Orangeburg Morning Rotary in the News, and the Newsletter

This item ran in the Times and Democrat on May 7, and was reprinted in our District 7770 Newsletter.

The Rotary Club of Orangeburg-Morning presented a$5,000 check to Buster Smith, director of the City ofOrangeburg Parks and Recreation Department, on April 3 tohelp pay for improvements to the dugouts at AlbergottiBaseball Field.

The renovation of the dugouts is part of an overhaul of thecity’s oldest recreational field, with the field also receivingnew fencing, renovations to the concession stand andscorer’s table, a new batting tunnel and bullpens.

“Our club has always had a focus on youth and on improvingthe community, so this was an excellent opportunity topartner with the city to greatly improve Albergotti field,”said Mike Dennis, district foundation advocate of the RotaryClub of Orangeburg-Morning.“Hundreds of kids will benefit from the improved field andthe city will also have a great place to potentially host DixieYouth tournaments in the future. Our RotaryDistrict 7770, which encompasses the majority of South Carolina, makes available, each year, grant money that can be used for local projects.

"We applied for a grant of $2,500 which we matched with $2,500 from our club for this effort. Overall, Rotary District7770 has given out $80,000 this year alone, which was matched dollar for dollar by other clubs to enhance their local communities.”


Clich HERE for the entire newsletter.

Loretta Davis, GSE Team In the News

Saturday morning, while some of us were ringing the bell for Salvation Army in front of Wal-Mart, readers of the Times and Democrat were learning about Detective Loretta Davis and the GSE team to South Africa. Let me quote from Richard Walker's article on the Dec 1 front page:

DPS officer experiences more than law enforcement in South Africa

December 01, 2007 One Orangeburg resident and public servant found the people of this foreign land to be little different from those people here."It was the most rewarding experience of my life," said Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Lt. Loretta Davis. "So much happened, but the people of South Africa were so wonderful."The 41-year-old Davis was part of this year's Rotary Club Group Study Exchange, a program aimed at fostering learning between different communities throughout the world.The annual exchange is sponsored through donations collected by Rotary District 7770, which encompasses roughly half of the Palmetto State, said District 7770 Assistant Governor Mary Scarborough of the Rotary Club of Orangeburg Morning.

The visiting Orangeburg officer said she saw towns as wealthy as any here in the States, particularly around the gold and diamond mining towns.But there are also entire neighborhoods consisting entirely of fragile structures that hardly qualified as shacks. Some had only three walls, some didn't have that. For others, running water is simply a luxury of the rich."It was a life-changing experience for me," Davis said. "I always thought I was a person who was humble. Seeing how people live in South Africa, and to see how we live in the U.S.? And to see poverty at that level? It made me
realize how blessed I am."

But here's the line Wendell Davis and Bill Carter may be MOST interested in:

"It's changed my life," she said of the time spent there. "I may even become a Rotarian."

"May?"

+++


Also in the news, as usual for a sunday, is Howard Hill. No Rotarian in Orangeburg, and no student, friend, or colleague of Dr. Hill, will doubt his commitment to education, so his comments on the No Child Left Behind act are well worth our consideration. Let me quote from his conclusion.

A mandate is needed for involving parents in their children's education. The reworking of NCLB legislation must have variables to ensure that PreK-12 educational outcomes will eventually rival the industrialized nations. But the U.S. Congress nor the nation's president possesses the authority to insist that parents be intimately involved in the education of children. This is a major shortcoming that, short of a fiat, might pose a dilemma for NCLB.

The heavy lifting of U.S. education policy is carried out by children. This is an incongruent picture regarding a cultural revolution that is needed to revitalize U.S. public school education. Parents cheerlead for their children; however, their roles must be more concerted for advantageous choices and decisions on their behalf to emerge. This is certainly not requesting too much of them.

Update on the District

At our July 18 meeting, the District 7770 Assistant Governor–our own Mary Scarborough–gave a presentation on the District 7770 strategic plan. As she said at the outset, “The most important thing about a strategic plan is that you have one, and that everyone knows what it is.” Among the key goals for the district plan Mary set out:

–Increase membership by about 11% to 5000 by 2011;

–Increase giving to the Rotary Foundation by 10%;

–At least one Paul Harris Fellow at each club;

–Participation by all clubs at District Conferences, and greater participation from each club at all district events;

–Increased participation in the Rotary leadership training program, so more people will be skilled and knowledgeable in Rotary leadership;

–Increase the grant writing activity throughout the district; and

-Submit names for Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships;

Although our club is smaller and younger than some, we’re doing our part to meet all of these goals. Mary encouraged us all to be on the lookout for ambassadorial scholarship candidates. If we put a name forward, we really need to work with this young person to make sure they pass all of the interviews.

Do you know of a young person you’d want to nominate? Let Bill or Mary know.

CLUB NOTES

President Bill announced the results of the last board meeting. Rotary International has asked each club to vote to rescind a feature of the new by-laws which they realized was unworkable. The motion carried without dissent.

John Till has requested a withdrawal from the club. He sent a nice letter explaining his reasons–family and work obligations–and thanking the club for the fellowship and friendship he found here.

Also, Treasurer Frank repeated his call for all members to please, please pay their dues, and don’t be shy about contributing to the Rotary Foundation. Remember, this is OUR charity.

Lee Kuck catered for the second week, and breakfast was even better than the first week!
Happy Birthday to Mary C. (Satuday, 7/21).

Learn more about our district.