GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE
By Henry Bostic
On Tuesday, Charlotte Rotarians met the four members and the
team leader of the Rotary Group Study Exchange (GSE) team
representing the 78 clubs of London District 1130, and as Team
Leader Tony Colman introduced the program on Tuesday, it was a
"rapid fire" indeed.
Two of the team members are officers in the London Metropolitan
Police service, known as the Met, and two are public relations
professionals. Team Leader Tony, a former Member of Parliament, is a
venture capitalist specializing in African investments and a
Methodist lay preacher.
Paul Carter, sponsored by the Greenwich Rotary Club, is a
spokesperson for The Met, but would like to be a film critic. He is
captivated by American television and film and aspires to write
screenplays. He lives in Greenwich, home of "mean time."
Kate Martin, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ealing, is corporate
communications manager for the Association of Accounting Technicians
(AAT), the world's leading professional membership body for
accounting technicians. She is also past president of Ealing
Rotaract, one of the largest and most active Rotaract clubs in the
United Kingdom. Rotaract began in Charlotte.
Joanne Sewell, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Barnet, is a plain
clothes officer for The Met and member of a task force that deals
with anti-social behavior and street crimes such as drug offenses.
Sewell formerly worked with an IT consultancy and the BBC but joined
the police in 2004 because she "wanted more from her job."
Andrew Stonhold, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Barking, is a
response officer for The Met, similar to Charlotte officers who
patrol and respond to emergency calls. He too became a police
officer for a more rewarding career after sales jobs with Sony UK,
Ford and Peugeot. He now lives in Worthing on the south coast, a
60-mile commute on way.
Peggy Wesp, chair of the World Community Service committee and
coordinator of the GSE team's stay with Charlotte Rotary, introduced
the program. She thanked all club members involved in the project,
especially host Rotarians and those who hosted professional visits
and social activities.
The team arrived in Charlotte late Saturday afternoon. On Sunday
evening they attended a welcome party at the Fraternal Order of
Police Lodge in Charlotte. On Monday the team met with Michael Teden,
OBE, Honorary British Consul to the State of North Carolina then had
a walking tour of uptown Charlotte; after lunch at the City Club the
team had a special tour of the Charlotte Museum of History including
a tour of the historic 1774 Hezekiah Alexander home site.
Tuesday was spent in morning and afternoon professional visits with
individual Rotarians, sandwiched around the club meeting, and was
capped off with the Bobcats' overtime victory over the Cleveland
Cavaliers that night. On Wednesday, the team will transfer to the
Charlotte West club.
Also attending Tuesday's meeting were Joe Morris, District Governor
7680 and a member of the Charlotte Dilworth South-End club, and John
Martin of Statesville, chair of the district GSE committee.
The GSE program began in 1955, the idea of a New Zealand district.
Originally the Rotary Overseas Travel Award (ROTA), it was adopted
as an official educational program in 1965. Since then, more than
11,500 teams with nearly 60,000 members have participated.
Sponsored by The Rotary Foundation, GSE is a unique cultural and
vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional
men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 in the initial years of
professional life. GSE provides travel grants for participants to
exchange visits between paired areas in different countries.
For four to six weeks, team members study the host country's
institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as
practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships,
and exchange ideas. Members come from corporations, small
businesses, community organizations, medical and educational
facilities, government offices, and nonprofit agencies.
Teams are composed of 4-6 non-Rotarians and a team leader, an
experienced Rotarian. A member cannot be a Rotarian or former
Rotarian, honorary Rotarian, employee of Rotary, a descendent or
spouse of a Rotarian or the spouse of another team leader.
During the exchange, teams visit local businesses, government
offices, and community organizations in the host district, tour
historical and cultural sites, stay with Rotarian host families, and
make presentations about their home countries and professions.
Members receive orientation and cultural preparation before
departure. A District 7680 GSE team visited London District 1130 in
September.
Head Table:
Paul Carter, Joe Morris, Jo Sewell, Luther Moore, Peggy Wesp, Tony
Colman, Kate Martin, Andrew Stonhold; Invocation: John Galles
Visitors &
Guests:
Carol Hughes; Health & Happiness: Leland Park; Music: Thomas Moore;
Four-Way Test: John Johnson
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NEW MEMBER
PROFILES |
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Frank Trent Merchant
(Trent)
Coleman Lew & Associates
326 W. Tenth Street (28202)
704-377-0362
tmerchant@colemanlew.com
Classification: Management Recruiting, General |
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Trent Merchant is a consultant with
Coleman Lew & Associates, a retained executive search firm that
specializes in the recruitment of board and senior level
executives for public, private, non-profit, and international
organizations. He is also an At-Large Member of the Board of
Education for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. A Charlotte native,
Trent enjoyed previous careers in education and professional
theater in Atlanta before returning to Charlotte in 2005. He
earned a BA degree from Washington and Lee University and an MA
degree from Wake Forest University. Trent, his wife Mindy, and
their two young daughters attend Church at Charlotte. He enjoys
golf, yard work, and any activities that involve the mountains
or the beach. |
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Deborah Ann Daniel
(Debbie)
Daniel, Ratliff & Company
301 S. McDowell St, Ste 502 (28204) 704-371-5000
d.daniel@danielratliff.com
Classification: Accounting, CPA |
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Debbie Daniel is President and
co-founder of Daniel, Ratliff & Company, a full-service Top 25
public accounting firm with offices in Charlotte and
Mooresville, NC., and has over 20 years of experience working
closely with many small businesses and their owners. Debbie
truly understands the entrepreneurial spirit, having started her
own tax practice in 1994 and having been instrumental in the
formation of Daniel, Ratliff & Company in 1996. A graduate of
UNC-Greensboro and Greensboro College, she majored in both
business administration and accounting. Debbie is an active
member of Women Executives, serving as Treasurer for their
philanthropic arm, Women Executives for Community Service and is
a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the NC Association
of CPAs, and TEN, a local networking group of professional women
service providers. Debbie has three wonderful stepchildren with
husband, John Ratliff and also enjoys spending leisure time with
her 2 nieces and 3 nephews, and getting outdoors to enjoy as
much hiking as possible. |
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Rotary Club of Charlotte
841 Baxter Street, Suite 118, Charlotte 28202
chltrot@bellsouth.net 704-375-6816 |
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Craig Simpson introduced
Jeff Blackey to the club
on Tuesday. Jeff is Senior Vice President for Marketing and
Business Development for US LEC. Contact Jeff at
jeffblackey@yahoo.com or
704-319-1028.
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Thanks to the Classroom Central volunteers:
Ruth Castleberry, Mike Crum,
Michael Elder, Elsie Garner, John Johnson, Kitty Musard,
and Sandy Osborne.
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Donald Haack was
featured in an article in this month's Uptown Magazine;
Lori Hurd was pictured
in Pride Magazine for her part in the recent "What Women of
Color Want" Town Hall Meeting; Ken
Samuelson and his wife,
Ruth, were pictured in Pride Magazine's coverage
of the 2007 Pride Awards; Bill
Staton was shown in Jeff Elder's whisper shot.
þ
CPCC invites you to the first annual Arts Fest, a community
celebration of the creative arts. Tickets for the festival,
which runs March 26-31, are available at the CPCC box
office, 704-330-6534, or
www.cpcc.edu.
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: To participate in
Friday Friends, contact Tony
Marciano, 704-334-4635, ext 202; To be a mentor
for a student at the Performance Learning Center,
contact Bob Culbertson,
704-334-2700, ext 303; To make a contribution to support the
Rotary Scholarship Committee, make your check payable
to The Rotary Foundation DAF and send to the Rotary
office. |
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HABITAT really takes it
out of you...doesn't it?
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Serving Rotary at the
District Level |
Rotary International is the association of
Rotary clubs. Clubs in a certain geographic area are grouped
into districts, which exist to help individual Rotary clubs
advance the Object of Rotary. The Rotary Club of Charlotte
is one of fifty-two clubs that are grouped into District
7680. District committees are formed within each District to
provide support to specific club and district functions.
District committee members are part of the district
leadership team, which also includes the governor and
assistant governor.
The District committee structure deals with membership
development, extension, finance, District programs (Rotaract
and Interact), public relations, District conference, The
Rotary Foundation, and RI Convention promotion. Committees
also work to promote and administer ongoing activities such
as Community Service, Rotary Community Corps, Rotary
Fellowships, Rotary Volunteers, Rotary Youth Leadership
Awards, Vocational Service, World Community Service, and
Youth Exchange.
As the largest club in District 7680, naturally the Rotary
Club of Charlotte has provided support to the various
committees. Currently, Peggy Wesp and John Snyder are
serving in District positions. Should Charlotte Rotary play
a larger part in District coordination? Most definitely.
Take, for instance, the example of coordinating the Group
Study Exchange. Peggy Wesp did a fantastic job of involving
club members and tapping into resources available to this
club to ensure the GSE team was well taken care of.
Vocational appointments were arranged with senior level
management, hotels rooms were comp'd, tickets to a hot
basketball game were secured, host families provided such
good care, tours and hospitality were made to be special.
All things handled through resources easily available in the
Rotary Club of Charlotte. Think about providing your talent
and resources to further promote the mission of Rotary
International, and particularly District 7680. President
Luther, District Governor Joe Morris, or any one of this
club's leadership would be glad to point you in the right
direction should you decide to serve. |
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Membership Update |
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Membership is on an upward turn and President
Luther intends to keep it that way! Through March, the club
reports a net gain of 4 members, which is a welcome reversal
of membership results over the last couple years. Contact
the Rotary office if you are in need of a membership
application. Thanks to the following for bringing in a new
member this year: Sadler
Barnhardt, Byron Bullard, Floyd Davis, Wes Clark, Ron
Campbell, Cecily Durrett, Natalie English, John Galles, John
Greer, Herb Harriss, Ed Kizer, Powell Majors, Cynthia
Marshall, Mac McCarley, Pam Meister, Luther Moore, Craig
Simpson, John Snyder, John Tabor, Phil Volponi and Gregg
Walker. |
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NEW MEMBER APPROVAL |
The Classification and Membership Committee
recommend and the Directors approve for consideration for
all members, the following NEW MEMBER. Should you question
the eligibility of any nominee, please call the Rotary
Office by March 26th. You will be contacted by a
member of the Board. Otherwise, no reply is necessary and
election will proceed according to our bylaws.
Anthony R. Foxx
Hunton & Williams
Classification: Law, Litigation & Intellectual Property
Sponsor: Tom Cottingham
Endorsed: Luther Moore, Mac McCarley |
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RUFUS K. ALLISON, SR.
passed away March 18, 2007 following a long illness. Rufus
left Charlotte Rotary in 2005, after serving as a member for
fifty-one years. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m.
on Wednesday, March 21 at Myers Park Presbyterian Church.
Following his graduation from Davidson College in 1940,
Rufus earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia with
a major in organic chemistry and a thesis on malaria drug
candidates. He managed Industrial & Textile Supply Co.,
serving as President and Treasurer until his retirement.
Rufus was an active member of Myers Park Presbyterian where
he served as Deacon, Elder, Clerk of Session, and president
of the Men's Bible Class. He was also devoted to Good
Fellows Club. Rufus is survived by Mary Evelyn Vance
Allison, his wife of 64 years, his children, brothers,
sister and grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Myers
Park Presbyterian Church, 2501 Oxford Place, Charlotte
28207; Jacob's Ladder Job Center Inc., PO Box 9215,
Charlotte 28299; or Presbyterian Hospice & Palliative Care,
200 Hawthorne Lane, Charlotte 28204. |
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Attendance
Record |
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3/20/07 |
3/21/06 |
| visitors &
guests |
5 |
9 |
| club
members |
170 |
183 |
| total
attendance |
175 |
192 |
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New Members | Resignations |
Tom Hodges
Tom Templeton
Liz Irwin
Jeff Blackey |
n/a |
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| Roaming
Rotarians |
David Erdman, Charleston, SC
Bob Finley, Enid, OK |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
28 Debbie and Bob Barber
02 Doris and Richard Wrenn |
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
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27 Pete Larson, Charlotte, NC |
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