Rotary International District 6880

Rotary Review
Bill Trant, Governor

Basic education and literacy is one of Rotary’s

September six areas of focus and is the RI theme for the
month of September.
2017 We know that basic education and literacy are
essential for reducing poverty, improving health,
encouraging community and economic develop-
ment, and promoting peace. Consider these facts:
District Receives
Honors . . . . . . . 3
•93 million adults in the U.S. read at or below the
New RI President basic level needed to contribute successfully to so-
Elect. . . . . . . . . 3 ciety.
Are You A Polio • Children’s early vocabulary skills are linked to
Pro? . . . . . . . . . 5 their economic backgrounds.
Club News. . . . 6 •By 3 years of age, there is a 30-million-word gap
between children from the wealthiest and poorest families.
Travels With
•34% of children entering kindergarten lack the basic language skills needed to
Trant . . . . . . . .13 learn how to read.
Attendance. . . .14
Rotary clubs all over the world are taking action to enhance basic education
and literacy in their communities. Once way District 6880 is doing its part is with
the Dictionary Project. Thanks to the Malone Family Foundation of Alabama, this
project is fully funded for the purchase of a dictionary for every third-grade stu-
dent in the public school system. Not only do the students get the dictionaries,
they receive a visit by Rotarians delivering them. Other programs in our District
include providing GED assistance, children’s reading programs, and purchasing
books for newborns and school libraries.

By supporting the advancement of basic education and literacy for adults and
children alike, Rotary continues to Make A Difference.

Yours in Rotary Service,

Bill Trant
District Governor
2017-2018 District 6880 Officers

District Governor Immediate Past District Governor District Treasurer

Bill Trant Barry Cavan (Joan) Bob Mills (Dianne)
P.O. Box 2604 4691 Chrystan Road 411 Country Club Road
Opelika, AL 36803-2604 Montgomery, AL 36652 Troy, AL 36079-2905
334-705-0041 (H) 334-272-6662 (H) 334-566-2153 (H)
334-749-8700 (W) 334-590-7677 (C) 334-807-5172 (W)
334-728-9700 (C) dgbarry6880@gmail.com 334-728-9700 (C)
billopelika@yahoo.com bmills@troybankandtrust.com
Vice Governor
District Governor Elect Jim Golson (Nancy) District Secretary
Samuel Adams 457 Kimberly Drive Michael Hill
(Sam & Mary Virginia) Auburn, AL 36832 1912 Northgate Drive
3225 Boxwood Drive 334 -502-5064(H) Opelika, AL 36801
Montgomery, AL 36111 334-329-9533 (C) 334-745-4415 (H)
334-263-9430 (H) jim.rotary.6880@gmail.com 334-844-1604 (O)
334-356-6700 (W) 334-744-5795 (C)
334-301-0597 (C) hillmic@auburn.edu
alico500@aol.com
District Rotary Foundation District Communications Officer
District Governor Nominee Robert J. Kelley (Donna) Eric Lewis (Wendi)
James Edward Dotherow III 2002-2003 Selma 507 Forest Edge Place
(Skip & Terry) 4330 Highway 22W Montgomery, AL 36117
3618 Bankhead Avenue Selma, AL 36701-0810 334-409-9147 (H)
Montgomery, AL 36111 334-872-0115 (H) 334-279-9100 (W)
334-284-2513 (H) 334-872-1390 (W) 334-221-0066 (C)
334-313-1543 (O) 334-327-0712 (C) eric@rotarywebservices.com
334-313-1543 (C) 4rjkelley@bellsouth.net
dgskip6880@yahoo.com

Important Links:
WORLD HEADQUARTERS
Rotary International ●www.rotary6880.org
One Rotary Center
1560 Sherman Ave ●www.rotary.org
Evanston, IL 60201-3698 ●www.DaCdb.com
Tel: +1 866-976-8279 (toll-free)
Fax: +1 847-328-4101 ●www.Rizones30-31.org
contact.center@rotary.org
Hours: 8:30am - 5pm Central ●www.facebook.com/D6880/
Languages:
English, French, Spanish
 District 6880 Receives Honors
While in Springfield, Illinois, for the Zone 30-31 Insti-
tute, PDG Barry Cavan picked up a few recognitions for our
District’s efforts during his 2016-2017 term.
District 6880 was recognized for the generous contribu-
tions to Polio Plus, received second place in the develop-
ment of new clubs with one new club and placed third in our
Zone for total Per Capita Giving with $128.49. Our District
placed first in both districts in net gain in membership with
a net gain of 75.
“Each member in our district should take pride in what
we accomplished last year. I thank you for all your hard
work and your Service to Humanity,” commented PDG Bar-
ry.

Rotary International Chooses 2018-2019 President

Barry Rassin, of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, is the
selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2018-
19. He will be declared the president-elect on 1 September if no challenging candidates
have been suggested.
As president, Rassin aims to strengthen our public image and our use of digital tools to
maximize Rotary’s reach.
“Those who know what good Rotary clubs do will want to be a part of it, and we
must find new models for membership that allow all interested in our mission to par-
ticipate,” he says.

“With Rotary more in the public eye, we will attract more individuals who want to
be part of and support a membership organization that accomplishes so much good
around the world.” (Continued on page 4)
Continued from page 3
Rassin earned an MBA in health and hospital administration from the University of Florida and is the first
fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas. He recently retired after 37 years as
president of Doctors Hospital Health System, where he continues to serve as an adviser. He is a lifetime mem-
ber of the American Hospital Association and has served on several boards, including the Quality Council of
the Bahamas, Health Education Council, and Employer’s Confederation.

A Rotarian since 1980, Rassin has served Rotary as director and is vice chair of The Rotary Foundation
Board of Trustees. He was an RI training leader and the aide to 2015-16 RI President K.R. Ravindran.

Rassin received Rotary's highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, as well as other humanitarian
awards for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake there. He and his wife,
Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.

Rassin’s nomination follows Sam F. Owori’s death in July, just two weeks into his term as Rotary Interna-
tional president-elect.
 Are You A Polio Pro?
By: DG Jim Golson

24
What does this number mean to you?
The number of hours in a day? The name of a recent TV show?
It has a special significance to all Rotarians. It is the day in October that we devote our actions
to finalize the elimination of Polio around the world in which we live.
Yes, we are “this close”; but, we are not there yet. In fact, the most recent estimate is that to fin-
ish the work that we began in 1985 will require an additional $1.5 billion over the next three years. That
is a number that is so large most of us cannot even grasp how to think of it in manageable terms.
Let me help! Fortunately, we have a lot of organizations and governments that are willing to
help. Collectively, they have pledged $1.2 billion toward the effort. That leaves $300 million. Still a
huge number. Since we have 535 districts in Rotary International, that works out to approximately
$560,000 per district or approximately $186,000 per district per year.
So what does that mean for you and me? In our district we have approximately 2,500 members.
That works out to approximately $72 per member per year. But, as they say on TV: But Wait! Remem-
ber that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has promised to match each $1 donated by Rotarians
with an additional $2 from their foundation. That means that each of us has to donate only $24 per year
to gain $48 from the Gates Foundation to get the requested $72 per year!
Now we can better understand how the number 24 is so significant to Rotarians in our district.
So, what’s your part in helping eliminate polio from the world? It’s just $24!
Please do your part and donate $24 to Polio Plus on October 24, World Polio Day. You can
make your donation on-line at www.rotary.org or by a check given to your club foundation chair or
club president.
The children of the world are counting on us.
 A
On Wednesday, Sept. 13, the Auburn Rotary Club hosted
Pam Haney of Auburn University’s Canine Performance
Services —and her canine friend, Lily. Haney, who

U
serves as CPS’ breeding program manager, discussed
with Rotarians how the program is striving to breed and
train “man’s best friend” so he also can be man’s front-
line defense by detecting threats commonly associated
with biological, explosive and other terrorist attacks on
the battlefield and in domestic locations like airports and B
large-audience events. Pictured with Haney is Club Pres-
ident Chris Warren. (RIGHT)
U
R
N

On Wednesday, Sept. 6, the Auburn Rotary Club wel-

comed as its club speaker Bill Felkey (right), profes-
sor emeritus of Auburn University’s Harrison School
of Pharmacy. Felkey, whose area of expertise is in
healthcare informatics, spoke to Rotarians about
“connected health” — the use of technology and data
to manage the delivery of healthcare to specialized
patient populations. Felkey is pictured with Club
President Chris Warren (left). (ABOVE)
At the Wednesday, Sept. 20 meeting of the Auburn
Rotary Club, Lisa Pierce (right) of Alabama Rural
Ministry spoke about the nonprofit organization’s
efforts to eliminate substandard housing in rural
Alabama. Since 1998, through the assistance of
charitable donors and volunteer groups, ARM
helps provide improve the warmth, safety and en-
ergy efficiency of their homes. ARM was among
the organizations recently receiving more than
$30,000 in Community Needs Grants from the Au-
burn Rotary Club. Pictured with Pierce is Club
President Chris Warren. The Auburn Rotary Club
meets each Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. at
Saugahatchee Country Club . (LEFT)
 For several years now, the Tal- t
lassee Rotary Club has been sup-
porting education in Tallassee, AL a
by distributing dictionaries to all
third graders at Tallassee Elemen-
tary School. On September 8,
l
2017, the Tallassee Rotary Club
handed out 134 dictionaries to the l
third graders once again. This
year, the Tallassee Rotary Club a
also gave every third grader at Tal-
lassee Elementary School a Rotary s
bookmark depicting “The Four

Pictured Left to Right, Tallassee Rotarian Tina Harris with her son
Way Test”. This annual event is
something the Tallassee Rotary
s
Lane and Tallassee Rotarian Stephanie Weldon with her son Luke. Club looks forwarding to provid-
Both students are third graders at Tallassee Elementary School who ing every year and their fundrais- e
received a dictionary this year. (ABOVE)
ing efforts go to buying these dic-
tionaries. e

Mrs. Allison Coker’s third grade students at Tallassee

Elementary School posing with their dictionaries.
Pictured with the students from left to right are Tal-
lassee Rotarians Tina Harris, Stephanie Weldon, John
David Lambert, and Laura Leigh Peters. (LEFT)

m
O
N
Our Guest speaker 9/18/17 was our very own,
Marvin Smith who serves as Scout Executive for
the Tukabatchee Area Council Boy Scouts of
T
America. He told us about the Boy Scouts oath
and how they are preparing the youth of today to G
make ethical and moral choices in their life-
time.He even passed out a few prizes. O
Marvin Smith is pictured with Graham Champion.
M
E
R
Y
 Brundidge Rotary Club's newest member Buriece Gracey
with Chief Moses Davenport and Rev Ed Shirley waiting to
b
r
hear from our District Gov Bill Trant. (BELOW)

u
n
d
i
Amy Minor was the guest speaker at
the Brundidge Rotary Club meeting
on Wednesday, September 20th. She d
spoke to the club about Suicide Pre-
vention and the upcoming "Out of
Darkness" community walk. The
g
walk to fight suicide will be held on DG Bill vis-
the track at Troy University on Sun-
day, November 5, 2017. (ABOVE)
ited the was
Brundidge
e
Rotary Club
and was
joined by
AG Keith
Roling.
(LEFT)

Jimmy Ramage, Danny Graham and Buriece Gracey are ex-

cited about the Iron Bowl raffle tickets the Brundidge Rotary
Club is selling. Contact any Brundidge Rotarian for more in-
formation. (BELOW)

Carol Franks updates the Brundidge

Rotary Club on her retirement and her
new role with Rotary. (ABOVE)
 Speaker for 9/19/2017, Mark Davidson, Taking R
the Next Step, helping those in need of guidance
regarding finances for now and the future. O
B
E
R
T
S
Guest speaker, Jamie Foote (standing),
case manager and Assistant Executive D
Director of Family Promise of Baldwin
County with Wayne Gruenloh (seated), A
Robertsdale
L
Robertsdale Rotary Club Sponsor- Coming Events: E
ships/Contributions as of September,
October 7- Honebee Festival in Robertsdale. The
2017-18 Robertsdale Rotary Club will have a food booth
and all funds raised will go to C.A.R.E. House
$200.00 - Women’s Care Medical Center (Baldwin County Child Advocacy Center)
$1034.00 - Habitat for Humanity
$8600.00 – ARCBC
$500 - Catholic Social Services Project Reach October 28-Doc’s Haunted Swamp. This is a no
$500 - Central Baldwin Educational Foundation charge Halloween Fun event for the community
$500 – Robertsdale High School Broadcast
$100 - Rotary District 6880 Hurricane Harvey Re- and the Robertsdale Interact students assist with
lief Fund this program.
$100 - Miracle League of Coastal Alabama P
O
Point Clear Rotarians Rod
Platt, Craig Nelson and I
Skip Jones take aim atthis
year's Sporting Clay Clas- N
sic to take place Friday,
Oct. 20th at the Bushy T
Creek Clays in Perdido,
AL. To register a team, C
contact Jay Weber at
251 422-0104. L
E
A
R
Randy Price recently spoke to the
Opelika Rotary Club lunch group
about his campaign for the Alabama
Senate, District 13, which represents
portions of Lee County. The Ala-
bama Senate primary is scheduled
for June 5, 2018, with a runoff
scheduled for July 17, if necessary.
The general election is scheduled for
Nov. 6 next year. Pictured, from left,
are: Walter Dorsey, club member;
Price; and Harry Cullinan, club pres-
ident.
Pictured (from left): Merry Burt, club member; Mandy
Johnson, Sportsplex events coordinator; Harry Cullinan,
club president; Bobby Poer, aquatics director; and Carly
Howell, swim team coordinator.
O
P
E
L
I
K
A
Mandy Johnson, the Opelika
Sportsplex event coordinator, talked
to the Opelika Rotary lunch group
recently about the exciting achieve-
ments of the Opelika Swim Team.
Opelika Parks and Recreation hosted
the 2017 Alabama Recreation and
Parks Association (ARPA) State
Swimming and Diving Championship
July 27-29. The Opelika Sportsplex
and Aquatics Center welcomed more
than 1,500 swimmers, representing 35
teams from all over the State of Ala-
bama, to compete in individual swim-
ming, diving and relay events, The
Opelika Swim Team had 40 swim-
mers qualify to compete at the state
meet. Those swimmers brought home

Chris Harrelson was in-

T
R
ducted into the Troy Ro-
tary Club September
19th by President James
Bruce. He was spon-
sored by Assistant Dis- O
trict Governor Keith
Roling. Chris works at
BB&T and is the club’s Y
newest member
The September 19th Troy Rotary
meeting was hosted by Karen Herring T
& President James Bruce. They invit-
ed Thomas Brown, M.D., Oncologist/
Hematologist now at Troy Regional R
Cancer Center. Doctor Brown has
over thirty years of experience in the
field. He earned his medical degree O
from the University of Alabama-
Birmingham and completed his fel-
lowship at the University of Texas. He Y
comes from Dothan once each week
and plans to expand his practice to full
-time in Troy. Doctor Brown spoke
about the advancements in drugs for Pictured are Doctor Brown’s assistant Ursula Wilson,
curing cancer. New targeted CAR T CRNP, Troy Rotary President James Bruce, Doctor
cell control has become a major devel- Thomas Brown, Amy Minor, CNO, RN and Karen Her-
opment assisting in arresting cancer. ring, Troy Regional Medical Center Marketing Director.
Many improvements are being made
today to treat cancer and we may be
getting closer to cures for several
M
kinds. The club gathered for team building and
fun at Breakout Montgomery. The group
worked together to solve the puzzles and
"break out" of the room in a commendable
time of 58 minutes and 24 seconds. The O
fun and bonding continued over brunch at
Blackfinn Ameripub. (BELOW)
N
T
G
O
Several Montgomery Sunset Rotarians participated in

M
Montgomery's National Night out by attending the
block party at Newtown Community where they social-
ized with area residents and learned more about the
surrounding neighborhoods and outreach efforts.
(ABOVE)
E
Huntingdon Rotaract offered pizza to R
about 20 interested students, and the
group agreed to meet on the second and
third Wednesdays of the month.
Y
(RIGHT)
SUN-
SET
Several Montgomery Sunset club members attended the Rotary Club Night at the Montgomery
Biscuits Game on August 29th to enjoy fellowship with other area clubs and to share End Polio
M
Now information with the crowd.
O
N
T
G
O
M
E
Montgomery Sunset Rotary
welcomed two new mem-
bers: Michelle Shaw, Legal R
Secretary with Balch &
Bingham and Jamal Thomas,
Publisher, Gumptown Maga- Y
zine. (RIGHT)
SUN-
SET

F
At its regular meeting on Septem- A
ber 13, Chad Clark (left), president
of the Rotary Club of Fairhope,
presented a check for $30,500 to
I
Brittany Luckie, a Special Educa-
tion teacher at Fairhope Intermedi- R
ate School. The check comprised
$21,000 in proceeds from the H
club’s annual steak cookoff fund-
raiser and a $9,500 grant from
District 6880. The funds will be
O
applied toward the $48,000 cost of
a special-needs playground at the P
school.
E
Traveling with Trant

Dixie Shehane and DG Bill in BRUNDIDGE

DG Bill in Springfield , IL at Zone 30 and

31. The District Governors are hosting a
joint conference with in Biloxi ,
MS. Pictured are 6820 DG Bill Walk-
er, 6840 DG Kathie Short, 6860 DG Sue
Mitchell and 6880 DG Bill Trant. The
background picture is Greg Yank, RI
Board of Directors Representative
 Membership & Attendance for August 2017
Clubs in District 6880
ATT
Members Members Chg From Meetings Average %
Club 6/30/2017 Current YTD-Chg Last Mo. Held Attend% Rank
Andalusia 62 63 1 1 5 54.52 35
Atmore 38 37 -1 -1 5 42.16 42
Auburn 114 116 2 0 5 67.45 22
Bay Minette 31 30 -1 0 5 66.00 24
Brewton 66 66 0 0 4 49.00 39
Brundidge 24 25 1 1 5 87.00 3
Central Baldwin Sunset 28 28 0 0 4 86.11 4
Chilton County 9 9 0 0 5 60.00 30
Daphne/Spanish Fort 18 19 1 1 4 75.00 11
Demopolis 42 41 -1 0 5 90.20 1
Dothan 160 151 -9 -7 4 71.08 16
Dothan Tuesday Rotary 130 130 0 1 5 39.10 43
Elba 19 19 0 0 5 65.26 26
Enterprise 61 59 -2 -2 5 81.12 6
Eufaula 0 21 21 0 5 60.95 29
Evergreen 17 16 -1 0 5 73.80 12
Fairhope 85 83 -2 -3 5 75.65 10
Fairhope Sunset 55 59 4 0 4 55.80 34
Foley 65 66 (Jul) 1 n/a 0 0.00 47
Geneva 28 28 0 0 5 70.71 17
Greene County 0 0 () 0 n/a 0 0.00 51
Greenville 31 31 (Jul) 0 n/a 0 0.00 48
Gulf Shores-Orange Beach 16 15 4 79.00 8
-1 -1

Huntingdon College 0 0 () 0 n/a 0 0.00 52

Jackson 26 25 -1 0 5 65.60 25
Lee County Sunrise 31 31 0 0 4 67.74 20
Linden 6 6 0 0 3 90.00 2
Luverne 29 29 0 0 4 81.00 7
Mobile 282 279 -3 0 4 34.86 44
Mobile Sunset 61 61 0 0 2 10.00 46
Mobile West 36 34 -2 1 4 62.14 27
Mobile-Sunrise 65 64 -1 0 4 48.41 40
Monroeville 15 15 0 0 4 67.00 23
Montgomery 111 112 1 1 4 58.33 32
Montgomery Capital 44 43 -1 -2 5 59.07 31
Montgomery 44 43 5 59.07 31
-1 -2
Capital
Montgomery 40 38 4 82.89 5
-2 -1
Sunrise
Montgomery 18 18 0 5 56.58 33
-1

North Mobile 7 10 3 1 2 70.00 18

Opelika 84 87 3 1 5 52.66 37
Opp 27 28 1 0 4 67.59 21
Ozark 0 0 () 0 n/a 0 0.00 49

Phenix City 35 35 0 0 4 72.73 14

Point Clear 110 100 -10 1 5 53.00 36
Prattville 32 32 0 -1 5 50.00 38
Prattville- 30 30 0 0 4 48.28 41
Millbrook Sun-
rise
Robertsdale 38 37 -1 -1 5 72.87 13

Selma 40 41 1 0 4 69.18 19
Tallassee 21 20 -1 0 5 34.00 45
Troy 84 86 (Jul) 2 n/a 0 0.00 50
Tuskegee 13 13 0 0 5 61.54 28
Wetumpka 25 23 -2 0 5 77.00 9
York- 0 9 9 9 2 72.00 15
Livingston

Totals, Net 2409 2418 9 -185 4.37 63.79%

Gain, Avg
Attendance:
46 of 52 clubs
reporting