|
|
|
|
|
Rotary News
Rotary Meeting
Meeting Recap - Jan 19, 2009 by Walter Grubbs Last Meeting... After pre -meeting mood music by Past President George Basye on the piano, President Tim opened with a quote on responding to injustice from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail." New member Elena Naderi encouraged members to get more active in social networking specifically by going to Facebook and linking with 12,000 other Rotarians. Following the introduction of prospective members, Rotary guests and the head table, Bob Herne (Executive Director, Sierra Adoptions) introduced himself as our newest member. Featured Rotarian Larry Booth efficiently used less than his allotted time to highlight the importance of and strong club connection with the Golden Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Reminders were given of the upcoming January 27 Happy Hour at KFBK-Clear Channel Radio, and the March 18 Ski Trip. Ludy (like Madonna and Prince, all he needs is one name) kicked off the wealth redistribution with a $100 contribution toward an Eddie Mulligan in appreciation of his recognition last week. Pat Harrison kicked in a $200 E.M. contribution to celebrate the Arizona Cardinals trip to the Super Bowl, and Doug Crumley, Jr. added another $100 E.M. contribution to honor the birth of his nephew and the return of his brother from military service in Iraq. Wornel Simpson introduced the Principal of Sacramento High School, who in turn introduced two Sac High sophomore speakers, who brought us back to the day's special theme with brief talks on the significance of Dr. King's life. These inspiring young men were followed by the featured speaker, Dr. Milmon Harrison of the U.C. Davis African-American Studies faculty. Harrison gave a heart-felt and thought-provoking presentation on the Black civil rights movement. His remarks included some of his own personal history, as well as cautions against the tendencies to make a "rock star" out of Barack Obama and to have unrealistic expectations regarding what the newly-elected President can accomplish by himself. Dr. Harrison closed with observations on the role and significance of the Church in the African-American experience (the confluence of theology and politics) along with common caricatures in the media (including film), and appealed to the audience not to disallow an understandable-and thereby appropriate-measure of anger in the Black Church's expression. -WG |
|
