Meeting

Report

 
Catawba Lands Conservancy
Preserving the Nature of our Community
by Suzanne Bledsoe
 
Budd Berro introduced Davis J. (“Dave”) Cable, Executive Director of the Catawba Lands Conservancy. Dave is an Ohio native and graduated from Bowdoin College and received his Masters in natural resource planning from the University of Vermont. He began his career as a real estate appraiser and consultant and in 1998 moved to Charlotte to join Wachovia Bank in their capital markets group. He left the bank last year to join the Catawba Lands Conservancy, seeking an opportunity to fulfill his personal passion to give back to the community, preserve natural resources and work in a small, entrepreneurial business environment. He says the best part of his job is that he gets to “hang out with some really cool people."
 
The Catawba Lands Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust that works with private landowners to protect natural habitats, water quality and open space. As of the end of 2004, nearly 6,000 acres of property is protected by the trust in Mecklenburg, Union, Lincoln, Gaston, Catawba, and Iredell counties. The mission of the Conservancy is clear: to preserve land and in so doing, protect the environment and its natural resources. Unlike other environmental organizations, however, the need for balance between economic growth and development and conservation is embraced. The Catawba Lands Conservancy has partnered with many of the area’s large corporations, several of whom are developers, to finance and seek solutions that positively impact economic development as well as environmental conservation. They have also partnered with other local organizations and entities such as Charlotte Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation departments and the Foundation for the Carolinas.
 
The Conservancy currently has nearly 1,400 members and over 300 volunteers and is actively seeking more of each. Dave pointed out that they are a very efficient organization, leveraging each membership dollar into $21 to protect land in our area, thereby enhancing our quality of life. Dave stressed that there is indeed a sense of urgency for land protection, given the high rate of development in our area (approximately 41 acres a day!). This knowledge, combined with a growing understanding and recognition that land is not a renewable resource will hopefully provide the impetus for greater involvement and support in the communities covered by the Conservancy’s land trust.
 
Dave urged us all to do our part and become members today of this well managed, highly regarded, worthwhile organization.
 
Head Table:
Chuck Panoff, Bob Freeman, Catherine Browning, Budd Berro, Robert Freeman, John Galles; Invocation: Sadler Barnhardt
    
Visitors and Guests:
Bill Bradley; Health & Happiness: Frank Watson; Song: Richard Early

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MARK THE DATE FEBRUARY 23, 2005 GALA – CHARLOTTE COUNTRY CLUB: Everyone should have received an invitation to the February 23rd Gala at Charlotte Country Club. The dinner replaces the Tuesday Rotary meeting. Please RSVP to Sandy through email (chltrot@bellsouth.net), telephone 704-375-6816, or US Mail 841 Baxter St, Ste 118 (28202). The cost is $50/Couple and checks should be received in the Rotary office BEFORE February 16th.

ATTENDANCE AND MAKE-UP OPPORTUNITIES

Attendance results for the first six months of the Rotary year have been published. If you see an error, or have a question about your attendance, please notify the Rotary Office. Confusion at the check-in table and computer or human error may have contributed to the miscalculation of your attendance percentage. Remember to turn in make-up slips or provide some sort of notification of make-up attempts. Mental telepathy does not always work.   Don’t forget the on-line E-Club process. Go to www.charlotterotary.org, scroll down to the next to the last option on the scroll bar and click on Online Make-ups. You will be linked to the E-Club site where you have the opportunity to read a story relating to Rotary. Click on “programs”, select your story, and then ask for a make-up slip. The form can be saved and emailed to the Rotary Office, faxed, or brought to the next meeting.   From the ABC’s of Rotary: Which Rotarians have to travel farthest for a make-up meeting? You are right if you guessed the 34 members of the Rotary club of Papeete, Tahiti, which is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is the club that is most remote from any other. The southernmost Rotary meeting is that of the Rotary Club of Base Marambio-Antartida in Antarctica. To visit the northernmost club, you must travel to the Rotary Club of Svalbard on the Svalbard island group far north of the Norwegian mainland.

RESTATED CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS: Several members have asked why “Senior Active Non-Mandatory” is no longer shown in the Constitution and Bylaws. In 2001, Rotary International’s Council on Legislation reduced the types of memberships in clubs to Active and Honorary. Members in Charlotte Rotary who qualify for the non-mandatory status are now referred to as Active-Exempt, which means they are excluded from attendance requirements, pay quarterly dues and Rotary Foundation pledges (if applicable), and are only billed for meals attended. When your age and years in Rotary total 85, you are eligible for Active-Exempt membership. However, your attendance is no longer counted toward the Club’s overall monthly attendance percentage.

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