President Don opened the November 21 meeting of the Rotary Club of Charlotte at 12:30 p.m. Duke Ison introduced guests and visitors, and health and happiness of the club was presented by Jim Kelley. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Richard Early led the singing of "Home on the Range," and Howard Chadwick provided the invocation.
     Martin Waters introduced Jamie McLawhorn as our newest member of Charlotte Rotary. Jamie is a native of Eastern North Carolina and is president of Marsh Associates, one of Charlotte's oldest and largest real estate firms.
     President Don recognized the head table which included Howard Chadwick, Katie Tyler, Phil Van Hoy, Randall Groves, Richard Bailey, Winn Maddrey, and Warren Ludlam. Tom Robertson announced the annual opportunity to participate in the club's service to the Salvation Army by manning the Red Kettle at the Square in December. President Don made a number of announcements, including the announcement that there will be no meeting on Tuesday, December 26.
     Richard Bailey introduced the renewal of the Charlotte Rotary Thanksgiving-time tradition of hearing club members express the things for which they are thankful. Phil Van Hoy led off with touching remarks on his thankfulness to the generation that fought and won World War II. He honored his own father, who had served as the commanding officer of a MASH unit during the war, and noted that various members of the club were also members of that quiet and humble generation that gave so much in war and still came home to build outstanding and accomplishment-filled lives. Phil encouraged all to seek out the members of this generation and learn their stories.
     Katie Tyler spoke next of the blessings and success that she had enjoyed. She urged the group to try to empathize with the difficulties that women and minorities face in trying to make their way in the world and related that through her successes she realized that she had a gift for helping people expand their horizons. She attributed that gift to the attitude that had been instilled in her that there was nothing that she could not do if she would take the time to learn how. She quoted Garfield the Cat as saying, "It is amazing what one can accomplish when one does not know what one cannot do." Katie closed by saying that she had had the opportunity to make a difference in some peoples' lives and that her "can do" attitude had given her a gift for doing that, and for that gift she was most grateful.
     Randall Groves reviewed the historical background of Thanksgiving and the roots of democratic self-government represented in the Mayflower Compact. He recounted the blessings for which the Pilgrims had been thankful at the first Thanksgiving — surviving the ocean crossing in a tiny ship, surviving the first year in the new world, and their new freedom of worship. He related that we still should be thankful for our religious and political freedoms. On a personal note, he expressed thankfulness for the opportunity to welcome his twin grandsons to the world a few months ago, but mostly he was thankful that he was able to watch his wife Jane participate as a 60-month survivor of breast cancer in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
     Richard Bailey closed with a benediction and the meeting was adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

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DID YOU KNOW?

• New Member is introduced.

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New Member

Joined 1984
Rejoined 2000

Municipal Government
Additional Active

City of Charlotte, N.C.
600 E. 4th Street [28202]
704-336-4169
FAX 704-336-6953
email rkimble@ci.charlotte.nc.us

     Ron Kimble moved to Charlotte in early September 2000 to become our newest Assistant City Manager. Prior to that time, Ron was City Manager in Greenville, N.C., for eleven years. He has over 25 years of local government experience with 9 of those in his home state of Illinois and 16 in North Carolina.
     Ron holds a B.S. degree in Accounting and a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. He has been active in the Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, and Noon Rotary in Greenville for 16 years, rising all the way to the Greenville Noon Rotary President this past year. Prior Rotary positions he has held are Club Treasurer, Club Service Chair, Community Service Chair, and Health and Happiness Chair.
     Ron's wife Jan is a Human Resources Health Care professional with 23 years of experience in both Illinois and North Carolina. They have a 19-year-old daughter, Jamie Kristine, who is a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill. All three are avid sports enthusiasts.
     Welcome to Charlotte Rotary, Ron.

WHAT'S ROTARY?

     How many times have you been asked that question? And how many times have you struggled to come up with a concise response for your colleague, customer, client, business associate or family member?
     Like most Rotarians, you can probably expound for an hour about all the history, philosophy and programs of Rotary and The Rotary Foundation. Bin these days, people don't usually have an hour to listen to your response.
     That's where a small but effective R.I. publication can come in handy. As many Rotarians have discovered, the business-card sized What's Rotary? (Publication No. 419-EN) is a handy and informative tool for telling others about Rotary. The fold-out card includes seven pithy "bullet points" that explain the basic tenets and facts about R.I. and The Rotary Foundation.
     For example: "Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world."
     R.I. President Frank Devlyn, for one, always carries a supply of the cards with him when he travels, distributing them to interested persons in restaurants, hotels and airplanes. "I recommend it to all Rotarians," he says. "But don't just carry one tucked away somewhere in your wallet. Order a big supply and distribute them generously."
     The cards are especially appropriate during Membership and Extension Month in August, but are useful throughout the year.
     The cards come in lots of 50 at a cost of $1.30. Obtain your supply from R.I. Publication Order Services; tel.: 1-847-866-4600; fax: 1-847-869-3276, or through the R.I. Service Center for your area.

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