 BOB
MORGAN
President, Charlotte
Chamber
By Rick Jackson
Freshly rejuvenated from a
three day weekend full of labor free frivolity, your Charlotte
Rotary members were in good spirits this past Tuesday. We had it
all, from cartwheels to moon landings.
To start the festivities, John Johnson reminded us of the historic
moon landing of 1969 and the fact that Buzz Aldrin placed a Rotary
pin featuring the The Four Way Test on the surface of our orbiting
sphere. It remains there today.
Our speaker was Bob Morgan, Chairman of the Charlotte Chamber and a
fellow Rotarian in Gaston County. Speaking on the mission of the
Chamber to provide a voice for Charlotte business and to help grow
the economy, Bob took us on a whirlwind tour of the next 20 years in
Charlotte, NC. He explained that Advantage Carolina was established
in 1998 to identify and recruit emerging new businesses to the Queen
City and already, it has paid dividends that will only multiply in
coming years. Comparing current circumstances to 2026, Bob revealed
Chamber numbers for population growth - 632,000 to over 1 million.
The uptown population will explode from 10,000 today to over 100,000
in 2026. Commuter traffic will nearly quadruple in the next 20
years. As the Baby Boomer generation ages, the healthcare industry
will become a leading economic driver and demand for skilled
professionals in the field will be enormous. In education, the pubic
school system will need double the number of facilities in 2026, UNC
Charlotte will expand to include new doctorate programs and Central
Piedmont will further its economic impact on the area to $1.7
billion. Private high schools and colleges will double the number of
students served.
Opportunities and new images that will define our city and bring
prosperity to Charlotte include the NASCAR Hall of Fame and The U.S.
Whitewater Center. Center city projects, both projected and
completed including Bank of America Stadium, Bobcats Arena and a
projected new minor league baseball facility, parks, museums and
cultural facilities. One billion dollars in private funds have been
invested to build the Kannapolis Biotech Center, offering tremendous
opportunities for employment and associated recruitment in its wake.
Some challenges include the fact that Charlotte is the only top 50
market in America without a completed "outer belt." I-485 will need
accelerated completion dates and expansion.
As expected, our buildings look shiny, it's a sunny day and all is
well from the Charlotte Chamber perspective - and who could argue.
Head Table:
John Johnson, Dick Klingman, Luther Moore, Jim Kelley, Carlos
Sanchez, Bob Knight; Invocation: Kit Cramer
Visitors &
Guests:
John Nicolay; Health &
Happiness: Don Steger; Song: Richard Early; Piano: Thomas Moore
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NEW MEMBER APPROVAL |
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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
September 12th. You will be contacted by a member of
the Board. Otherwise, no reply is necessary and election will
proceed according to our bylaws. |
John Greer
Retired, Duke Power
Sponsor: Powell Majors
Endorsed: Tom Robertson and David Zimmerman
Bill Anderson
Communities in Schools
Sponsor: Cynthia Marshall
Endorsed: John Snyder and Mac McCarley |
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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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Michelle and
Robert Fish are pleased to announce the birth of
Samuel Bankston "Banks" Fish, born August 29th. Michelle
expects to return to Rotary in January;
Ellen Bailey (Richard)
has completed therapy and is doing well from her knee
surgery; Byron Bullard
returned from his mountain home to find a huge pine tree had
fallen in his yard; Sympathy is expressed to
DG Joe and
Sally Morris upon the
death of Sally's mother, Virginia Williams O'Rourke. Mrs.
O'Rourke is also Charlie Williams'
aunt; Shannon Vaughn
became engaged last weekend and is planning a wedding next
Spring; To see who's quoted in The Washington Post, go
HERE. (HINT:
Tony Zeiss);
Carlos Sanchez
contributed to an article on the power of Hispanic
consumers. Carlos, Director of Corporate & External Affairs
for BellSouth, will receive the Community Service Person of
the Year at the Latin American Excelente Awards on September
15th.
þ
David Erdman introduced
Suji Kim, the club's
exchange student from Korea; Peggy
Wesp introduced Brennon
Graham, a member of the Group Study Exchange (GSE)
team heading to London. Peggy also mentioned the need to
provide housing for the GSE team that will arrive in the
States in late March/early April.
MEMBERSHIP
INCENTIVE
Membership Co-Chairs, Marilynn Bowler and Natalie English,
revealed plans to kick-start the club's membership drive.
Natalie came right out of the shoot with a cartwheel (a
regular occurrence at Chamber meetings), which grabbed
everyone's attention and provided a glimpse into the energy
these ladies are putting into recruitment efforts. Rotarians
that have sponsored a new member will be eligible for
quarterly drawings where they will have the chance to win
tickets to various sporting/cultural/social events.
GOLF
UPDATE:
Items for the auction and goody bags are still needed. If
you are donating anything, please get it to the Rotary
office by 11:00 on Thursday, September 9th.
NO ROTARY MEETING ON TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 12TH. Club members are invited to
attend the wine tasting and reception at Cedarwood Country
Club on Monday the 11th at 5:00. Please let Sandy know if
you are planning to attend.
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Cedarwood
Country Club
4100 Pineville-Matthew Road
(across the street from Raintree)
Registration and practice at 11:00
Box lunch provided on carts
Tee Time 1:00
Wine Tasting 5:00
Dinner and awards to conclude by 7:30 |
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SUPPORT THE ROTARY
FOUNDATION
$100 - Every Rotarian - Every Year |
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Attendance
Record |
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9/05/06 |
8/06/05 |
| visitors &
guests |
10 |
15 |
| club
members |
178 |
196 |
| total
attendance |
188 |
211 |
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New Members | Resignations |
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| Roaming
Rotarians |
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Tom Burgess -- Freehold, NJ |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
13 Virginia and John Hart
14 Elsie and Will Barnhardt
16 Kay and Lamar Thomas
17 Beth and Jesse Jones
18 Ann and Floyd Davis
18 Miriam and Mac Jackson |
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
12 Pete Sloan,
Mecklenburg, Co.
15 Rich Campbell,
Greensboro, NC
15 Ron Campbell,
Sewickley, PA
15 Katie Tyler, Eustis, FL
17 Fred Lowrance, Sumter, SC
17 Mark Norman,
Alexandria, VA
17 Dal Shefte, Evanston, IL |
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