It was the day after Labor Day. Traditional fashion arbiters say we should now stop wearing white shoes. With pride we noted that the feet of President Worth (who presided) were shod in darker, fallish colors, as were those of other members. With the President at the head table were John Lassiter, Madine Fails, Charlie Williams, and Hope Lanier. Paul Betzold, dining with them, rose for a well-expressed and timely invocation. From the floor, Jamie Armstrong welcomed visiting Rotarians and other guests. Fred Lowrance's Health and Happiness report expressed concern over Warren Jeffries' bout with diabetes complications, and congratulated Ned Fox on the top ranking among area SAT-takers which Charlotte Latin now holds. He quoted a recent author, saying that a true professional has a passion for what he or she does, and an intention to serve customers or clients with excellence. "Work life" can be "fun" — the fun grows out of the energy, involvement and enthusiasm we put in.
     Missing today was a group song, but no objections from the floor were heard. There was, however, a recitation by media pro Rick Jackson of highlights of the day's news. Reminder!! We want to make a strong club gift to help in Turkish earthquake recovery. Send a check to the club office or bring one next week, made out to the club and marked for this purpose.
     Jim Woodward introduced our speaker. U.S. Representative Mel Watt of our 12th Congressional District reminded us of his Charlotte birth and rearing through high school, his Phi Beta Kappa level work at Chapel Hill, his law degree from Yale, and practice until recent years with a prominent Charlotte law firm. Less known was his "retirement" from service in the N.C. Senate, to which he was elected, to spend more time with his two sons in formative years. Continued "exercise" in politics came from directing some Harvey Gantt campaigns. Then in 1992 Mel Watt ran for and won a seat in Congress from the new 12th district. He serves on the House Banking and Financial Services Committee and its Judiciary Committee.
     In what he called "'not a speech," Mr. Watt talked about three things: (1) what a Member of Congress may do in a "break" from House sessions, such as the one just ending; (2) the future of the 12th Congressional District in N.C.; and (3) two issues when Congress reconvenes — banking legislation and tax cuts.
     As to (1), he and fellow Judiciary Committee members spent 10 days in Europe learning first-hand about the "intellectual properties" disputes with trading partners. Some countries' efforts in five years cut the percent of pirated U.S. software from 70% to 30% of the total known there as U.S. software. This is a symptom of how severe the problem has been and still is for American producers of music, software, and other intellectual properties. What is needed is a system of patent and copyright laws recognized worldwide. After returning home, Mel put in a week working beside people in various jobs, and told of work on a UPS truck and conversations at several delivery stops. This year he chose visits to churches, festivals in parks, and family reunions instead of "town meeting" formats for gathering local opinion.
     Regarding (2), Mr. Watt stated that he "only served

Family Court Gets $5,000 Boost

     The Rotary Club of Charlotte, through its Projects Committee, has made a $5,000 grant to the local Trial Court Administrator's Office to help make the community aware of the pilot Family Court being operated for the first time in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
     In a 1996 report, the Commission for the Future of Justice and the County in North Carolina recommended the creation of specialized family courts to provide better outcomes for the children and families who come before them.
     During the 1998 General Assembly session, lawmakers established three Family Court pilot sites, one of which is in Mecklenburg. The Family Court's mission is to help resolve cases involving children and families through the combined efforts of the family, the Court and community services in ways that are the least adversarial and intrusive and that are just, safe, timely, efficient, courteous and accessible.
     Club funds will be used to communicate the benefits of the Family Courts to the public in general and to the parents, children and lawyers who use it. A Community Outreach Subcommittee promotes the court concept to its customers, recruits community volunteers to become involved in planning and implementation and helps improve public perception of the courts and the legal system.
     The General Assembly provided funding to operate the Family Court, according to Projects Committee Chair Jan Thompson, but did not provide any funding for the community outreach effort. Charlotte Ro-tarians are also urged to get involved as volunteers, Thompson said. Those interested can contact her at 336-8210.
     The Projects Committee receives requests to the club for donations. Generally, the Club only provides seed money for new projects that subsequently can become self-supporting. The committee does not support ongoing projects or operating budgets of existing organizations and avoids contributions to individuals for personal self-improvement. The budget this year is $16,513 less $1,700 approved by directors for last year's World Community Service Committee project in Bolivia and the $5,000 allocated for the Family Court.
     Requests for grants should be directed to Committee Chair Jan Thompson. Other committee members are Jim Appleby, Henry Bostic, Charlie Briley, Ed Ellis, Madine Fails, E. K. Fretwell, Herb Harriss, Bert Voswinkel and Phil Volponi.

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You Can Support Earthquake Relief

     To date, more than $1,800 has been given by club members for relief and rebuilding efforts in areas of Turkey devastated by earthquake. Make your contributions payable to the Rotary Club of Charlotte and send them to the Rotary Office or bring them to next week's meeting.

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in District 12," and had/ has no part in drawing lines for the current, former, or probable successor Congressional districts. Lines must, by law, be redrawn in 2001, following the 2000 census. Meanwhile, whether the 1997 or 1998 lines are the ones to be used remains to be decided by the courts.
     Item (3) had to do with two issues soon to come up. The Financial Modernization Bill is of special interest in our banking town. It makes it easier for banks, insurance companies, and securities firms to "get into each others' business." A conference committee (on which Mel will sit) will try to reconcile versions passed in the Senate and House. Some serious questions to resolve include what corporate model to presume, what community reinvestment requirements to include, and how privacy can be protected.
     Much press has been given to tax cut proposals, which range from a high of one trillion dollars over 10 years to a low of a quarter trillion. There are two main places to differ—who will mainly benefit, and how much of a cut. Tied into the bills are appropriations required to keep government functioning, so something has to happen.
     Rotarians' questions raised campaign finance reform—it will probably be the subject of a bill in the House. It may, once again, contain ideas which have no chance of passage. He reminded us that our current system of campaign finance is the "result" of an earlier "reform."
     Social Security's "trust fund": there is such a thing, but the government borrows from it—or this could be expressed as its being invested in government obligations. Will SS be taken "off budget" and treated as an independent entity? There seems to be an intention not to spend any of the budget surplus which is attributable to SS, but some tax cut proposals seem to threaten this understanding.

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POWELL'S
OBSERVATIONS

POWELL MAJORS

45 mph     God Will Take Care of You
55 mph     Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
65 mph     Nearer My God to Thee
75 mph     Nearer, Still Nearer
85 mph     This World Ts Not My Home
95 mph     Lord, I'm Coming Home over
100 mph   Precious Memories

     Alan Barnhardt is now the executive director of the Raptor Center. His new address is P.O. Box 16443, 28297; phone 875-6521; fax 875-8841 and website www.birdsofprey.org.
     Madine Fails was mentioned in an "Observer" editorial as one who had experience being stopped by the police for no reason.
     Luther Fincher, president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs for 1999-2000, is the first Charlotte Rotarian to head a world-wide organization.
     Jim Woodward expresses a strong argument that the State of North Carolina is obligated to invest in the University System in an article in the Business Journal.

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