MINUTES: AUGUST 16, 2016
Posted on Aug 20, 2016
President Jaclyn Adams presided over the meeting. Thanks to Lynn Walton who gave the invocation and to Bill MacLauchlan who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Dan Davis and Jerome Brown served as our greeters today.
Tracie Fowler and introduced our visiting Rotarian and guests. Jerry Buti is visiting from the Sunrise Club. Kory Moore is a guest of Ben Donald and Jerome Brown has as his guest Cheyenne Trussell.
Today’s Three Minutes of Awesome features Brian Moore. He was born on Friday the thirteenth in Raleigh, Mississippi and because the cord was wrapped around his neck he almost didn’t survive. He was an avid tennis player in high school and college. He got his first job at age 14 and has been employed every day of his life thereafter. He graduated from Mississippi State University and began a career in banking in Memphis. He got married while in Memphis. Both he and his wife are from Mississippi so they decided to move back home. He has been in Hattiesburg for the past eight years and is currently a Commercial Lender for Citizen National Bank. He has three children, aged 6, 4 and 2. His oldest just started to school. This 4 year old is a survivor of a heart condition at birth and has survived a number of open heart surgeries and is doing great.
Jaclyn reminded members about the upcoming Bike-a-Thon. Thanks to generous support from Rotarians and the community the event has generated $11,750 in pledged sponsorships so far. If your company is interested, see Jaclyn, Sean or Jonathan Shemper.
This is the last call for Rotarians interested in getting a Rotary table and attending the annual Christian Services banquet on August 30th.
Katherine Nugent was recognized for achieving a Paul Harris Fellowship. She was presented with a Paul Harris lapel pin for making her contribution to the Rotary Foundation.
Maura reported that our club raised $445 for the Domestic Abuse Shelter. She also reported on the Christian Services Meals on Wheels Rotary route. If you are interested in volunteering one hour a month, please see Maura. She also noted that the Projects Committee is planning on selling water at this year’s Hub Fest. Hattiesburg Coca-Cola will donate the water. Money raised from the sale will be used to support a Rotary water project.
Jaclyn reminded members that the District Governor will present to the club on August 30th. He will meet with board members at 11 a.m. that same date.
Tom Overton and Kory Moore were asked to come forward with their sponsors Tracie Fowler and Ben Donald. Tom is a former Rotarian and is re-joining the organization through our club. Kory is a new member.
Jerome Brown then introduced today’s guest speaker, Tony Vance, Hattiesburg High School Tigers Head Coach.
Tony is number 12 of 13 children in his family. He grew up in Charleston, Mississippi where his mother had two firm rules. Rule number one was that you went to church every week. Rule number two was that you go to school and get a good education. He says both rules have served him well throughout his life.
He was working at Walmart when his mother died, never thinking about being a football coach. Shortly after her death he got a telephone call and an offer to become a defensive coach. He’s been a football coach for the past 19 years.
Tony came to Hattiesburg High four years ago. His first day on the joy was the day the tornado hit. He and his family love living and working in Hattiesburg.
Coach Vance believes that a successful football team begins with a program A big part of the program is surrounding yourself with people who share your vision and who want to be where you want to be. He says he hires good people, not necessarily good coaches. The coaching skills can come later. He maintains that you win with people regardless of what you do.
Another important part of his successful program begins in Middle School. After putting his staff together they went to the Middle School football program and met the 8th graders some who have become his senior and junior stars after four years. He says he didn’t just meet the Middle School players. He built relationships with them and their families.
As a high school football coach Tony says he can’t take what he does lightly. He knows that he may be the only male influence in some of his player’s lives. He strives to teach his players that they must have a plan for their life after football. Event is you end up playing professionally, that career will come to an end and every player should be prepared for that next life.
The number one goal Coach Vance has for each of his players is that they graduate from high school. He number one challenge is to make sure that every player knows he cares about them as a person, not just as a football player.
Coach Vance encouraged Hattiesburg High Alumni to come back and support their program.