Jonesboro University Rotary
N E W S L E T T E R
Thursday, February 22, 2007 – Holiday Inn
President-Elect Pam Kail called the meeting to order;
Mark Richardson led the prayer;
George Hammond led the pledge of allegiance to the American Flag
Visiting Rotarians
none
Make Ups
Jayni Blackburn, Ken Stacks, Glenn Bowers, Chris Evans
Super Seniors
Brian Gibson introduced Olga Recoe and her parents. She is a senior at Valley View, where she is ranked first in her class. Olga is a National Merit finalist, active in Model UN, and has been named to all-region and all-state choir. She also is a third degree black back in Tae Kwon Do!
James McDaniel introduced Logan Hall and his mother Angel. Loan is a senior at Westside High School, where he is senior class president, Mr. WHS, and is involved with Interact and FBLA. Logan also is a drummer and attends Temple Baptist Church.
Announcements
Pam announced that there will be a new member orientation March 6 Mid-South Health . Contact Jayni if you plan to attend.
Jerry Smith announced a new club project, which will involved placing easy-to-read house numbers in front of the homes of elderly individuals. This effort will assist the local fire and police departments in locating these homes during emergencies. Dan Travathan and Donn Mixon have also been working on this project. Please contact Jerry if you are interested in helping.
Jay Clevenger asked that everyone keep Gary Childers in their thoughts are he recuperates from right rotator cuff surgery and awaits surgery on the left.
Glenn Bowers announced that the date of the Metro Club’s Wine & Art Extravaganza will be April 21.
Pot O’Gold
Len Frey offered an emergency plea regarding POG efforts.
Jesse Stafford informed the club that tickets sales are on par with previous years (#159 sold), but we still need to sell more. Club members, please buy your tickets.
Dave Davison has secured the band for the evening.
Margaret needs everyone’s help with prizes – she currently only has 65 committed gifts.
Josh Fletcher has taken Rob’s place a clean-up chair. Volunteers are still needed.
Good News
Jayni placed a brochure containing upcoming workshops at Mid-South Health on the table; several interesting topics (including ethics in the workplace) are on the agenda. She also announced that her daughter Gretchen will be getting married in the fall.
Rita Reed announced that over $167,000 was raised during the “Have A Heart” wish-a-thon for Make-A-Wish. She also shared with the club that the wish granted to Gage was compared to the very first wish granted (which was done in Arizona).
Ken Stack’s nephew will be playing football this fall at the University of Arkansas/Monticello.
Joe Stallings shared that the medical mission trip that he made to Honduras with two Family Medicine residents was a successful and gratifying experience. He encouraged everyone to participate in a similar experience if given the opportunity.
Cheryl Davis’s daughter, Candy Adams, is a intern architect who just wrote an article on concurrency. Candy recently passed one of NINE exams that she will have to take.
Christopher Clark announced that Barnes & Noble sponsored storytime that included children with Down’s Syndrome. These storytimes are at 2:00pm on Saturday afternoon. Christopher also donated a $200 gift certificate towards books!
James announced that his son Patrick was acknowledged as King of McArthur’s Valentine’s Ball.
Dan Travathan’s son has been accepted into Ouachita University, where he will study mass communications and ministry.
Glenn Bowers celebrated his 54th b-day yesterday!
Mark Richardson’s daughter was named to the Dean’s List in the Business honors college.
Program – Mark Young, President and CEO of the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce
Mark has a strong background in economic development in several communities. This morning he shared with us some of the trends that he has noticed.
1. Time constriction has really impacted development within a community. For examples, a project that once took two years now may only take one year. One reason is that companies have consultants whose sole purpose is to find an ideal location for a new business.
2. The Internet has really impacted development. Consultants and clients can obtain a lot of information about a community prior to visiting it. The Chamber works to make sure that they information these clients obtain is indeed accurate. Information that the Chamber provides is individualized to the prospective client. Incidentally, the full identity of the client is not always initially known.
As an example, Mark gave the time line for Alberto-Culver’s entrance into the Jonesboro community. The company’s first contact was made in April of 2006; ground breaking for their new facility was in January of 2007. This new industry represents a $91 million dollar investment, and will product over 400 jobs.
3. Mark stressed the importance of the Chamber and the community in supporting existing industries. He cited an annual survey from 2006, to which 21 companies responded. The survey indicated that 120 new jobs were created by these 21 companies during the past year, with a financial investment of $58 million.
This Saturday several individuals will be traveling to Washington, DC to discuss specific items. Included are I-555, the ASU overpass, the I49-I67 connector, and Lake Bono. The annual Legal Dinner will be in Little Rock on March 29th. The Business Expo will be held April 19th.
Mark closed by highlighting the strengths of Jonesboro, including economic diversity, utility system, and quality of life.
Four Way Test
Joe Stallings
