"Celebration
of Rotary Gold" Rotary District 7690 - Piedmont, North Carolina Dr.
Stuart B. Fountain, District Governor District Conference Highlights Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina April 9-11, 1999To
District 7690 Scrapbook Index The
Photos
A new Rotarian's experience
1998-1999
Awards Bud
Toler Service to Youth Award Ron and Cheryl
Fields Arnold
Schiffman Membership and Retention Award Gate
City Joe
Ross Attendance Award Alamance Breakfast
Gate City (Tied at 94%) Drug
Abuse Prevention Award Elkin-Jonesville
Club
Bulletin Awards | | Weekly | Monthly |
Small | Oak
Hollow | Madison-Mayodan |
Medium | Furnitureland | Pinehurst |
Large | High
Point | Summit |
Governor's
gold Club Awards | Small | Medium | Large |
Gate City
Kernersville Archdale-Trinity | Triad
Furnitureland Elkin-Jonesville | Greensboro
Clemmons Summit | World
Community Service Award Triad World
Peace and Understanding Award Greensboro |
The
Photos (to top) Through
the eyes of Conference Photographer, Hal Tysinger (supplemented by Karen Morris) (Click
on the thumbnail to enlarge)
km | District
Conference always starts with a visit to Keith Sedberry. He has managed
registration duties since Stuart Fountain was a little boy. He's the middle! |
Conference
Manager, Steve Cobb, outfits District Governor Stuart Fountain with the "golden"
gloves in preparation for a knock-out of a conference. | ht |
ht | DG
Stuart outlines the agenda, stalling for time, while Keynote Speaker John Allison
of BB&T was delayed by crosswinds in his approach to the Myrtle Beach Airport. |
From
the President of Rotary International, Dr. Thomas J. "Jack" Martin brought
us greetings and encouraged us to take advantage of the opportunities for services
presented by Rotary. Jack is the President's Representative. | ht |
km | We
are urged to focus on the struggle to balance the world population with the world's
resources. Werner Fornos is President of the Population Institute in Washington,
D.C. and a Rotarian as well | District
Foundation Chairman and PDG Arnold King preaches to the choir as he outlines the
progress District 7690 has made in its effort to fund the Rotary Foundation..
Examples of the good works of the Foundation surrounded the District Conference. | km |
km | John
Womack (Furnitureland) receives a certificate of thanks for the work he has been
doing with the District's Rotary Scholarship programs. |
Clemmons Kathy
Mosley, Sgt.-at-Arms, extracts a serious payment from a Rotary parent who was
late for a conference session. . . or was this another form of "Youth Exchange?" | km |
ht
km
| These friends of Rotary
and District 7690 represents many difference countries. Youth Exchange is
a major effort of Rotary. These are the people who will lead the world towards
peace and understanding. | Rotaractors
from around the District told of the work they have been doing this year in rhyme
compatible with Dr. Seuss. If you think Rotaract is Rotary-Lite, you got
another think coming. Rotaractors are high-energy, imaginative, enthusiastic
adults who make most Rotarians look like snails! They are your future, District
7690! | km |
km
| And right behind Rotaractors are the
Rotarians of tomorrow who are in high school Interact clubs right now. They
are just as enthusiastic, imaginative and active as Rotaractors. Network
with these guys, and with Rotaractors today and they will be Rotarians tomorrow.
What a promising future. | A
jewel in the Rotary Foundation crown is Group Study Exchange. Here members
of the team visiting District 7690 from Chile tell of their country and of their
experiences in our District. Our team visits Chile during the month of May. | km |
km | The
Sgt.-at-Arms club, Clemmons, was given the task of guarding the ever obstreperous
Everett Padgett, who spent most of his District Conference 99 career in jail.
Bail was set at $1,500! | Bail
was paid and Everett was permitted his freedom during the morning of the second
day of the conference, but . . . | km |
km | .
. . a unanimous decision was made to return him to jail to collect an additional
$1,500. Rotarians will never learn when to leave well enough alone.
They bailed him out again. | Here
Everett rests with his wife, Margaret Padgett (who is also Executive Secretary
of District 7690) and his lawyer, Jack Green (DGNN) | km |
ht | District
Conference 99: A wonderful way to unwind, renew acquaintances, meet new
friends, discuss Rotary and energize for the year just ahead. I didn't see
anyone having a bad time. | A
tradition at Conference is Furnitureland Rotary Club's annual canoe regatta.
Here, Dick Thomas, Director of Piedmont Environmental Center, instructs participants.
We learn important techniques, such as which end of the paddle to stick in the
water. Proceeds will help Rotaract fund their Asheville conference this
fall. | km |
km
ht
| Finally, it was DG Stuart's
pleasant job to recognize clubs who have excelled in their effort to support Rotary
International and District 7690. He is handing the Governor's Golden Club
Award to Gate City Rotary Club of Greensboro. Triad's proud
president, Brian Donley, places the Golden Club Award symbol on "The Rotary
Club of the Triad's" Banner. |
(to
top) District
Convention UpdateA Celebration of Rotary Gold (from
The Oak Hollow Acorn, Karen Morris, editor.) Four
Oak Hollow RotariansTony Bertschi, Brandon Blair, Charlene Green and Karen
Morrisrepresented our club at the Rotary District 7690 Convention at Myrtle
Beach last weekend. Its theme, A Celebration of Rotary Gold, summed up the tone
of the weekend. It was a time to recognize what weve done this year and
become re-energized for the year ahead. Fridays
sessions stressed community service, the things Rotarians are doing to make life
better right where they live. Keynote speaker for this part of the convention
was John Allison, Chairman and CEO of BB&T, whose avocation is philosophy.
His talk enumerated the ethical principles hed drawn up to guide the employees
of his bank and equated them to the principles that will help the youth of todayand
us older folk, tooto lead successful, integrated lives. Various clubs presented
examples of community service projects which they found to be especially successful
for them. During this part of the program Oak Hollow was honored with the bulletin
award for weekly bulletins put out by small clubs in the district. Saturdays
session was devoted to international service. Keynote speaker was Werner Fornos,
President of the Population Institute, who advocated responsible population growth
and use of natural resources to preserve and enhance the quality of life for generations
to come around the world. During this session we were introduced to the many opportunities
Rotary offers to serve and promote understanding throughout the world. We met
Group Study Exchange teams, youth exchange teams, ambassadorial scholars, and
cultural ambassadorial scholars in a dizzying array of programs available through
Rotary that I havent quite sorted out yet. We were given examples of international
service projects being done by clubs in our district. And we got to meet and hear
about the activities of future Rotariansthe Rotaractors (young adults) and
Interactors (high school students). There
was time for fun, too. Saturday afternoon was free to enjoy one of the fellowship
activities sponsored by the Conference or just to relax on the beach or in the
nearby malls. Phil and I took a canoe trip on the Waccamaw River, a trip sponsored
by Dick Thomas of the Furnitureland Rotary Club and Director of the Piedmont Environmental
Center. Dick is a knowledgeable and patient teacher, both about the natural attractions
to be seen on the river and about the secrets of successful canoeing for the non-athletic,
and the weather was beautiful. It was a great return on the investment of an afternoon. Details
of the weekend will fade with time. So what did I REALLY take home from the conferenceand
wish youd been there to take home, too? Most of all, it was the feeling
of being a part of something much bigger than myself or of my little club. Many
of you in your biographical notes said youd joined Rotary to make friends
and/or to make a difference in your community. Rotary can give you that, but it
can give you access to so much more. Through the Rotary Foundation you participate
in making life better for people around the world, which can sometimes seem a
remote benefit to us in High Point, North Carolina. But we learned that with the
help of Rotary Foundation matching grants we in the Oak Hollow Club could be doing
such things as - Helping to set up a
Hospice in Russia as the Greensboro Club is doing, or
- Sending
aid to an orphanage in Haiti as we helped the Triad Club to do.
These
are just a few of the programs that are being done, not in some big city club
with lots of members and money, but in clubs right here in our district. And theyre
things we can DO, not just finance. All we need are your ideas. Going to conference
is a great way to realize the potential of Rotary. I hope all of you will have
the opportunity for that experience at least once in your Rotary life. |
|