2009-10 Rotary International theme: The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.

We are Rotary club #3931.
Visit our web site: www.memphiscentralrotaryclub.org

Today's meeting
09/18/09: 11:45 a.m. – Chickasaw Country Club – Program: Club assembly
Program coordinator: President Ray Darby

Club assemblies keep us up-to-date on projects and help us focus on the direction we want our club to take in the future. It's important for YOU to attend our once-a-month club assemblies!

Future meetings
09/25/09: 11:45 a.m. – Chickasaw Country Club – Program: Arthur Oliver, senior vice-president, Sun Trust Bank. Topic: tour in Afghanistan Program coordinator: John May
10/02/09: 11:45 a.m. – Chickasaw Country Club – Program: Arlender Jones Topic: Identity theft
Program coordinator: Karen Shea
10/09/09: 11:45 a.m. – Chickasaw Country Club – Program: TBA
10/16/09: 11:45 a.m. – Chickasaw Country Club – Program: Club Assembly
Program coordinator: President Ray Darby

Note: All meeting information is provided to the newsletter editor by the Program Committee. We believe our meetings listings are current and as accurate as we have been made aware. Please contact Jean Patterson, newsletter editor, if you have update/corrections for the future meetings section.

September is designated as Literacy Month by the Rotary Club of Memphis Central. We ask that each club member to seriously consider donating a minimum of $25.00 to the cause of literacy. We understand that the country is in the midst of an economic downturn (recession) but hope that everyone will be able to “go the extra Rotary mile” to help us with this extremely important project.

Checks (or cash) will be collected at each meeting in September and into October. Please make your check payable to “the Rotary Club of Memphis Central Foundation” and give your donation to club treasurer Bill Eddings who is also a member of the Literacy Committee.

Literacy Chair Jean Patterson and committee members Bill Eddings, Tom Michael, Randolph Reeves and Gordon Wilson encourage you to participate in this important fund-raising project! Remember, if someone had not taught you how to read, the messages in the newsletter would look something like this: XVUWPOEN XUEOP WAMP97A

Donations collected during Literacy Month in September will be given to the Memphis Literacy Foundation and toward our Rotary District 6800 Dictionary project.

Update from the September 11 meeting: We collected $125.00! This is a wonderful start --- please continue to make donations to the project throughout September and into the first couple of weeks of October.

Holiday Dinner and Silent Auction
This year's annual Holiday Dinner and Silent Auction will be held on Saturday, December 12 at the University Club featuring the MPD Peacemakers as our after-dinner entertainment. For those who are not familiar with the group, the MPD Peacemakers is a quartet of the finest singing voices in the Memphis police department. Here's how you can help to make this event a resounding success:

Attend the event! Mark this date on your calendar and plan to bring friends and family
Actively participate by collecing auction items – we need interesting and useful items at all price ranges, so please help look for donated items from vendors, friends or people you do business with.

Please direct any questions or comments to Jim Crone, chair for the event.

Club members celebrating September birthdays
09/13: Larry Conn (CVM Law Group)
09/17: Tom Michael (Financial Federal)
09/17: Jean Patterson (American Contract Bridge League)
09/27: Randolph Reeves (Memphis Gemology Lab)

September 11, 2009 meeting
Past-President Jim Crone welcomed us to Meeting #1610 and David Luiken gave the invocation and led us in the pledge of allegiance. Randolph Reeves asked Laura House to introduce her guests (there were three of them!):
Julia Claire Lester (Laura's sister), Linda Wheeler and Glenda Tarve. Another guest was Joshua Sudbury, law student, who said that his father is a Rotarian in Gallatin, TN who has a 25-year perfect attendance record.

New Wheel Spin this week
Last week there was no Wheel spin because Sgt. at Arms John May was absent. This week, John had returned in full glory with a new “twist” for the Wheel. The formula is so convoluted (yet effective) for a non-financial manager like your editor, that I find I am unable to explain the new method. But it works! John wasted no time in creating a list of potential “Wheelies”---those who either missed meetings and did not make up or those who committed infractions of the rules that would place them on the Wheel. Among those eventually going to the treasurer's table to pay their fines included Jim Crone, Laura House, the Sgt. at Arms himself--John May, Tom Michael and Randolph Reeves.

The last comment about Tom Michael and the saga of the missing badge.
Tom Michael was “brought up on charges” about Jean Patterson's badge which---according to a reliable source--- was last seen on Tom's jacket as he departed one of the August meetings. However, by a show of hands, the group voted that Tom should not be fined for this infraction since it was only the word of President Ray that Tom had worn Jean's badge. Since President Ray was not able to attend the Sept. 11^th meeting, he was not there to vote against Tom being let off the hook. That meant since Tom voted for himself, he had enough votes (his own vote was the tie-breaker) to be let go. But he did have to pay a fine for not making up one of his missed meetings, so the Foundation and the Scholarship Fund benefitted, after all. Note: This is the last time Jean's missing badge will be reported in the Rotaria; however, I plan to wear Tom's badge until mine shows up again---or the club orders me a replacement badge, whichever comes first!
Floyd’s Fund raffle
Sgt. at Arms John May announced that $32.00 was raised for the Floyd’s Fund raffle—that's $16.00 for the Scholarship Fund and $16.00 to be added to the winner's fund. This week, the raffle ticket winner was playing for $48.00 in the winner's fund. Ticket #7370 belonging to Leroy Dahler was randomly drawn. Leroy drew one card from the 51 remaining in the deck. He was hoping to pick the Queen of ♥ because that's the winning card. Instead, Leroy had to settle for the 10♠ which brought him nothing! Leroy's card was destroyed and thrown away, leaving 50 cards in the deck for next week's raffle ticket winner to select from. So the $48.00 that was in the winner's fund goes on to next week. That amount and half of whatever is raised through ticket sales next week will be the new grand total for the winner's fund. Remember, if you don't purchase raffle tickets you can't win the prize!

Guest speaker, Judge Kay Robilio
Laura House introduced her long time friend (and John Shepherd's first cousin), Judge Kay S. Robilio. Judge Robilio was a member of the Downtown Rotary Club for more than 20 years and recalled making up missed meetings at our club when we met at Wilson World Hotel!

Judge Robilio shared this information with us prior to the main part of her talk. The court house located in downtown Memphis was built in 1908 and is observing its 100^th anniversary this year. Tours of the facility are expected to begin soon to commemorate the edifice's first 100 years. Judge Robilio frequently holds mock trials for student groups. She invited anyone who may be interested in arranging a tour to call her office---we have her phone number on file.

Judge Robilio is extremely interested in mediation and collaborative law. This is a fairly new no-court alternative. Separating or divorcing is never easy; but when couples and their advocates take a less adversarial approach, the entire family benefits.

Collaborative practice (often called collaborative law) helps families resolve divorce issues with dignity and respect. In the collaborative process, husbands, wives, their attorneys and any other collaborative professionals working with the family, agree to resolve all issues of their case without contentious court proceedings. They plan together to craft an agreement. They make thoughtful decisions that can actually work for the entire family.

Club meetings in the surrounding area
For the convenience of our members we've provided a list of nearby club meeting sites where we can make up our misses. Please save this list for future reference.
MONDAY
Rotary Club of Memphis Sunrise – 7:30 a.m., Crescent Club, 6075 Poplar
West Memphis, Noon, Southland Greyhound Park
TUESDAY
Collierville – Noon, Ridgeway Country Club
Memphis– Noon, University Club
Olive Branch – Noon, Olive Branch Country Club, Germantown Road
Oxford– Noon, Oxford University Club, 300 North Lamar
WEDNESDAY
Germantown-- Noon, Germantown Country Club, 1780 Kimbrough
Hernando – Noon, First Regional Library (NW side adjacent to the Square) – catered lunch
Holly Springs – Noon, Annie's Restaurant, 198 N. Memphis Street. Phone 662-658-2825.
Marion, Arkansas – Noon, The Cedars, 200 Washington Ave.
Memphis East – Noon, Racquet Club, 5111 Sanderlin Dr.
Robinsonville -- 8 am, Tunica National Golf & Tennis facility, Highway 61 & Casino Strip Blvd.
THURSDAY
Bartlett/Cordova – Noon, Colonial Country Club, 2736 Countrywood Pky, Cordova
Southaven – Noon, Boiling Point Restaurant, 55 Church Rd. (near Civic Center)
Tunica – Noon, Women's Club Building, corner of River and School Streets
FRIDAY
Senatobia – 12:15 p.m., Northwest Junior College campus, Haraway Center

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We extend our condolences to Al Hollingsworth, Jr. on the passing of his father
Al’s father, Albert Dewitt Hollingsworth, died on Friday, Sept. 4. He was 94. He was preceded in death by his wife Georgia Robertson Hollingsworth. He is survived by one daughter, Linda Miller, one son, Al Hollingsworth, Jr., four grandchildren, Leigh Hollingsworth, Dena Morris, Justin Miller and DeWitt Miller, and seven great-grandchildren. He was a member of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, graduated from Messick High School in 1933 and was active in the trucking business from 1939 to 1980. A service was held at Elmwood Cemetery on Monday, Sept. 7. Memorials may be sent to the charity of the donor's choice.

Memphis Central Rotary Archive Project
Do you have a part of our club’s history? After 35 years, our club has accumulated a lot of history and most of it is spread around among various members. Jerry Daws recently started an effort to convert our historical records, pictures and memorabilia into digital format. If you have a part of our club's history stored away, will you share it with the club? We'd like to borrow your pictures and documents to scan so that our history can be preserved and shared. Please see Jerry Daws or Ray Darby for more information.

Club members celebrating September birthdays
09/13: Larry Conn (CVM Law Group)
09/17: Tom Michael (Financial Federal)
09/17: Jean Patterson (American Contract Bridge League)
09/27: Randolph Reeves (Memphis Gemology Lab)

Rhodes College Rotaract Club update
Joseph Crone brought exciting news as he reported that Rhodes College recently held a SAC Fair where presidents of campus clubs of all kinds made presentations to the student body. Forty students signed up indicating their interest in the campus Rotaract club.

Joseph requested that we work with his club to network with the students. We are asked to volunteer to invite the Rhodes Rotaract club students to our offices. This will help us get to know the students AND provide them an opportunity to see the business world in action.

If you are interested in working with the Rhodes College Rotaract Club in this networking project, please contact
Joseph at croja1@gmail.com

August 28, 2009 meeting (Lengthy coverage but definitely worth your time!)
President Ray Darby welcomed us to Meeting #1609 and Daniel Augustine gave the invocation and led us in the pledge of allegiance. We welcomed guest Joseph Crone, son of Jim and then Ray was pleased to present immediate past-president Jack Robinson with a lovely past-president's pin. Thank you, Jack, for serving as president---it was a very successful year and you were very much appreciated.

No Wheel Spin this week
Since Sgt. at Arms John May was absent, there was no official spinning of the Wheel. However, R. E. Linkous evidently was feeling some guilt for not being able to make up his missed meetings so he had made a special deal before the start of the meeting with Daniel Augustine (last year's Sgt. at Arms) to pay $20.00 for one blanket fine. Despite the announcement that the Wheel would not be spun, R. E. made his way to the table where our faithful treasurer, Bill Eddings, sits and gave Bill the money for the fine. That's a great way to raise money for the club's Scholarship Fund without even raising a hand to make the official spin of the Wheel!

Tom Michael “steals” a badge
Speaking of fines, we hope that Tom Michael reads the Rotarian faithfully because he is in the news this week and should prepare to receive a fine if he doesn't take care of business before he attends the next meeting. Why?

It seems that at the Aug. 28^th meeting Jean Patterson was wearing Tom’s badge! A little bird----also known as the Big Prez (Ray) told her that Tom was seen at the prior week's meeting wearing Jean's badge. Now, Tom probably didn't notice that he was wearing the wrong badge. However, be that as it may, he took it with him when he left the meeting instead of putting it back in the badge box. So, when Jean came to the Aug. 28 meeting and went to the badge box to retrieve her badge, it was missing! That's when the Big Prez told her what Tom had done the week previous. Jean is not one to let grass grow under her feet---she had arrived to the meeting early so it was easy to pick up Tom's badge and clip it on to her jacket. We were expectantly waiting for Tom to arrive, discover his badge was missing and look around for it. He would have gotten slapped with a fine, too. But, it was not to be! Tom didn't show up for the meeting. However, there is always this week. Unless Tom returns Jean's badge for Friday's meeting he will find himself without a badge because Jean plans to wear Tom's badge until he remembers to return hers. Let's see what happens. Will he or won’t he??? Return the badge and win a reprieve, or forget to bring it back and get an even bigger fine than he would have received if he had attended the meeting on Aug. 28^th. This could get interesting! Stay tuned.

New (fun!) raffle rules announced
President Ray announced that the $41.00 collected for the Floyd’s Fund raffle this week would be the first for a brand new raffle plan. For this Rotary year and perhaps future years, the method to select a weekly winner has changed and there may be a lot of money in someone's future! Keep in mind, though, that the 50/50 rule still applies. That is, half of the money collected in the raffle goes to the Scholarship Fund, the other half to the winner's fund.

President Ray opened a new deck of cards and removed the jokers. That leaves 52 cards to begin the Floyd's Fund raffle. The winning card is the Queen of ♥. Each week the holder of the raffle ticket drawn will be given the opportunity to pick a card from the deck. If the card is the Queen of ♥, he/she wins the money accumulated to date. For instance, last week the winning ticket was #737728 which was held by Jack Robinson. Jack drew a card---the seven of ♠. That was not the winning card, so it was torn up and thrown away. Jack walked away with nothing and the $25.00 he might have won was carried over to this week's meeting. This week there will be only 51 cards left in the deck, so the person making the draw has a better opportunity (we're avoiding the word “chance”) to pick the Queen of ♥. The more weeks that go by before the Queen of ♥ is drawn allow our winner's fund to grow.

The rationale is that as the winner's fund grows, so does the Scholarship Fund! The larger the winner's fund grows, the more apt we are to have more participation by our members and guests in purchasing raffle tickets. And of course, the person who picks the Queen of ♥ gets whatever is in the winner's fund. We carried over $25.00 from Aug. 28^th so that amount will be added this week to half of whatever is collected for the Floyd’s Fund Scholarships.

Guest speaker talks art & food
Joy Baker, executive editor of Memphis Magazine, and author of several Art of Dining books, was the guest speaker. Joy published the first book in the Art of Dining series in early 2005. Its title is, appropriately, the Art of Dining in Memphis. Within six weeks of publication, the book had evidently taken the city by storm as it moved to #12 on the top seller's list at Davis-Kidd book store.

Joy told us that her favorite restaurants in Memphis are Erling Jensen's, Paulette's and the Women's Exchange.

The second book in the series, the Art of Dining in New Orleans, was published in 2007. Favorite dining establishments in the Big Easy include Bon Ton and Elizabeth's.

Next in the series is a soon-to-be published book---the Art of Dining in Nashville. For those who want to learn more, Joy announced a book signing in Memphis at Davis-Kidd on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6:00 p.m. Ya'll come!

Are you unable to make up in person at a nearby Rotary club location? Then you may wish to consider going on-line to make up your missed meeting(s) at Rotary’s e-club one. It’s very easy to do and the variety of program topics allows you to learn a lot about other Rotary club projects worldwide in addition to business subjects and critical needs.
Make-up meetings at your convenience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Spending 30 minutes on the website constitutes an on-line Rotary meeting. It is mandatory that your visit MUST be 30 minutes or more. Visit www.rotaryeclubone.org today!

Our mailing address

Memphis Central Rotary Club
P.O. Box 772296
Memphis TN 38177

Your individual Rotary membership number is printed on your copy of the Rotarian magazine.
Or contact our club secretary to find out your number before corresponding with Rotary International.

Honorary members of the club*
John Bennett 853-3460 *
Henry Francis 754-3405 *
Floyd McDaniel 327-2013 *
Chester Perry 685-0972*
Tidwell Semmes 767-5752 *
Henry Springer 757-9005*
Jim Vandenburg 735-7003 *