President Ronnie Pruett called the meeting to order at 12:45 p.m. Charlene Kammerer introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians (inclusive of our weekly Tyler, Texas, representative).
     Jerry Orr gave the Health and Happiness report, advising us that Bill Meanor has broken his ankle and is recuperating at home. Jerry reminded us that Immediate Past President Fred Lowrance and current President Ronnie had put a moratorium on lawyer jokes and it was pretty much downhill for lawyers from then on. Jerry then reminded us that his assistant George Robinette is also a Charlotte Rotary member and encouraged our membership to specifically call George on problems with airfares and parking.
     Following the Pledge of Allegiance led by President Ronnie, Chuck Lineberry took our singing to new heights as he divided us up into four groups for three rousing choruses of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Katie Tyler offered a unique, thoughtful and inspiring Invocation.
     President Ronnie introduced Mike Hawley, Chairman of Rotary International Projects. Mike spoke poignantly of our sister city in Peru and its need for adult literacy programs. We have applied for — and have been awarded — a matching fund grant from the Rotary Foundation which is the first time Charlotte Rotary has accomplished this feat.
     Jim Adams spoke to us about our upcoming Rotary Club Assembly to be held on Tuesday, June 8 at SMS Catering Service on Norland Road from 5:00-8:15 p.m. This will replace our regular weekly meeting.
     Two very special guests were introduced to our membership by our president. Mr. Fernando Salvador and Mr. Ramon Bellettini from Equador shared with us in two languages the plight of the earthquake-troubled citizens of their city, over 10,000 of whom can be found sleeping in the streets for lack of homes in which to stay. Help is needed. President Ronnie spoke fluently to our guests in their native tongue.
     Our president then welcomed back Freda Nicholson, director of Discovery Place and Science Museums of Charlotte, as she returns to Charlotte Rotary. We were then treated to the reading of a warm thank you note from a Charlotte Rotary scholarship winner from North Mecklenburg High School.
     Hoke Nash stepped to the podium to introduce our program and our four speakers. Of great interest was Hoke's rendition of the history of our topic, "How I Got Where I'm At," which included such meaningful comparisons as Tom Garrett's "Stand & Stay Stood" (which Hoke proclaimed as "Clemson English.")
     Speaker number one was John Nicolay. who boasted of being Charlotte-born and bred; a young guy who was president of his student body in high school and played guitar in a folk group with aspirations of musical fame. "One problem," said John: "No talent." Realizing that he'd have to make his fortune in another area, John attended and graduated from Union College with a mechanical engineering degree. He ended up in the construction business by doing it the realistic way . . . taking the first job he landed and making a career out of it. That brought him back to Greenville, S.C., where he met Bud Street (as in "McDevitt and Street"). He became head of sales and marketing, and when McDevitt & Street merged with London-based Bovis he found himself heading up sales and marketing in twenty-five cities worldwide. Thankfully, in his words, he is now manager of their senior housing industry division. John has a daughter at the University of Colorado and a son who will attend N.C. State's School of Design in the fall. He is engaged to be married.
     Jay Meyers was our second speaker and had us chuckling at his description of his Salisbury, N.C., roots. Jay's highly tuned, somewhat self-deprecating sense of humor is catching and his presentation provided our program with several good laughs. Jay announced that he simply likes to read obscure things in an insect-free environment. He wasn't a bit athletic us a child, preferring reading to sports; in fact, he cited the time in 8th grade he had to look up "football" in the dictionary. Jay graduated from Woodbury Forest School and then Harvard, where he represented the proverbial "redneck student." It was when he read Supermoney by Adam Smith and, specifically, the chapter on Warren Buffett, who enjoyed sitting around and reading all day while making a fortune, that Jay saw the rainbow where he'd find his pot of gold. He became a securities analyst, then a stockbroker, then he formed his own company and, since it wasn't making any money, he "sold it to First Union." He formed Meyers & Company fourteen years ago, is married, has two children ages 7 & 12 and is "a happy fella."
     Speaker number three was Dale LeCount whose wife of many years, Ann, will be divorcing him on June 28th once she finds out that he'll be spending his thirty-fifth anniversary at the U.S. Open. Dale is the son of a preacher ("PK" as it goes) and has lived in Allentown, Penn., Cincinnati, Ohio, Birmingham, Ala., Princeton, N.J., Washington, D.C., Oklahoma City, and New York before arriving at Charlotte's doorway. Dale has had four careers in his adult life, spanning from a stint as Development Director of the Presbyterian Church to high school history teacher to university teacher and administrator to life insurance agent (chuckle). We all enjoyed Dale's life story immensely and truly look forward to having him as a long-time member of Charlotte Rotary.
     Our fourth and final speaker on the program was Mike Parrott, who heads up Legg-Mason/Charlotte, which is a professional management consulting firm. Mike is a Duke University graduate married to another Duke grad, with two grown daughters who are both attending UNC/Chapel Hill. Following his graduation with a mechanical engineering degree, Mike joined Westinghouse Electric in Raleigh as a field sales representative. He was then recruited by Ingersoll Rand in Winston-Salem and rose from marketing manager to divisional manager. He joined Legg-Mason and was manager of operations for four years, now focusing primarily on corporate services consulting. We're glad to have you in our Rotary club, Mike.
     In closing, President Ronnie reminded us once again that there will be no regular luncheon meeting on Tuesday, June 8. We will gather at SMS Catering that evening for a ROTARY HOEDOWN. Fun, Fellowship & Food!

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O. HUNTER  JONES

September 11, 1908             May 28, 1999

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COMBINED GALA AND CLUB ASSEMBLY

There will be no luncheon, program or meeting at Four Points Hotel
because this is OUR REGULAR MEETING for June 8, 1999 5 p.m.

Fellowship — 6 p.m.
Buffet Dinner — 7 p.m.
Program — 7:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Entertainment

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