Steven Utroska presided over today’s meeting. Mark Killingsworth provided the invocation and Joe Meador led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mark Killingsworth was our greeter today.
Steven reminded members that we need Meals on Wheels volunteers for the month of January. He also asked members to sign up for the Salvation Army Bell Ringing coming up this Saturday. Four new board members are needed for the elections which will occur in January. Their terms of office will be July 2020 through June 2021.
Shane Germany asked for member's assistance in finding guest speakers for January through April of 2020. If you’re not capable of booking speakers for an entire month but have speaker recommendations, please provide those to Shane.
Sponsorship forms for the upcoming bingo event are now available on-line. Mallory continues to work on hard-copy tickets for distribution. Online tickets are now available. The event will be held on Tuesday evening, February 4th beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Mike McPhail thanked the volunteers who helped with today’s meeting. Erin Granberry has Lucy Sanguinetti as her guest today. Shirley Moore is a guest of Bill McLeod. Both are potential Rotarians. Shirley’s application has been received and is being processed. Sean Priebe and Mike Ratliff gave Classification Talks as our program today.
Sean has been a Rotarian since 2009. He was invited to attend a club meeting and found that he enjoyed the club and its members. He has served in several board positions and as President of the club.
Born in Arkansas, Sean attending school in Little Rock. Bill Clinton was the school’s commencement speaker the year he graduated. He went on to study Radio, Film, and Television at Arkansas State. After graduation, he and his dad begin an automotive equipment sales and service business in Hattiesburg. Both his parents are from the Hattiesburg area. He moved to Hattiesburg in 1995 and discovered a love for economics. He moved into his present profession where he is a Certified Financial Planner. He has been married for the past 26 years. He and Sarah have two children. Their oldest is a student at a local Community College. His youngest is fourteen and continues to be home-schooled for at least one more year. Sean is a lover of music, mixed martial arts, long guns and long walks on the beach. His single, strongest advice for retirement planning is to get close to retirement without any debt.
Mike Ratliff is a local attorney. His dad was a Baptist preacher and his mom taught Latin after he graduated from high school. He was born in Kentucky. He is the oldest of three boys.
Mike’s family moved to Hattiesburg when he was in the eighth grade. He graduated from Southern Mississippi in 1974 with a major in history. While at Southern Miss he worked to book campus performances. He went on to the Ole Miss Law School in 1981. Former Governor Ronnie Musgrove and author John Grisham were his classmates.
Mike’s Rotary experience began in high school. He was a member of a Rotary Interact Club. Through that Club, he was invited to participate in a Rotary Group Study Exchange where he was fortunate enough to go to Brasile. He joined our club in 1984 and has served on our board, he has been a Club officer and a District officer.
He has practiced law for the past 38 years. Although he doesn’t read nor exercise as much as he used to, he still enjoys both. He too is a music lover and has seen many live musical performances. He enjoys traveling; is a member of University Baptist Church, and loves being a Rotarian.