The Joint Meeting of the Charlotte Area Rotary Clubs convened at the Adam’s Mark Hotel on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1999 – Rotary’s 94^th birthday.
     Matt Kern of the Charlotte Area Rotary Council welcomed the ballroom full or Rotarians, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Sarah Morgan, a fifth grader and president of the student body at Cornelius Elementary School.
     After the utterance of the Four Way Test, Matt Kern introduced a number of special guests, including all the area Rotary Club presidents at the head table, Mayor Pat McCrory, Schools Superintendent Eric Smith, and Rotary District Governor Dr. "Frosty" Rich.
     Charlotte Rotary’s own Ken Harris, former chair of the N.C. Board of Education, introduced the speaker, his long-time friend and colleague, Phil Kirk. A native of Rowan County, Phil is in his second term as chairman of the N.C. Board of Education. He is also known for his dual paid jobs – president of the N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry and publisher of North Carolina magazine.
     Ken described Phil as a man who is at the center of almost every major debate in North Carolina, a diehard Republican who splits his ticket almost every election and an unusually straightforward speaker.
     Phil opened by acknowledging that speaking about literacy to Rotarians is like preaching to the choir. Still, he went on to underscore the social and financial costs that come with illiteracy, including:

• Nearly 40% of juvenile delinquents have treatable educational difficulties that are too often overlooked.
• Higher illiteracy rates – along with increased prison population -- are resulting in fewer productive workers to contribute to the Social Security Trust Fund.
• Worldwide, 1 million people are predicted to be illiterate at turn of century. In developing countries, 40% of students do not get beyond elementary school.
• In North Carolina, 1.5 million adults have completed fewer than 12 grades and 500,000 have completed fewer than nine grades.
• Forty million Americans cannot read a newspaper – leading to lower employment and voter participation.
• Society’s growing dependence on technology will compound the problem. Only 15% of jobs at turn of century will go to the unskilled.

     Phil applauded businesses’ involvement in training and the strong N.C. community college system, but noted that the state seems to be caught in a cycle of training and retraining its workers to keep pace with the labor market’s demands.
     He suggested these solutions to address the problem:

• Strong support for the state board and local boards of education, the courage to support tougher standards and continued investment in early childhood programs such as Smart Start and Eric Smith’s local school readiness program for four-year olds.

• Raising the bar to help all children at all levels.

• Efforts to convince the public of the need for change, renewed support for a strong work ethic and, last, a broader understanding of the major financial impact on each individual who goes under-educated.

     Education must begin at home and carry through to the school system, Phil said, but "business as usual is no longer acceptable for our schools." We cannot graduate students who cannot read. Government, must continue to support training though effective use of tax incentives.
     Phil encouraged continuation of community partnerships on local level. He said that business is working on illiteracy; more than 10,000 N.C. adults received literacy training at work last year. North Carolina is one of the states that is most focused on illiteracy and Rotary is a key component, he said.
     Phil urged that Rotarians continue to focus on all aspects of basic education. He commended Rotarians’ efforts and cited the achievements of several local clubs, including Charlotte Rootary’s active partnership with Central Piedmont Community College.
     In closing, Phil thanked Rotarians for what they have done, are doing and will continue to do to increase literacy rates in North Carolina. Click here for full text of Mr. Kirk' speech.
     Phil’s speech was followed by a specially produced video, sponsored by the Rotary Club of South Charlotte. Local personality Chris Williams hosted the overview of local Rotary efforts, featuring Charlotte Rotary’s Ken Harris and Corinne Allen.
     Bobbie Misenheimer, literacy coordinator at Cornelius Elementary School, closed the meeting with thanks for the efforts of all Rotarians in battling illiteracy and the meeting was adjourned.

*    *   *

REMINDER

The District Rotary Conference will be held April 23-25 at the Radisson Hotel in Asheville. Call Linda Crooman and 597-5811 for details.

*    *   *

FUTURE CONVENTIONS OF R.I.

Singapore, Singapore, 13 - 16 June 1999.
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 4 - 7 June 2000.
San Antonio, Texas, 2001 (dates to be announced).

*    *   *