VERY Important Dates!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Work on Chatham Street Flowerbeds
Meet at 10:00 a.m Across

from Elementary School

Saturday, November 21, 2009
Food Drive 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Monday, November 30, 2009
Trim A Tree at Brithaven
Reg. Meeting Time

On Election Eve: How the Election of 1898 Changed NC History

On the eve of elections throughout the State of North Carolina, Past District Governor Bevin Wall presented a historical perspective on the Elections of 1898 that forever changed the political landscapes of the state.

Those elections effectively returned to power a governing party that would restore "Home Rule", disenfranchise African American voters for decades to come and roll back many of the progressive policies enacted since the end of the Civil Way. While problems certainly remain now, it is evident that our state has come a long way in defending the individual liberties and protections afforded by our "Nation of Laws".

Interestingly, even after 111 years, many of the personalities and family names cited were familiar to some of the "old timers" in the Rotary Club, according to several comments in the Q&A period following the program.

Governor Wall based his presentation on an article by Nicholas Graham archived in The North Carolina Collection at the UNC-Chapel Hill Library. Click here for a link to this full article.

October 26, 2009

President Amos Hits a Home Run

President Amos Parker wanted to have a Family Night that brought all our club members and their families together. He wanted to honor some important guests, the wives of some of our deceased members, and all the Past District Governors from Carteret County. He wanted a great dinner, prepared with quality, and care, and he wanted to have a great speaker. Well, Amos did it! He enlisted Larry and Sharon Howard, who in turn enlisted their family and friends to pitch in, and they prepared and served a delicious meal of Roast Pork Tenderloin, with all the fixens'. Amos couldn't have found a better team for the meal!

He honored three of our five Past District Governors, Dr. Bill Walker, who attended with his wife Jolene, Beven Wall, attending with wife Pam, and Daughter, and Derryl Garner along with his wife, Jane. Among our honored wives of past Rotarians, we welcomed our present Assistant Governor, John Scibal and his wife, Rhonda.

To motivate us, he brought in another winner, Rocky Jacobs who attended with his wife, and gave us motivation to be Rotarians and not Rhinos and to remember that the "Future of Rotary is in Our Hands".

Way to go, Amos. You scored BIG !


Thanks to Joe Garner for taking the photos!

Newport Principals Making the Grade

Newport Elementary Principal, Beth Lanning, and her husband, Newport Middle School Principal, Bud Lanning were our guests, compliments of PDG Derryl Garner, who was responsible for the program.

Beth had visited our club in 2008, and told us then of the various challenges she faced as the new principal of Newport Elementary. Now she is giving us a report on how things are going.

Firstly, as with the entire world, they are getting no funds to help them serve the children with tutoring and extra help classes. In spite of this they have raised their reading and math skills overall scores. For instance, the school's math score went from a low 66 to a terrific 87.7!

Beth told us that Newport Elementary needs tutoring volunteers, as due to the lack of funds, they are having to use their aides for tutoring. They need volunteers to help the children with reading and math skills. On October 29, the school is having a Volunteer Round-Up. If you are interested in volunteering, phone the school, attend the roundup, and connect with a teacher and become a regular volunteer.

Bud Lanning gave us a brief synopsis of how things are going at Newport Middle School, and like the Elementary school, they have raised their scores. The website has information about the school improvement plan.

Please contact either school if you want more information about their programs and ask how you can help to give a child a helping hand.

Service Project for Oct. 5 Postponed due to Rain

The project date will be reset.

September 21, 2009

Business Informational Meeting

Tonight’s meeting focused on the many items that our club members needed to address, or get information about.

President Amos asked the members to nominate and approve Marilyn Everett as our President Elect for the year 2010-2011. It was approved and passed.

Derryl reported that there are 5 second grade classes at the elementary school, with a total enrolled of 102. Dictionaries will be ordered, and he mentioned that if you can attend with the group to distribute the dictionaries to the students, that it is a very rewarding project. Plan to go if you can.

October 26 is Family Night, and so far we have about 50 people planning to attend. Larry and Sharon will be cooking (YUM) and decorating our building. There will be surprises and door prizes for the ladies. Amos reminded us to bring potential members and family to the event. 5 Past Governors from our District will also be in attendance and will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to Rotary. A guest speaker is planned. Plan on about 2 hours for this special dinner, and if you need to reserve somebody, contact President Amos Parker.

Our Christmas Party is just a short time away. This year’s party will be held at our Rotary Building on December 14. We are checking into Golden Corral again, as they did such a superb job last year, and at a very reasonable charge per person. More on this very soon.

Our work night on the flower beds on Chatham St. is October 5, 2009, and we will meet at 5:30 pm at the flower beds. We will have dinner after we are finished at our Rotary Building.

Amos gave members information about the Bike Race for Polio that the President's group is planning for next April to fund the $2,000.00 each club needs to raise to match RI funds for Polio. We are also collecting Pennies for Polio and will be putting labeled jars in our places of business for the donation of funds. More information about the bike race will come as specific items are in place.

Our building mortgage has a balance of about $11,000.00, and our monthly payment is right at $295.00. Our funds are very low, so if you can see your way clear to make a payment for the good of Newport Rotary, then step right up and write the check!

We want to participate in the Newport Pig Cooking again this year. It was suggested we get a banner to better display the Newport Rotary Club, and use this time for some positive PR work. It was also suggested that we purchase shirts with our Rotary emblem to wear while working.

The Rotary Leadership Institute in Greenville is October 10, at $95.00 per person. A carpool is possible if members want to sign up and ride together.

RYLA is planned for the first of the new year, and we need to start searching for youth to attend. It was suggested we use the schools to help select good interested kids.

September 14, 2009

Heidi Gives Us Garden Advice
Yours truly was in the kitchen during all of the discussion with Heidi about our flower beds on
Chatham Street, but I do know we are going to be using Heidi's suggestions on how to improve these beds. Our work night is planned for October 5 at 5:30 pm. We will meet at the site of the beds and return to our Rotary Building for dinner afterwards. Come prepared to dig!