This Week's Program
"Things New and Strange" chronicles a research quest undertaken by G. Wayne Clough, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution born in the South. Soon after retiring from the Smithsonian, Clough decided to see what the Smithsonian collections could tell him about South Georgia, where he had spent most of his childhood in the 1940s and 1950s.
The investigations that followed, which began as something of a quixotic scavenger hunt, expanded as Clough discovered that the collections had many more objects and documents from South Georgia than he had imagined. These objects illustrate important aspects of southern culture and history and also inspire reflections about how South Georgia has changed over time. Clough's discoveries-animal, plant, fossil, and rock specimens, along with cultural artifacts and works of art-not only serve as a springboard for reflections about the region and its history, they also bring Clough's own memories of his boyhood in Douglas, Georgia, back to life.
Clough interweaves memories of his own experiences, such as hair-raising escapes from poisonous snakes and selling boiled peanuts for a nickel a bag at the annual auction of the tobacco crop, with anecdotes from family lore, which launches an exploration of his forebears and their place in South Georgia history.
In following his engaging and personal narrative, we learn how nonspecialists can use museum archives and how family, community, and natural history are intertwined.
Honor Someone Special with a Paul Harris Fellowship
Rotarians have a tradition of supporting the Foundation by honoring others since 1957. The number of Paul Harris Fellows reached the 1 million mark in 2006.
There are few things better than recognizing individuals who are important to us and have made a difference in our lives and careers. Please consider doing that by naming them as a Paul Harris Fellow.
For information on the number of recognition points you have available, please see John Glen.
RLI January 18 hosted by Rotary Club of Thomasville
Building Leadership Skills Through Rotary
Registration is now open to all Rotarians for Parts 1, 2, 3 and Graduate Classes in Membership and Facilitation Techniques for the next District 6900 Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) that will be held Saturday, January 18, at Southern Regional Technical College in Thomasville, Georgia.
WHEN: Saturday, January 18, 2020, from 8:00am to 3:30pm.
WHERE: Southern Regional Technical College, 15689 U.S. 19, Thomasville, Georgia
Please plan to enjoy Breakfast starting at 7 am. Let us know you want to attend by registering online or by sending an email to thomasville@rotary6900.
Principals Beaty and Hugans share initiatives at Harper and Scott Elementary Schools
rincipals Brian Beaty of Scott Elementary and Melvin Hugans of Harper Elementary discussed improving elementary education at Harper and Scott schools in Thomasville. Major initiatives are to provide students with academic rigor, providing students with awareness they are part of a larger community and to provide exposure to environments beyond their school and neighborhoods.
Principal Beaty also discussed the importance of a growth mindset, setting the stage for proving hard work can make a difference. They importance of the collaboration between the teacher, student, parent and community was also discussed.
Did You Know Rotary Has TWO Official Mottos?
In 1911, the second Rotary convention, in Portland, Oregon, approved He Profits Most Who Serves Best as the Rotary motto. The wording was adapted from a speech that Rotarian Arthur Frederick Sheldon delivered to the first convention, held in Chicago the previous year. Sheldon declared that “only the science of right conduct toward others pays. Business is the science of human services. He profits most who serves his fellows best.”
The Portland gathering also inspired the motto Service Above Self. During an outing on the Columbia River, Ben Collins, president of the Rotary Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, talked with Seattle Rotarian J.E. Pinkham about the proper way to organize a Rotary club, offering the principle his club had adopted: Service, Not Self. Pinkham invited Rotary founder Paul Harris, who also was on the trip, to join their conversation. Harris asked Collins to address the convention, and the phrase Service, Not Self was met with great enthusiasm.
At the 1950 Rotary International Convention in Detroit, Michigan, two slogans were formally approved as the official mottoes of Rotary: He Profits Most Who Serves Best and Service Above Self. The 1989 Council on Legislation established Service Above Self as the principal motto of Rotary because it best conveys the philosophy of unselfish volunteer service. He Profits Most Who Serves Best was modified to They Profit Most Who Serve Best in 2004 and to its current wording, One Profits Most Who Serves Best, in 2010.