Meeting Report from October 26, 1999

Meeting

Rotary Wheel

Report

October 26, 1999
By NED FOX

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     President Worth called the meeting to order. Leland Park introduced the guests and visiting Rotarians. Leland Park also gave the Health and Happiness Report, which included a beautiful piece which began "I asked God to grant me. . . ." Chuck Lineberry led the singing of "Oh What a Beautiful Morning. . . ." Rick Jackson of WBT read the news brief.
     Jim Adams reported on the flood relief donations for eastern North Carolina. We gave $2,830 before the bags were passed around, and another $2,500 was collected through the bags, for a total of $5,330. Thank you! He also announced that we will be collecting clothes, blankets, sheets, and towels at Rotary every Tuesday in November, for Crisis Assistance Ministry. Please bring these items. If you have too much to bring in, call him or the Rotary office for pick up at your house.
     Don Haack reminded us that there is a Rotary Foundation dinner meeting at the Lowe's Motor Speedway Club on November 11, and he urged us all to come for this rare opportunity. We will understand better where our Foundation money is going. The social is open at 6:15, dinner at 7:30. Make reservations through Don or Claire for this occasion.
     President Worth reminded us of the Bylaws vote at the next meeting on November 2, Election Day.
     At the Head Table were Donn Toney, Leon Jorgensen, Mary Rinehart, Jeff Searcy, and Tom Hutchins, who gave the invocation.
     Erskine Harkey introduced our speaker, Bruce Roberts, the President, CEO, and Founder of Carolina Financial Group (CFG), which is headquartered in Brevard. His topic was "Investment Banking Opportunities, Now and in the Future."
     There are many exciting opportunities these days centering on the Internet. Carolina Financial Group is a venture capital group for the purpose of capitalizing some of these companies as they start up, and was founded at the beginning of these new opportunities. They initially explored marketing on the Web, but were premature. In 1995, CFG put up its own Website, and have learned how to drive traffic towards it.
     They are a niche business with a global outreach. They have helped finance various web-based companies, for example, Total Sports; COS, which is buying media properties; BuildNet, which offers home-building supplies on the Net to create efficiencies; and Air Unlimited, terraserver. com.
He then commented on the Internet today and on the fact that it is growing exponentially all over the globe, in multi-languages. He offered staggering statistics on the number of users and on the volume of sales.
     Internet is also an enabling business for business itself. There are Internet-centered business models. These may be the most powerful business models ever created.
     With faxes, there is no one at the other end to receive, but over time the value of the Fax machines went up. As more get involved, we will find that the Internet is a disruptive technology, in that it will change the way that we do business.
     We can get into the Internet to retrieve information. It is a two-way channel (cf. Chat), and can be the basis of customer service. The Internet can be used to distribute the product itself. It is a file with text, or, with audio or video context. It is also capable of digitally mastered smells, and of holographic images. It can execute instructions to buy or sell or to offer high value.
     The Web offers older news, but not stale news. It delivers content (cf. WSJ, Sports); Internet access; a sense of community (cf. COS). The higher bandwidth will increase; flat screens will improve. It can sell products to consumers (e.g., Amazon, E-Trade).
     It will soon offer business to business via e-commerce, vertical market portals for your own business. The Web will have market makers, such as Travelocity and Priceline.
     In the future, he foresees distance learning expanding: why limit bright minds to buildings? Within three years, he predicts, both audio and video will be downloaded at home from the Web. (Cf. MP3)
     Also coming is compression technology, security, digital rights protection. Voice-over IP's, and video conferencing. Digital will replace analog. He cited work.com, office.com, and web.com as examples of things to come.
     The Web can monitor clinical trials around the world. Banks will carry one's whole profile and offer services accordingly. Internationalization will be available to everyone. CFG's presence ranges from the Gulf to Japan.
     Businesses will deliver to customers from the Web (e.g. Dell). Commodities will go increasingly on line (for example, homegrocery.com; webvan.com). Deliveries will be made both to home and office.
     Shopping malls will disappear if they are not exciting; they will have to become more social. Physical media will disappear.
     In the Q-A session:
     Q: How does one value a pre-IPO company?
     A. Securities are worth what people will pay for them. CFG looks at comparable businesses, but somewhat subjectively decides whether or not a new company can become successful.
     Q: How successful are new companies in profits.
     A. Bruce stated that there would be a convergence of media companies, and that the big companies will buy out the small ones that are successful. That is what happened earlier in the automobile and the railroad industries.

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TO CELEBRATE
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION

You are invited to join Rotarians from around District 7680 on Thursday, November 11, at the Speedway Club at Lowe's Motor Speedway to celebrate the work of The Rotary Foundation. Rotary International Vice President, Director and Foundation Trustee Glenn Estess will be featured speaker.

Don Haack, chair of the Rotary Foundation Support Committee, urges all members, particularly Paul Harris Fellows, to attend the banquet. This is an excellent opportunity to learn first hand what the Foundation is and what programs and projects our gifts support.

If you are interested in attending, please call Claire Erb in the Club office at 375-6816. Cost of the banquet is $29 per person.

The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs.

In 1917, Arch C. Klumph, Rotary's sixth president, proposed to the RI Convention in Atlanta the creation of an endowment fund for Rotary. A few months later, the endowment received its first contribution: $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City.

Since that first $26.50 donation in 1917, the Foundation has received contributions totaling almost $825 million. More than $61 million was donated in 1994-95 alone. To date, some 492,000 individuals have been recognized as Paul Harris Fellows.

Such strong support and involvement of Rotarians worldwide ensures a secure future for The Rotary Foundation as it continues its vital work for international understanding and world peace.

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