Four Points Sheraton was packed to the seams for our meeting when President Worth welcomed us to Charlotte Rotary at 12:34 p.m. Worth introduced the head table: Bill Furr, Jim Kothe, Hope Lanier, Jamie Armstrong, Bob Culbertson, Marilynn Bowler and our speaker U.S. Congressman Robin Hayes. David Anderson welcomed our visiting Rotarians and guests, including Mayor Pat McCrory, NC Representative Connie Wilson, Burt Green of Habitat For Humanity in Charlotte and the Interact Officers from Myers Park High School.
     Worth paid tribute to Edgar Love and his program committee for the spectacular roster of speakers provided to us this year. Pete Larson surprised Ronnie Pruett by reminding us that recently Ronnie was named "Waltz King" because of his performance at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna. Pete came up with a cap from the Embassy in Bangkok and a watch as an expression of gratitude for the excellent job Ronnie has done on our Charlotte Rotary website.
     Tom Robertson thanked us for assisting the Salvation Army during the holiday season by taking turns ringing the bells on the uptown corner of Trade St. & Tryon. We actually had 52 members sign up to ring the bells which was a 75% increase in participation over previous years. Tom then introduced Burt Green who told us about the Habitat house our club will be building in partnership with five other area Rotary clubs beginning February 17^th. The house will be built at 2109 Rozzelles Ferry Road near Johnson C. Smith University. Rotarians Jim Calder from Rotary East and Joe Morris from Dilworth Rotary will head up the venture. The owner is a single mother of two children: a fourteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son. There will be sign-up sheets for volunteers at our Annual Meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, January 18^th at SMS CATERING (aka: "Freeman’s Joint" in Worth’s words) beginning at 6:00 p.m. There will be no Charlotte Rotary luncheon meeting at Four Points Sheraton on January 18^th. The gathering at SMS Catering located at 1764 Norland Road, off Central Avenue in Charlotte, will take the place of our regular weekly meeting.
     Jim Adams reminded us that Charlotte Rotary’s Millennium Celebration will be held at Myers Park Country Club on Saturday, January 22^nd from 6:00-10:00 p.m. There will be a reception, dinner and fine wine, a comic ventriloquist to entertain us and a live band for dancing. Cost is a mere $60/couple; billing is through Rotary account. Reservations by fax to the Rotary office: 704/375-9427 by January 19th.
     Howard Chadwick gave our Health & Happiness Report noting that Jeff Jeffries would very much appreciate cards and notes while he is ill. Howard expressed our condolences to Jim Haney who recently lost his mother. Howard then went on to tell a story of a couple whose son was about to be bar mitzvahed. It was a wonderful story, well-told, and we all enjoyed a laugh at Howard’s witty delivery.
     Our president announced that each Spring a Distinguished Rotarian is named and Jim Appleby is accepting nominations from our membership. We then had the pleasure of welcoming two new Rotarians into our club. Dr. Tim Saunders introduced us to his partner Dr. Brian Gibson, also of Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat. Brian will initially serve on the Fellowship and Senior Citizens committees. Our second new member is Fred Parker, the co-founder and Executive Vice President of Bluegrass Promotional Marketing in Charlotte who was introduced by Marilynn Bowler. Fred’s father Jerry Parker was on hand; he is a 40-year Rotarian from Bowling Green, Ky. Jerry announced that he had presented our club with a $1,000 check in Fred’s name so that our newest member also instantly became a Paul Harris Fellow. (Note: Jerry is National Advisor to the Rotary Foundation Permanent Fund from Zones 29-30 and a Past Rotary District Governor of the Western Half of Kentucky. He is a 2-diamond, major donor working on his 3^rd level Paul Harris. We were honored to have him fly to Charlotte for his son’s induction into Charlotte Rotary today.)
     Chuck Lineberry led us in "God Bless America" with Thomas Moore providing the beautiful piano accompaniment. Jamie Armstrong offered the invocation and Worth led us in the Pledge of Allegiance before Hope Lanier introduced our speaker.
     U.S. Congressman Robin Hayes graciously acknowledged many of his acquaintances, friends and supporters in the audience and expressed his delight at the 300+ membership in attendance. In particular, he welcomed NC Representative Connie Wilson who, he said, has done the sort of job in the NC House of Representatives that makes us proud . "America is the place we call ‘home," said Robin. "The rest of the world calls it ‘America.’ We call it ‘HOME’." He considers it a pleasure and a privilege to serve and he loves his job, the Congressman said. He commented that Washington is a marketplace and battleground of philosophies not people. It is people who count and it is people who comprise our government. He urged us to be more involved … "we need to take our government back," he said.  Robin frequently referred to the Republican party and how it has benefited our citizens as a result of the leadership of conservative business people in Congress. He discussed issues ranging from stopping the raid on social security, to rebuilding our defense, to caring about public education, to paying too many taxes for too few results, to concerns about problems concerning the many illegal aliens that enter our country daily, and the budget surplus distribution. On a much more positive note, Robin listed many good things that are happening in which he’s involved. Keeping in mind his philosophy that people are the most important product of NC, Robin went to Congress as the majority whip and immediately met with all freshmen congressmen to become familiar with each and get to know the new ideas each one could bring to the table. He regularly challenges them to come up with better ideas. Robin and his wife Barbara attended a White House holiday gala and he was introduced by another Congressman as "the conscience of votes on the floor" --- a true compliment. He continues to keep in touch by entertaining lobbyists at his home for dinner and maintaining the open door exchange of ideas. He reminds others about keeping high standards such as facing tough fights over spending by heeding the edict to not spend more than we take in.
     Following the conclusion of his formal remarks, Congressman Hayes took questions from the floor, i.e.: "If you were king, what one piece of legislation would you enact?" Answer: If you live in America, you cannot be apathetic. What each person thinks, does matter. The opposite of politics is riots and let’s not forget it.  As a result, Robin spends as much time as possible traveling the 8^th District, getting to know both his constituents and their real concerns. He closed with some very complimentary words on U.S. Representative Sue Myrick. Other questions concerned use of surplus, health-care issues, health insurance, and length of terms of office. His message was met with a standing ovation and many members stayed behind to speak personally with our Congressman. The meeting ended at 1:31 p.m.

*    *   *

New Member

JOHN  ALEXANDER  MAGEE

Joined 1996
Rejoined 1999

Norelli & Company
Bank of America Corporate Center
100 N. Tryon St., Ste. 5160 (28202)
376-5484
FAX 376-5485

     Welcome to Charlotte Rotary, John.

*    *   *

Click here for photos of this Meeting