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NOVEMBER is Rotary Foundation Month
The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.
The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.
| Rotary Night at the Nutcracker
by Paige Havens
Rotary Night at the Nutcracker is Saturday, December 19th at 7:30 p.m.!
A special reserved section of VIP seats are being held for Gwinnett
Rotary members. Ticket prices are $27 for adults, $22 for students and
seniors, and $18 each for groups of ten or more. Come join us to enjoy
a special curtain speech by a Rotary VIP and a very special appearance
by a Rotary VIP in the second act role of the hilarious MOTHER GINGER.
This performance is accompanied by the live, professional Gwinnett
Ballet Theatre Orchestra.
Contact Amy Greiner at 678-227-1359 to reserve your tickets.
Visit Gwinnett Ballet Theatre's web site at www.gwinnettballet.org or click here to see the flyer. Thank you for your support!
| Rotarian On The Move - L.C. Johnson
by Spitler, Rebecca
Our own L.C. Johnson was honored with an award at the Salvation Army breakfast on November 5. Other club members in attendance were Lee Wolfe, Elliott Brack, Roger Willis, Perry Tindol and Bart Walker.
| A Brief Look Back
by Kelly Herndon
Gwinnett Rotary Meeting, November 10, 2009
Dr. G.P. "Bud" Peterson, President, Georgia Institute of Technology
Speech to Gwinnett Rotary, with inclusion of excerpts from published
speeches with same content, http://www.gatech.edu/president/
Published Bio:
President Peterson was introduced by Rotarian Marvin Tibbetts, Georgia Tech alumni and letterman 1958-1960, as quarterback.
Dr. G.P. "Bud" Peterson is the eleventh president of the Georgia
Institute of Technology. In this capacity he oversees a top-ten public
research university with more than 19,000 students and more than $500
million in sponsored funding.
Throughout his career, Dr. Peterson has played an active role in helping to establish the national education and research agendas, serving on numerous industry, government, and academic task forces and committees. A distinguished scientist, Dr. Peterson was selected in 2008 by President George W. Bush to serve on the National Science Board through 2014. The Board oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF) and advises the President and Congress on national policy related to science and engineering research and education.
Dr. Peterson earned undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics as well as a master's degree in engineering from Kansas State University. He earned his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University.
Dr. Peterson was born September 1, 1952, in San Francisco, California. He and his wife, Val, have four adult children.
Presentation:
Dr. Peterson began his presentation by noting that 429 of the 2009 GA Tech graduates were also graduates of Gwinnett County Public Schools. Among the statistics for the student body: 42% female, for entering freshman SAT 1365, 3.85 GPA, applications up 15%.
He further emphasized the economic impact of the Georgia Tech campus on the metro area, purportedly assisting 3,000 existing Georgia companies in saving or creating 20,000 jobs during the economic recession. Addition statistics quoted were as follows, also found on the GA Tech website.
Georgia Tech as an economic engine for Georgia:
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Has generated more than $13 billion in revenue and $100 million in profits
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In the past decade, companies have attracted more than $1 billion in venture capital
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Ranked among Top 10 in nation in engineering (#4)
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Ranked #8 among 124 colleges for patent portfolio
In discussing the programs at GA Tech, President Peterson noted a strategic planning process is in place to look at goals and objectives. Among the topics for review are the core mission of the university in regards to locations in Singapore, Ireland, France and Shanghai - provide world experience for GA Tech students or produce graduates for other countries.
In discussing the pace of technology and needs of the current generation, President Peterson discussed the Cisco tele-presence, the Google digital project, the increasingly important role of on-line education, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and the impact of future advances - all described as the intersection of traditional disciplines and new technology.
..One thing that just amazes me today is this Google digital library project. I do not know how much you have heard about this, but as the rise of the internet has seen a flattening of the world in terms of dissemination of best practices-the remarkable growth and entrepreneurship from Bangalore to Bangkok-so too will the digitization of the collective intelligence of the human race. In December of 2004, Google undertook an effort to try to digitize all the written English works, more than 32 million volumes-and put it in a searchable data base that students who are freshmen today will have at their fingertips when they graduate. Google is investing $800 million, and they are now working on books in other languages. Our challenge will be to help students take that tremendous amount of information and turn it into knowledge, because there is a difference.
The amount of technical information is doubling about every two years. It is estimated that a week's work at the New York Times contains more information than a person in the 18th Century would encounter in their entire lifetime and the thought is that within 10 years that the rate of information doubling will occur every 72 hours. When you think about that and you try to put that in terms, what it means to us as educators is that perhaps half of what we teach freshmen this year will be obsolete by the time they are juniors and it make you or it forces us to rethink what it is that we are trying to teach students, what it is we are trying to prepare them for.
The workforce of the future is what I think we have to focus on, how to we prepare this workforce of the future and what is it that we should actually be teaching our students. What should we be preparing them for, a very, very difficult question? Former Secretary of Education, Richard Riley said that the top 10 jobs that will be in demand in 2010 did not exist in 2004. So, what it amounts to is that we are currently preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist using technologies that have not been invented in order to solve problems that we do not realize are problems. An enormous challenge for us as educators in terms of what we want to do, what we need to do and what we think we need to do.
And finally, we have to make sure that all of the students, not just those in technical fields are not afraid of technology, to make sure that we as the educators do not allow technology to go the same way that math has gone. Today it is socially acceptable for people to say, "I am not good at math." And everybody says, "That's OK, I understand." We cannot allow that to happen with technology. We cannot allow our young people to graduate from high school or graduate from our universities and say, "I am no good at technology" and have people accept that at its face value.
Many people have asked me why I decided to come to Georgia Tech. My answer is that I believe that if the most pressing problems that society faces today and will face tomorrow are to be solved, including energy, healthcare, water and sustainability, they will be solved at places like Georgia Tech. We are committed to equipping students with the educational background and problem solving and leadership skills needed for our rapidly changing world.
From the smart house on the Georgia Tech campus capable of monitoring an elderly relative for falls, to smart healthcare where a badge can continuously monitor blood pressure or insulin and make food recommendations, President Peterson provided the Rotary audience with a great deal to consider for the future.
In closing, President Peterson challenged the audience, "to imagine a generation that must be trained to prepare for jobs that don't exist, with technology that hasn't been invented, for problems that we can't anticipate."
| ABC's of Rotary
Reprinted from a series of articles written by Past RI President, Cliff Dochterman.
Youth Exchange -
Youth Exchange is one of the most popular programs to promote
international understanding and develop lifelong friendships. It began
in 1927 with the Rotary Club of Nice, France. Exchanges in Europe
continued until World War II and resumed after the war in 1946. In
1939, an extensive Youth Exchange was created between California and
Latin America. Since then, the program has expanded around the world.
In recent years, more than 7,000 young people have participated
annually in Rotary club- and district-sponsored exchange programs.
The values of Youth Exchange are experienced not only by the high-school-age students involved but also by the host families, sponsoring clubs, receiving high schools, and the entire community. Youth Exchange participants usually provide their fellow students in their host schools with excellent opportunities to learn about customs, languages, traditions, and family life in another country.
Youth Exchange offers young people interesting opportunities and rich experiences to see another part of the world. Students usually spend a full academic year abroad, although some clubs and districts sponsor short-term exchanges of several weeks or months.
Youth Exchange is a highly recommended program for all Rotary clubs as a practical activity for the enhancement of international understanding and goodwill.
| SPEAKER OF THE WEEK
by William Tindol
John Oxendine, Insurance Commissioner
| Save the Date - December 6
by Scott Zanardo
Save the date for our holiday party, Sunday, December 6. Time and location to be determined.
This year we will be collecting children's toys, any age as well as canned goods. I will be announcing the details at our meetings.
| Bell Ringing
by L. C. Johnson
It's that time of year again. I have started circulating the list for Bell Ringing sign-up. Please check your calendars and find a time slot you would like to volunteer for.
We have committed to the following dates and times:
Dates: Nov 27th (Fri), Nov 28th (Sat), Dec 3rd (Thur), Dec 4th (Fri), Dec 5th (Sat), Dec 10th (Thur), Dec 11th (Fri), Dec 12th (Sat)
Times: Time slots are in two hour blocks consisting of two people starting at 10:00 A.M.Ending at 8:30 P.M.
I will be sending around the sign-up sheet each week at our meeting or you can call me to schedule your time.
| Thought for the Week
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. ~ Confucius
| The 4-Way Test
Of the things we think, say or do
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it BUILD GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
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