ROTARY CHRISTMAS 2007
By Jim Kelley
              
President David introduced Jo Anne Ellis who conducted the annual raffle for Inner Wheel, a group of Rotarian wives and widows who raise funds to benefit children. Jo Anne was delighted to announce Charlotte Rotarians donated $500 on Tuesday and the beautiful gift basket was won by Tony Zeiss.
 
Tribute to R. Powell Majors
  
Martin Waters made a moving tribute to Powell Majors. At the request of a number of club members, the text of those remarks is included in their entirety.
 
"Just a little over two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, 55 Rotarians from our club attended Powell Majors' funeral. We learned even more about Powell than what we thought we knew as four speakers told stories and vignettes about him including our own Tony Zeiss who was the 4th speaker and told about Powell and his career at their Central Piedmont Foundation of which Powell served as the executive Director for nineteen years. But little was said about Powell and Rotary.
 
When he was 32 years old, he joined the Rotary and at age 35 he served as secretary of the Club and at age 40 he served as president in the year of 1946-1947. There is no current member of our club who was a member when Powell was president. The closest is Ralston Pound who joined our club in 1948. Powell was sponsored and introduced to the club by Ralston's father, Mr. Gus Pound, who was also a past president.
 
From the beginning Powell was all about Service Above Self. The year he was president, there was founded the Charlotte Rotary Boys Choir. Three Rotarians did this: Powell, Jim McMillian and Raymond Brietz, Bob Brietz's Dad. Jim McMillan was a show biz guy, had business connections with NBC, knew the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus people, and was a promoter extraordinaire. Powell took in money from the shows, paid it out, made arrangements in all the towns and was the business manager. Ray Brietz, a church choir director by trade became the ultimate song and dance man for little boys age 10-12. This Charlotte Rotary Boys Choir lasted 17 years. They played all the small cities throughout NC and SC. The big deal was always to finish the year with the Florida trip. As if that wasn't enough they played the RI Convention in New York in 1949 at the "Garden". This Rotary Club put up no money. The Boy's Choir "made" money and used it to fund scholarships for foreign students. How these three Rotarians did this is a mystery. Talk about 17 years of Service Above Self.
 
Powell was a promoter of the Junior Rotarian program. These were high school students, all boys back in that day. These Junior Rotarians came to our meetings once a month. This of course was later refined and became the Interact Program.
 
Who else but Powell will ever participate and be present when five Rotary International Presidents planted a Rotary Tree in Charlotte, beginning with Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary in 1939 and concluding with Glenn Estes in 2004 with a tree planting at Central Piedmont Community College.
 
One week after the Sunday of Powell's funeral, I was making up my attendance at the Charlotte North Club when Past District Governor Fred Culbreth strode to the podium and paid tribute to Powell. I learned that the day Powell died was the birthday, the anniversary date, of the chartering of that Club in 1952 and that Powell participated in the installation.
 
The motto of Queen's University is naturally a Latin phrase "Non Ministrari Sed Ministrare" - Not To Be Served But To Serve. It could have been written for Powell for that's the way he looked at his mission on Earth.
 
In the year 2004, he was honored by Rotary International with its "Service Above Self Award". They may give up to 150 of these across the world but rarely do they reach that number. This is Rotary's most prestigious award.
 
Well, deep down what kind of man really was Powell Majors. This was a man who did so much, a man who is literally all over the place in our town. I think he was a practical man who taught a practical faith and practical way of life for himself, his family, his friends, his business associates, his church and all others near and about. He was, he had to be, a man of deep faith in God and his God was to be found not behind thick walls or ivory towers separated from the challenges and hazards of everyday life, not in our retreats from the busy marketplace, but rather wherever women and men live, learn, labor and serve in honesty and dignity, there rests the presence of God.
 
Powell taught us to do instead of just to pray, to become instead of merely to wish. He taught us to convert our emotions into conduct, clothe our lives with dignity, deepen our lives with integrity and enlarge our lives with charity and simplicity. He taught us to face our defeats with courage and carry our success with humility.
 
He was a Teacher, Friend, Hero and a Mentor, the quintessential Rotarian. No person has ever been honored for what he received. Honor is our reward when we give. Powell Majors grew to be larger than life. He didn't start out that way, but grew to be larger than life by force of character and who he was. It is probably that we in this room shall not meet the likes of such a gentleman ever again. Thank You Powell and farewell."

Gregg Walker as music committee chair; Greg James on the keyboard; Thomas Moore conducting and playing the piano; Cecily Durrett gathering the choir……..with this bunch, it could only be good! Accompanying Elves: Pam Daigle, David Erdman, Biff Virkler, Elsie Garner, Alan Barnhardt, Brenda Lea, Matt Ryan, Lynn Johnson, Jill Santuccio, Marilynn Bowler, Lila Rash, Janice Stephens, Catherine Browning and Terri DeBoo.    

• Sympathy is extended to the David Lewis family. David's father passed away last weekend and a memorial service was held at Raleigh's First Baptist Church on Wednesday. David's home address: 4411 Belknap Rd, Charlotte 28211.
 
• Major Todd Smith extends his thanks to Charlotte for the generous support given to this year's Christmas Bureau.
 
• Ed Wadsworth introduced Charlie Bones to the club. Charlie is president of CP Benefit Services and can be reached at charlie@cpbenefitservices.com. Charlie is already in the swing of Rotary as he and wife Penny are serving as host family for Isa, the club's exchange student.
 
• The Checkers will honor Chief Luther Fincher at the December 29th game, 7:30 pm, at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sold with the CHIEF code will benefit Charlotte Rotary's Rotary Scholarship Fund; Take the family to the 28th Annual New Year's Eve Celebration with Dr. Thomas Moore on Monday, December 31, 11:00 - Noon, CPCC's Dale F. Halton Theater.

Should you question the eligibility of any nominee, contact the Rotary office by December 26th.