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The Sandy Springs Rotary Club eNewsletter
Welcome to another weekly issue of the Sandy Springs Rotary eNewsletter designed to keep Sandy Springs Rotarians informed on a timely basis of important club news and events via the web.
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Monday's Program
May 17, 2010
The Dream
Kathy Betty, Team Owner
WNBA’s Atlanta Dream
By Sally Wyeth, eNews Writer
 Next week, businesswoman and sports advocate Kathy Betty will speak about the Atlanta Dream, Atlanta’s own WNBA team. Kathy Betty purchased the Atlanta Dream in October 2009, shortly after the franchise completed its second season with an 18-16 record up from 2008’s 4-30 season. The Atlanta Dream’s coach and general manager Marynell Meaders was named WNBA Coach of the year for the 2009. The Atlanta Dream recently signed 6-time WNBA All Star Chaminque Holdsclaw and free agent center Michelle Snow.
 Betty has more than 25 years of business management and consultancy experience. After Betty received her B.S. in Finance and Computer Sciences from the University of Alabama and Belmont College, she worked for Hayes Microsystems, was one of the first female partners with Ernst & Young, and later served as Executive Vice President and Partner with Scott, Madden and Associates. In 1996, she formed her own successful incubator The Tradewind Group. She is CEO of the Garry Betty Foundation, which was founded by her late husband, Garry Betty, the former CEO of Earthlink. The foundation funds cancer in partnership with the V Foundation, another cancer research foundation that was started in 1993 to honor Jim Valvano.
Betty serves in a leadership capacity for a number of non-profit organizations. She also serves on the boards of Alexander Tharpe Fund, Georgia Institute of Technology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta, and the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
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2009-2010 Sandy Springs Rotary’s
Annual Teacher Recognition Awards
“Hot Topics in Education”
Stephen D. Dolinger, President
Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
By Sally Wyeth, eNews Writer
The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs held its annual Teacher Recognition Program last week during which the 2009-2010 Sandy Springs Teachers of the Year were announced. Each year, the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs sponsors this event to recognize outstanding commitment and dedication to the profession of teaching.
Exemplary Sandy Springs teachers were invited to the luncheon held in their honor, along with their schools’ principals. The program is Sandy Springs Rotary Club’s chance to thank the talented and hard-working teachers, each chosen by his or her school to be the year’s best. 2009-2010 winners each received a framed certificate, a $50 honorarium, a Rotary “Apple”, the quintessential symbol of teacher appreciation since the days of one-room school houses, and resounding applause. The program is a favorite tradition where Sandy Springs Rotarians show their appreciation in person to our community’s teaching best.
The 2009-2010 Teachers of the Year are:
Megan Feldman, Dunwoody Springs Charter School,
Ivy Gainey, Principal
Dawn Bramlett, Woodland Charter Elementary School,
Ruth Baskerville, Principal
Anna Cajiga, Spalding Drive Charter Elementary School,
Christine Young, Principal (and Sandy Springs Rotarian)
Lib Roberts, High Point Elementary School,
Lisa Nash, Principal
Kelly Grothe, Heards Ferry Elementary School,
Susan Dorenkamp, Principal
Royanne McWaters-Baer, Ridgeview Charter Middle School,
Karen Cox, Principal
Brandi Herbert, Riverwood High School,
Eddie Echols, Principal (and Sandy Springs Rotarian)
Jacqueline Protos, North Springs Charter High School,
Lisa Stueve, Principal
Following the presentation of the 2009-2010 Teachers of the Year awards, Dr. Stephen D. Dolinger, President of The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) delivered the program that appropriately focused on education.
Among the top 10 education issues in Georgia are teacher quality, the budget, and Georgia’s “Race to the Top”. Dolinger acknowledged that for many years, education in Georgia lacked certain integral components, including strong teacher development. Like other industries, Georgia needed to focus more on the quality, training and recruitment of its teachers. Sound education leads to strong workforce development which leads to successful economic development.
Strong fundamentals must be part of high school education, but before that, early childhood education must be provided to children, either through the family or the community. Dolinger commended the Ferst Foundation, which Sandy Springs Rotary Club supports as part of its overall literacy objectives, because the Ferst Foundation recognizes early education’s value and it gets books into small hands throughout Georgia.
Dolinger singled out Riverwood High School, along with its principal Eddie Echols (also a Sandy Springs Rotarian), for being one of 15 schools in over 300 Georgia schools where the graduation rate increased to 85%. This was achieved, according to Dolinger, through an adherence to the concepts of Relevance, Rigor and Reliability.
 As to the education budget, Dolinger, who was commended for bringing business practices to Fulton County schools during his term as superintendent, pointed out that Georgia schools run more buses than MARTA and that school cafeterias differ little operationally than do restaurants. GPEE has brought in business people in to help schools operate more efficiently. GPEE is a resource for Georgia schools and he encouraged schools to take advantage of GPEE.
On the “Race to the Top”, Dolinger noted that the program contains a strong curriculum based on good research, promotes high standards and teacher quality, and provides a $400 million funding source that should not be overlooked. Dolinger stated that Georgia was late in getting in the race because prior to Kathy Cox, Georgia needed stronger Secretaries of Education. On a federal level, Dolinger said the U.S. Department of Education sends mixed message on the Race to the Top.
On the topic of technical colleges, Dolinger recognized that Georgia isn’t doing enough to encourage students to consider technical colleges. It is noteworthy that dual-enrolled students (high school and technical college attendance at the same time) have a 95% graduation rate, and that Georgia’s technical college enrollment is up 50%.
When asked how the Sandy Springs Rotary Club can make a difference in our schools, Dolinger said the key was alignment. Random acts aren’t as efficient as those which align with existing objectives. He suggested that one could align with Jr. Achievement to maximize value. Or take a look at a school’s strategic plan and design a program that works with it. Mentoring and reading programs supplant a school’s literacy goals because many children go home to hectic home environments or homes where family members can’ read. In conclusion, Dolinger commended Sandy Springs Rotary Club for its work in the schools and its support of Sandy Springs teachers through our club’s activities such as the Teachers Recognition Program.
GPEE is an Atlanta based non-profit organization dedicated to improving public schools throughout Georgia through research, advocacy and communication. Dolinger is the former superintendent of Schools in Fulton County, Georgia. During his seven-year tenure with Fulton County, Money Magazine rated the school system as one of the top 100 school systems in the nation. A former Rotarian, Dolinger introduced many changes in the Fulton County school system based on the principles and practices of business management.
For more on GPEE, go to www.gpee.org
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Fowler Captures the Blue
 Dan Fowler has been presented his “Blue” membership badge. Fowler recently completed all requirements that earned him the right to relinquish the “Red” new member badge. For almost seven years Dan has worked in commercial real estate, mostly land sales. The job holds his interest in many ways, especially the opportunities to learn so much about so many different businesses and industries.
Dan was drawn to Rotary to become more connected to the community. The generous giving nature and the service aspect of Rotary appeals to him and makes him proud to be called a Rotarian. Dan has taken on the job of producing the weekly club bulletin.
For relaxation, Dan plays golf, gets together with friends and takes in Georgia football games.
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President-Elect Inducts 2010-2011
Interact Officers
By Eric
Carlson, President Elect, eNews Contributor
On Monday, May 3, Eric Carlson, President-Elect of Sandy Springs Rotary
inducted the officers of the Interact Clubs for Riverwood and North
Springs High Schools. Many of the officers came to the club for lunch,
and induction was received with a standing ovation from the Rotary
Club’s membership.
 Interact Clubs are service clubs for high
school age students chartered and supported by Rotary Clubs. Projects
done by these Interact Clubs in the past year include sending shoes to
Haiti, collecting food for the Community Action Center’s Food Bank,
raising funds to purchase Shelter boxes which have already been sent
abroad to help persons who have lost their homes to natural disaster in
Chile and Haiti, and mentoring third graders to help them learn to read.
It is part of the vision of the Club in the coming year to enhance ties
with these Interact clubs and the Rotaract Clubs (service clubs for
young adults also sponsored by Rotary) so that all three groups can do
service with their club, as well as, working together on projects in a
rich combination of the leadership, maturity and financial resources of
the Rotary club combined with the energy, time resources and progressive
views of the Rotaract and Interact Clubs. These projects lead to broad
minded service projects for the community and rich experiences for the
participants.
Officers of the Clubs are:
Riverwood
International Charter School Interact Club
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North Springs
Charter High School Interact Club
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President
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Mackenzie Zendt
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President
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Lizzy Stowell
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Vice President
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Sarah Arogeti
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Vice President
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Mitchell Miller
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Secretary
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Stephanie Weinstein
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Secretary
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Maddi Frank
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Treasurer
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Jessica Lusk
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Treasurer
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Justin Eisenberg
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Project Chairman
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Emilie Vainer
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Historian
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Alejandra Olivares
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A SuperConference Highlight
"The Goodness of Rotary"
An original poem for the occasion
By PDG Bob Lynn and Poet!
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| The Rotary International Report |
What is the Council on Legislation? And…… How the Council has evolved?
In the 76 years of its existence, the Council on
Legislation has evolved
from a single plenary session at the
international convention to an autonomous legislative entity.
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Frank Mulholland, chair of the
1948 Council on Legislation,
speaks during the International
Convention in Rio de Janeiro.
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The Council was created by the 1933 convention to serve as an “advisory body” to assist with the review of enactments and resolutions proposed at the annual convention.
It first convened as part of the 1934 convention, as Rotarians struggled with a worldwide recession, threats to world peace, and rising unemployment.
By 1954, the Council was well established. At that year's convention, Rotarians decided to allow for longer intervals between legislative sessions and adopted a biennial framework for voting upon enactments and resolutions. The next deliberations were held at the 1956 convention.
The 1970 convention further modified Rotary International’s legislative process when it decided that the Council should no longer serve in an advisory capacity, but instead become RI’s official legislative body, considering proposals to amend the RI Constitution and Bylaws and the Standard Rotary Club Constitution. Four years later, delegates decided that the Council would meet triennially, still in conjunction with the convention. Finally, in 1977, the Council adopted an enactment to meet independently of the convention.
 Technological advances have also had a profound impact on the Council. In the 1970s, delegates sported large headphones to follow the proceedings in their own language. Today's delegates have access to compact simultaneous interpretation equipment. The use of a single interpreter has given way to multiple interpreters working out of booths on the side of the Council chambers. Electronic voting was introduced in 2001.
Over the decades, the Council has debated and weighed virtually every nuance of RI policy and every detail of membership and attendance rules. While individual Rotarians may not always agree with its decisions, one thing is clear: The Council is Rotary's primary agent for change, allowing the organization to evaluate its relevance in today's rapidly evolving world, reflecting shifts in lifestyles, priorities, technology, and business.
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In The Future...
May 17 12:15-1:15pm Luncheon Program - The Dream, Katy Betty, The Atlanta Dream (Basketball Team) Owner
May 24 12:15-1:15pm Luncheon Program - 2010-2011 Club Assembly, Eric Carlson, President Elect
May 31 NO MEETING: MEMORIAL DAY
JUN 07 12:15pm-1:15pm Luncheon Program - Stephan D. Nygren, Managing Partner of Serenbe: The Environmental Foundation of Serenbe
JUN 14 11:00am-12:00pm SSRC Joint Board Meeting 2009-2011 Boards - Hammond Glenn, Conference Room
JUN 14 12:15pm-1:15pm Luncheon Program In Honor of Father’s Day - Dr Amol S. Bapat, MD of Cardiovascular Physicians of North Atlanta: Top Ten Cardiovascular Questions
JUL 12 11:00am-12:00pm SSRC Board Meeting - Hammond Glenn, Conference Room
AUG 16 11:00am-12:00pm SSRC Board Meeting Official Visit of District Governor - Hammond Glenn, Conference Room
SEP 13 11:00am-12:00pm SSRC Board Meeting - Hammond Glenn, Conference Room
District & R. I. Happenings...
May 15, 2010 - Rotary Leadership Institute in Georgia / Lawrenceville (Click here to register )
June 20-23, 2010 - Rotary International Convention - Montreal, Canada (Click here for more info )
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