On Saturday, January 28, 2012, over 200 people gathered at the Clarion Inn for the Rotary Club of Cookeville Breakfast's 3rd Annual "International Night" honoring the country of Germany.  The food was delicious, German beer was flowing from the cash bar, decorations put up by Ron Baker, Corinne Darvennes, and the Interact students looked great, the silent auction coordinated by Chris Soard was a hit, MC David Hill, Farina Gerdes, and President Meenakshi Sundaram welcomed the crowd, the speakers informed us, and Tennessee Tech's Tuphonium entertained us.  It was definitely a wonderful night!  President-Elect Stephen Bryant announced that next year's International Night will be on Saturday, January 26, 2013 and will honor the country of Japan.  Thanks to everyone who was involved in this year's International Night!!!  Below are a few pictures from the night, but check out more at Ron Baker Photography's website: http://www.rbakerphotography.com/cbrde/.  You can purchase a cd with all the pictures for $15 by contacting Ron at rbaker@rbakerphotography.com. 

On September 20, 2011, we celebrated Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Al Cannella's 91st birthday.  During that meeting, Al gave President Meenakshi a letter of resignation.  Meenakshi read the letter to the club and told Al that he was always welcome to attend our club meetings whenever he wished to do so.  Subsequently, the club's Board voted to designate Al as an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Cookeville Breakfast.  On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, President Meenakshi presented Al with a Certificate of Honorary Membership along with an Honorary Member Rotary pin.  We are so grateful for the years of dedicated service that Al has provided to our club and look forward to continuing to see Al at our club meetings when he can make them.

On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, Deborah Goodwin was inducted into the Cookeville Breakfast Rotary Club.  Deborah works for the Putnam County Circuit Court Clerk's office.  She became interested in joining our club after Allison Rasbury West told her about our service projects and our commitment to work with youth.  Allison is Deborah's sponsor.  Welcome, Deborah!

On September 27, Wesley Bray was inducted as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Cookeville Breakfast.  Wesley is originally from Clay County and is now an attorney in private practice in Cookeville who primarily works in the area of criminal defense.  He was sponsored by James Massengille.

On September 20, 2011, we surprised Charter Member Al Cannella with a cake to celebrate his 91st Birthday!

On Sunday, September 25, 2011, five Cookeville Breakfast Rotarians and one Cookeville High School Interact Club student formed the "Breakfast Rotary for a Cure" team and participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Cookeville.  Below are Chris Soard, Marcia Reel, Rachel Moses, Cyril Focht (Interact student), Corinne Darvennes, and Allison Rasbury West before the race.

On Saturday, September 24, Cookeville Breakfast Rotarians Allison Rasbury West, Chris Soard, Cindy Taylor, Steve Glover, and Mac Evans drove 17 high school juniors to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) leadership day.  We sponsored 10 of the students, and Noon Club sponsored 7.  Below are the students and Rotarians at 6:30am on Saturday morning. 

One of our newest Paul Harris Fellows, Colleen Ryan, was recognized on September 6, 2011 by Immediate Past President Bob Gunter with a Rotary Presidential Citation for her work with the Ghana Project.  Colleen is also a member of the Cookeville High School Interact Club and has been selected to attend RYLA this year.  Pictured below is Bob Gunter with Colleen as well as her mother, Connie Ryan, who was a brave supporter for letting her daughter go to Ghana.  We are very proud of Colleen and all the work she has done on behalf of our club!

On Tuesday, September 6, Cookeville Breakfast Rotarians Ann Holland and Patrick Ryan were honored for attaining the second level of Paul Harris Fellow status - PHF+1.  To reach this level, you must have $2,000 contributed to the Rotary Foundation in your name.  You become a Paul Harris Fellow once $1,000 has been contributed in your name, which is usually accomplished by your own contributions but can also be accomplished by contributions of other people.  Once you reach the $2,000 level, you get a Paul Harris Fellow pin with a sapphire and you get to choose to name another person as a Paul Harris Fellow.  Ann Holland named her daughter, Lisa Dillard, and Patrick Ryan named his daughter, Colleen Ryan.  PIctured below is District Governor Frank Rothermel with Ann, Patrick, and Colleen. 

On Tuesday, September 6, our Rotary District 6780 District Governor Frank Rothermel was the speaker.  He gave us an inspiring presentation on remembering to look at the good news in the world, especially the good news that Rotary brings!  Pictured below is a few pics of DG Frank's visit, including one where he met with the Cookeville Breakfast Rotary Club Board.

At our meeting on Tuesday, August 23, Director of Membership Davis Hodges introduced our newest member to the Rotary Club of Cookeville Breakfast - Robert Miller.  Robert works at Citizens Bank and was sponsored by Al Enochs.

On June 28, 2011, President Bob Gunter passed the gavel to President-Elect Meenakshi Sundaram, who will serve as President of the Rotary Club of Cookeville Breakfast for 2011-2012.

Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Bob Gunter presided over his final meeting as President on June 28, 2011.  He recognized his board members and passed out a few other awards.  During his year as president, the Rotary Club of Cookeville Breakfast had two successful fundraisers (the Golf Classic and the International Night featuring the country of Saudi Arabia), allocated thousands of dollars to programs and agencies in the community who work with youth, completed another successful Dictionary Project where every 3rd grader in Putnam County received a dictionary and learned a little bit about Rotary, sponsored students to RYLA, provided two Interact Club Scholarships, carried on our partnership and adoption of White Plains Academy, provided three vocational scholarships, received the club's first District Simplified Grant and completed a successful health and educational mission trip to Ghana, hosted a Youth Exchange student from Brazil, hosted the Group Study Exchange team from Thailand, and had a lot of fun!  With all of this service above self, there is no question why our club was recognized with the Rotary International Presidential Citation with Distinction.  Thanks, Bob, for leading our club this past year!

On June 28, 2011, President Bob Gunter recognized Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Bill Shuster for all of his dedication and work over the years on the Rotary Golf Classic with a special "Service Above Self" award.  Without Bill's involvement, our Golf Classic would not be the premier tournament that golfers look forward to each year.  Thanks, Bill, for your service to our club! 

On June 28, 2011, Cookeville Breakfast Rotarians Larry O'Rear and Robert Pecora were recognized as becoming Paul Harris Fellows.  A person becomes a Paul Harris Fellow when a contribution of $1,000 is made in his or her name to the Rotary Foundation.  Larry and Robert each reached that level of giving through their personal contributions.  All Rotarians are encouraged to donate to the Rotary Foundation every year.  Contributions to the Rotary Foundation enable Rotarians to carry out humanitarian and educational projects all over the world.

Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Davis Hodges was already a Paul Harris Fellow and recently reached the PHF+1 level, which means he has given over $2000 to the Rotary Foundation.  When a Rotarian reaches that level, he or she has the ability to use his or her points to make another person a Paul Harris Fellow.  On June 28, 2011, Davis honored his son, Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Carl Hodges, with a Paul Harris Fellowship.

Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Clarence Smith also recently became a PHF+1.  On June 28, 2011, he honored his daughter, Leslie Smith, with the Paul Harris Fellowship.

Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian David Hill also recently reached the PHF+1 level.  He chose to honor his father-in-law, "Red" Pate, posthumously.  David's wife, Lisa Hill, and their son, Pate, accepted the Paul Harris Fellowship on  Mr. Pate's behalf.

On June 28, 2011, Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Chris Soard was recognized as having perfect attendance for 2010-2011.  Several other club members were recognized as having perfect attendance because they timely reported make-ups whenever they missed a meeting, but Chris was the only Rotarian who was physically present at every Tuesday morning meeting in 2010-2011 and never had to do a make-up.  In the below picture, Chris proudly holds her perfect attendance pin.  Congratulations, Chris! 

On June 28, 2011, President Bob Gunter named Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Allison Rasbury West "Rotarian of the Year" for 2010-2011.  Allison has served the club the past two years as secretary and has served as chairperson of the New Generations Committee, which involves working with the Interact Club, coordinating the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) applications, and interviewing students for the Interact Club Scholarships.  She is a graduate of the Rotary Leadership Institute and has attended two Rotary District Conferences.  She will serve the club in 2011-2012 as the Director of Community Service.

Cookeville Breakfast Rotary sponsors selected juniors from Upperman, Monterey, and Cookeville High Schools each year to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) retreat organized by Rotary District 6780.  The retreat teaches the students leadership skills through motivational speakers and hands-on leadership enhancement activities. Rotary not only pays the registration fees for the students but also provides transportation to/from the retreat.  Pictured below is 2010-2011 New Generations Committee Chairperson Allison Rasbury West with three of the four students our club sponsored this past Rotary year.  The next RYLA retreat will be September 24, 2011. 

Each year, Cookeville Breakfast Rotary joins with the Cookeville ("Noon") Rotary Club to provide two scholarships to Interact Club students at Cookeville High School - the James L. Bomar Jr. Interact Scholarship and the Fred Brown Interact Award of Merit.  The recipients selected for the local scholarships then compete for District Scholarships at the District Interact Conference.  This year, Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Allison Rasbury West served as the chairperson of the New Generations Committee.  Allison and her committee selected Interact Student, MIchael Wallace, for the Bomar Scholarship and Interact Student, Trigg Summs, for the Fred Brown Scholarship.  Both Michael and Trigg competed for their respective scholarships at the District Interact Conference in Pigeon Forge in March.  Michael was selected by the District Bomar Scholarship Committee as a District Bomar Scholarship recipient.  Michael will be attending East Tennessee State University, and Trigg will be attending the University of the South (Sewanee).  Pictured below is Bomar Scholarship recipient Michael Wallace with Allison Rasbury West and Bob Gunter.

Rotarian Davis Hodges took over mid-year as the Director of Vocational Service.  This spring, he and his committee awarded three vocational scholarships to graduating seniors in Putnam County who plan to attend vocational or technical colleges this fall.

Our 2010-2011 Rotary Youth Exchange Student, Bruna Gott, went back to Brazil on Tuesday, June 14.  We will greatly miss her!  She was a dynamic student, attending almost all of our weekly club meetings.  She played volleyball at Cookeville High School, received high academic achievement, including receiving an award for being one of the top students in German classes this year, she participated in the Interact Club, she went on the Rotary Eastern Trip, traveling to New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C., and she attended the 2011 Rotary International Convention in New Orleans.  Below is a picture of Bruna with the 2010-2011 Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith. 

The Rotary Youth Exchange program is a wonderful opportunity for high school students to travel abroad.  If you are interested in learning more about being a host family for incoming exchange students or about how to become and outbound exchange student, please contact Cookeville Breakfast Rotarian Rachel Moses at CoachRach@aol.com. 

Here is a wonderful video showing Cookeville High School Interact Club student Colleen Ryan handing out school supplies and soccer balls to students in Ateiku, Ghana. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEnaIyLzSeA

Here is a video of Crossville Rotarian Scot Shanks thanking the Cookeville Breakfast Rotary Club for funding the new water well rig being used in Ateiku, Ghana.  Scot and the Crossville Rotary Club got the water well project started in Ghana several years ago, and we thank Crossville Rotary for allowing us to participate in their project and help provide further service above self to the people in Ghana. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qi-m5H9VvI&NR=1

The Cookeville High School Interact Club was recently awarded one of the highest honors an Interact Club can receive - a Rotary International Presidential Citation.  RI President Ray Klinginsmith awarded Interact Clubs who have succeeded this year in providing service to their high schools and local communities.  The CHS Interact Club is involved in almost 100 service projects throughout the school year.  Pictured below is Cookeville Breakfast Rotary Club President Bob Gunter with Interact Club 2010-11 President Emma Hollmann, who received the Citation on the club's behalf.  Also pictured is Mrs. Nadine Jones, faculty advisor for the Interact Club.  Mrs. Jones is also a Paul Harris Fellow.

The Thai GSE Team had a whirlwind but excellent experience here, and we were the first stop where all 5 of the team got to have a custom-made one-on-one vocational day.  The team leader, Pradit, was hosted by President-Elect Meenakshi Sundaram, who also arranged a vocational day for him on Monday, May 2.  GSE team member, Thepparat, a finance officer for a telecommunications company, was hosted by David Day, and three Rotarians, Robert Pecora, Jim Hicks, and Stephen Bryant, provided a vocational day to her on Monday.  Team member, Siri, a math teacher, was also hosted by David Day, and Jenny Partin, Cindy Taylor, and Sharon Anderson arranged a vocational day for her.  Team member, Nee, a pediatrician, was hosted by Ron Baker, who also provided a vocational day for her.  And, Pattamon, who works for a cosmetics company, was hosted by Corinne Darvennes, and Rachel Moses provided a vocational day for her.  Steve Glover should also be recognized for transporting the team to Sparta on Thursday.  We won't be hosting an inbound team next year, but our district will be sending a GSE team to Thailand in the spring of 2012.  If any Rotarians are interested in applying to be a GSE team leader to Thailand, or if you know any non-Rotarians between the ages of 25-40 who may be interested in applying as a team member, please contact International Service Director, Corinne Darvennes.  Applications will be due at the end of September.

The 2011 Rotary International Convention was held in New Orleans from May 21-25 celebrating this past Rotary year, which has been led by RI President Ray Klinginsmith whose official Rotary theme has been "Building Communities, Bridging Continents," but who also has charged Rotary Clubs and Rotarians to strive to be "Bigger, Better, and Bolder."  He has been considered a "cowboy" president from Kirksville, Missouri, who even used the country song "Cowboy Logic" as his theme song for the year, which would play everytime he came on stage at the convention.

President Ray is the first Rotary Foundation alumnus to be president of Rotary International.  He was an ambassadorial scholar to South Africa in 1961. (other examples of "foundation alumni" include former GSE team members and foundation peace scholars).  50 years ago, in 1961, President Ray left for South Africa by ship from New Orleans, so it was very meaningful to him to have this convention in New Orleans, the city where he began his Rotary life.

President Ray wanted to celebrate the music of New Orleans so jazz music was played at every convention session.  He also wanted to celebrate "New Generations" as the newest avenue of service of Rotary, so during the opening plenary session on Sunday, May 22, over 200 Youth Exchange Students from the South Central Rotary Youth Exchange District sang several songs on stage, including "We Are The World."  Here is a link to highlights from the Opening Plenary Session: http://www.vimeo.com/24126966.

On Monday, May 23, the second plenary session included a look back at Katrina and featured how Rotary Clubs and Rotarians provided service to the affected communities.  Here is a link to highlights from the Second Plenary Session: http://www.vimeo.com/24175130.

The theme of the third plenary session on Tuesday, May 24, was ending polio.  The most anticipated speaker of the convention, Bill Gates, spoke about how we are 99% there.  John Germ, from the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, who serves on the Rotary International Board of Trustees, also gave an update on where we are toward matching the Gates Foundation's $2 million contribution (we are over $1.75 million).  There was also a special presentation by Fred Heitman of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, recognizing the life and work of Bill Sergeant, Rotarian from Oak Ridge who served as RI Vice President in 1981-82 and served as the Chairperson of the International PolioPlus Committee for 11 years.  Bill passed away in February.  It was pretty cool to have Rotarians from our Rotary District 6780 speaking to the over 18,000 people in attendance at the convention.  Here is a link to highlights from the Third Plenary Session: http://www.vimeo.com/24223884.

The fourth plenary session was held the morning of Wednesday, May 25.  It's main focus was introducing us to the incoming Rotary International President Kalyan Banerjee and his family.  President-Elect Banerjee is from Gujarat, India, and his Rotary year theme is "Reach Within To Embrace Humanity."  He gave a very moving speech about how we need to look in ourselves to see what might need to be changed in order to change the world.  Here is a quote: "Because, if what we want is a world with more kindness, more caring, more joy, and more love, well, if we want all of those things in our world, we have to put them there!  Where do we find those things, you ask? Well, I believe we will find them by looking within ourselves.  THAT's where the search begins."  Also during the fourth session, we got introduced to the incoming General Secretary of Rotary International (a paid position) because General Secretary Ed Futa from Hawaii is retiring after 11 years in this position.  The incoming General Secretary is John Hewko.  Here is a link to highlights from the Fourth Plenary Session: http://www.vimeo.com/24238709.  You can also read the entire speech of President-Elect Banerjee here: http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/c11_speech_banerjee_en.pdf.

The closing plenary session was on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 25, and after retiring General Secretary Ed Futa and President Ray gave speeches, there was a special concert by country singer, Michael Martin Murphey, who composed the song "Cowboy Logic."  Here is a link to highlights from the Final Plenary Session: http://www.vimeo.com/24247064.

The 28th Annual Cookeville Breakfast Rotary Golf Classic will be Saturday, September 10, and Sunday, September 11, at the Cookeville Golf Club.  We need all Rotarians to find sponsors.  There are 3 types of sponsorships:

• Community Partner - donation of $1000 - will get 1/2 page ad in the Community Partner publication (insert in the Herald-Citizen), will get a team in the Golf Classic, will get to be in the picture on the back of the Community Partner publication, will get name and logo on the large banner outside of the Golf Club as well as on small banner inside Golf Club, and will get 2 tickets to International Night in January 2012. 
• Hole Sponsor - donation of $100 - will get sign at one of the holes during the Golf Classic.
• Ad Sponsor - donation of $100 for 1/8 page ad, $200 for $1/4 page ad, or $400 for 1/2 page ad in Community Partner publication

You can download and print off sponsorship forms from our public website: www.cbrotary.com/golfclassic or at our club website: www.clubrunner.ca/cookevillebreakfast.

We have an earlier deadline this year for Ad Sponsors - June 15, 2011.  That's right, June 15.  So, get out there quickly to find ad sponsors.  The deadline for Community Partners is July 15, 2011 and the deadline for Hole Sponsors is August 31, 2011.  If you would like to see what sponsors we had last year, contact Rachel Moses.

Geniece Brunson is organizing the goodie bags for the golfers this year, so we also need items (in quantities of 200) to distribute in them.  If you have pens, notepads, golf tees, coupons, or any other items, please give them to Geniece. 

Robert Pecora will be heading up the wo/manpower for the Golf Classic weekend, so please put the Classic down on your calendars and be ready to volunteer as needed.

If you have any questions, contact President-Elect/Director of Fundraising Projects Meenakshi Sundaram.

This week, we will not have a breakfast meeting on Tuesday, May 10.  Instead, Cookeville Breakfast Rotary will gather at 6pm on Tuesday evening at the Tennessee Tech Baseball Field to cheer on the TTU Golden Eagles baseball team as they play against Lipscomb University.  You don't want to miss this fellowship event!  Bring your family and friends.  There is no admission fee!  There's a rumor that our President Bob Gunter will be escorted to the pitcher's mound by the Tennessee Tech Golden Girls to throw out the first pitch.  Is that really going to happen?  Come to find out!