MEETING this week has been MOVED to Tuesday, August 30th, and will be at Del'avant at 8 A.M. We will again be supporting the United Way Kickoff Campaign. RESERVATIONS were asked for last week, but if you were NOT there last week and did not get to sign up to go and want to attend then, BEFORE FRIDAY, August 26th, (tomorrow) please make your reservation by email to Patty Youngblood at patty.youngblood@unitedway.org YOUR participation is paid for by the club (through your regular monthly dues, since we will NOT meet that Wednesday). If you want to bring guests, you get to pay for them, but still need a reservation. They have to know how many eggs to fry. This is our annual contribution to the United Way's annual kickoff campaign.

NO MEETING on Wednesday August 31st. IF, for some strange reason this needs an explanation, please re-read the paragraph above.

PROGRAM last week was a regular, required Club Assembly brought to us and directed by our President, Jake Jones. Historically, a Club Assembly is not usually well attended but those who missed this one missed a real treat as our president made this most entertaining and informative as well as interesting and succinct. Jake reminded us this will be quite a year in light of the International President being from nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee AND that the International Convention of some 40,000 Rotarians from across the globe, will be in our backyard in Atlanta in the summer of 2017. In addition to that, it marks the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation, the arm of our organization that funds the enormous work we do at home and abroad to generate peace and improve health, education, clean water access, and will soon end polio. What is even MORE significant to us about this is that the Foundation was created in Atlanta at the International Convention held there in 1917! President Jake then outlined some highlights of our coming year for us. Our District Governor, Raymond Ray has as his District Motto "Dare to be Better." The D.G. will be in our Club the next time we meet, on September 7, 2017 for his Annual Visit, so PLEASE make every effort to have a good turnout that day. Also, remember to wear all your Rotary medallions and pins (hardware) that day, especially your Paul Harris and Walter Murphy Fellowship medals and pins. Jake reminded us we have a GRSP Student this year, Matthew Murray, hosted by our Vice President David Fowler and his Rotarianne, Betsy, and he will be pour program on October 5th. He reminded us that September 17th we will participate in the Alzheimer's walk (see later for details) and to contact Margaret Morton or Drew Gay to join or contribute. Former District Governor (now active on International level) Robert Hall [who was District Governor when yours truly was president of this club) will come on October 19 to present us a program about the International Convention. November 2, we will have our annual Rotary Club of LaGrange / Walter Y,. Murphy Scholarship Luncheon at LaGrange College. On February 15, we will again honor the area Start Students and Teachers, which Jake reminded us we are the only original sponsor of this program (beginning in 1959) who has continuously sponsored it, and reminded us that last year the area winner was our own Jeff and Carol Todd's Rotarkinder, Marshall Todd! Jake also told us about a new program to help get new members into the swing of participation called the Sunshine Program. New Members will have a Sunshine Decal on their member badges until they complete a series of required involvement activities such as attending a board meeting, helping with registration, and making up somewhere, among other things like participation in a project. One of our goals this year is to have a minimum of 25% of our members attend the International Convention in Atlanta. It will be at the World Congress Center. Right now we have 29 members already signed up to go (and 8 spouses). Currently, we need 6 more members to go to reach our 25% goal. The cost is $340 per person until December when it goes up (if we heard correctly). As part of this, we, as a club, also want to have 100% participation in the Centennial Foundation Campaign. To do this, we are asking that each member pledge to give $26.50 as a one time donation. There were sign up sheets on the tables last week. The amount is significant because the Foundation began in 1917, after Arch Klump made the proposal to start this endowment at the Atlanta Convention, with an initial contribution of $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City. Jake told us we can "Do Good things" through Rotary, and reminded us that last year we won the Presidential Citation, the Governor's Citation, Most Improved Club, and other awards, but that we can "Do MORE Good Things" than even before. Basically, he reminded us that we "make a difference through Rotary HERE to make a difference world wide." Towards that end, he outlined our major goals for this year: to again gain the Presidential and Governor's citations, have 25% attend International Convention, have 100% participation in the Foundation Commitment; and have everyone of us participate in membership drive. Our goal is to reach 175 members this year. We have 132 now. On the table last week was a blank index card. Everyone was asked to put their own name at the top and then list three potential members. Jake said someone will be contacting each of those who do not turn in a card until they do so. So avoid the aggravation later and go ahead and submit your three potentials. AS Jake said, It takes all of us to put Rotary in motion! WE are in for a spectacular year.

We were introduced to the new manager of Highland Country Club last week, (didn't catch his name) who has been in the BIZ 26 years, born Virginia and graduated from Auburn.

Drew Gay reminded us of the Alzheimer's Walk, September 17. He said either sign up to walk or send a check because we pledged to raise a minimum of $1,000 from our club. There were some interesting fact sheets on the tables about it, and the most poignant part was that the disease takes a devastating toll on those with the disease and their families.

Among the member-versaries last week was Chunk Newman whose 32 years are ALL perfect attendance ones!

Happy Dollars came from John Harrell for his parents' 60th wedding anniversary.

We had a Rotary Moment last week presented at request of President Jake by Clark Johnson who noted that unlike Jeff Todd who asked him to do a full program last January, Jake was smart enough to only give him a "moment." Clark (yes, that's me speaking of myself by name) said he had many "moments" to recall over the past 38 years but that decided to speak about making up. There is so much to be gained from making up Rotary around the globe, and he has done so in a dozen countries and many places across the U. S. He then recounted how his first international make up was on his honeymoon in the Bahamas and how they did not have women in Rotary then and since he was not sure how it would be received if he brought a woman to a meeting (in a foreign country) as a guest, his bride, Deborah, of but two days, sat in the hotel lobby while he went to the meeting! The darn thing was that when he got back, they told him they were planning to comp him a make up since it was his honeymoon!

Happy Dollars Part Two: Sonny Boggus asked that Happy Dollars be re-opened and put in a dollar to say he was happy that Jake only gave the Bulletin editor a "moment" too!

NEW MEMBERS: Shirley Pennebaker inducted the two newest members last week: Karen and Rod Thompson. Karen is a former Granger, graduated from LHS in 1971 and LaGrange college in 1975, and later got a master's in civil engineering and met her husband a Huntsville, Alabama native and married in 1990 and started a business. They have returned to live in LaGrange where Karen's mother, well known to so many of us, Marie Adams, still lives. Marie had the, at the time, most fashionable gift emporium in town, Wooding's Gift Shop on Main Street. Welcome home, Karen and welcome to our club to Rod and Karen. George Henry did the Four way Test Honors.

President Jake Jones also reminded us that Executive Secretary Barbara Henigin emailed us that we CAN make up a missed meeting by reading from the Rotarian Magazine for a half hour (30 solid minutes) BUT that this can only be used once in a month.

"All the Rotary News that Fits, We Print”