August 24, 2009

District Governor Pays

Newport Club a Visit

Governor Nancy Barbee visited our Club and sat down with us for an informal chat. Her focus was on the goals set for the year 2009-2010.

The first is the total eradication of Polio, with all district 7730 clubs aiding International Rotary match a 255 million donation by Bill Gates. Each club needs to match with a $2,000.00 donation the RI Polio fund. To further highlight this endeavor, our Rotary District is holding "Hands On for Polio Awareness" week, Feb 21 to 28, 2010.

February 1 to 10, Governor Nancy will be leading a polio National Immunization Day to Bahir, India. The cost to join into this trip is approximately $3500.00 per person, but to offset this cost, the Governor has earmarked $10,000.00 to be split among the participants.

We need to strive to make all our members Paul Harris Fellows and try to exceed $100.00 per sustaining member.

Our District Conference is set for April 30, May 1-2, 2010 and is being held at the Hilton in New Bern. Governor Nancy is hoping to have 1000 District 7730 Rotarians in attendance. A large part of her agenda will be the honoring our Military, and our Youth; A RYLA reunion, and Rotoract and Interact Rallies. Why not plan on attending yourself?

Rotary Leadership Institutes are coming up and if you are interested, check our Database Calendar for dates and information.

There is another new club forming in Leland, NC and they hope to be charterd by December, 2009.

Looks like a very busy year!

August 17, 2009

Have a Sample at Lake Road Winery

Our program, brought to us by Maher, taught us a "Bunch" about wine, the type of grapes, and special blending that creates the tastiest wines. Mitchell Smith, brother of our own Manly Smith, shared information about his new winery called Lake Road Winery. After some history on wine, he noted that the first winery in North Carolina was opened by Paul Garrett in 1850. Mitch and his wife Suzy opend Lake Road in March, 2009. They use only fruits grown in North Carolina combining them to make unique blends. They name their wine based on the town of Newport, it's people, heritage, and spots of interest.

For a visit to the Winery, see Mitch and Suzy at Lake Road Winery, located at 1120 Lake Road in Newport and have a free taste.

August 17, 2009

Youth Exchange

The Newport Club is sponsoring Lena Mueller from Hamburg, Germany. Lena is staying with PDG Bevin Wall and his family. Earlier in the summer, Bevin and Pam’s daughter, Madison, traveled to Hamburg to stay with the Muellers. Madison confessed she did not know a word of German before departing the U.S., but with her resourcefulness and outgoing personality, she and her host family had a wonderful visit and she had the opportunity to see some amazing sights. In turn, the Wall’s have traveled up and down the east coast, showing Lena some of our beautiful land. If you ask Lena what her favorite part of her visit is, she’ll tell you she loves going to the beach.
Vanessa Ervin, Youth Exchange District Chair (See complete article in the August Newsletter)

Family Night October 26, 2009

Bring your family, friends, potential new members and

pecial guests to our Family Night October 26, 2009. Mark your calendar, and Be There!!

Arrangements are made for a terrific guest speaker. Be There!!

Food and Fellowship will abound. Be There!!

See you there on the 26th.

More information to follow!

Foundation Seminar is for Everyone!

August 10, 2009

The President is Real Person!
Manly Smith brought us a young man who is of the same caliber as McKenzie Wall.
Matthew Haggard, Manly's Grandson, graduated from NC State in 2007 with a degree in marketing. Before graduation, Matthew, who worked all through college, spent time in 2004, working in the campaign headquarters of George W. Bush in Raleigh. This led Matthew on his journey to the White House, working throughout the Bush administration. His first position was as a Presidential Correspondent, followed by time as a Presidential Messager to the People. Later switching into Public Relations, he remained with President Bush until the end of his term.
Matthew gave us a personal glimpse into the daily life of the President, relating humorous stories that showed us just how human a President can be.
Matthew shared mementos from his work at the White House, such photos, letters, and a very special menu.
We wish Matthew all the best in his future. He is a very special young man.

August 3, 2009

Rainy Day in Newport

On August 3 plans for a work day meeting arranged by Jim Everett, and a picnic dinner arranged by Cliff Schweitzer turned out to be "All Wet"!

As the club was suppose to meet and have a cook-out supper, followed by a weeding and re-mulching of areas near Newport Elementary, the weather had a different idea in mind for the members.

We all gathered under the pavilion across the street from our Rotary building, ate Hot Dogs, macaroni salad and ice cream, and spent our Rotary hour sharing fellowship with each other. It was fun and enabled us to spend time with each other in a very relaxed atmosphere. The work will be rescheduled.

July 27, 2009

Family Pride

Bevin and Pam Wall are very proud of their daughter, McKenzie, and rightly so. In this age of kids messing up their lives with drugs, alcohol, early sex, and just general rebellion, Bevin and Pam have reared their children to have tremendous self-esteem. Their own knowledge of their talents and the infinite opportunities they have before them, stem from Bevin and Pam's love and faith in their children.

McKenzie had and seized one of these great opportunities that allowed her to explore her love of the theatre, and it's related programs, by spending her last year of high school at the North Carolina School of the Arts. In addition to her regular studies needed to complete credits necessary fro her high school graduation, she was able to take classes that increased her skills in the performing arts.
McKenzie related some of her experiences of her last year of high school, and showed the members of the Newport Club what loving parents dedicated to their children can achieve.
McKenzie is readying herself for Ithaca College, where she will continue her studies in her chosen field.

Good luck to McKenzie and Congratulations to Bevin and Pam!

New President has Some Questions

July 20, 2009

President Amos Parker asked the membership "What should we do to keep the our club going?"

The membership replied with ideas to increase our cash flow, and increase our membership. Among the topics brought up were, members voted to keep our meals as a donation from the membership, each taking turns preparing the meal for the others.

Increasing our membership is also a priority, as new members will increase our revenue and add new input to our projects and discussions. A membership committee was appointed.

The membership noted that our club needed to become more visible in our community, by additional sinage, and active participation in community activities.

A committee was formed to select and nominate a President Elect for our Newport Club for the year 2010-2011. Larry Howard, Steve Blizzard, and Derryl Garner will meet and make their nomination known to the members upon the conclusion of their meetings.

We plan to spend another meeting in the near future for further discussion regarding these topics and members are asked to brainstorm for new ideas.