MINUTES: September 6, 2016
Posted by Lamar Evans on Sep 12, 2016
President Jaclyn Adams presided over the meeting. Thanks to Kristy Gourld who gave the invocation and to Bill MacLauchlan who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Tom Overton served as our greeter today.
Tracie Fowler, noting that we have no visitors or visiting Rotarians today invoiced Phillip Carter to provide his Three Minutes of Awesome.
Phillip graduated from Delta State University with a degree in music and then earned a degree in library science from the University of Southern Mississippi. While attending DSU he held a number of jobs including working in a club that was owned by Morgan Freeman. After graduating from Southern he took the job as the Director of the Lamar County Library System. The system has libraries in Sumrall, Purvis, Sumrall and Lumberton. They had 210,000 visits last year and provided programming for more than 9,000 children. Premiering soon will be a Music in the Stacks program which will feature musicians from the Pine Belt area. Concerts will be taped and put on YouTube for the world to see.
Jonathan Shemper reminded members that the Bike-a-Thon is coming up in just a few short days. A few sponsorship opportunities remain available. Bikers are encouraged to register. Members who have “trinkets” for the participant bags are encouraged to bring those to the club meeting next week or the week after.
Jaclyn reminded red badge members of the Kollege of Knowledge that’s coming up next Tuesday. She also thanked the club for the excellent participation in last week’s District Governor’s visit. She also asked new members to see her after today’s meeting for a committee assignment.
Erin Granberry reported that our club increased Foundation giving last week by $1,600. Maura also noted that the club generated $545 in cash contributions to the Women’s Shelter in addition to the supplies we provided. Volunteers are still needed for the Christian Services Meals on Wheels program.
Bill McLeod then introduced today’s guest speaker, Scarlett Moore who is the Development Manager for the March of Dimes in South Mississippi.
March of Dimes was created in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt specifically to raise money for Polio research. Americans were asked to make a donation even if it was as small as a dime. It was a March of Dimes research program that Jonas Faulk was working on when he discovered the polio vaccine.
Today the March of Dimes is focused on the prevention of birth defects and premature infant death. There are more than 500,000 premature births each year. Hospitalization and treatments are very expensive. There are 6,613 pre-term deliveries in Mississippi each year. One in eight will die. Scarlett noted that a child born in Afghanistan has a better chance of surviving that one born in the state of Mississippi. Seventy-two pre-term children die before they see their first birthday in Mississippi.
The March of Dimes sponsors a Mom and Baby Mobile Unit that travels from the Delta to the Gulf Coast offering free prenatal care and treatments. They also have a $75,000 grant program to help educate new mothers about safe sleep for their children.
There are a number of events coming up in the near future if you’re interested in getting involved. The Signature Chef’s Auction is coming up on Thursday, October 13th. They have a Blue Jeans for Babies program coming up on November 17th.
If you are interested or would like more information, contact Scarlett at smoore@marchofdimes.org.