President Worth called Bill Furr, Gib Smith, Don Steger, Jim Alexander and Sam Woodard to the front for a very special presentation. After some rather light-hearted comments, he presented "Don't Be a Meeting Scooter" awards. Naturally Steger and Alexander were absent or scooted early.
     Chip Gwynn introduced the visiting Rotarians and guests. For some reason, the pronunciation of the individuals' names sank to an all-time low. Must have been something in the water.
     Rock Miralia made a crippled attempt at Health and Happiness. He moved very slowly, was under "cane." He said pain medication had screwed up his "noodle"; everyone in the audience agreed. Rock will be undergoing back and neck surgery Thursday. Rock reported that Warren Ludlam is a new father, Vernon Anderson has a new granddaughter, and Rex Welton is a new grandfather to identical triplets. It was reported that George Henderson was still in the hospital recovering from surgery and receiving medication for pneumonia. Then there was a "kite story" that should have been left out, and then it was all over — thank goodness!
     President Worth congratulated Ronnie Pruett, Hal Bouton and the WTVI team for their efforts in filming the recent Joint Rotary Event at the Adam's Mark.
     President Worth also called everyone's attention to the Friday night Gala at Myers Park Country Club. The new time is 6:30 p.m. and a grand time will be had by all.
     Don Sanders led the Club in "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" and enjoyed every verse he sang. It sounded as if he was still in the ole country. Bill Barnhardt gave the invocation.
     The head table included Rick Jackson, Bill Barnhardt, Thomas Moore, Henry Sneed, Danny Fontana, Jim Haney, Rick Jackson and Charlie Briley. Charlie Briley introduced Rick Jackson to begin another version of "How I Got Where I'm At."
     Rick, a native of Denver, Colorado, considers himself a partial "redneck" since his father came from Arkansas, was a school dropout and was raised in a very large family with 13 brothers and sisters. His mother was a schoolteacher with a graduate degree. Rick said he had a fantastic upbringing and credits several wonderful women with the progress he has made in life. First there was his mom who helped create a great home life for him and helped him get his first job in radio; then there was a teacher that he had a "crush" on that "took him under her wing" and helped him develop the right attitude about school. He appreciates Marilynn Bowler who introduced him to Rotary. Rick is a graduate of Metropolitan State College and was brought to WBT AM/FM by Tommy Lee Jones in 1980 and is their Vice President and General Manager. He credits his wife, Gina, with being his inspiration and finished with a great quote from Will Rogers.
     Introduced next was Thomas Moore. Thomas was born in Gaston County Hospital in 1950, and he thanks his incredible parents for his success in life. He presented his message in a totally different, yet very entertaining way — with song. Thomas sang his way through his presentation using different songs to get his point across. Then Thomas told the audience that he was not a musician, but uses music to express himself. The audience was very surprised when he told them that he didn't even own a piano. Thomas is an early childhood consultant and uses music to communicate with youngsters. He said the general impression of young people is misleading — there are a lot of wonderful, talented, intelligent and creative kids, but parents have a hard time communicating with them. When a parent or grandparent sings to children, they are letting the kids into their heart. Thomas is very active in Myers Park Methodist Church and at Seigle Avenue, splitting his time between the two. Thomas said the main thing is to let children know how much they are loved — you can never say it enough — even to your friends and relatives. He stated that a lot of things we bring our children they cannot use; but when we love the child we cannot give them enough of that. To prove the point, there were several "lovely friends" attending the luncheon to share the moment. Thomas is also an author and produces classical recordings.
     Danny Fontana was born in Endicott, New York, a very close community that has a 90% Italian ethnic background. Everyone is family. He started in the shoe business because his father and brothel-were in the business. Later, he went into the Army and was stationed in Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, which he hated as much as he did the shoe business. At that time he had an opportunity to visit Charlotte, which he really liked. After being discharged from the service Danny went to Manhattan, got a car and went into the shoe business with his brother. He spent over 10 years in a business that he hated and in 1985, at 35 years old and broke, he had the opportunity to pursue a passion, and that was to join the brokerage business — and the rest is history. He paid off his hefty debts in six years. In 1991, a sales representative came to Danny to see if his firm would buy some radio time. Instead of buying, Danny sold the station on letting him have some time on the Henry Bogan show to share his business with the radio audience. What a salesman! The radio appearance became a regular part of the station's venue. He worked for NBC for a while and later Rick Jackson approached him about doing the show he has now. He has been in diligent pursuit of the American Dream, and I'm sure all of us will agree—he found it. Congratulations Danny!

*    *   *

Click here for photos of this Meeting