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CLUB
ASSEMBLY
By: Henry Bostic
From the steel drum music by Donald Baptiste of Steel
Vibrations to the southern screech and barred owls on display from
the Raptor Center by member and Carolina Raptor Center’s Executive
Director Alan Barnhardt, the kickoff to Catherine Browning’s year as
president of Charlotte Rotary was different, but entertaining.
Rather than the traditional recitation of plans for the year by
avenue and committee chairs, there was as update on the Rotary
Centennial project by Richard Bailey and the brief look at the
club’s history – How We Got Where We Are At – by Martin Waters and
Powell Majors was a refreshing change. The food, especially the
barbecue, and the atmosphere at Bob and Robert Freeman’s SMS
Catering facility were as usual outstanding.
Fittingly, President Catherine – only the second woman among the 88
presidents of the club – will serve during the year that Rotary
International celebrates its 100th birthday on February 23, 2005.
(Mark your calendars. We will celebrate with a big birthday bash
that evening at the Charlotte Country Club.)
Charlotte Rotary’s celebration of the Centennial is an oral history
of World War II made up of 120 interviews with men and women who
served in the armed forces and at home during the war. The
interviews will be made into two documentaries that will be
broadcast on WTVI (the co-sponsor of the project), as well as made
available to other television stations.
The interviews, conducted by UNCC History Professor Dan Morrill,
will be catalogued and digitized, along with pictures of memorabilia
and related information. It will be housed at UNCC, the Charlotte
Museum of History, the library, other local colleges and at the US
Military Archives in Pennsylvania. It will also be available, to
posterity, through a website that will be developed so scholars can
access the information from around the world. Those interviewed,
said Bailey, include a crew member from the submarine who rescued
former President George H. W. Bush from the Pacific after his
fighter was shot down. Also interviewed were two Navy veterans – one
paralyzed and one with a severe abdominal wound – who was left when
the crew abandoned their ship after it was irreparably damaged. The
two drug themselves up three decks during a three-and-a half-hour
period and were rescued.
Member John Galles has featured the project in his Charlotte Biz
magazine and Rotary International, which has been asked to help
support the project financially, may run a story in the Rotary
magazine, Bailey said. The production will premiere later in the
year.
Martin Waters recalled stories from the club’s early history.
Charlotte Rotary was born in October 1916 during the First World
War. Early on, the club participated in a Charlotte Chamber of
Commerce project to promote the city. The Chamber asked citizens to
send out 15,000 post cards touting the city. Even the Charlotte
Observer participated, said Martin, with some disbelief.
“Charlotte’s been blowing smoke about itself for a long time and
it’s still doing it!” Martin said.
Three of the 47 founders are still represented with family in the
club’s membership: T. G. Lane by son Tom, Jr, Gus Pound by son
Ralston, and C. A. Williams, Sr., by grandson Charlie III.
Early board discussions, Martin said, were about attendance, fines,
membership and new members. In 1917, minutes recorded action that
fined members fifty cents for unexcused absences and ten cents for
tardiness and the absence had to be excused “in advance.” The
depression hurt the young club. It had 157 members in 1929. That was
down to 85 in 1933. Dues were decreased from $35 to $25 per year and
the cost of lunches was reduced first to 90˘ then to 75˘ and finally
to 60˘. It wasn’t until 1940 that the club membership was back to
1929 levels.
Powell talked about the Charlotte Boys Choir that the club founded
during his presidency in 1946. The choir, made up of 75 boys ages 9
to 12, was quite a hit during its seventeen year. Shortly after it
was formed, the choir sang for a Rotary International convention in
New York City.
As, Powell recalled, it wasn’t easy keeping up with 75 young boys
even with the help of eight adults and eight Eagle scouts. They lost
one youngster on a trip to the Empire State Building, but he turned
up at the NBC Radio studios, their next stop. As it happened, Powell
said, the youngster was left behind at the hotel and they got him to
NBC; he missed the Empire State building altogether.
For several years the choir was quite a hit in the greater Charlotte
area, even made money enough to support a scholarship at Davidson,
but overexposure and television finally did it in. Current members
Bob Breitz and Jim Alexander were members of the choir, Powell said.
Catherine briefly introduced her team: Tim Newman, Programs; John
Armistead, Club Management; Ed Turner, Club Meetings (more
fellowship!); Luther Moore, Membership (his committee brought in 43
new members this year); Peggy Wesp, International Avenue; Susan
Hutchins, Professional Services; Marilynn Bowler, Secretary; and
John Stedman, Treasurer.
She thanked Tim Newman, head of Charlotte Center City Partners.
During February, Rotary’s Centennial month, special banners will fly
at The Square.
President Tom announced that the board had elected Ed Ruff to fill a
one-year seat on the board for David Guilford who has resigned.
Tom also reminded members that the meeting on the 22nd will be our
last at the Four Points. The meeting on the 29th will be an evening
outing to Knights Stadium for a baseball game and fellowship. The
first meeting in July will be at the Adams Mark Hotel.
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2003-04
RI
Theme
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z Bishop Charlene Kammerer
was honored during the annual meeting of the Western North
Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church for eight
years of leadership.
z
Jerry Orr,
aviation director at Charlotte/Douglas, says that in addition to
the jobs created by US Airways’ consolidation of its crew
training in Charlotte, the move will create considerable
economic impact.
z
Tony Zeiss,
president of Central Piedmont Community College, has had a great
week! Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory presented Tony with the first
CPCC Clay Pigeon Conservation award (CPCC’s inaugural Clay
Pigeon Challenge Cup fund-raiser); Southern region of the
Association of Community College Trustees has chosen Tony as its
chief executive officer of the year (awarded to a chief
executive who has demonstrated unusual initiative in developing
programs at two-year colleges); and scored an editorial over the
weekend that urged state and county policy makers to make the
necessary investments in worker training by restoring state
funding that has been cut.
z
LS3P Associates Ltd., (club member
Barbara Price)
is planning a merger with Boney Architects, an 80-year-old
architectural firm founded in Wilmington. |
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Rotary Club of Charlotte Moves to the
ADAM’S MARK HOTEL JULY 6, 2004
Charlotte Rotary 9/11 Scholarship
Golf Classic
September 21, 2004 – Raintree Country Club |
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Attendance
Record |
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6/15/04 |
6/10/03 |
| visitors &
guests |
9 |
10 |
| club
members |
103 |
179 |
| total
attendance |
112 |
189 |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
22 Martha and Jim Alexander
22 Amy and Martin Godwin
23 Kathryn and Pender McElroy
23 Ginnie and Bob Story
25 Maude and Henry Cantrell
25 Nan and Bill Loftin, Jr.
25 Joyce and George Robinette
25 Mary Beth and John Scharer
25 Totsie and Charlie Williams
26 Mary and Ron Ciminelli
26 Karen and Pete Larson
28 Teddi and Jon Benson |
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New Members | Resignations |
Cecily Durrett
Tom Senger
Eric Baldwin
Jim Combs
Dick Reiling |
n/a |
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| Roaming
Rotarians |
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Mark Leggett, Pawleys Island, SC | |
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
25 Bill Bradley, New York, NY
26 Randall Groves,
Cleveland, TN
26 Emmy Lou Burchette,
Greensoro, NC
26 Ed Nowokunski, Ayer, MS |
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