Rotary International District 6880

Rotary Review

Bill Trant, Governor

November

2017

Midyear Conf. . . . . 3

Rotary Foundation. .4

Polio Pro. . . . . . . . . 5

Bob Kelley Guest

Article. . . . . . . . . . . 6

Club News. . . . . . . .8

Travels with Trant . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Attendance. . . . . . 19

Please send all Dis-trict 6880 news to the Rotary Review at : khugs67@gmail.com

Deadline for December Newsletter

is December 12th

Dear Rotary Friends, I have so many blessings for which I am thank-ful. I have been blessed with family, friends, and job that I enjoy. I’m also thankful for Ro-tary. As a Rotarian, I enjoy wonderful friendships and an opportunity to serve. I’ve seen the im-pact a project can make in my community and around the world. I’ve shared joy and laughter with others as we serve. I’ve prayed for strength to continue the fight to make a differ-ence in the world. And yes, I’ve shed tears when I see evidence that polio still exists. While every Rotarian puts Service above Self, these things don’t come cheap. Money is needed to fight polio, build water wells, provide medical equipment and support projects that change lives. We are so blessed that we have Our Rotary Foundation to help. Yes, I said “Our” Foundation rather than “The” Foundation. That’s because Rotar-ians created it, Rotarians support it and Rotarians guide it. It truly is OUR Foun-dation. During this holiday season, I challenge each Rotarian in our district to MAKE A DIFFERENCE by making a contribution to our Rotary Foundation. Although you might normally write your check toward the end of the Rotary year, do a little more this year. Make a contribution today! Don’t let the holidays pass without showing you care. It is my hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed being with family and friends. Yours in Rotary Service,

Bill Trant

District Governor Bill Trant P.O. Box 2604 Opelika, AL 36803-2604 334-705-0041 (H) 334-749-8700 (W) 334-728-9700 (C) billopelika@yahoo.com

District Governor Elect Samuel Adams (Sam & Mary Virginia) 3225 Boxwood Drive Montgomery, AL 36111 334-263-9430 (H) 334-356-6700 (W) 334-301-0597 (C) alico500@aol.com District Governor Nominee James Edward Dotherow III (Skip & Terry) 3618 Bankhead Avenue Montgomery, AL 36111 334-284-2513 (H) 334-313-1543 (O) 334-313-1543 (C) dgskip6880@yahoo.com

2017-2018 District 6880 Officers

Immediate Past District Governor Barry Cavan (Joan) 4691 Chrystan Road Montgomery, AL 36652 334-272-6662 (H) 334-590-7677 (C) dgbarry6880@gmail.com Vice Governor Jim Golson (Nancy) 457 Kimberly Drive Auburn, AL 36832 334 -502-5064(H) 334-329-9533 (C)

jim.rotary.6880@gmail.com

District Rotary Foundation Robert J. Kelley (Donna) 2002-2003 Selma 4330 Highway 22W Selma, AL 36701-0810 334-872-0115 (H) 334-872-1390 (W) 334-327-0712 (C) 4rjkelley@bellsouth.net

District Treasurer Bob Mills (Dianne) P.O. Box 165 Troy, AL 36081 bmills@troycable.net 334-372-2318 District Secretary Michael Hill 1912 Northgate Drive Opelika, AL 36801 334-745-4415 (H) 334-844-1604 (O) 334-744-5795 (C) hillmic@auburn.edu

District Communications Officer Eric Lewis (Wendi) 507 Forest Edge Place Montgomery, AL 36117 334-409-9147 (H) 334-279-9100 (W) 334-221-0066 (C) eric@rotarywebservices.com

WORLD HEADQUARTERS

Rotary International One Rotary Center 1560 Sherman Ave

Evanston, IL 60201-3698 Tel: +1 866-976-8279 (toll-free)

Fax: +1 847-328-4101 contact.center@rotary.org

Hours: 8:30am - 5pm Central Languages:

English, French, Spanish

Important Links:

●www.rotary6880.org

●www.rotary.org

●www.DaCdb.com

●www.Rizones30-31.org

●www.facebook.com/D6880/

Join District 6880 Rotarians and their guests for a great week-end of fellowship, insight and inspiring presentations, fun, crea-tive idea sharing, great food, networking, door prizes, member-ship/recruiting ideas, fund raising discussions and peanuts.

This includes Pre – PETS for 2018-19 incoming Presidents in Dothan, AL (Friday & Saturday)

Go to www.rotary6880.org to register now!

Save The Date! January 12 & 13th, 2018

District 6880 Mid Year Conference

Rotary Foundation named

World's Outstanding Foundation for 2016

The Association of Fundraising Professionals recognized The Rotary Foundation with its annual Award for Outstanding Foundation at its 2017 conference in San Francisco. The award honors organizations that show philanthropic commitment and leadership through financial support, in-novation, encouragement of others, and involvement in public affairs. Some of the boldest names in American giving — Kellogg, Komen, and MacArthur, among others —are past honorees. The announcement came on 15 November, known to industry professionals since the 1980s as National Philan-thropy Day. The award was presented 2 May at the AFP’s annual conference. Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair-elect Paul Netzel accepted the award on Rotary’s behalf, and Eric Schmelling, Rotary's chief philanthropy officer, also at-tended the conference. The event drew more than 3,400 senior-level fundraising professionals from 33 countries. “In our Centennial year, we are deeply honored to re-ceive this recognition from the Association of Fundraising Professionals,” said Netzel. AFP’s committee of judges cited Rotary’s comprehen-sive campaign to eradicate polio as a major driver of the selection. “With the generous support of our members and part-ners, we’ve taken on some of the toughest humanitarian challenges in the world, none more so than the devas-tating disease of polio,” said Netzel. “We will defeat polio, and it will be a landmark achievement for global public health.” The committee also mentioned that Rotary applies a methodical, purposeful approach to support a wide variety of causes, from providing clean water to educating the next generation of peace professionals. “This award helps to spread our belief that service to humankind truly changes our world, and for that rea-son, it is the greatest work of life,” said Netzel.

Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair-elect Paul Netzel accepts the Award for Outstanding Foundation, on Rotary's behalf, at the Associa-tion of Fundraising Professionals 2017 confer-ence.

The people working to end polio are helping broader humanitarian response efforts in north-eastern Nigeria. With malaria currently claiming more lives than all other diseases put together, a campaign was launched in October to reduce the malaria burden among young children in Borno state by delivering antimalarial medicines. At the same time, com-munity health workers protected children against polio. “The current campaign marks the first time that antimalarial medicines have been deliv-ered on a mass scale alongside the polio vaccine in an emergency humanitarian setting,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the Global Malaria Programme, in an interview with WHO on the campaign and the broader humanitarian situation in Borno. “This integrated campaign with WHO’s polio and health emergency teams is an example of unprecedented collaboration to tackle the leading cause of death in a displaced population.” The humanitarian crisis in north-eastern Nigeria has resulted in a surge in internally dis-placed persons, with limited access to medical care, leaving millions at risk of life-threatening diseases. In August 2016, four cases of wild poliovirus type 1 were detected in Borno; the outbreak response has been carried out hand in hand with broader humanitarian efforts to meet the health needs of vulnerable populations. WHO’s well developed network of polio vaccinators, with their years of experience in reaching children with polio vaccines, is making a real difference to the drive against ma-laria. The polio programme in Nigeria has a vast infrastructure and hundreds of staff on the ground and they are coordinating efforts to make sure that families affected by the crisis have access to other healthcare services. As a result, the campaigns have reached 1.2 million children with polio vaccines and antimalarial medicines, as shown through a WHO photo story. “I think we will imminently be able to show significant impact,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Afri-ca, reflecting on the encouraging results of the joint campaign.

POLIO INFRASTRUCTURE HELPING STOP MALARIA IN NIGERIA Community health workers responding to humanitarian crisis in Nigeria

are helping to stop polio and malaria hand in hand

Submitted by PDG Jim Golson

The Future of Rotary By: PDG Bob Kelley

With PolioPlus, we currently enjoy partnerships with UNICEF, WHO, CDC and the Gates Foundation Our future lies in these types of partnerships. When we conquer Polio, we’ll gain even more credibility and have a tremendous opportunity to form new alliances. And the Gates Foundation isn’t going away. While Rotarians have contributed more than $1.2 Billion to Polio, the Gates Foundation will have around $6 Billion invested by the time we’re done. We are at a new beginning. In the future, we’ll form more partnerships with even strong-er organizations that will increase our leverage and effectiveness. Why? Because we are the “Boots on the Ground” that no other organization can match. And all from your caring, your hard work, and your generosity

The Wisdom of Verne Nielsen Submitted with respect by Michael Liddicoat Vern Nielsen sits in a chair in Kelowna, British Columbia attached to a tube. A cocktail of chemicals winds its way through the tube and into Vern’s veins. This cocktail is just one of three such treatments that Vern must take every two weeks. The chemicals are searching out a particularly aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. The survival rate for this disease is about 2% within 12 months. Vern is in month five. I didn’t hear about Vern in a medical journal. He wasn’t on the nightly news. His picture is not on my Face-book feed. Vern was standing in front of my Rotary club. As a district governor, Vern has spent the last two years preparing to motivate and guide the 60 clubs in Rotary District 5060, which covers parts of Washing-ton State and British Columbia. Some might have thought he wasted those two years of preparing. The news of his cancer should have changed Vern’s plans. In his talk, he joked of trading in his time with Rotary for his bucket list. With the possibility of six months left to live, most people would change their outlook on life. Vern would tell you he has. Rather than looking inward though, he is looking outward. A more egotistical thing might be to take his partner on the trips they never had time for. Spend cash like there’s no tomorrow and reach his end at frantic pace, trying to accomplish all that he had planned to do in the next 30 years in just 6 months. Vern is not that kind of man. Vern told my Rotary club of his desire to help others. The Rotary International moto is, “Service Above Self.” You only get to be a district governor by embodying this idea. Vern has been involved in multiple successful companies. He has guided numerous non-profit organizations. Traveling the world to help in other countries and contribute to the betterment of mankind is just one of the many reasons Vern was asked to be a District Governor for Rotary. As Vern stood in front of my club, he asked all of us to do our part. The specific ask was very different than I’m used to. As a Rotarian you are asked to do many things. Raise money for local playgrounds, gather donations for a local food drive, or fight Polio, a disease that ravaged every country in the world as recently as 50 years ago and until July of 2016 had gone almost an entire year without a new wild case of the disease. You see Rotarians care about their fellow humans and seek ways to improve their community. For some clubs this is done on a local scale by giving food to children before the start of the school day so that educa-tion instead of hunger can be their focus. For other clubs their community is the world so they start projects like Polio Plus or the United Nations.

Little projects. When Vern Nielsen stands in front of your Rotary club as the District Governor and announces that he has pancreatic cancer and will probably not see the end of his term and then says he has an ask, you expect this to be the mother of all asks. Vern asked us to talk. No back breaking projects, no huge fundraisers, no world unity events. Vern Nielsen asked that we talk with our friends about what we do as Rotarians. You see Vern believes that Rotarians don’t talk enough about what we do. Rotary International partners with some of the largest organizations and non-profits in the world. Rotarians have received millions of dol-lars from organizations to do the work we do. Tyrants and governors in war torn countries have called ceasefires to allow Rotarians to bring aid to their people. Despite all this Rotarians have been a dying breed for the last few decades. Each year there are fewer and fewer Rotarians in every community. Vern Nielsen believes that Rotarians don’t talk enough about what Rotarians do. All Rotary clubs meet once a week. It can be breakfast, lunch, dinner or even after work drinks that bring them together. Guests are always invited but few come for more than one or two visits. There is a dis-connect between the weekly gatherings and the work Rotarians do. It’s difficult to describe how your Rotary club has impacted your community. That’s why Rotarians usually put a seal on their projects. We don’t like to boast and brag about the work we’ve done. When we build a bus stop for those that need shelter, we don’t ask for a thank you. We know that it’s being used because we see the people getting a moments rest from the harsh wind. Rotarians know what the golden gear / wheel or whatever you want to call it means. Vern believes that it’s not enough for Rotarians to know. He wants our friends to know what that golden gear / wheel or whatever you want to call it means. It’s friends that often help us reach understanding. In the time leading up to Vern’s role as District Governor and before his diagnosis there were many trainings and events to go to. Between one of these a very good friend of his approached him. This friend walked up and said, “So Vern, I hear you’re going to be the grand poohbah of Rotary.” In his telling of the story Vern chuckles, “Well not quite. I’ll be the District Governor.” His friend of numerous years looked at Vern. This friend had watched Vern leave many evenings to volun-teer, go to trainings, and fly out of the country all in the name of Rotary. This friend looked at Vern and said, “What is Rotary anyway?” Vern was speechless. His friend didn’t know about the most influential group in Vern’s life. The group that had demanded so much of Vern but provided him with innumerable opportunities to better his community and himself was a foreign word to this friend. This was where Vern began to understand. “I knew in that moment that we Rotarians need to tell others about the good we do. We need to be our own public relations. We need to speak up about what we do. Not so that others will join us, but so that others will know.” At the end of the District Governors speech I stood and applauded. I applauded for his insight into what we, as Rotarians, should do to help our communities. How it was our small contributions that could change the world economy or improve the lives of others. I applauded for a man who openly admitted that in four days the drugs that would be coursing through his body would make him into a different man. A man weak and debilitated. A man unable to carry the burden his title brought with it. A tear came to my eye as well. Before me stood a Rotarian. A member of a small group of individuals who is striving to make his community better. For years I too have called myself a Rotarian. I wondered how many of my friends know what this word means to me. Should I walk into the doctor’s office tomorrow and be informed that I too had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, would I behave like Vern Nielson? The motto of “Service Above Self” is a very nice thing to hang on our meeting wall. Would I be able to live up to that motto if I faced Vern’s choice? I don’t know. I know that before me on that day stood a man who was happy. He has had a full life that is potentially be-ing cut short by a terrible disease. What else would Vern have accomplished had he been given more time? That thought is not on Vern’s mind. Doctors cannot tell him how many days he has left. The treatments he receives in his chair are meant to make them as numerous as possible. The time he is given by this treatment will be spent doing the thing that means the most to him. Vern will tell others he is a Rotarian. He is the man who built toilets in countries you haven’t heard of so that little girls wouldn’t be embarrassed by their periods and could continue to stay in school. He is the man who helps put jam on toast so students can have a meal before school starts. Vern Nielsen is a Rotarian. His personal motto is the same as every Rotarian’s, “Service Above Self.”

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Montgomery Rotary Guest Speaker, Jimmy Baker, Chancellor of Alabama Community College System. Pictured with Lance Brown and Gloria (below)

Montgomery Rotary Newest Member, Kimberly Baker. She is Director of De-velopment Valiant Cross. Pictured with President Lance Brown and Pete Land. (above)

When Vern’s done taking his medicine he will lie down for a while. To rest, to rejuvenate, and to recuperate before going to his next Rotary meeting. Like all of us, Vern will eventually lie down forever. This time may be sooner than any of us would like. Vern’s family will have seen the good he’s done. His friends will re-member the times they shared. I only got to meet Vern Nielsen once. In the forty minutes he spoke, Vern inspired me. He showed me that a motto can be more than words we put on a wall. I am a Rotarian, just like Vern. We are all lucky to have neighbors like him.

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The Troy Rotary Club held its an-nual International Student Lunch-eon at Troy University on Tues-day, November 14. Speakers at the luncheon included Rotary Dis-trict Governor-Elect Sam Adams, Troy University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, SGA President Ashli Morris, and Rotaract Presi-dent Indiana Porot. Attendees en-joyed a delicious meal, musical entertainment provided by interna-tional students, and the parade of flags. Associate Dean of Interna-tional Student Services Maria Frigge announced the top ten countries by enrollment as stu-dents carried in the flags of each country. The top ten countries represented at Troy University are China, Denmark, France, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, and Vietnam. More than 800 students from more than 70 countries are enrolled at the Troy cam-pus.

The November 7th Troy Rotary meeting was hosted by Doctor Johnny Long and Michael Makau. They invited Todd Strange, Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. Chan-cellor of Troy University Doctor Jack Hawkins intro-duced his childhood friend, who became the 56th mayor of Montgomery in 2009, and is currently serving his third term. Mayor Strange spoke of the con-nectivity between Troy and Montgomery through peo-ple, roads, and commerce. Challenges that communities in Alabama face include outdated infrastructure, lack of funds for new infrastructure, and the lack of an internet sales tax. Mayor Strange encouraged everyone to be am-bassadors for Troy by talking about the good things hap-pening in the city. Pictured are President James Bruce, Dr. Jack Hawkins, Mayor Todd Strange, Michael Makau, and Dr. Johnny Long.

The October 31st Troy Rotary meeting was host-ed by Charles & Greg Meeks. They invited Phil Cunningham, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Troy University. Phil brought his Director of Op-erations Mike Worley to the meeting. Phil pro-vided several remarkable statics about the pro-gram at Troy and the Sunbelt Conference. Two of the last four years Troy has won the Sunbelt academic award. Troy was one of the two best teams in the conference last year. With four start-ers returning, Phil believes that this should be another great year. Troy will play four major non-conference teams this year, Kentucky, East Ten-nessee, Arkansas, and UAB. Phil indicated that recruiting high level players is one of the most demanding aspects of his job. Pictured are: Mike Worley, Charles Meeks, Coach Phil Cunning-ham, President James Bruce, and Greg Meeks.

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Gov. Kay Ivey, a longtime Rotarian, will plant a tree at the State Capitol to fulfill the Rotary International Challenge of making a lasting dif-ference by planting one tree per member before Earth Day 2018. She will be joined by other Alabama Rotarians along with Alabama Farm-City Committee members, who have partnered together with the hope of fulfilling the chal-lenge. The tree planting also serves as a kick-off for Alabama Farm-City events. While National Farm City Week is officially Nov. 17-24, coun-ty Farm-City committees host events and con-tests throughout the year.

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Brooke Kastner, director of sales and marketing, spoke to the Ope-lika Rotary lunch group recently about the renovation project which is ongoing at the Marriott Auburn-Opelika Grand National. The facility is adding 93 guest rooms as well as making numer-ous other improvements. Marriott is also adding a beautiful new 2000 square foot spa, slated to open in Summer 2018. Pictured, from left, are Harry Cul-linan, club president; and Kastner.

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Bruce White with Miracle League of Coastal Alabama shared how they make it possible for anyone to play our national game! Thank you to member Rebecca Mills for providing this speaker and for helping us understand the challenges and rewards for helping those with special needs in our community. (ABOVE)

Standing is guest speaker for 11/7/2017, Jeff Sheldon with the Health Hut. Jeff offered information for a healthy lifestyle. Seated is member Sean McClay. (BELOW)

Speaker for 10/31, Cade Kistler with Mobile Baykeeper. Thank you, Cade, for educating us on our local waters and helping to protect our en-vironment. (left)

Rotary Club President Joshua Mims and President Elect Jeff Plato present a $1,500 check to Lisa Brodie with Maji:Hope. Ms. Brodie was guest speaker on 11/21/2017., and expressed the dire need for clean water in many areas. Maji:Hope provides drinking water to villages in Africa and will have a booth at the Honeybee Festival in Robertsdale Saturday, Dec. 2 to raise funds for six water projects cur-rently planned. Proceeds from the booth will be combined with the Robertsdale Rotary Club’s donation to fund an entire project.

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We hosted our annual Alligators and Ale fundraiser. We sold wristbands for food and drinks, we had a cornhole tournament, and sold raffle tickets for some gift baskets. All the proceeds will be donated to The Miracle League of Coastal Alabama. This organization is going to build a baseball field in Summerdale for children and adults with special needs.

Our club hosted district governor Bill Trant at our October 12 meeting. Pictured left to right, Ann Simpson, Kathy Schreiber, Bill Trant, Kelly Childress, and Jeremy King.

Mayor Isabell Boyd invited the team from Troy Regional Medical Center to update the Brundidge Rotary Club on our local hospital. Troy Regional Medical Center is now offer-ing onsite treatment for Cancer patients. Ron-nie Dean, CEO, spoke about the new oncolo-gist, Dr. Thomas Brown, M.D., Oncologist/Hematologist who has joined the TRMC team and has over 30 years of experience and has treated over 10,000 cancer patients. He also spoke about the renovations at TRMC and praised his staff for their continued efforts to provide the best hospital care for our commu-nity. Ursula Wilson, CRNP and Certified Diabetes Educator, discussed the symptoms of Diabe-tes and why early detection is important. With over 17 years experience, Ms. Wilson can help patients set priorities and provide coach-ing in many areas.

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The Point Clear Rotary Club honored the Fair-hope High School October students of the month at Its meeting Nov. 2, held at the Sweetwater Ca-fé at the Colony, Battles Road. Front row are MacKenzie Early who loves to dance and is vice president of the Interact Club, and Elaine Thom-as, FHS event coordinator. Second row are For-rest Caudill, FHS Drum Major, and Wayne Fillingim, faculty Pat-On-The-Back recipient who is the school band director and a graduate of FHS and the University of South Alabama. Ro-tarian Champ Meyercord welcomed the group.

Point Clear Rotarian Dr. Sheldon Kushner,

left, spoke Nov. 2, of being a young sur-

geon in Vietnam during wartime .Dr.

Kushner is the subject of the book, Trauma

and Tenacity in Vietnam: A Surgeon's

Story. He was introduced by fellow Rotar-

ian Dr. Prentiss Smith. Point Clear Rotary

meets every Thursday morning at the

Sweetwater Café at The Colony, Battles

Road. Go to www.pointclearrotary.org.

The Point Clear Rotary Club was host Nov. 9, to Fairhope High School Instructor Diane Ham and the FHS Encore Choral Ensemble who pre-sented a musical salute to veterans at the Nov. 9th meeting.

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Allison Brantley and Dr. Tina Jones from the University of

West Alabama are shown with Club President, Jason Windham,

receiving a certificate for a book being purchased by the club for

the Demopolis Public Library in their honor. They spoke on ACT

Work Force Ready.

The ACT Work Ready Communities (ACT WRC) initiative is

a national effort, led by ACT, to provide a framework for commu-

nities to build an economic development, community-based ap-

proach grounded in certifying counties as Work Ready. ACT

awards this certification when counties achieve goals, based on

common criteria, of individuals in the workforce earning an ACT

National Career Readiness Certificate (ACT NCRC) and business-

es recognizing, preferring or recommending the ACT NCRC.

Based on ACT's research, ACT Work Ready Communities are

improving the skills and work readiness of the workforce

while giving the area businesses an efficient, reliable way

to identify skilled job candidates. These communities pro-

vide counties with actionable data and specific workforce

goals to drive economic growth. The key instrument de-

signed to measure and close skills gaps between worker

and job seekers is the ACT National Career Readiness

Certificate.

Currently about 27 states, including Alabama, are in-

volved in this work force development initiative which is

spreading across the country. Sumter, Tuscaloosa and

Mobile counties have achieved this certification. Fifteen other counties are currently seeking this

certification. Demopolis is located in Marengo County which is one of nine counties in Region 3

of the state. Marengo County has met 90% of the requirements to achieve certification. Dr. Jones

and Brantley are pushing to make Region 3 the first Region in the state to obtain this certification.

Demopolis Rotarian Woody Collins was recognized recent-ly for his two years of service as Chairman of the De-mopolis Industrial Development Board. During Collins’s tenure as Chairman, Demopolis landed a new state of the art saw mill. Collins is shown receiving his plaque from current IDB Chairman, Diane Brooker, also a Rotari-an. Collins and Brooker are past presidents of the De-mopolis Rotary Club. Rotarian Robert Blankenship let eve-ryone know about this accomplishment in the Times. Also in November, Rotarians, Bill Meador, Johnny Wallace and Woody Collins, were among those hosting the Seventh Annual Coo and Cluck at the Demopolis Civic Cen-ter. This wild game lunch focuses on friendships and has helped to raise over $5,000 over the years to purchase gifts for children at Christmas. Good job guys. Continued on next page

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Rotarian Jan McDonald helped kick off the Demopolis Rotary Club’s Fourth Annual Canned Food Drive for Thanksgiving by writing a nice article about the event in the Demopolis Times. This charity event is spear-headed by Rotarian Jason Windham with the help of others. The club is partnering with local businesses, churches and the JROTC at Demopolis High School to raise money and collect non-perishable food items for the Demopolis Food Bank which provides weekly supplemental food items to over 200 residents with need in Demopolis. Over $4,500 have been raised the past three years for this event with well over 3,000 food items collected.

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Allen Bishop, right side, spoke to the club No-vember 1 regarding the new partnership be-tween UAB Health System and Bryan Whit-field Memorial Hospital in Demopolis. The partnership follows 2016 legislation that “created” university health authorities." A main goal of this legislation was to find ways to help rural hospitals. This is the first such use of that legislation in the state to ex-plore ways the two hospitals can help each other. Bishop said the new UAB sign will go up in the next 60 to 90 days. Two new board members for the Demopolis hospital are from UAB. Bishop is vice chairman of the board. Rob Fleming, a Rotarian shown on the left side.

Pictured above is Clare Weil and Larry Carter de-livering to the 3rd grade students at Wares Ferry Elementary on Oct. 27th.

Sam Adams and Wes Littlefield delivering to the 3rd grade stu-dents at Dannelly Elementary on Oct. 27th.

Heroes of Literacy Fundraiser Program

Congratulations to our 2017 Champion of Literacy from our community cate-gory, Mr. Todd Kirk! Thank you, Todd, for all you did during our con-test to raise money and awareness for literacy and education in the Mont-gomery community!

27th Annual International Night

We had another very successful Rotary International Night on Thursday, Septem-ber 28th! We had a great crowd with al-most 200 in attendance. As part of the event, we offered staged souvenir photos to attendees. These are now available through the Montgomery Rotary Club Fa-cebook page, be sure to check it

MONTGOMERY CONTINUED

The International officer’s wives

had a great time taking pics all

evening.

Montgomery Rotary Club Past Presi-dent Will Sellers presented a check to Col Scott Rizer for $500 from The Montgomery Rotary Foundation to the International Family Orientation Pro-gram, an initiative that helps foreign military families acclimate to the river region during their stay at Air Universi-ty.

Our Rotary speaker on October 2 was our District Governor Bill Trant, who oversees 52 Rotary Clubs in Rotary District 6880, which covers clubs in the southern half of the state, including our own club. Bill is a native of Opp and currently lives in Opelika. He is a past-president of the Opelika Rotary Club and is a Paul Harris Fellow. As Bill heard about our Heroes of Liter-acy fundraiser program, our Dictionary Project and the success of our annual Inter-national Night, he reminded our club that we have to tell our story. He says young people who are considering whether to join a civic club are wanting to do projects. He says the more we tell our story, the more we can attract new members, rather than having to recruit them. His philosophy involves appreciation, recognition and encouragement, which he says will build a healthy club. He says commitment is key -- we need to prove that if we say we'll do something, then we do it. One example of doing something is the ongoing Rotary effort to wipe out polio worldwide. Bill says we are 99% there, with the chance of having no new polio cases as early as next year. That would make history because polio would become the second disease, after smallpox, to be eradicated from the Earth. To help reach that goal, he says a $50 contribution to Polio Plus will be asked of every Rotarian this year. Bill recognized the giving spirit of clubs in District 6880. He says last year, $300,000 was given to the Rotary Foundation. It was the first time ever that every club gave to the foundation.

Congratulations to the 2017 Champion of Literacy from the club category, Montgomery Rotary's very own Taylor Wil-liams! With 2,164 points, Taylor helped raise much-needed funds and awareness for literacy in the region.

This was definitely a group effort and we would like to thank all of our heroes who participated and helped raise over $5000 for our dictionary project.

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(L-R) Graham Champion, John Cooper, Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation and Presi-dent Brown. .John Cooper discussed the challenges of road projects and how it can be handled at the state and federal level.

(L-R) Hal Bloom, Richard Cater, and President Brown. Richard Cater received a PHF+1.

Elba Rotary Club participated in “Pumpkins on the Square” in downtown Elba on October 31. Rotarian and Elba City Council Member Jane Brunson is shown with one of hundreds of “Trick or Treaters” who came by. The event is sponsored by the Elba Chamber of Commerce, headed by current Elba Ro-tary President Sandy Bynum (not pic-tured).

Traveling with Trant

Central Baldwin Sun-

set with Jeremy King

Tree Planting with the Mont-

gomery Rotary Clubs and Gov-

ernor Kay Ivey

Club October attendance

Members 6/30/201

7 Members Current YTD-Chg

Chg From Last Mo.

Meetings Held

Average Attend%

ATT %

Rank Andalusia 62 61 -1 0 4 50.00 36

Atmore 38 38 0 0 5 42.63 42

Auburn 114 116 2 -1 4 62.93 22

Bay Minette 31 29 -2 -1 4 68.97 19

Brewton 66 66 0 1 4 49.00 39

Brundidge 24 23 -1 -1 4 86.00 2

Central Baldwin Sunset 28 28 0 0 4 84.40 5

Chilton County 9 8 -1 -1 4 62.50 23

Daphne/Spanish Fort 18 19 1 0 5 81.00 6

Demopolis 42 42 0 0 4 94.58 1

Dothan 160 148 -12 0 4 72.80 12

Dothan Tuesday Rotary 130 131 1 1 4 56.06 31

Elba 19 18 -1 -1 0 59.12 28

Enterprise 61 62 1 4 5 80.51 7

Eufaula 0 20 20 20 4 60.42 26

Evergreen 17 16 -1 0 4 79.70 8

Fairhope 85 79 -6 -3 4 73.38 11

Fairhope Sunset 55 62 7 3 4 38.26 44

Foley 65 65 0 -1 4 61.98 24

Geneva 28 28 0 1 4 84.83 4

Greene County 0 0 () 0 n/a 0 0.00 51

Greenville 31 0 (Jul) 0 n/a 0 0.00 47

Gulf Shores-Orange Beach 16 16 0 0 4 72.00 15

Huntingdon College 0 0 () 0 n/a 0 0.00 52

Jackson 26 27 1 0 4 66.30 21

Lee County Sunrise 31 30 -1 -1 5 61.66 25

Linden 6 6 0 6 3 0.00 48

Luverne 29 28 -1 0 4 85.00 3

Mobile 282 281 -1 1 4 36.54 45

Mobile Sunset 61 59 -2 -2 0 1.00 46

Mobile West 36 37 1 0 5 60.00 27

Mobile-Sunrise 65 62 -3 0 4 54.51 32

Monroeville 15 15 0 0 4 72.00 14

Montgomery 111 111 0 -1 4 57.10 30

Montgomery Capital 44 43 -1 0 4 51.74 33

Montgomery Sunrise 40 43 3 0 4 72.09 13

Montgomery Sunset 18 22 4 1 5 51.58 35

North Mobile 7 10 3 0 2 50.00 38

Opelika 84 87 3 0 5 48.38 40

Opp 27 28 1 0 4 59.08 29

Ozark 0 59 59 59 5 48.00 41

Phenix City 35 36 1 0 4 71.53 16

Point Clear 110 103 -7

2 4 50.00 37

Prattville 32 32 (Sep) 0 n/a

0 0.00 49

Prattville-Millbrook Sunrise

30 33 3 3 5 51.66 34

Robertsdale 38 37 -1 0 5 70.06 17

Selma 40 40 0 0 5 69.79 18

Tallassee 21 19 -2 -1

4 41.00 43

Troy 84 0

(Aug) 4 n/a 0 0.00 50

Tuskegee 13 13 0 0 4 78.84 10

Wetumpka 25 27 2 3 5 67.00 20

York-Livingston 0 7 7

-2

2 79.00 9

Totals, Net Gain, Avg Attendance: 47 of 52 clubs re-porting

2409 2370 80 57 3.98 61.17%