Franklinton Rotary Club

Welcome to the Franklinton Rotary Club's Web Site! Please join us for fun, food, and fellowship!

Installation Banquet and Other News

Mark your calendars! June 23 will be the date of our installation banquet! In lieu of our noon lunch we will have dinner at 6:30 pm at the First United Pentecostal Church, thanks so the generosity of fellow Rotarian, Brother James Hamilton. We will present the Paul Harris Fellow awards, the fireman and policeman of the year awards, as well as install our new officers.

Today's program was on the topic of home and auto insurance, how to avoid claims, manage discounts, and how to ease the stress of dealing with a claim should you have one. There are several discounts available through your insurance company and the best way to make sure you are receiving everything you are due, please visit with your agent. Many people were not aware that there is a course offered through AARP which will provide people aged 55 and over a discount on their auto insurance of up to 10%! Clair McGuire helps to coordinate these courses and can tell you when and where to attend. Or, you can go onto the web site and take the course as well. Just bring your certificate showing completion to your insurance company and they will apply the discount! As far as your homeowners insurance goes, safety is key! Please make sure that you have smoke detectors in your home and that they WORK!!! Also, do not burn candles, no matter how careful you may try to be, they often get left burning and cause house fires. There are now many candles available made of wax which use batteries and have a timer. They give the look and feel of real candles, come on and turn off at specified times, and are not dangerous! Make sure that you check your dryer vent and hose at least once a year to eliminate lint build-up. You can put your leaf blower in the vent hole in the wall to blow out any build-up. Also check your washing machine hoses to make sure they are not dry rotted or cracked, as this will cause a water loss. Besides smoke detectors there are also water leak detectors available which are very inexpensive. They are placed behind the washing machine, water heater, etc and have an alarm which will sound should water leak onto the floor. Another way to save money during the summer is to make sure that your attic is properly vented. Many houses have little to no circulation in their attics, which drives up the a/c bills in the summer. You can install thermostat regulated attic fans, turbines, etc to help with the movement of air.

The bottom line is that everyone should visit with their insurance company once a year to review their policies, make sure they are properly insured, check their discounts, and mitigate their chances of a loss.

Greetings from Bangladesh and The Miller Family!

Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus to family and friends,

We are all doing great here in and are so excited about being called to serve the beautiful people here as well as in . Many great things are happening and it is a privilege to be a part of it.

A few weeks ago I went to the rooftop to hang out clothes and on the way down I met a maid who is responsible for keeping the building clean. She doesn't speak English and I cannot speak Bengali yet, but she communicated to me that she was in great pain in her stomach. I felt led to lay hands upon her and pray. About two week later my doorbell rang and another maid stood at my door with her hands on her head and her face contorted with pain. She was trying to tell me that she had a very severe headache. She grabbed my hand and put it on top of her head. I pulled her into our apartment and prayed for her. The next day she came to let me know that her headache was gone and she had the biggest smile on her face. Apparently the first maid had been talking about her experience on the stairwell. Thank God for His miraculous healing power.

As I was reading the local newspaper I came across a survey. It was the Bangladesh Independence Day celebration and many locals were interviewed and asked the question, "What does freedom mean to you?" I was overwhelmed by the response and as tears flowed down my face I read:

14 year old water distributor- Freedom means nothing more than earning a decent meal.

18 year old worker- Freedom would be to travel without the fear of being mugged.

19 year old fish seller- Freedom would be for me to be able to take better care of my parents and have a respectable job and a better education.

30 year old filmmaker- Freedom would be the opportunity to openly criticize politicians.

40 year old rickshaw puller- Freedom would be for me to raise my children to be responsible citizens and for them to be able to have three full meals a day and for them to be able to attend a school.

25 year old female worker- Freedom would the right to be myself and to earn enough to feed my children.

10 year old boy (domestic helper)- Freedom would be to play cricket whenever I want. I saved from my salary to buy the cricket jersey.

20 year old student- Freedom would be jam free roads and a pollution free .

19 year old female student-Freedom would be the right to basically do anything as long as it is legal. Many lives were lost to give us freedom to speak our language, but we still have a long way to go as a nation to proclaim real freedom. Am I free to walk down the streets without being troubled? Our forefathers fought for peace and honor and we are a long way from achieving this.

13 year old female domestic helper- Freedom would be to have fun all the time. I want to be happy and keep my family happy. I like to play with my younger brother and sister and make them laugh. I remember going to the park with them once and buying a lot of new things. I want to do that again and have fun forever.

19 year old female student- Freedom is fiction to me just like leprechauns. It is something I was told that I have since I was a child and believed it with all of my heart. Slowly, but surely, I realized just how delusional we all are. If we have achieved democracy, why can't I speak my mind with my pen without fear of being dragged to jail.

25 year old mother and wife- Freedom would be to live my old life as a young girl- carefree and independent with no worries and every twist and turn was an adventure. I think freedom to women everywhere would be to live like a little girl again.

15 year old Porter- Freedom would be to play cricket and other kinds of sports and not have to work in a vegetable market everyday. I would be completely free if I could take rest and sleep whenever I wanted to. Also, if I could see my parents in my hometown when I wish.

I was so moved by the deep heart cry for freedom! It was during a time of fasting that these scriptures were quickened to me.

Luke 4:18 came to my mind "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

Isaiah 58:5

"Is not this the fast that I have chosen?"

To loose the bands of wickedness.

To undo the heavy burdens.

To let the oppressed go free.

That ye break every yoke.

To deal bread to the hungry.

To bring the poor that are cast out of thy house.

When thou seest the naked that thou cover him.

I guess what I am trying to convey is that it is an honor to be called by God to nations that are so dark and cold to bring the message of freedom!

LET FREEDOM RING!!!!

We cannot leave our home without seeing the dire need of this nation and the opportunity to make a difference is forever before us! We thank you for your continued prayers.

Katie and Miquel are doing great. Katie is busy everyday with schoolwork and Miquel is busy using her imagination. Her latest is her horse and chickens. She uses a suitcase that stands upright and rolls from any direction as her horse. She has a rope attached and pulls it all over the house and you never know where she will have it tied up. She rides her babies around as well and they occasionally get "bucked off". We were unable to find the keys to a drawer and she had locked the drawer and hid the key. Upon questioning her she told us she had to lock the drawer because her chickens were getting out! Oh, how beautiful to have a creative mind!

Katie is trying to convince us that it is ok to say "ain't" here and that it is in the dictionary! She has always loved to mimic the British accent and next year she will be attending the international school here in . All the teachers talk with a British accent and they use the British system. Needless to say, she is quite happy and she can already talk with the accent so she should fit in quite well. She has been a great help to me and is learning to cook. She is now the official "popcorn popper" the old fashioned way.... On top of the stove! The popcorn is quite tasty and we even learned to make kettle corn!

I will close for now as I seem to be getting more lengthy every time I write!

Love and hugs,

Sandy Miller

Bill Stafford, Archives, Records Management and History

The Food Festival was quite a success! We are still collecting money so continue to turn it in to Betty and Mike Gill. Thanks to all who worked both before and during our event to make it an occasion our whole town anticipates!

Bill Stafford, son of James, was our speaker today. He works for the Secretary of State in Archives, Records Management, and History. He discussed many of the archived items housed there as well as the history they have collected over the years. It was very interesting to listen to the story of Eugene Bunch, the most famous train robber in the South, who is now buried in Morris Cemetary. According to the oral history and print they have collected, Mr. Bunch was known as quite the gentleman robber. He was very polite any time he robbed anyone and was actually known as the Robin Hood of the South. After the Civil War most southerners were very poor and Mr. Bunch saw no problem robbing the "Yankee" trains and giving back to the local communities. He was eventually shot near Hackley in the Honey Island Swamp area and his body was brought to Franklinton for viewing and he was buried at Morris Cemetary. We would like to thank Bill for this wonderful visit and interesting stories!

Shelter Box Success! Food Fest Coming up!

Congratulations to our club for accumulating enough money to purchase an entire Shelter Box! Betty Gill will get the money transfered to this organization asap! We are making a difference world wide!

The "Mark It" game has now begun in anticipation of our 150th Anniversary beginning this weekend. Coylean passed out the game cards to our club and they will be available at the parade on Saturday. Congratulations to Emily Gatewood for being named the Sesquincentennial Queen for the town of Franklinton. The Scavenger Hunt will begin at Citizens Savings and loan where you pick up your first clue. There are 8 clues total. Many prizes will be given away, so join in the fun!

Warren Cook, new Rotarian to our club, has actually been a Rotarian for 31 years with 30 years perfect attendance! He spoke today allowing us to get to know him a little better. We were interested to find out that his passion is running stockcars! He is married to Beverly and they have two wonderful children. We are thrilled to have him in our club.

We need all food fest auction items to be at Whitney Bank no later than next Thursday. We have got to get them tagged and ready for transport and we cannot do that at the last minute, especially with the 150th celebration going on here in town. Please do your best to collect items so that Mike and Huey do not have to do it all themselves. This is our one fundraiser for the year and we need everyone to participate to make this a success! We can do this! Let's really make an impression this year!

Family Medical's Lab/Japan

Barbara Oakes invited everyone from Family Medical's lab to have lunch with us today and talk about all the wonderful things being done to service the patients. Franklinton is very lucky to have a lab that provides such wonderful services, and always with a smile! Many of us have been there at one time or another and we have always been greeted with friendly faces and kind words. It was wonderful to visit with them today!

The Japan situation was discussed today with heavy hearts and concern from everyone in the club. Our district has decided to collect funds from individual clubs and pool the money to send to Japan's Rotary Clubs and allow them to use the money as they see fit. A motion was made and approved for our club to send $1000 to the district for this endeavor. A second collection was started for the Shelter Box program and Betty Gill is collecting that money. Once she has received all donations she will send one check to www.shelterboxusa.org. We are hoping to accumulate $1000 to purchase an entire box from our club. Should you be interested in more information about this program, please refer to the web site.

Our food fest is coming up and we are collecting items! Please drop them by Whitney Bank as you collect items.

Margaret Wheeler with Youth Build Bogalusa

Rotarian Brenda Freeman invited Margaret Wheeler to speak to us today about Youth Build Bogalusa. In answer to the question, "What could you do for your community if you had adult support?" was answered by Mickey Murphy-former Dean of Northshore Technical College-in 2001 with this program intended to assist people ages 16-24 to obtain their GED as well as life skills, carpentery certification, and mentoring. Mrs. Wheeler is the Program Assistant and is very excited about the opportunities provided to our youth through this amazing program. There are many reasons why a student may not have completed their high school education and the YBB Program is there to assist them in every aspect of their lives to enable them to become successful, contributing members of Washington Parish. One of the most unique parts of this program is that the students are actually paid while they complete the 10 month program! Students can earn up to $150 a week, which can be used to pay bills, buy supplies, or whatever the student needs the money for. The criteria for entrance are as follows: Resident of Washington Parish, 16-24 years old, be without a high school diploma, be drug free, and successfully complete the TABE test, interview, and mental toughness phase of the program. The program offers counseling and leadership/career development, education and carpentry training, job placement and graduate resources. The YBB has the capacity to service 27-10 students in each 10-month program cycle and so far, 100% of the students who entered have completed the program and graduated. Of those students, 93% have been placed in jobs, higher education, or the military. Margaret stated that should anyone have any questions or students who may be interested in the program can contact her at 985-732-6878. Our club was thrilled to hear about this program and we hope to help spread the word!

Club Business: Please order license plates! Please get in your auction items! Please register for the International Conference, even if it's just for Saturday! Also, we would like to send our best regards to Betty Gill who fell snow skiing and has injured her knee. Betty, we love and miss you!

Brad Orman Visits

Our meeting today was very interesting and we had lots of information to digest. We hope everyone is busy collecting their items for the Food Fest and Auction, which is just around the corner. Flyers were passed out today to post at our businesses. Please drop off all items at Whitney Bank where they can be tagged.

The International Conference is coming up in May. There is a district contest for the clubs with the most registered participants. These awards will be passed out to the highest percentage small, medium, and large clubs. Please register now and help our club to win! You can just register for the House of Friendship if you would like and our club gets credit for that as well. The only request is that on the form, you do not check the box "Do not share my information" because that will stop RI from sharing your registration with our district. The conference will not be back in the United States for at least 7 years, and probably not this close to our club in our lifetimes. So, please register and join in the fun and festivities!

Big News! This past weekend Bill Gates was confirmed as the speaker on Tuesday May 24 of the International Conference. What an amazing opportunity to get to see him!

Please order you RI license plate! Forms were e-mailed to the club as well as handed out at the meeting. $25 goes to our district for humanitarian projects! It's a great way to advertise Rotary and help out our district! If you need additional information you may contact Betty Gill or Laurie Bell.

Guest Speaker of Billy Burris was Brad Orman today. He discusses the ever volatile subject of alcohol sales here in Franklinton. Brad stated that when the issue was initially addressed they conducted a study to determine the economic impact. It was discovered that allowing sales on Sunday would increase sales by $0.5 million dollars with an additional $12,000 income tax revenue. Of that money, $7000 would go to our schools. As they decided to find out further how to make the sales legal they discovered that since 1976 beer sales on premises have been legal. Also, since 1986 it has been legal to sell beer and liquor on Sundays in closed containers. Therefore, the issue was mute. There are 5 areas that encompass the sales of alcohol in any town from sales in restaurants to closed packaging in stores. For there to be sales of beer and wine in local restaurants there would have to be a petition made by 25% of the voting population in Franklinton to put the issue on the ballot, but it would not be the only issue on the ballot. The vote would encompass all 5 issues of alcohol sales which could result in repeal of the current sales allowed now. Should that happen, Winn Dixie would more than likely leave Franklinton. So, the synopsis of this issue is that nothing is ever as simple as initially thought!

The Franklinton Rotary Club is grateful to Brad for speaking today as well as all the hard work and long hours he puts in making our town a wonderful place to live.

PETS Conference a huge success!

Betty Gill and Laurie Bell attended the PETS Conference in Vicksburg, MS this past weekend. It was a huge success and a lot of fun. Our fearless leader, Betty, was on the ball and looked mighty cute in her 50's attire at the dinner Friday night. We learned some very exciting things during the sessions. We are now able to purchase a Rotary license plate through the department of motor vehicles. It has the Rotary emblem and motto, Service Above Self, on the plate. You will not lose any money on the plate as it replaces your current plate with credit for the time in force left on the plate. There is a $25 charge for the plate which goes directly to our district foundation for humanitarian projects. It's a wonderful way to advertise Rotary and help out our foundation. Also, as we all know, the International Conference is coming up in May and Bill Gates is confirmed as the speaker on Tuesday! We need to register early because there is a contest for the clubs with the most pre-registered members. An award will be given out based on club sizes, small, medium, and large, with the highest percentage registered. It even counts if you only register for the May 21, Saturday House of Friendship. So please, go on line and register! We have lots of new ideas and cannot wait to share what we have learned with everyone.

Misconceptions about Nursing Homes

Rotarian Harold Smith invited Mandy McKee as his guest speaker today. She is the Speech Therapist and Rehab Coordinator at Heritage Manor Nursing Home here in Franklinton. Instead of speaking about the work she does at the nursing home, she felt it would be informative to discuss the common misconceptions people have about nursing homes. The most common misconception is that nursing homes are "waiting rooms" where people never leave. Mandy stated that this is very far from the truth. The nursing home is a residential facility designed to provide therapy for patients which allows them to return home. They have a fully functioning rehab gym and kitchen where people receive not only physical therapy, but also occupational and speech therapy. Training is also provided for the family which shows them how to make the adjustments needed for their loved one to return home. The ultimate goal of their residental program is to return people to their home environment.

Besides the therapy provided, we also discussed the costs of nursing home care as well as what is covered by medicare/medicaid. It was interesting to learn that under the medicare program the first 20 days is covered and then starting on day 21 there is $141.50 co-pay the resident must provide every day! How do you pay for that? Well, you can utilize your private insurance if you have that, or if you do not and are considered impoverished, you may qualify for Medicaid. That is a big "if" though because you must have less than $2000 in assets to qualify for Medicaid. Harold did discuss the misconception that nursing homes will take your house or assets to recoop what has been paid out. He stated that they do not do this as they are not in the housing market! But, the government will try to recover anything paid out by Medicaid once both partners have passed away and the estate is being settled. The bottom line is that if you do not qualify for Medicaid and are worried about your estate and passing it on to your loved ones, you need a Long Term Care Insurance Policy to assist with the costs of long term care.

Mootarian went home with Larry McGuire today after staying 3 weeks with Harold Smith. Mootarian was so excited to visit the McGuires!

Our Food Fest and Auction is April 3! We need everyone out there collecting auction items, cash for purchasing auction items, or providing them somehow! Everyone is responsible for 2 called items and 2 silent items. Chryll has the room at Whitney Bank ready for our donations so that we can start tagging items ahead of time. Please help us to be successful this year!

Mecca Royalty Visits!

Guests of Rotarian, Linda Jenkins, were the King and Queen of Mecca! It was thrilling to meet King Richard Slade and his Queen, Jeanine Dunaway. They spoke to us about all of meetings and visits they are blessed to attend as well as the many parties planned in their honor. They also urge everyone to attend the parade in Bogalusa, which is a wonderful time for families.

Our Food Fest and Auction is coming up fast! April 3 we will all be working to sell our auction items! But, we need to get them in ahead of time! We have a special incentive for the first Rotarians who turn in all 4 of their items at Whitney Bank! Start collecting, buying, begging, or whatever you can do to get your items in now!

On Mondays at City Hall until April 18 Rotarians Larry McGuire and Major Chappell will be doing tax preparations for free. An appointment is needed, but this is a service provided for those elderly people who are unable to do this for themselves. Our club is very proud of these gentlemen, as they have helped over 200 people just last year and many more when you consider the years they have been doing this. An appointment is needed, so call 839-3569 to set up a time! Major and Larry operate under the IRS and AARP and are fully qualified! We love you both for your service!

Franklinton is 150 Years Old!

Well, it's been a while, but your faithful website is up to date again as of today! Lots of news and information at the meeting today!

*Food Fest and Auction is April 3 at the Event Center in Franklinton. We need to be there at 8 am to help set up and get everything organized. We need to start collecting silent and called auction items now. Mike Gill has the lists, so if you do not have one, please get one from him and utilize the lists to go to the different businesses and get our items. We need all the help we can get to collect items and if we all do just a few, it will go well!

*We need a volunteer to become President Elect for the 2012-2013 year. Mike Goings was in that position, but has to become inactive, leaving a vacancy.

Our guest today was Jennifer Fleming and she spoke about our 150 year celebration. March 7, 1861 was the date Franklinton was incorporated. We will begin our celebration on March 26, 2011 with a parade, opening ceremony on the court house steps, 150 balloon release followed by cake walks, period costumes, square dancing, arts and crafts, antique cars on display, storytelling, games and crafts for the children, as well as the museum being open to the public. Wednesday evening of that week we will have a community prayer service. During the Franklinton High School baseball game v. Salmon the surviving members of the Franklinton Doctors Minor League Baseball Team will be introduced. Closing ceremonies will be April 2 at the fair grounds with musical groups performing on the stage, concessions, Mile Branch and a wonderful fireworks display at 8pm. There will be many things for sale during the week to celebrate our birthday including postcards, fans, booklets, old wooden nickels, a cookbook, t-shirts, plates, and ties for the men. The week will be filled with lots of fun and activities and we are all looking forward to the celebration.

Dale Tate, Nurse Practitioner, from the Rural Health Clinic

Before we get into the program for the day, just to let everyone know, the schedule to work the membership ticket booth at the fair has been posted on the web site as well as e-mailed to all Rotarians. We are thrilled to be working with the Interact students and are reminded to wear our "Rotarian at Work" shirts for our shifts. If you have not signed up for a shift, please do so immediately. This is an important project for our club each year. Mike Breland relies heavily on our club to do our share promoting ticket sales.

Claire and Larry McGuire, fellow Rotarians, are the Mile Branch Honorees this year at the fair! Congratulations to this amazing couple for their recognition and for making our club proud once again! Claire and Larry are our heroes! Claire mentioned that she needs volunteers for working the store at Mile Branch. Please come help cut and serve cheese and crackers!

The District Conference is this weekend in New Orleans and the food festival is Friday night! If you have a chance to attend, you will not be sorry! Only sorry if you miss it! Tons of fun!!!

Calvin Green introduced our club to Dale Tate, the Nurse Practitioner from our Rural Health Clinic. Dale is originally from Kentwood, he is married, and has two wonderful children. He graduated from high school in 1994, went on to the Vo Tech school in Greensburg to obtain his LPN, attended SW Miss College for his RN, and most recently, in 2010, graduated from Loyola as a Nurse Practitioner. This specialized degree requires at minimum, as masters degree as well as advanced training in certain areas, for example: neonatology, family health, etc. Dale is a specialist in family health with the passion for overall care of families in rural areas. This is a cost effective choice for health care as people with this degree are allowed to provide many services to the public without them having to actually see a doctor. Dale can do things from take health histories, provide vaccinations, to diagnosing and treating many conditions. Our local Rural Health Clinic has two doctors on staff in addition to Dale, as well as the many office workers. They are currently taking on new patients and welcome any and everyone in need of a Primary Care Provider. The Rotary Club is proud to have such dedicated people serving the needs of our residents and we were thrilled to welcome Dale today.

W. P. Fair booth Schedule

Next week, Thursday, October 21, there will be no meeting. We are working the membership ticket booth at the Washington Parish Free Fair. Please check the schedule below for your shift.

10:00 - 12:00 - Huey Beverly, Major chappell, Larry McGuire, Darrell Fairburn, Danny Bosch, Victoria Beal

12:00 - 2:00 - Coylean Schloegel, Linda Jenkins, Barbara Oakes, Chyrll McCrary, Jessica Ryals, Hope Ryals

2:00 - 4:00 - Chyrll McCrary, Laurie Bell, Brenda Fussell, Alainna Lindsey, Jessica Williams

4:00 - 6:00 - Calvin Green, James Hamilton, John Wyble

6:00 - 8:00 - Brenda Freeman, Cindy Allen

8:00 - 10:00 - Mike Gill, Betty Gill, Richard Morgan, Ashley Mizell, Ashley Edmundson

Zumba! What-ba?

Crystal Cupp was Mike Gill's guest today at our meeting. She is not only an employee of Farm Bureau, but has brought Zumba to Franklinton! What is Zumba? It is only the hottest exercise class sweeping the country right now!

Zumba is a mixture of music and dance styles to make working out tons of fun physically and mentally. The classes are open to men and women both and your first class if FREE! They are held at the Center for Better Living from 5:30-6:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Several people in our Rotary club attend class with Crystal and they have stated that it is complete entertainment. You never realize you are exercising until you have to wipe down with a towel at the end! Crystal is a certified Zumba instructor and she would love to welcome anyone to class. Regular pricing for classes is $10/class, or 6 classes for $55 and if you bring a friend, your class is half price! If you are interested, you can just show up for class, or you can call Crystal at 985-335-0373.

We received our membership tickets for the fair today. You can either purchase them yourself, or sell them. We have also signed up for shifts on Thursday to work the membership booth. If you have not signed up, please contact Betty or Brenda.

John Wyble, fellow Rotarian, was certified as the winner of the election this past weekend! He is now our District 2 School Board Rep! Congratulations John! We are so proud of you!

April 10, 2011 is the tentative date for our Annual Food Festival and Auction. Please start collecting items to dontate and place this date on your calendar. This is our most important fund raiser for the year, and it keeps our dues low! We need as much participation as possible!

The Queen of Spades is now up to $672.27! No one won today, so your chances of winning next week are VERY high! come to Rotary and be the big winner next week!

Dr. Jason Reina Speaks on Importance of Screening

Originally from Baton Rouge, Dr. Jason Reina addressed our club today regarding the importance of keeping ourselves healthy and taking precautionary measures to ensure we stay cancer free. Dr. Reina is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, LSU, and did his fellowship in gastroenterology ot Ochsner. He is on staff with the Northlake Gastroenterology Associates and has been working here for 5 years. He loves our small community and feels that it allows him to grow without getting lost in the shuffle of a big city. His specialties are vast as they cover everything from the esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, to the small and large intestines. Many times the problems that he sees are caught too late to repair, which is why he gets so excited when he can prevent problems before they start. This is done through colonoscopy, which he recommends everyone have done at age 50 unless there is a family history of cancer in those areas. Statistically, everyone has a 5% chance of developing colon cancer and it affects 90% of people over age 50. This is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the country. And, the mortality of this type of cancer is directly related to screening because the progression into cancer takes 10 years. Therefore, there is a long time period within which to diagnose and successfully treat, if found through screening. The risk factors include inherited/genetic defects, smoking, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, alcohol consumption in large amounts, red meat, and strangely enough, African Americans have a higher rate than other races. To help prevent cancer we can not only change our diets to include less red meats and more fruits/vegetables, but also take a daily aspirin, folic acid, daily exercise, and GET YOUR SCREENING DONE!

Our club would like to thank Dr. Reina for speaking to us today and allowing us the pleasure of his company.

Please invite a friend to Rotary!

Richard "Ned" Thomas working hard on our roads!

Richard "Ned" Thomas, fellow Rotarian, provided the program today along with his invited guests Mr. Leo Lucchesi and Mrs. Donna Alonzo. Mr. Thomas spoke today on the importance of renewing the tax on the ballot Saturday, October 2, 2010. The goal is to make gravel roads extinct in Washington Parish and we are well on the way! This is not a new tax added to the ballot, but a renewal of a millage we are currently used to paying. We are using local labor to complete the road resurfacing and are able to complete 40 miles of road a year. We have also utilized our tax dollars to purchase a new beater, which was badly needed. Everyone was in agreement that we are able to see the fruits of the labor so far and the new roads are greatly appreciated. Rotary is proud to have Mr. Thomas as a member making a difference in our parish!

Everyone needs to remember that we have our project this weekend on Saturday to help out the local firefighters with their fundraiser. So far, there is very little participation in this project and we need all the help we can get! There will be a boot collection at our local grocery stores in the early morning and they we will move to the fire station at 10 am. Please come and help if you are able!

Judge Burris visits in time to meet our newest Rotarian!

The Membership Committee, represented by Coylean, introduced our newest member today. He is cuddly, cute, and soft and we think we are going to love having Mootarian as a part of our club. It was decided by name draw that Barbara Oakes would be the lucky Rotarian in charge of taking care of Mootarian until she brings a guest to a meeting with her. Once she does that, a new name will be drawn to take Mootarian home with them! So, be aware, you may have a house guest! His photo is on the site if you'd like to see him!

The Fall Conference is coming up and the deadline to turn in the money is Sept. 30. If you have never been to the conference, you are missing quite a lot of fun! You need to join us!

Polio Eradication is a big issue for Rotary, as we all know. We are thankful that WFCG is willing to run the ads for free as part of their public service announcements. Brenda, our fearless leader, came up with an idea to put a tag line at the end of the ad so that Franklinton will become familiar with the members of our club. We passed around a sign up sheet for anyone interested in participating. The tag line will run about $10/person/month. Mike Gill, you were out of town for this meeting, but we went ahead and signed you up, as we were pretty sure you'd be interested! Nothing like your friends spending your money!

James Stafford's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday coming up. So please keep him in your prayers.

And, last, but not least, Billy Burris invited his father, Judge Burris to speak to our club today and drug court and DUI court. Judge Burris is the most senior judge on the bench and proud to serve our area. He stated that several changes have been made to the way things are handled, which has streamlined the docket and it is working well. We were one of the first parishes in the country to have a drug and DWI court system. Judge Burris is the judge for DWI Court. They have found that the recivitism rate is only 7.1% as opposed to 50% who do not have this specialized program. The highly structured environment provides these offenders with the boundaries necessary to give them their lives back as well as their families. Some of the boundaries include weekly court appearances, random testing, breathing device installed on their vehicle, an anklet device called Scram-X which monitors home incarceration, AA class participation required, a bracelet which monitors alcohol consumption, group support, sanctions, job limitations (such as no off-shore work or bartending jobs), etc. Offenders have to be in the program for at least 1 year to graduate. Judge Burris says it is going very well and he is proud to have been involved in this from the ground up.

Dr. Chris Foret Speaks on Childhood Obesity

Today's meeting was very eye opening. Dr. Chris Foret and his lovely wife, Julie, were our guests today. Dr. Foret discussed the alarming news about a new epicemic which has hit our youth. According to the latest statistics 20% of our children in this country are now considered obese. Between the ages of 6 and 12, one third of these children have hypertension or diabetes, reflux, abnormal liver functions as well as social issues amongst their peers. 80% of these children grow up to become obese adults. As a result, this is the first generation where our children are projected to not outlive their parents. The implications on a long term basis for our country are huge! To combat this problem there are several behavior modifications parents need to implement. Children should play outside for at least 60 minutes a day. Television should be limited to 2 hours/day from age 2-18 and under age 2, there should be no television. Parents should spend time every day exercising with their children. Surprisingly enough, there are no dietary recommentations for children under age 12. As this is a national concern, Michelle Obama has made this epidemic her platform. As per our local Superintendant, Darryl Fairburn, Franklinton has PE in every school for every child. He also stated that they constantly monitor and adjust the nutritional value of the school meals, but it is somewhat difficult to implement when the children refuse to eat what's cooked. We appreciate our local representative having such concern for our children and commend Darryl on a job well done. We also appreciate Chris and Julie for attending our meeting and bringing such an important issue to our club.

Dr. John Wyble mentioned that he is still looking for Mentors for the new Mentoring Program. Training will be on a Sat. and the 1st Baptist Church. If interested, please let him know.

Sat., Sept 25, is the Fire Department Fundraiser, which we will need lots of people to help with. The State Park will have it's grand opening a week from this Saturday. Whitney Bank is having an event to honor Betty Gill, our Citizen of the Year at 5pm. All are invited! The queen of spades contest is over $400 and there are only 16 cards left!

Important Informational Meeting Today!

Today we had lots of business to discuss in lieu of a speaker, so here is the recap.

Sept. 25, 2010 will be the Firemen's Open House/Fun Day which our club is going to participate in assisting our firemen in raising funds. We will be selling tickets as well as working the fun day. Brenda, our fearless leader, will meet with the Mayor to ask if that day can be officially declared as Fireman's Day in Franklinton, we are also hoping to have people working the intersections collecting donations in the firemen's boots, we will have face painting, a matinee movie for the kids, a dunking booth, and a cake walk. These are the ideas we have come up with so far, but any additional ideas are welcomed! Please plan to participate as this is important for our firemen who put thier lives on the line for our citizens.

The Cara Williams Fundraiser was a huge success. We raised over $1700 and were able to give Cara $878. Half of the money our club kept will go toward the End Polio Now campaign and we will do a Paul Harris award for anyone who is willing to donate the additional $122 to make the donation an even $1000. Names are being taken now, so if you are interested, please e-mail Brenda and your name will go into the hat. We will draw to see who wins.

The district Blue Dog Fundraiser tickets have been acquired and we voted to have $10 added to our bills in lieu of having to each sell 10 tickets. Should you win the Blue Dog Silk Screen the only rule is that you are not allowed to sell it on ebay.

The Food Festival and Auction is quickly approaching. Now is the time to begin collecting items for the auctions. The event will be held at the event center this year, which is where it began. We have more room and we are getting a wonderful deal from the owners!

The District Fall Conference is October 14 - 16. Please check your e-mail about attendance. It will be in New Orleans this year at the Lowe's Hotel and the Friday night Food Fest will be tons of fun. If you have never attended a conference, or even if you have, please consider attending as it is TONS of fun! Remember, what happens at the Food Festival stays at the Food Festival! Ha!

Committee members were chosen and they are as follows:

Foundation Chair: Mike Gill

Huey Beverly, Mike Goings, Richard Morgan, Evan Magee, James Hamilton, Harold Smith

Club Service Chair: James Stafford

James Hamilton, Huey Beverly, Major Chappel, Linda Jenkins, Cindy Allen

Club Admin Chair: Linda Jenkins

Chyrll McCrary, Barbara Oakes, Coylean Schloegel, Richard Morgan, Claire McGuire

Club Membership Chair: Coylean Schloegel

Claire McGuire, Calvin Green, Larry McGuire, Betty Burris, Brenda Fussell

Public Relations Chair: Laurie Bell

Betty Gill, Spec McClendon, Darrell Fairburn, Richard Thomas, Terry Fortenberry

Last, but certainly not least, we wished Harold "The Headless Chicken" Smith a happy birthday.

RYLA was a HUGE SUCCESS again this year!

The Franklinton Rotary Club was well represented at RYLA this year! Seth McVea, who attended last year's RYLA as a camper, was invited to return this year as a counselor. Bowling Green's Interact Club was represented by Danny Bosch and Franklinton High School was represented by Jasmine Wilson. Both Danny and Jasmine beamed as they spoke of the wonderful weekend they experienced and both stated that they had no idea just how much fun it was going to be and that it was one of the most wonderful experiences of their lives. They both loved the seminars they attended and stressed the importance the Franklinton Rotary Club plays in the lives of our local community. $10, 748 was raised by the RYLA youth for the Wheelchair Foundation, which provided 143 chairs to the needy. The Franklinton Rotary Club is honored to have had such outstanding youth represent our town so well and we are very proud of them as well as the Interact Clubs. The Interact Clubs are getting together a fund raising program to benefit Operation Smile. Any ideas are welcomed, as well as volunteers once the program has been decided. We cannot wait to help out!

Dr. John Wyble was a guest of Mr. Mike Gill today and he spoke about a couple of issues near and dear to his heart. Dr. Wyble travels frequently around the state working for CASA. He stated, "It's important to find the goodness in our young people today. They are more engaged in our communities today than they have ever been, and they are quickly becoming leaders. It is important for us to support them." As a result of this commitment he feels, he has become very involved in the development and implementation of the Franklinton Mentors Program. Dr. Wyble urged all of us to consider speaking to anyone we feel could work as a mentor to a young man ages 13-17 for an hour a week and provide them with a copy of an application, which he handed out to all of us. The mentor positions are open to men who want to work to provide guidance to a young male in the community in a faith-based atmosphere. The first training session will be Saturday, Sept 11, 2010 from 8am - 2:30 pm at First Baptist Church. Please see any Rotarian who attended today if you need a copy of the application. Our Club is please to have had Dr. Wyble and we are proud of the work he is doing to improve our community through our children.

James Stafford will be undergoing heart surgery soon. Please keep him in your prayers and send him a card if you think of it. We love and miss you James!

Joyce Unsworth suggested that while you are out shopping, should you run across something inexpensive for a child such as a small toy, etc, purchase it please and we will use those things to hand out with the Christmas Dinners in December.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Today we did not have a quest speaker, but we had lots to discuss! Ace sent us a thank you card to our club thanking us for the wonderful visit. We are trying to set up a training meeting for new members, as well as a refresher for our more seasoned members. We will need everyone's help and attendance to make this successful. It should be filled with lots of information and fun! The dictionaries are in and labeled. Conrad will get with Darryl about dates to hand them out. The sign ups for helping to pass them out are as follows:

Franlinton Elementary: Brenda Buttone

Mt. Hermon: Terry Fortenberry

Enon: Mike Goings, and Richard Morgan

Thomas: Linda, Coylean, and Claire

Bowling Green: Reggie Simmons

Wesley Ray: Brenda Freeman

No preference for a school, but will help: Larry, Major, Mike and Betty, Harold, Darryl, Joyce, Huey, Laurie, and Franklinton High School Interact Club

Fair Booth Sign Ups are as follows:

10-12: Huey, Brenda B., Richard Morgan, Joyce Unsworth

12-2: Harold Sminth, Linda, Barbara, Mike Goings

2-4: Laurie, Darrell, Major, Terry

4-6:

6-8:

8-10:

RYLA Representatives Seth McVea and Caleb Parker

Rotarian, Brenda Freeman, welcomed Seth McVea and Caleb Parker as guest speakers today. These fine young men are the Presidents of their Interace Clubs at Bowling Green and Franklinton High School. They just returned from RYLA and were beaming about their experiences. Caleb stated, "It was the shortest four days of my life!" They made lots of friends and still keep in touch. They have a reuinion planned next month, which they are very excited about. One thing they were very proud of in particular was the Wheelchair Foundation, for which they helped to raise over $10,000 in donations! Seth McVea said, "I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity. It has changed my life." Our club is honored to have sponsored these two young men and we look forward to watching them become the leaders we know they will be.

The Dictionary Project is underway. We have ordered the books and stickers. Once the books come in we will need help placing the stickers and distributing them to the schools. We will have both Interact Clubs assist us with the distribution and look forward to working with them.

We welcomed a new member, Terry Fortenberry, today! Welcome Terry! We are also welcoming back Bridgette Creel, who is reinstating her membership!

The Interact District Business Meeting will be October 3 from 10am-2pm. They are going to need our help with this meeting, as Franklinton High School Interact Club is the host. We are so proud of the leadership role their club has taken and look forward to assisting them any way we can.

Rev. Patrick Miller Receives Paul Harris Medal

Rev. Donald Bryant from Slidell and Chairman of the Membership Committee for District 6840 was the guest speaker today. He was asked to attend our meeting not only to present the Paul Harris Medal to fellow Franklinton Rotarian, Patrick Miller, but also because he has known the Millers for many, many years. He glowed as he spoke of the Millers and their dedication to the mission work they are embarking on in India for four years. Donald stated Rotary was founded on the basis of service and the Foundation works tirelessly toward Polio Eradication on a global level, World Health, Literacy, and countless other programs world wide. He also stated that he was honored to present this Paul Harris Medal to Patrick Miller because Patrick embodies that very spirit upon which Rotary was begun. Not many people are willing to sell thier home and personal belongings to move to a foreign country in an effort to spread the Good Word to over a billion people with which they have nothing in common. But, that didn't stop the Millers! Patrick stated, "I am honored to receive this medal and proud to be associated with not only the Franklinton Rotary Club, but also Rotary International. I believe my membership will assist me as I work overseas to meet new friends and assist those I am hoping to help." The Franklinton Rotary Club is honored to present Patrick with this honor and recognize that he is a "True Rotarian" in every sense of the word.

How High is Your Stress Level?

Rotarian Harold Smith welcomed his guest speakers Marilyn Griffin and Karen Pierce from Camilia Home Health in Columbia, MS. Marilyn is a Medical Social Worker and has worked in mental health for over 30 years. According to statistics, people have on average 10,000 thoughts and images which pass through their minds every day. At least 5000 of these thought and images are negative in nature. These negative thoughts, which are a form of stress, affect our overall health and well being. Now, there is good stress, which motivates us to move forward in life, but the bad stress is what we need to learn to cope with. Any kind of change in your life creates stress. These changes range from death in the family to marriage, pregnancy, or major holidays. Some of the warning sign and symptoms of stress are memory problems, changes in sleep patterns, frequent illness, muscle tension, etc. To combat stress one of the easiest things you can do is to practice progressive relaxation every day. For a copy of Progressive Relaxation by Edmond Jacobson, please see any Rotarian who attended the meeting and we'll get you a copy. Please remember.....

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain.

"I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness."

-Abraham Maslow 1908-1970

The club also presented Debbie Corkern with a check from the Food Festival and Auction. She was thrilled to receive the money and stated that anyone interested is welcome to check out their web site at www.corkernchristianorphanage.com.

Lastly, don't forget, the Installation Banquet is next Thursday at the Gill residence. There will be no noon meeting. Please let Mike Gill or Betty know if you are going to attend as the event is being catered and we need a head count.

Ronnie Thomas, Aide d'Camp to President Regan

The Franklinton Rotary Club was honored to welcome Ronnie Thomas as our guest speaker. Ronnie is a Franklinton native who, after receiving his degree from Northwestern in Sociology and his commission into the US Army, began a career which would lead directly to the White House.

Ronnie began by stating, "I have to come back and thank this community and all the people that had anything to do with my upbringing. It is here in small towns like this where you're introduced to core values such as honest, integrity, Faith in God, and a sense of self that kept me on the straight and narrow."

As his career progressed in the Army, Ronnie and his family found themselves in Washington D.C. at the Pentagon. His supervisor approached him with the proposition of interviewing for the position of Aide d'Camp for President Regan. Ronnie was very surprised at this offer, but was honored to be considered. After a lengthy interview process which lasted 6 weeks, he was given the position and began another 6 weeks of training. The purpose of a DoD Aide to the President is to protect the office of the President, which is different from a Secret Service position, whose job is to actually protect the person. Ronnie stated that there are 5 Aides, one from each branch of the military. They insure the President can do his job from anywhere in the world at any time of the day or night. In effect, there is always at least one military aide within 30 seconds of the President every hour of every day.

Ronnie's first event with President Regan was on July 3, 1986. They attended the unveiling of the newly refurbished Statue of Liberty aboard the Battleship Iowa. He stated, "It was a very memorable moment watching the most amazing fireworks display aboard a battleship with the President standing next to me laughing and enjoying himself." Ronnie also spent a lot of time at Camp David, where the President stayed when he was not out of the country. A typical day for the President would include horseback riding in the morning, eating lunch, and then cutting wood in the afternoon. It also provided an opportunity for President Regan to teach Ronnie's daughter, Megan, to ride a bicycle! At one point during a Camp David visit Ronnie and Dr. John Hutton, the President's heart specialist, were watching a football game and there was a knock at the door. Ronnie immediately opened the door and there stood President Regan. Ronnie immediately invited the President to have a seat and watch the game with them. "We had the most amazing conversation for 45 minutes with Regan about his views on Congress, the Office of the President, etc which most congressmen and world leaders would have given their right arm to sit in on for five minutes!", Ronnie beamed.

As Ronnie spoke to the group he told us that he could go on for hours with stories of his time serving President Regan, but one of the most moving moments in his life was when he accompanied the President to Rome to have a private audience with the Pope. As the President and the Pope finished their conversation behind closed doors, the door opened and both men walked into the room. Everyone immediately stood and the Pope walked up to each person, took their hand, greeted them by name, thanked them for being there, and gave them a blessing. Ronnie stated that what was so unbelieveable about this was that no one had name tags on! Well, as they were being greeted by the Pope, Ronnie noticed that the Secret Service man standing next to him had pockets that were bluging out! As they exited, Ronnie asked him what was going on with his pockets and the Secret Service man said, "I am an Irish Catholic and my pockets are filled with 80 Rosaries that I bought. When the Pope blesses us, he also blessed all these Rosaries and I am going to give them to all of my old aunts and uncles and you can bet they will put me in their wills for giving them a Rosary blessed by the Pope!"

There was an evident glow on Ronnie's face as he talked about his opportunity to serve President Regan. He stated, "Ronald Regan had an unwavering belief in the people of the United States and the process by which our government operates." Ronnie also stated, "I enjoyed observing that process without becoming enamored with the power of the position. I believe it was because of my core values that I was able to do that."

Food Festival Discussion and Business Meeting

Mike Gill presented the budget information to us today in regards to the Food Festival. Our net income from the Food Festival to date is $14,170.28 with a gross of $20,757.00. Our club expenses from the 2008-09 year were $13,036. There was a discussion about lowering the monthly club dues to $40/month/member by using the proceeds from the Food Festival and then donating what is left over to the organization we decide to give it to. A motion was made and passed to this effect. The general consensus is that having lower dues may entice new members to join. It will also help out the current members as well.

Some of the ideas for the Food Festival and Auction were also discussed for next year.

1. Have both Interact Clubs sell tickets and give $5/ticket sold by their clubs to them as a fundraiser for their club.

2. Possibly ask the organizations we assist to help with ticket sales and donations of auction items, as well as attend the food festival and set up an informational booth showing what the monies are spent on.

3. We need to consolidate a lot of our items into fewer, high dollar baskets and gift packages. We have too many small things, which takes lots of time to sell. We also need to work on some large ticket items such as the gun safe and truck we have auctioned off in the past.

4. We need to have the organizations we assist come to our Rotary meetings as guest speakers.

Any other ideas anyone may have regarding the Food Festival, please e-mail them to Mike, or discuss them with him as we are constantly trying to improve this event. It is such a success and can only get better with time. Our members need to work on this event throughout the year as well as on the day of the event so that we can do bigger and better things in our community. We are off to a great start and our club should be proud!

Family Medical's Laboratory is Full Service!

Karen Tucker from Family Medical was the guest speaker today. She is a certified, licensed Medical Lab Technologist and works closely with Regina Wilson and Frances Jones to ensure the highest quality testing and results for their patients. The director of the lab is Dr. Berthelot, who Karen reports to directly. Many of the tests are done locally here in Franklinton and those requiring specialty testing are sent to St. Tammany Hospital. They are required by the state of Louisiana to be not only certified and licensed, but also have to review patient files quarterly to make sure things are handled properly, they have annual competency tests for the MLT's, and annual proficiency tests. The Joint Commission inspects their lab every other year as well. Franklinton, for such a small town, is very lucky to have such dedicated and educated people working to serve the public.

James Stafford and Conrad Flowers attended the high school graduations this past week and gave a recognition plaque to Beverly Young for her many years of service to educating our children. The plaque was well received and Mrs. Young greatly appreciated the recognition.

James Stafford announced that he must graciously step down as President-Elect for 2011-2012, but will remain as always, a faithful and activie Rotarian.

Last, but Certainly not least, we would like to welcome the newest member of the Rotary Family, Master Braxton Reid Newman! He is the grandson of Betty Gill and she was thrilled to show his beautiful photo to the club! Mom and dad are doing well and everything went very smoothly with his delivery! Congratulations to the family!

Club Business and Guest Speaker Shannon Powell with Elderly Services

Incoming President, Conrad Flowers, addressed the club with a report on the District Conference, which he stated was very informative as well as tons of fun! Through a huge smile he said, "Anyone who missed the food festival sure missed a wonderful time. We can't tell you a whole lot about it because you just have to be there to witness it!" He also passed out information for the banners which are being sold for the International Convention. Anyone interested in purchasing a street banner can see him for the brochure.

Washington Parish Sheriff's Office Elderly Services representative, Shannon Powell, then spoke to the club. Some of the services provided are as follows: They help find places for people to live once they are no longer able to stay home alone, or prepare their home so they can stay there. They also team up with private citizens to help keep an eye on the elderly and report any problems that are observed. The elderly are easily taken advantage of my scam artists, so the WPSO helps to prevent those things from happening or take action once an event has occurred. Their Annual Holiday Dinner this year had between 225-235 people attend and was the most successful dinner yet! They had over 300 in Bogalusa as well. "Without the local merchants providing donations and door prizes", Shannon stated, "it would not have been possible." Lastly, they work with elderly abuse cases investigating and prosecuting those involved. Sadly, Shannon told us that it is usually family members involved. Because our parish has a large population of elderly citizens, this is a vital part of our Sheriff's Office and the Franklinton Rotary Club is grateful to have such wonderful, caring people working for the protection of our elderly.

Audrey Pierce from the Dream Factory stated that she is selling raffle tickets for a Saints Team signed foodball which will be given away at their annual Buzz The Red, White, and Blue celebration on Juny 13th. She invited everyone to attend and said it will be lots of fun.

Washington Parish Chamber of Commerce

Josh McGehee, Chamber of Commerce President, addressed the club today. He has been in the insurance industry for nine years and currently works with McGehee Insurance. The Chamber is actively involved in many projects and Josh was proud to talk to the club today about their activities. The Chamber has a "Shop at Home" campaign which assists with the organization and promotion of local businesses in the parish as well as advertising and referrals to member businesses. We currently have over 170 business members which does not include individual memberships and it is growing. There is a guest speaker at every monthly meeting which is held at the First Baptist Church with lunch served. Josh has been actively involved in forming a partnership with SELA Small Business Center which provides our parish access to information and resources from other successful rural communities. Josh also stated that the promotion of new business openings is important to our parish as well as communication with local political leaders, civic endeavors such as Community Pride, local phone books, maps and souvineers. The web site for the Chamber is www.franklintonlouisiana.org. Linda Crain is the organizational hub for the chamber and Josh stated, "A lot of what we get done is because of Linda." Anyone interested in having a business link on the chamber web site can just send it to Linda and she will get it put on the site. Josh stated that Linda gets many phone calls and e-mails daily and they are grateful to have her manning the office. The Rotary Club was thrilled to have Josh speak and we are grateful for all of his hard work.

Estate Planning with Keith Manuel

Guest speaker Keith Manuel addressed the club today reagarding estate planning and estate tax planning. He works with Farm Bureau, but his sole responsibility is to help people with their estate planning and does not concentrate on sales. He enjoys helping people to plan for their future as well as the future of their relatives. Estate planning involves everything you own including personal property, real property, business interests, life insurance and retirement. It all goes into a virutal funnel, the government deducts taxes as well as all death related expenses, and then your heirs get what's left over. In order to avoid a lot of these costs people need a team of advisors which consist of an attorney, an accountant, a trust officer, and an insurance agent. All families need a will in place, a durable power of attorney, and help with the arrangement of property ownership and the ownership of life insurance. To pay settlement costs after a person passes away there are several options which include selling assets, borrowing from a bank, building a fund, or the utilization of life insurance proceeds. The government does not care how they get their money, but the want it within 9 months! The best option for payment of death expenses is life insurance, second is borrowing from a bank, and last is the sale of assets. Keith also discussed briefly the need for Long Term Care as part of your estate planning process. The average nursing home stay or need for some type of long term care is 2 years and there is a 1 in 2 chance that you will need it at some point in your life. The average cost of that care today is $3000 a month! That adds up quick and can deplete any savings most people have spent their lives accumulating. Anyone interested in meeting with Keith can contact him through Mike Gill.

Terry Fortenberry also came to our meeting today and was beaming from ear to ear about his GSE trip to New Zealand. He showed us all the club flags he received and will be presenting a formal talk with photos about his adventure. He was very grateful for this opportunity and is excited to speak to any organizations or schools who would like to have him.

Business Meeting, and we have a LOT of Business!!!

Attorney Mark James was nominated as a new member today!

District Conference is coming up on May 7-9 at the Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis.

Registration is on-line and needs to be done quickly!

Reggie Simmons' resignation was not recognized by the club. He was instead made an honorary

member.

Larry McGuire has been diagnosed with cancer. He is doing very well and has been told by

doctors that there is to be no treatment.

The Food Festival is coming up on April 19. Each Rotarian needs to sell 10 tickets as well as

collect items for the auction and put up flyers in all businesses around town.

Conrad Flowers' proposed budget for next year was presented.

WST's web site gives away 10 $1000 scholarships for college students. It is luck of the draw as

far as who receives the scholarships and must me turned in prior to April 28.

Franklinton High School Interact Club - You Go Guys and Girls!!!

Our guests today were from the Franklinton High School Interact Club with an update on their many activities and BOY, OH BOY are we proud of this group of outstanding young men and women!

Jasmine Tate, Club Secretary, stated that they attended the Interact Convention this year for the second year in a row and they had a wonderful time. Jyra Bickham won Miss Interact for our district and stated, "I really enjoyed our community service project, which was to help clean up along the highway. You can learn a lot by seeing what people throw out on the roads!" Jasmine Wilson stated that they won third place in the Float competition and she also competed with Jasmine Tate to win 1st place in the Talent Competition! They sang "For Good" as their talent and actually gave our club a small sampling of their winning song! Caleb Parker, FHS Interact President, was elected District 6840 President! We think he is taking after our very own Betty Gill! As a result of this honor, FHS will be responsible for planning two business conferences and the convention for next year as well as fundraising for the events. And, last but not least, Leah Galloway was elected Secretary for District 6840! She will be aiding the district in the convention planning, budgeting, fund raising, and service learning projects.

FHS will need lots of help from the Rotarians in organizing the convention, planning for speakers, and support and workers. Our club is very proud of FHS putting Franklinton on the map! Way to go everyone!

On another note, the "Friends of Adrianna" Benefit will be held Sunday, May 3 at the home of Mike and Betty Gill starting at 2pm until. This gala will include a meal of BBQ chicken, door prizes, jumping gyms for the children, 2 bands, swimming, and lots of fellowship! The price is $25 per adult and children are free. Tickets may be purchased from Joyce Unsworth, or around town at local Rotarian's businesses.

Update on Adrianna, Annual Food Fest, and Other Business

John Allen, Attorney and newly appointed Town Judge, was scheduled to speak today. His father has become ill and needs a triple bypass, which is scheduled for Monday, so needless to say, John was not able to attend. The club has the family in our prayers and we look forward to rescheduling John at a later date.

The Annual Food Fest and Auction is coming up quickly and we are in the process of collecting auction items. In preparation for April 19 President Mike Gill passed out copies of the silent and called auction items so that we can go around town and visit businesses who have donated in the past. Any items collected can be dropped off at Whitney Bank. Mike has asked that everyone start now so that we are not trying to collect items at the last minute.

We received an update on Reggie's granddaughter, Adrianna. The tumor cancer cells have spread from her spine, down into the upper and lower leg bones and include bone marrow. There is also some lesions they think they saw in her skull, so she'll have a head CT done tomorrow, as well as another study to check kidney function. We noticed that her eyes were bruised and they said that these "raccoon eyes" are typical of Neuroblastoma. It causes the blood vessels in the eyes to burst and bruise both eyes.

Finally, the good news: They can tell the chemo is definitely working because of blood work they are doing. Her heart rate is more normal, she feels better, she had a bowel movement for the first time in a week, she is eating a lot more, and she is sleeping comfortably.

The treatment will not change after these results. The chemo can still kill all the cells in the tumor, bones, and bone marrow- no matter where they are. It's just going to be a little more difficult task for Adrianna, but we know she's a fighter!

On that note, there will be a fundraiser for the family in May at Mike and Betty Gill's house. It is being organized by Joyce Unsworth and we hope to sell 500 tickets. Details will follow soon. There is also another fundraiser for the family scheduled in July being organized by friends of Stephanie and Joe. This event will be a dinner and silent auction at the Country Club. Stephanie Thomas, wife of Rotarian Daniel Thomas, is working on this committee and will take any items anyone wishes to donate for the auction. Mike and Betty Gill have donated one of the three Les Miles footballs they had gotten at Signing Day at LSU recently. They are pictured with Stephanie and Daniel on site as this week's guests.

Please continue to pray for Adrianna and the family. She has a long, uphill battle to fight for her health. Being so young is a blessing as she is really unaware of just how sick she is, but her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles need prayer as well to help them to be strong for her and each other. Miracles happen every day! Have faith in the power of prayer!

Update From Reggie, Photos of Adrianna on site

We do appreciate very much your and the Rotary club's thoughts and prayers for Adrianna and all of us. Your jesture of financial support will be very well received by Stephanie and Joe, as Stephanie's income at school will be greatly diminished for a while, and Joe is still an unemployed VoTech student. He is taking computer designs to enable him to draft pipelines for the oil industry, but that might get put on "hold" with Adrianna's problems. We will know more later as to whether the bone marrow is impacted by the tumor, but preliminary results are almost conclusive that her marrow IS infected by the Cancer. So they will do a biopsy today and a bone marrow draw from her little body. She will probably have more pain from the bone marrow draw than from the surgical removal of the biopsy material. We all need your prayers, but mostly Adrianna does. If she gets well, we will all be very, very happy. May God's will be done. Reggie and Judy

Here are a few photos of Adrianna taken today in Children's Hospital (after she had received her second blood transplant, and feeling much better with the new red cells in place). She will have a biopsy tomorrow morning, as well as a bone marrow draw for future transplant. Chemo should start Monday. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. We all NEED it! A special thanks to the Franklinton Rotary Club. Family and friends mean more at times like these! Reggie/Uncle Reggie

Suzannah Fussell, Regent of DAR and Update on Adrianna Cavanagh

Suzannah Fussell, Regent of the Oushola Chapter of DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), was our guest speaker today. Many people are unaware that Washington Parish has an active DAR chapter. Suzannah is not only trying to educate our parish about DAR, but also actively recruiting members. The DAR is a national society which was founded by women for historical, educational, and patriotic purposes. The Oushola Chapter was started by Texana
Carter, who was our first Regent, in Bogalusa. Why would a lady be interested in joining DAR? Anyone interested in preserving the memory and traditions of their revolutionary heritage will find this is the best way to do so. DAR also participates in patriotic national holidays and fights to preserve our rights as American Citizes as stated in the Constitution. DAR is a non-political organization which also offers scholarships to students entering college as well as many other educational opportunities throughout the country for less fortunate children. Anyone interested in joining DAR may contact Suzannah or feel free to attend a monthly meeting at Cafe' Bouchee, 11:30 am, on the third Monday of every month.

Update on Adrianna Cavanagh, Rotarian Reggie Simmons' granddaughter: Adrianna is in good spirits today and Stephanie and Joe, her parents, are hanging in there. The cancerous tumor, which is the size of a cantaloupe, is too large to be removed at this point. A port will be implanted so that they can begin Chemo on her to shrink the tumor. They are also going to test her bone marrow tomorrow to see if the cancer has spread. Rotarian Joyce Unsworth is collecting donations to assist her parents with expenses, which as you can imagine, were unforseen. Please keep Adrianna in your prayers, as well as the family. They have been told that this could be a very long, trying process. Our club voted today to donate the money from the Queen of Spades to the family to help with expenses.

GSE Team Member, Terry Fortenberry has Update!

Just a trip update! These people are wonderful and really have set the bar on treatment of us very high. They are all wonderful. We have completed day 9. We are in our third home with alot on the schedule. Just wanted to thank you again for the opportunity . This country is so beautiful. Very large in the agricultural department. Can't wait to return and put together my presentation.

May God bless,

Terry

Rotarian Patrick Miller Walks the Walk!

Pastor and Rotarian Patrick Miller was the guest speaker today and stunned us all by announcing that he will be moving to Bangladesh, India to pursue mission work with his family for the next four years. I am sure you are wondering, as we all did, how did a minister from little old Franklinton, Louisiana wind up moving all the way to India? Well, Patrick humbly explained that through forming a friendship with the Indian family who worked at the Liberty Inn Hotel here in Franklinton he has come to love Indian culture and it's people. He has felt a special calling in his heart for these people and is honored to serve God and His people in this capacity. The Millers have formed a network of friends in the United States, Canada, and India through that single act of kindness they showed to a family in need of fellowship. Patrick stated, "I am blown away by the direction God is leading me and if you had asked me 10 years ago if this was what I would be doing, I would have said you were crazy!"

It goes without saying how proud The Franklinton Rotary Club is of Patrick and his family. He is an inspiration to us all and he makes us want to not only be better Rotarians, but better people. Our club has decided to make him an honorary Rotarian so that he does not have to drop his membership. We will keep up with the family throughout their adventure and update the club. Please wish Patrick and his family well and keep them in your prayers.

Rev. Phill Staff of Habitat for Humanity

Hope Bickham from the Franklinton Association for Challenged Citizens

Our guest speaker was Hope Bickham from the FACC, Franklinton Association for Challenged Citizens, formerly the Washington Parish Activity Center. Hope was very excited to tell us of the programs currently in place for the clients, as well as the fact that they have become so successful that they are now looking for a temporary building to alleviate their problem of "busting at the seams"! Besides newspaper recycling, packaging flatware, their Thrift Shop, Home Cleaning Crew known as The Grime Fighters, and their lawn crew, they have also acquired an art instructor and have begun creating some beautiful works which are for sale. Hope stated that they had no idea what artists their cilents were until they began this art program, and it has taken off! Not only do they create beautiful original works of art, but they also use the art work to create greeting cards, which are for sale. The center currently employs over 100 people and they service 65 clients in the sheltered workshop, half of which the center transports to and from on a daily basis. As a result of the art program, they are able to sell the original works. 75% of the money from the sale goes to the artist who produced the work and 25% of the sale goes back to the center. The temporary building is needed to house their art program. In anticipation of government spending cuts, they are trying to pinch pennies, reallocate funds, and looking for donations of any form. Their clients not only work at the center, but can also work for local businesses doing things like answering phones, shredding, etc. These positions can either be paid or volunteer and the center can transport them to and from work. As Hope stated, "This is a wonderful personnel resource for local businesses. Just contact the center if you're interested in hiring someone." Rotary is proud to donate money annually to this wonderful cause and we were honored to have Hope as our guest speaker.

On the topic of club news, we are beginning to collect items for the Food Fest and Auction, which will be held April 19, 2009. Please bring any items you wish to donate to Whitney Bank and Betty Gill will take care of storing/cataloging them for the auction. Also, the International Conference will be held in New Orleans in 2011. We are beginning to prepare for this now. The streets of New Orleans will be lined with Rotary banners. Our club will sponsor a banner, but individuals may also purchase banners at the price of $100. If interested in purchasing a banner please contact Betty Gill. Once the International Conference is completed, you will be given your anner as a keepsake.

MECCA King and Queen Bestow Mardi Gras Greetings

Chief of Police, Donald Folse, Proud of his Team!

Chief of Police, Donald Folse, guest of Mike Goings, was our guest speaker today. He talked about how proud he is of the team that he works with and what they are able to accomplish. His team consists of 21 employees and he is proud to announce that several of his officers have Criminal Justice Degrees. Chief Folse stated, "In a town as small as Franklinton, is it unheard of to have this many officers with Criminal Justice Degrees." He feels blessed to have the talent in his department that he does. This enables them to do some amazing work within their limited budget. They have also paired with Boglusa and the Sheriff's Department to create a crime fighting Task Force which enables all departments to coordinate their efforts. This is an important step in fighting the growth in the crime rate with a budget that has not kept up. Chief Folse also noted that besides the increase in the crime rate, it has begun to spread out. In particular, burgularies have increased, so everyone needs to make sure houses stay locked and citizens are more careful. Franklinton is lucky to have such a dedicated person working in our police department and the Rotary Club was honored to visit with him today. Thank you for placing your lives on the line to keep us all safe.

Jeffrey Vince, Lab Director for Riverside Medical

Rotarian Conrad Flowers invited Jeffrey Vince, the Lab Director for Riverside Hospital to speak today. Jeffrey's area of expertise is Pathology, although his job now mainly consists of directing the lab technicians. It was amazing to hear of all that is done in the laboratory as most Rotarians could honestly say that we had no idea. Although Riverside Medical is considered a smaller hospital in comparison to the larger cities to the South, we are doing some big things and should be quite proud. We thank Jeffrey for his visit and hope to see him again soon.

Mike McNeal, Financial Advisor, Has Hope for the Future!

Mike McNeal, financial advisor and owner of McNeal Investment Group, was our guest speaker today. He has been working in the investment industry for 21 years and 2005 formed the McNeal Investment Group here in Franklinton. Stating the obvious, he pointed out that 2008 was the worst market performance since 1931, but that now is actually a great time to allocate money into the market if you have at least 3 to 5 years to leave it. He feels the market is going to start turning around and we should see some growth if we are invested in quality stocks. The cause of the market's downfall was the pooling of mortgages and lowering of credit rating requirements for loans, coupled wtih the increase of oil prices and decrease of previously inflated home values. Also mentioned was the fact that a law was passed enabling banks, insurance companies, and financial investment groups to dabble in each other's businesses and the lines became blurred. The bottom fell out, as we have all witnessed and the question now is, what is going to happen as our new president takes office? Well, according to Mike there are three scenarios. In a Bear Market, the stimulus package could fail, credit will stay frozen, the market will continue to drop, the global economy will suffer, oil will drop to $10-$15 a barrel, unemployment will increase to over 10%, and the market will suffer a drop of as much as 35%. On the other hand, if we have a Bull Market in the first 100 days of Obama's presidency the economy and market will soar, oil will jump to over $75 a barrel, and unemployment will have already peaked. In 1933 during FDR's administration the market jumped 80% and experts have stated that our situation is most like the economy during that 1933 adminstration. But, neither of these scenarios are Mike's prediction. His belief is what is called the "Base Case", which is somewhere in the middle of the Bear and Bull Market Cases. The stimulus package that Obama releases will help, but he will possibly have to release a second package later to further assist the economy. Oil prices will increase and level out at about $65-$75 a barrel, unemployment will spike around 8-9% by the summer and then begin to fall. The market will begin to climb, but it will be a slower process than in 1933. So, his best advice to everyone is make sure our investments are diverse and of good quality.

We enjoyed Mike's talk and learned a lot from him today. We would also like to thank our guests Brian Luper of First Finance and Cindy Rayborn, Rotarian Joyce Unsworth's sister, for attending.

Business Meeting

The Franklinton High School Interact Club had three members attend our meeting today with some wonderful news! Leeah Galloway, Brittany Pinter, and Caleb Parker raffled off an LSU afghan to raise money for The Dream Factory and presented fellow Rotarian Audrey Pierce a check for $350! The Interact Club also stated they will be holding a fundraiser very soon called, "So You Think You Can Dance!" which they are very excited about. They are taking contestant applications now. They will let us know the date very soon.

Rotarian Kathy Brown gave birth to twins this week! Mother and babies are doing well and the babies should come home from the hospital in about a week. Congratulations to the Brown Family!

Rotarian Brenda Freeman was excited to announce that the Franklinton Title Bureau will be moving. She has purchased a building and will be opening at the new location sometime in February. The location is the Graham's Auto building. They will celebrate their grand opening and 8 year anniversary of her business in February. Congratulations to Brenda!

New member, Daniel Thomas, and his wife Stephanie, spoke today giving us a biography and information on their business, Kennedy's Decorating Center. Stephanie is a certified interior designer and they are both licensed contractors. They not only do interior design but also do sheetrock work, painting, celiings, stucco, carpeting, draperies, etc. In a nutshell, they can help out with almost any interior or exterior work that is needed. We are thrilled to have them as a part of our club!

LSU's Taylor Boys Visit

Providing a lot of excitement and photo opportunities, Brandon and Jerrod Taylor visited our club today. Natives of Franklinton and currently playing for coach Les Miles at LSU, we were thrilled to welcome them as our guest speakers. They talked about their experience at LSU and how much work it has been to play for the team. They have only one hour of free time per day but feel it will pay off next season. They hope to have lots of field time next year and Franklinton is proud to have them representing us.

Our club was also proud to present Betty and Mike Gill plaques of recognition for joining the Bequest Society by placing Rotary International into their wills. Conrad Flowers is pictured presenting their plaques. Mike and Betty are Rotarians through and through and we are very proud to have them not only as members of our club, but also as our dear friends. Congratulations to you both!

Christmas Carolling Rotarians!

Our club went to Heritage Manor Nursing Home today and sang for the residents. It was, as always, a moving experience to witness the smiling faces shining back at us as we sang. Many hugs were given and received by all and it was very touching. Zachary, Cameron, and Grayson Bell also attended and helped our club to sing and greet the residents. They were a hit and their singing was fantastic! We also had Covington Rotarian, Karl J. Mulling with us. He came not only to help us sing, but to promote the combined efforts of their club and ours in passing out Christmas dinners on Dec. 25. Anyone interested in helping can contact John Baldwin at 985-892-2203 or on his cell 985-807-4203.

RN Melissa Gilmore discusses Infection Control

RN Melissa Gilmore addressed the Franklinton Rotary Club regarding Infection Control and Riverside Medical Center's efforts to educate the public. There were many scary statistics brought out in her talk today such as food borne illness kills over 10,000 people each year and that a major factor in the spread of disease in daycare centers today is improper hand hygiene, not to mention that in the healthcare field physidians and nurses only wash their hands 30% of the required times. Many illnesses and deaths could be prevented if people practiced proper hand washing as it is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection. Also, it was stressed that you should always wash your hands prior to any kind of activity that involves putting your fingers in or near your mouth, eyes, or nose. The Rotary Club was grateful to have Melissa as our guest today and we certainly did learn a lot about the importance of proper hygiene.

Touch of Grace Massage Therapist, Sandra Painter

Sandra Painter, Massage Therapist from Touch of Grace, addressed Rotary today touching on the many benefits that massage therapy can provide. Sandra has had her license in massage therapy (LMT) for two years now and her business is thriving here in Franklinton. Massage is by definition the mechanical manipulation of tissues to promote blood flow and facilitate healing. In that respect, Sandra specializes in Swedish massage which she can couple with neuromuscular therapy if needed. This form of therapy not only provides a relaxing, stress-free environment for the patient to enjoy, but also increases the lymphatic system which boosts the immune system and aids with the drainage of fluids from the body such as the patient's sinuses and lower extremity swelling. Sandra stated, "Often times people get up with aches and pains and feel they just have to live with it as part of getting older. Well, that's just not true! Massage therapy helps people to live a more pain-free lifestyle!" She has patients with chronic sciatica, back and neck injuries, migraines and many other issues who have finally received relief as a result of massage. Sandra also offers other services such as facials, salt scrubs, hot stone massage, and couples massage sessions. Our club was thrilled to welcome her as our guest today and we were even more excited when she announced she was giving away a massage as a door prize! Thank you for your visit, Sandra, it was wonderful having you as our guest today.

Field of Dreams Extravaganza

Franklinton High School Baseball Coach Jeff Tageant and Softball Coach Leslie McGee addressed the club today regarding the Field of Dreams Extravaganza fundraiser to be held December 6, 2008 at 5:30 pm at the 10-10 Club owned and operated by Joe and Becky Jeager. This exciting event is in its third year and is used to help fund the baseball and softball programs at Franklinton High School. "Each year we raise money for updating our facilities and we have been very successful." stated Coach Tageant. "We have a wonderful meal, live band, silent and live auctions." Anyone who has seen the new fields at the high school cannot help but be impressed as they have been touted as the nicest fields in the state. Right now the baseball team is in dire need of bleachers and bathrooms, which is on top of the priority list at present. The team has applied for a $300,000 matching grant for these items, but it is a matching grant which means the team has to supply $150,000. "The auctions are always exciting as we have some wonderful items donated each year which include a Southern Miss football helmet signed by new coach Larry Fedora, a Durham Bulls Jersey signed by Shawn Riggens-catcher, a Chad Gaudin Chicago Cubs autographed baseball and card, LSU customized Oakley sunglasses, and for the non-sports fans we have an Electric Beach fitness membership for 1 year, a beautiful area rug, and many other items." beamed Coach Jeff. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the school at 985-839-6781 and the price is $100 per couple. "You are guaranteed to have a wonderful evening!" added Coach Jeff.

Our club also welcomed our newest member, Daniel Thomas, owner of Kennedy's Decorating Center today. We are thrilled to have him with us and will have his photo on the site very soon!

Tracey Rhodes, TARC Community Relations Director Guest Speaker

Tracey Rhodes, fellow Rotarian from the Hammond-Pontchatoula Sunrise Club and Community Relations Director for TARC was the guest speaker today. TARC stands for Tangipahoa ARC, which used to be known as the Association of Retarded Citizens, services clients in a five parish radius. Tracey was very excited to address the club today and advise us of this wonderful organization and its function. TARC provides early intervention for babies and toddlers with special needs from birth to age three. These needs can be anything from speech delays to birth defects. They also provide independent living support for adults with special needs. "One of the things I love about TARC is their inclusive daycare called Kids-R-US," stated Tracey. This daycare is unique in that children with special needs are grouped with children without special needs. Lastly, this organization provides durable medical equipment for medicaid elligible people such as wheelchairs, prosthetics, etc. A person who is elligible for TARC is provided the necessary services in their home town and often times at their home. Tracey is very passionate about her job and stated, "I am honored to work for an organization that makes such a difference in people's lives."

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