Meeting |
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Report |
Meeting |
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Report |
July 17, 2001 |
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| The July 17 meeting of the Rotary Club of Charlotte was
called to order by President Jim Woodward. John Barnhardt introduced guests and
visiting Rotarians. Tom Burgess presented the health and happiness report. He
recognized two Rotarians celebrating wedding anniversaries, Don Haack and Paul
Smith. Tom reported that the health of the Club is good. However, Al McCulloch
recently resigned due to health reasons. President Jim led the Pledge of Allegiance. Thomas Moore led everyone in the song 'Wading in the Water." Jamie Armstrong gave the invocation. President Jim introduced assistant district governor Butch Martin from the Matthews/Mint Hill Club and Jackie McGuire from the Rotary Foundation to make a special presentation. Don Haack and his wife Jan were recognized for their outstanding commitment to Rotary and making a major bequest to the Rotary Foundation permanent fund. Butch said Don and Jan recognized the importance of world peace by making a bequest to help the poor and needy around the world. Don and Jan received a crystal award with their names engraved, and Don received a diamond circle Rotary pin. A surprised Don said that there are currently eighteen Paul Harris members that have not been recognized, and he had hoped to be able to recognize them at this meeting but that was not possible. He expressed his gratitude for the award and encouraged everyone to support the Rotary Foundation and its world health initiatives. President Jim introduced the head table: Cynthia Carlson, Lou Solomon, Jamie Armstrong, Danny Fontana, Glenn Clinefelter, and Marilynn Bowler who introduced Ray Ardizzone, the speaker. Ray is a unique individual, a business giant and archaeologist. As archaeologist he has spent the last several years in search of the real Mt. Sinai in Saudi Arabia, the Ark of the Covenant in Axum, Ethiopia, and Noah's Ark in Iran. He's a man in search of evidence confirming the Bible as history. In business he is vice chairman of Glenayre Technologies, Inc., a developer and world-wide supplier of telecommunications equipment and related software used by persona] communications service providers. Ray also serves as chairman of BASE (Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration) Institute, a non-profit independent Christian organization that engages in biblical archaeology research, exploration and public education. He lives in Charlotte with his wife, Carole, who is both an educator and guest lecturer on child development and learning styles from a biblical perspective. Ray joked that many people were surprised to meet a real "Indiana Jones." He told of his first trip to Saudi Arabia in 1992 with Larry Williams and Bob Cornuke in search of the real Mt. Sinai. Based on documented photographs, artifacts and other evidence from this trip and other trips to Saudi Arabia, many scholars now conclude that Mt. Jabal al Lawz in Saudi Arabia is the true Mt. Sinai, the "Holy Mountain" where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Ray indicated that when new biblical maps are published that they will show that Mt. Sinai is in Saudi Arabia. In 1998 Ray helped establish the BASE Institute. Since then a video has been developed that tells about the expedition into Saudi Arabia and the trip to the real Mt. Sinai titled "The Search for the Real Mt. Sinai." Ray has also been on explorations to Ethiopia and Iran in search of the Ark of the Covenant and Noah's Ark. The trips also included dives into the Red Sea in search of where the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea in their Exodus from Egypt. On these dives they identified a land bridge seven miles long, about three feet below sea level, now covered by coral, that could have been used by the Hebrews in crossing the Red Sea from Egypt into Saudi Arabia. On the exploration into Ethiopia, their search for the Ark of the Covenant led them to a small town in Ethiopia called Axum. There they discovered a temple similar to a small replica of Solomon's Temple. A Christian monk, "The Guardian of the Ark of the Covenant," guarded this temple. The monk said his responsibility was to keep the Ark clean and protect it with his life. They discovered the monk lived his entire life inside a fenced-off area of the temple. He could not leave the fenced-off area around the temple until he died and was replaced by the next Guardian of the Ark. The monk described the Ark as a gold box with two winged angels on top. The monk said that when Jesus returns, the Ark would be taken to the Temple Mount where Jesus will reign. Ray also relayed the story of how on a trip to Ethiopia, he and five others on the exploration team became stranded on a boat at sea. They hit rocks during a storm while crossing a sea that destroyed the boat's propeller. In desperation and fear for their lives, they began to pray that God would help them. Soon their prayer was answered and a row boat with several men came by and rescued them. Said Ray, this was a true miracle of answered prayer. Ray named two books regarding their explorations and findings: "In Search of The Mountain of God" and "In Search of the Lost Mountain of Noah," due out September 1. He also mentioned two videos: "The Search for the Real Mt. Sinai" and "The Mystery of the Ark of the Covenant." * * * |
New Member
2001 Consulting, Financial Services Industry High Point Consulting, Inc. Paul Harris Fellow Dee Milligan is a senior principal with Highpoint Consulting, Inc., where she is responsible for designing products, services, and marketing strategies that directly respond to the strategic direction of her financial services industry clients and for the development of corresponding marketing packages, communications, and promotional programs for distribution organizations and consumers. Prior to founding Highpoint Consulting, Dee was responsible for corporate-wide marketing of insurance products at First Union. She has also held senior management positions with SunAmerica, Inc., in Los Angeles and Kemper Corporation in Chicago. Her tenure in the financial services industry includes the position of president, CEO, and director of two full-service broker-dealers and one asset management company. Dee is currently obtaining her CFP, CLU and ChFC designations. She studied for her degree in Business Administration at St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a board member and treasurer of The National Neurofibromatosis Foundation, Inc., and has held the position of chairperson for the foundation's finance, investment, and audit committees. Dee has participated in Reading First, is a charter member of the Executive Women's Golf Association, and is a member of the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte. Dee and her spouse, Eric Miller, reside in Dilworth and are members of Covenant Presbyterian Church. They have two children: lan, age 19, and Ryan, age 14. They all love to travel and golf. Eric is a partner with CAST Management Consultants, Inc., a strategic management, organizational effectiveness, and information technology consulting firm. Welcome to Charlotte Rotary, Dee. * * * |
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