May 8, 2006

Most everyone who attended agreed, “A great conference!” Almost 100 Rotarians and 52 guests from 21 of 42 Clubs registered for the conference. They were joined by another 60 or more Starkville, Columbus, and West Point Rotarians who attended the luncheon on Friday.

Here are some of the highlights:
You would be standing tall with most other Rotarians when you heard the 2-minute summary reports on service projects of District 6820 clubs. We do make a difference!

The Little Dooey’s Bar BQ with MSU Football Coach Syl Croom sharing his philosophy on coaching, education, and life was held on a beautiful evening in a lovely setting on the Henry Hunter Center plaza.

Carey Hardin flew four lucky attendees in his 1923 Stearman bi-plane. (One of the Japanese GSE Team members won a flight. When asked how he liked flying in formation with a glider tow-plane, he replied, “close, close, very, very close.”)

PDG John Fair & Co. showed incredible photos of Katrina coming ashore as he reported how District 6820 Rotarians are continuing to help in coastal recovery efforts.

Club of the Year Award went to two clubs – Columbus for their efforts in supporting industrial development efforts, and Newton for their efforts in assisting Pakistani earthquake victims.

James Hunger of Winona was given special recognition for his continued efforts and also won the W.A. Price Bulletin Award as editor of The Crossroads.

PDG Jim Stanley of N. Jackson was named recipient of the prestigious Rotary International Citation for Meritorious Service Award.

Twenty-four of forty-two clubs were named Presidential Citation Award winners, qualifying the District for the Presidential Citation District Award.

Former TVA Chairman Glenn McCullough of Tupelo gee-whizzed the group with his recall, without notes, of individuals and their Rotary accomplishments….an exceptional leader and motivational speaker..

Jennifer Mann of the CDC, who had just returned from the Sudan, gave a great Power Point update on the effort to curb polio and the challenges faced as we get nearer the goal of eradication of the deadly disease worldwide.

R.I. President’s Representative Brian Andersen and won the group over with his first-hand knowledge of Katrina problems and details of Rotary’s operations.

We had wonderful presentations from the GSE team from northern Japan, from the District’s two Ambassadorial scholars, and our Rotary Youth Exchange student from Florence, Italy.

Each registrant had a nice surprise when they opened their welcome packets – a gift of Nancy Patty Walker’s Southern Legacy Cookbook – it sells for $20 in bookstores!

There’s more to come about the conference in future newsletters, but the group that got the biggest hand in appreciation of their efforts was that fun-loving group from Greenville who hosted the hospitality suite!

The conference could not have been held without the cooperation of MSU. The facilities and service were quite impressive. Our sincerest thanks.

DGE Mark Doiron is shifting into high gear in preparation for his year. He’s almost ready with his new leadership team.

Please be sure and get your donations into the Rotary Foundation annual fund by June 1st.

Overheard in Starkville. A number of clubs are preparing to submit applications for Ambassadorial Scholarships. Ann Barnes of Madison-Ridgeland takes over from Edley Jones III, who has chaired this committee for the last 3years.

PDG Jim Stanley gave his Leadership Seminar just prior to the opening of the conference. The RI President’s Representative was so impressed he requested a copy of Jim’s slides. “We don’t have anything of this quality in Rotary around the Chicago area. I’m going to take it back and introduce it to our district.”

Coming events:

Zone Training Seminar –Membership and Foundation –Saturday, June 24 at Eagle Ridge Conference Center, Hinds Community College.

Changing of the Guard – Thursday, June 29 at the weekly meeting of Madison-Ridgeland Rotary Club

My sincerest thanks to PP Ann Mitchell for serving as Conference Chairperson. And I am very grateful for the support of so many members of the Starkville Rotary Club.

Yours in Rotary,

Stuart Vance