. I was most moved by a story she told about what the hardest part was for her treating these patients. She said it was knowing that the parents had a healthy 7 or 8 year old out playing in the yard one day and then the next morning, they could not even get out of bed. They would end up in the hospital a few hours later and then their child would suddenly be sequestered for 10-14 days. It was such a shock to the family and so traumatic to the child. I could not help but think about Jake and how devastating that would be. It really brought home how important it is for us as Rotarians to continue this fight to eradicate Polio so no parent in our world has to endure this. Click here to read an article about Jody and her relationship with Rotary.

 

Meeting: 2009 GSE Outbound Team to Egypt

Terry Blackmon and Josh Griffin

GSE Outbound Team Member, Josh Griffin with Stanly Community College in Albemarle was a member of the 2009 GSE team that traveled to Egypt. He gave a very interesting program to our club this week and shared lots of great pictures, insights and stories about Rotarians from Egypt and Lebanon. I still cannot believe that some of his meetings would last until 1:30 am in the morning! We also feel very lucky to have the opportunity this year to sponsor an applicant to be on the 2010 GSE team. Tracy Blackmon is a teacher at the Glenn Center (pictured with Josh) and we are very hopeful that she’ll be selected! GSE is made possible by educational grants through the Rotary Foundation, part of your Every Rotarian Every Year ($100) donations. You can learn more about their experience by reading about them on the District Web Site.

During our meeting, we also heard a very interesting Vocational Spotlight from new member Lisa Krass. I loved her story about being a part of a local ballet group in Concord…way to go Lisa!! We’re glad to have her as a new member. Dick Snyder also presented a new banner to our club from a recent trip to Barbados…now that is how to do a makeup!

There are lots of great opportunities in the club right now for volunteering…filling Operation Christmas Child Boxes, ringing the Salvation Army Bell and selling angels for the Hopice Light up a Tree program. I’m looking forward to doing all three with my family this holiday season!

 

Meeting: Iditarod

Martha Dobson and Lisa Perry

We heard a great program this week on the Iditarod from local teacher and Iditarod enthusiast Martha Dobson. Her slideshow and stories of her travels to Alaska for the race were very interesting! This week the meeting was certainly a buzz of last minute activity in preparation for the 3rd Annual Seafood Festival. Tim and Trey have done another great job of leading this effort for our club and I am thrilled with the success our members have been able to achieve. The money raised from this event will go a long way. We also heard an update from Rotarian Robin Scharding about the most recent Flight of Honor. This flight was a tribute by Elizabeth Dole to her brother and was called The John Hanford Memorial Honor Flight. Click here to see a video about the exciting day for our veterans.

We welcomed another new member into our club, Mike Blackwelder, with the Boys and Girls Club of Cabarrus County. Mike was sponsored by our very own Michael Hurlbert.

We also heard a great Vocational Spotlight from new member Nick Bormann. He spoke of his work here in the community and his family. Nick has jumped right in to helping with Rotary and has been an active member already!