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The Sandy Springs Rotary Club eNewsletter
...Keeping Sandy Springs Rotarians informed via the web.
Rotary is an organization of
business and professional leaders united worldwide to provide
humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world.
It is comprised of 1.2 million members working in over 33,000 clubs in
more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Rotary members initiate
community projects that address many of today’s most critical issues,
such as polio, AIDS, hunger, water, sanitation, health care, literacy,
and the elimination of poverty.
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Monday's Program
August 30, 2010
“Transforming Politics into Policy”
Benita Dodd Cotton
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
By Sally Wyeth, eNews Writer
 Next week, Benita Dodd Cotton of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, will address the Sandy Springs Rotary Club on the topic, “Transforming Politics into Policy." The Georgia Public Policy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and has been in operation for 19 years.
According to its website, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation “is an independent think tank that proposes practical, market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians. Since 1991, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation has conducted scholarly research and analysis of state public policy issues and worked to educate citizens, policy-makers and the media. The Foundation is state-focused, independent, non-partisan and market-oriented in its approach. Its philosophy is that good public policy is based upon fact, an understanding of sound economic principles and the core principles of our free enterprise system – economic freedom, limited government, personal responsibility, individual initiative, respect for private property and the rule of law.”
Cotton graduated from Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, with a degree in journalism. Cotton immigrated to the United States in 1986. A former editorial writer and columnist for The Atlanta Journal Editorial Board and editorial writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Editorial Board, Cotton joined the Georgia Public Policy Foundation as vice president in March 2003. In addition to heading the Foundation's Communications, she heads up the Foundation's Environmental Initiative, which includes transportation, water, air, energy and land use. Cotton is a member of the 2007 class of Leadership Georgia, a faculty member of the Leadership Institute of Virginia, a board member of Common Cause Georgia and 2009/2010 chairman of the Health Care Committee of the Government Affairs Council of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. For more information, go to http://www.gppf.org
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Update on Congress
Thomas E. Price, M.D.
Georgia 6th District Congressman
By Sally Wyeth, eNews writer
Georgia’s 6th District Congressman Thomas E. Price, M.D. provided his annual ‘Update on Congress’ report to the Sandy Springs Rotary Club at the August 23, 2010 luncheon meeting. As preamble, Price noted that he is a former Rotarian himself (he is currently an honorary member of his former Roswell Rotary Club) and that he commends Rotary because it is “part and parcel of the great aspects of community.” Price noted that he joined Rotary in 1985, that he had 17 years of perfect attendance while an active Rotarian, and that his family had hosted a Georgia Rotary Student Program (G.R.S.P.) student from Scotland.
 On the topic of Congress and Washington, D.C., Price outlined several issues of immediate concern. The number one issue from a policy standpoint is Economy/Jobs/Spending. Other issues have been thrown into the mix to deflect attention from the fact that government cannot spend its way to prosperity. Price noted that the current Keynesian economic policies have failed and that historically-successful, economic policies have not been followed.
Price stated that areas of disagreement in Washington, D.C. are typically the rule of law, the role of government, and free enterprise. It is a disturbing phenomenon, according to Price, that the government owns automobile companies, controls the financial service sector and controls 100% of the student loan industry.
The second issue from a policy standpoint is health care. Price questioned the role of government which has for the first time in America’s history mandated that its citizens buy health care insurance. Price stated that the recent health care law does not improve access, decrease costs or increase the quality of health care choices.
 Price noted that his opposition’s side has been instructed not to talk about the lower costs or the increased care previously promised by health care bill proponents because the costs are going to be greater than anticipated and because care quality may not increase. Price, a medical doctor, acknowledged that it is a noble goal to increase health care access, but at what cost? Americans should ask themselves what role, if any, the federal government should have in their personal medical decisions.
Currently, there are at least 30 states that have challenged the constitutionality of certain provisions of the health care law. Price noted that with Scott Brown’s election to Kennedy’s vacant Senate seat, that the version of the health care bill that was signed into law contains a fatal flaw - the lack of a severability clause. As such, if any portion of the health care law is found unconstitutional, then the entire bill falls, not just the offending portion.
For more information, go to http://tom.house.gov/index.cfm or http://www.facebook.com/#!/reptomprice?ref=ts
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Mark Your Calendar: These Sandy Springs Rotary Events Need YO__
By Linda Randolph, eNews Contributor
Movies By Moonlight's 1st movie is Marmaduke showing September 10th.We have a Rotary tent and Rotary Shelter Box tent. What an opportunity to show our club's service projects. In case of uncertain weather on the day of the movie, you can call 404-256-9091. Volunteer by contacting Greg Pyne .
Volunteer for this year's Dictionary/Thesaurus Distribution. There will be 7 opportunities for each of the Sandy Springs school 3rd grades. This signature event for our Community Service Project begins mid-September. See the article in the Spotlight section. Volunteer by contacting Pam Jenkins or Kelly Fredrickson .
The 2010 Sandy Springs Festival scheduled for Saturday, September 25 from 9am until 7pm and Sunday, September 26 from 11am until 5pm. Volunteer at the Rotary tent and Shelter Box. See the article on Shelter Boxes in the Spotlight section. Cruising Robert Wilson chairs.
Sandy Springs Rotary Oktoberfest at Big Canoe is October 16th. RSVP no later than October 11th to hostess Fran Farias . Daniella Schmidt is preparing "great eats." Refer to Fran's article last week with more articles forthcoming.
Firehouse Dinners are October 12th, 13th and 14th from 6pm until 8pm Both firehouse locations are convenient to you. Come for supper and meet the wonderful people who protect us in Sandy Springs. Since childhood we have all been fascinated by fire engines. See them up front and personal. Gene Jordan , Dan Fowler and Greg Pyne coordinate this event and are planning on your participation.
G.R.S.P. - which stands for Georgia Rotary Student Project- is November 5th through 7th. We need lasagnas for the Friday night supper at Spalding Drive Charter Elementary School. Also, needed are 11 more host families to keep at least two students for one night - Friday night, November 5th. Thank you, Lorri Christopher, our first host home volunteer. Jody Zaparankiuk chairs the event.
Sandy Springs Rotarians Attempt to Resolve World Issues Over Pints!
by Greg Pyne, eNews Contributor
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Happy Hour Attendees: Fran Farias,
Ellen
Jones, Mark Hancock,
Ralph Thurmond, hiding behind
Mark Hancock, is
President
Eric Carlson, Jerry Hicks,
David Evans, Hap Chandler,
Jim
Squire, Joe Jones
and Steve Jordan.
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Wednesday, August 25, marked the first ever Ralph Thurmond Memorial Happy Hour at Meehan’s Ale House at City Walk in Sandy Springs. Happy Hour attendance increased for the third consecutive month and new faces such as Mark Hancock and Fran Farias were welcomed.
Jim Squire maintained his perfect Happy Hour attendance as did Steve Jordan, Eric Carlson and Greg Pyne. Those with perfect happy hour attendance, but not mentioned here, should complain about it to Dan Wilmarth. Nothing will happen, but talk to Dan anyway. He’ll appreciate the conversation.
Topics discussed included:
- That Ralph Thurmond looks too good to have a Memorial Happy Hour
- Shaving Greg Pyne’s head if the club exceeds a net gain of 12 new members this year
- Insomnia curing accounting issues discussed by Eric Carlson and Jerry Hicks
- If Ellen Jones ever lets Joe leave the house alone
- Changing the venue of Rotary Happy Hour
 Happy Hour started on time at 5:00 and ended at 6:02. Our waitress, Nancy did a fantastic job. She has been working at Meehan’s for two months and is going to school to be a flight attendant. Stay Tuned for the next Rotary Sandy Springs Happy Hour.
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 Jerry Hicks Welcomed into the Sandy Springs Rotary Club
By Greg Pyne, eNews Contributor
Jerry, a 16 handicap golfer, and his wife Cheryl are the proud parents of four children and proud grandparents of four grandchildren. A tournament Texas Hold ’em player, Jerry has one win under his belt.
Professionally, Jerry is a CPA focusing mainly on tax accounting. Growing up as an “Air Force Brat” Jerry grew up in ten states and two foreign countries. Jerry recently attended his first Rotary Sandy Springs Happy Hour at Meehan’s Ale House, and we are glad to have him at the club and at the bar.
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 It’s That Time Again!
by Kelly Fredrickson, eNews Contributor
The Sandy Springs Rotary Club will soon begin the fifth annual distribution of dictionaries to the 3rd grade classes and thesauruses in some 5th grade classes. The books have been ordered and are on schedule to arrive around September 8th. While coordination with the schools for specific dates and times is ongoing, we are anticipating distribution to begin the week of September 13 and continue until completed. We have 7 public elementary schools to visit and we need fellow Rotarians to assist.
If you have never participated in this project before, it is truly painless. Each visit takes about an hour. We have requested both morning and afternoon options from the schools to allow for flexibility on the part of our members. Captains have been established for each school. You will not be required to address the  students. We simply assist in handing out the dictionaries to each student, as well as help the students fill out the “This Dictionary Belongs To” sticker that goes in each book. Then the captain will speak briefly about our club, the dictionaries, and help them look up a word or 2 (typically SERVICE or ROTARY). Then we move on to the next classroom. That’s it. Like I said…painless. And, really, more rewarding than you’d think.
We are working on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday schedules, but the final dates and times won’t be known until we hear back from the schools.
Won’t you please agree to give an hour or two of your time in this effort? If you are interested, just indicate so now. Once we have the exact schedule, you will be able to slot your name in when it is convenient. And if the final schedule doesn’t end up working for you, well that’s okay too. Sign up at our next meeting or email Pam Jenkins or Kelly Fredrickson .
Rotary Kirachi Distributing Shelter Boxes In Pakistan
By Robert Wilson, eNews Contributor
As of August 17th, Rotary Karachi and the NDMA (National Disaster Management Agency) have distributed over 2500 Shelter Boxes to Pakistan in response to the flooding within the country. Some 1300 others had been pre-positioned in the SE province of Sindh and another 1000 in the north of the country were distributed in under 48 hours following the floods.
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Shelter Box USA will soon be sending 5000 water
filtration units and 2500 water carriers as the infrastructure and water
purification has suffered greatly.
 September
25 & 26 are important dates to remember, as our Club re-introduces
the Shelter Box project to those attending the two-day Sandy Springs
Heritage Festival. Rotary will be soliciting Shelter Box donations and
Club members are encouraged to tell family, friends and neighbors about
our project to assist in the urgent needs of those families in Pakistan.
We need for you to spend some time at the tent during the event to tell
attendees about Rotary, please contact Robert Wilson .
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| The Rotary International Report |
Rotary: At a glance
Article Selected from Rotary International Web Site by Past President Betty Ferdinand
The family of Rotary extends beyond individual Rotarians and Rotary clubs to include other service-minded people who help with the organization's work. Groups such as Rotaract, Interact, and Rotary Community Corps serve side by side with sponsor clubs, using their diverse skills to improve the quality of life in their communities. Below are some of the latest statistics available, as of 31 May. (*as of 30 June)
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Rotary International
Members: 1,228,303
Clubs: 33,976
Districts: 531
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Members: 189,336*
Clubs: 8,232*
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Members: 291,732*
Clubs: 12,684*
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Rotary Community Corps
Members: 159,298*
Corps: 6,929*
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See more statistics and membership resources
Get Foundation Facts
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River Clean Up Needs Volunteers
Excerpts from article by April Hunt, AJC reporter with edits by Linda Randolph
Come join the fun at the 7th Annual River Clean-Up at Morgan Falls on Saturday, September 18th. The Sandy Springs Conservancy and Georgia Power invites the Sandy Springs Rotarians to volunteer for their annual river clean up. Come at 9:00 and stay for lunch.
Overlook Park at Morgan Falls
Morgan Falls HydroPlant
380 Morgan Falls Road
Sandy Springs, GA 30350
[CLICK HERE FOR MAP ]
Saturday September 18th
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
rain or shine
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Lunch and event t-shirt will be given for all registered participants. Boats, safety equipment, supplies are provided. Enjoy lunch at the Pavilion at the new Overlook Park at Morgan Falls. Families are welcome. Children under 14 years must be accompanied by adult They would love to have Rotarians and their families join in this community effort. They need to have volunteers register, so they can get a head count for boats, supplies, lunch and t-shirts.
The boats will be launched from the hydroplane. After bagging the trash -4000 pounds last year- everyone will move to the pavilion at Overlook Park for a picnic for volunteers at about 11:30. Rotary is welcome to bring a display board to set up on one of the tables. Contact Linda Bain to volunteer. Editor's note: we will include Rotary information where we support clean water projects.
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| Images from 2009 river cleanup event |
 Sandy Springs Police Department hosts Crime Prevention Seminar
Excerpts from article by April Hunt, AJC reporter with edits by Linda Randolph
The Sandy Springs Police Department will host a Sandy Springs Crime Prevention Seminar on Tuesday, September 14 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Sandy Springs City Hall. The seminar is free and open to all resident and business owners. For more information contact Senior Officer Larry Jacobs , Crime Prevention Specialist.
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In The Future...
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Aug 30
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12:15-1:15pm
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Luncheon Program - GA Public Policy Foundation-Benita Dodd-"Transforming Politics into Policy"
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Sept 6
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No Meeting
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Labor Day - Have a safe, happy long weekend
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Sept 10
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abt 6:00pm
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Movies by Moonlight - Rotary, Interact, Rotaract participation, Greg Pyne chair
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Sept 13
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11:00am-noon
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SSRC Board Meeting - Hammond Glen, Conference Room
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Sept 13
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12:15-1:15pm
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Luncheon Program - Megan Rhinehart, "A Future. Not A Past"
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Sept 20
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12:15-1:15pm
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Luncheon Program - David Ratcliffe - CEO, Southern Company
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Sept 25
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9:00am-7:00pm
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Heritage Sandy Springs Festival - Robert Wilson chair
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Sept 26
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11:00am-5:00pm
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Heritage Sandy Springs Festival continues - 2 day event
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Sept 27
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12:15-1:15pm
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Luncheon Program - David Norman & Lisa Vorrasi GBI Special Agents speak on "GBI at Work in Metro Area & Statewide"
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Oct 1 & 8
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abt 6pm
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Movies by Moonlight - Rotary, Interact, Rotaract participation - Greg Pyne chair
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Oct 5, 6 &7
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6:00pm-8:00pm
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Firehouse Dinners: 3 evenings, 2 locations, wonderful fellowship - Gene Jordan chair
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Oct 11
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11:00am-noon
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SSRC Board Meeting - Hammond Glen, Conference Room
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Oct 11
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12:15-1:15pm
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Luncheon Program - Public Safety Awards -Eric Carlson, Club President
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| Oct 16 |
1:00-6:00pm
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3rd Annual Oktoberfest in the Mountains - golf, festivities, more details to come
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Nov 1
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12:15-1:15pm
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Luncheon Program - Rotary Foundation- Mark Hancock & Tom Ungashick
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Nov 5
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5:30pm
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GRSP Lasagna Dinner - Spalding Dr Charter ES, Christine Young host
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Nov 5-7
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Friday - Sunday
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GRSP Conclave Weekend - Sandy Springs & Alpharetta Rotary clubs host
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Nov 8
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No Meeting
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Your participation in GRSP weekend is your make-up
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Nov 15
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12:15-1:15pm
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Luncheon Program - Veterans Day Celebration
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District 6900 and Rotary International Events
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September 25, 2010
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Rotary Leadership Institute - Augusta, GA [Click here for more info ]
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April 29-May 1, 2011
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District 6900 District Conference - Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA [Click here for more info ]
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| May 21-25, 2011 |
International Conference - New Orleans, LA - Early sign up by Dec 15 saves US$40 [Click here for more info ]
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Breaking News: It's official. Atlanta to host the 2017 International Conference. The last time Atlanta hosted was 1917 when the Rotary Foundation was established. Watch for continuing details on this event.
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