Meeting |
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Report |
Meeting |
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Report |
January 15, 2002 |
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| The January 15, 2002, meeting of The Rotary Club of
Charlotte was called to order by President Jim. Katie Tyler introduced guests and
visiting Rotarians. Tom Burgess presented the Health and Happiness report, noting
that it is good to have Jay Deyton back with us after a recent illness. Tom then
regaled the crowd with a series of quotations that would have made Yogi Berra envious. President Jim led the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the singing of "We Shall Overcome," led by David Erdman, in honor of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. John Lassiter gave the invocation, followed by Tom Robertson's report that the Salvation Army bell ringing had gone very well and that he hoped to have a final report soon on the money raised. Tom also reported that we will be starting on the third annual Charlotte Joint Rotary Habitat House on February 21, 22, and 23. A sign-up schedule will be available at the meetings. Tom noted that this year the volunteer work will be scheduled for Fridays as well as Saturdays to better accommodate workers' schedules. President Jim introduced the head table, which comprised Cynthia Marshall, John Lassiter, John Tabor, Steve Byrum, Jamie McLawhorn, and Marilynn Bowler, who introduced the Honorable R. Lee Myers, Mayor of Matthews, as the speaker. Mayor Myers is the son of the late Charles T. Myers, a longtime Mecklenburg County Commissioner. Mayor Myers is a graduate of East Carolina University and Oklahoma City University Law School. He is an attorney, a private pilot, a member of a number of community boards, chair of the Mecklenburg-Union Planning Commission, and is in his sixth term as mayor of Matthews. Mayor Myers' topic was "Have you hugged your elected official lately?" He started by attributing the success that the town of Matthews has had, as well as the success of the whole region, to the cooperation between elected officials, the staff, and the citizens of the various entities. He asked the crowd to consider the tremendous importance to the citizenry of the people they put in public office: they can make what you do today illegal tomorrow, they can make your property values go up or down with their zoning decisions, they can reach into your pocket and take your money through taxes, and they can take many other actions that affect the daily lives of the citizens. He read a simulated job description for a help wanted ad for an elected official, which included the following requirements: • Be smart and well-educated;Mayor Myers told a story about an elected official who thoughtfully approached the future of a landfill project, scoured the country for various models, and proposed to give the community something useful by building a public golf course on the land when the landfill was full and closed. That public official was excoriated in his hometown press and in unflattering political cartoons. His seventeen-year-old son watched all this abuse being piled on his father and vowed never to get involved in public service. Mayor Myers then revealed that the golf course was completed and now sees 50,000 rounds of golf per year played on it, that it was posthumously named for the courageous public servant who had championed its construction, one Charles T. Myers, and that the seventeen-year-old son is now the mayor of Matthews, North Carolina. Mayor Myers related that elected officials, teachers, and public safely workers and other county and municipal staff are mostly dedicated public servants who work hard and do a good job. He then asked the crowd to think about when was the last time we had thanked one of them for the work that they do. He expressed how important it was for elected officials to have vision and courage to pursue that vision. His father never lived to play a single round of golf on "his" golf course, but three years ago, local leaders with vision pressed for and passed a referendum imposing a local transportation tax. We are now seeing the results of that tax being implemented. In response to audience questions, Mayor Myers stated that: • Cooperation between governmental bodies in the area is very good and may be better than it ever has been. • Functional consolidation among governmental entities in the area has gone about as far as it can. • He disagrees with political consolidation because "the best public official is one who cannot get out of arm's length of his constituents." • The best way to get rid of long-term incumbents is to "vote them out of office—the people can do that." • The planning commission is a dinosaur. • The biggest need for vision among current public servants is in the area of transportation. The meeting was adjourned at 1:25 p.m. * * * |
Service Salute
50 Years of Perfect Attendance Former Club President K. Martin Waters, Jr. was honored Tuesday, January 8, for 50 years of perfect attendance. President Jim presented him a plaque in recognition of the achievement and the Club gave him a standing ovation. A Charlotte native, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Davidson College. Martin served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He is president of Waters Incorporated, a business primarily involved in real estate and insurance. Martin was president of the Club in 19H5-86 and has always been active in all phases of Rotary. He is also active in community and church life and serves as an elder at Myers Park Presbyterian Church. Martin and his wife Dot have two children, Marty and Robin; both are associated in business with their father. In a biographical sketch given to the Club several years ago, he listed his hobbies as "work, golf, swimming and doing nothing." Sounds like him, doesn't it? * * * DID YOU KNOW?What happens when you file a NEW MEMBER PROPOSAL (Do not FAX. Signatures on original blue form necessary):
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Revised: January 24, 2008.
