Meeting |
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Report |
Meeting |
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Report |
April 17, 2001 |
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| President Don opened this week's meeting with his
usual good humor and multilingual greeting. Pete DeWitt, accompanied by Thomas Moore,
introduced a number of visiting Rotarians and guests. There was no Health and Happiness Report. President Don said that Jerry Orr, who was scheduled to be the presenter, was being held at another airport. Must be a bad case of jealousy. Richard Early led us in the singing of "America the Beautiful." Harley Dickson followed with the invocation. President Don announced that this would be Finish Painting Weekend at our Habitat for Humanity house and volunteers were needed. The following weekend will be for final clean-up. Congratulations and thanks to Tom Robertson and all Rotarians who worked on the house. We were encouraged by President Don to concentrate on new member recruitment as the Club is very close to reaching the over-300 membership goal that we wanted to achieve before the next Rotary International meeting. The head table for today's meeting included Jan Thompson, Charlie Williams, Harley Dickson, Andy Zoutewelle, Peggy Wesp and Luther Moore who introduced our speaker. Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue. The Lieutenant Governor is the first female to serve our state in that capacity. She is from New Bern and previously served as a member of the State House of Representatives for four years and the State Senate for ten years. Lieutenant Governor Perdue has a Ph.D. in Gerontology and is a twelve-year member of the New Bern Rotary Club. Lieutenant Governor Perdue was very complimentary of the positive growth that has occurred in Charlotte. She recognized the impact that strong leadership has had on the growth in new businesses, the increase in jobs, strengthening in the arts and providing for professional sports. The Charlotte area is doing quite well economically compared to a large portion of the rest of North Carolina. She stated that much of what is happening here as it relates to living in the information age will have to happen across the state if we are to truly have "One North Carolina." We were challenged by the Lieutenant Governor to help the children make more educational progress. She stated that we were closing the gap by making more progress than any other state in reading and being fourth in math. She recognized that North Carolina needs to do more in the area of technology spending in our schools as our average expenditure per student is substantially below the national average. Lieutenant Governor Perdue stated that she knew the Charlotte area pays more in taxes than is returned to the area. She recognized the local financial contribution made to our School and Transportation System but encouraged us to consider our impact on making "One North Carolina." She also recognized that state government must provide Charlotte the flexibility it needs in transportation and smart growth initiatives to allow our growth to continue in a positive manner. In response to a number of questions, Lieutenant Governor Perdue answered: • Improving status of teachers—We lose a large number of teachers because of a lack of adequate pay for this very important position. Teachers need to be treated like the professionals they are and he provided with the resources they need to do their jobs. • Charlotte area image in the legislature—Bringing legislators to the area was a good idea. We all need to do what can be done so rivalry does not become a problem. • Population growth and impact on representation—She anticipates that a new congressional district will be in the Greensboro area. • Budget—The shortfall is the result of losing three major law suits, increased spending for schools, a previous tax cut, impacts of Hurricane Floyd and a slowing of the economy. She believes the legislature will wait until after April 30 to see if or how much of a cut will be required. • Immigration—There are a lot of impacts on schools and other institutions with a number of changes required to properly accommodate the increase in the immigrant population. • Tobacco settlement—Of the $3 billion dollars to be received, she sees approximately one-half going to the areas that raise tobacco and to other rural improvement projects. The other one-half will be used for healthcare improvements in North Carolina. President Don thanked Lieutenant Governor Perdue for an outstanding presentation and adjourned the meeting. * * * |
New Member
2001 Management Recruiting, General Coleman, Lew & Associates, Inc. Chuck Lew is co-founder and
managing principal of Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., a retained executive search
firm. The company, founded in 1979, initially served clients within the supermarket,
wholesale grocery, foodservice, and convenience store industries. Over the past 22 years,
Chuck has expanded the firm's national client base into a wide variety of industries, and
the company has evolved into a generalist search firm. Coleman Lew & Associates has
successfully conducted searches for senior executives in banking, financial services,
manufacturing, public utilities, construction, law, accounting, internet, technology,
academia, and non-profits. The firm currently includes five consultants, five research
associates, an industrial psychologist, and two administrative personnel. * * * POWELL'S
Don Steger, who wears many hats, showed yet another with a well-stated column in the Sunday Observer on the aims and visions of the public library. Don is a member of the Library Board of Trustees. Jeannie Falknor's predecessors started the Business Journal in 1986 and they are celebrating their fifteenth birthday this year. Hugh McColl and John Belk, honorary members of Charlotte Rotary, were two of the fifteen leaders who have shaped the past fifteen years according to the Business Journal. Randall Groves will have a limited solo practice following the dissolution of the firm Groves, Dunkin & Boggs. * * * |
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rights reserved.
Revised: January 24, 2008.
