November 18, 2006

This Week’s Program…
Tina Dillon: Owensboro/Daviess County Asset Building Coalition – Earned Income Tax Credit

Last Week’s Program...
The Learning Community

Learning is the key to our success at work and in life. In today’s world, lifelong learning is more important than ever. The Learning Community is a grassroots campaign to engage the Greater Owensboro community in learning for life. We believe learning is the key to our community’s economic future and our residents’ quality of life.

Lifelong learning is no longer just one aspect of education and training; it must become the guiding principle for provision and participation across the full continuum of learning contexts. The coming decade must see the implementation of this vision. All those living in our region, without exception, should have equal opportunities to adjust to the demands of social and economic change and to participate actively in the shaping of the community’s future.

Malcolm Bryant illustrated that poverty, education and economic uncertainty are factors that can effect how a community thrives or fails in good and bad times. It was noted that education was an element of our community’s fiber that could be altered and improved in a community for those who need it most. Malcolm said education and earning potential are parallel to each other and in a knowledge-based economy they’ll only grow even tighter together.

Tracy pointed out that only 14% of Daviess County ’s citizens have a bachelor’s degree. That is low from a national standpoint and a statewide perspective. She said the goal of the "Learning Community – Greater Owensboro" is for the people of this area to value learning as the key to living well.

Other goals of the initiative are to:

• Cultivate a culture that values learning across the community.
• Engage residents in dialogue about the value of learning.
• Gather and disseminate information regarding learning.
• Promote learning opportunities for residents from all walks of life, in all stages of life.
• Increase access to technology for learning.

One way many Rotarians can sign on to this initiative is to offer tuition reimbursement to their employees.

Thanks Tracy and Malcolm for your presentation.

Attendance: 52

Highest Attendance This Year: 95

Invocation, Pledge & 4-Way Test: Mike Goad

Fellowship Report: Tish Correa-Osborne

Introduction of New Member: Dr. Doug Adams was inducted by John Kazlauskas

Meeting Make-ups: Martel Wightman had a make-up in Marshall County

Introduction of Guests: None

Thought for the Week: "When people keep telling you that you can't do a particular thing, you kind of like to try it."  ~ Margaret Chase Smith

YOUR PRESIDENT SPEAKS:
I think the Lifelong Learning initiative that Tracy and Malcolm spoke on is vital to this community. And we should be thankful that for most Daviess Countians, we have climbed high enough in our hierarchy of needs that water, clothing and shelter are foregone conclusions – and now our dialogue can be about waterfront development, economic development, arts and culture. That doesn’t mean that illiteracy, drug abuse and poor lifestyle choices don’t plague many people in this community – you or someone dear to you may suffer. Those local issues need to be addressed and maybe next year’s club leadership will choose to eliminate illiteracy or meth use from our town.

This year we are making a difference and have made a difference for hundreds if not thousands of people of the Kaberamaido district of eastern central Uganda . I wasn’t so sure about this assertion when we got our photo from the Bainbridge Island Rotary Club commemorating our first well. But when I spoke with Fr. Titus, he assured me that we saved lives of the people in the village where our pump was installed. Fr. Titus said that "Waterborne illness kills a child every 15 seconds and underlies much of the world’s disease and malnutrition."

I don’t know if the folks in our adopted community in Uganda are now going to build a performing arts center, but I do know, thanks to you, they’ve moved a little farther up the hierarchy of needs because of their new water well and pump.

Have Fun!

John

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Darrell Higginbotham - November 21
Sara Jane McNulty - November 25
Cap Gardner - November 29
Pete Moore - December 1

ANNOUNCEMENTS...
• Tish Correa-Osborne is in need of program chairs for June & July in 2007 -Please help if you have good program ideas.
• Check your schedule on December 8th and be prepared to ring the bell for Salvation Army at Wesleyan Park Plaza – Sign-up sheets will be posted soon.
• Application deadline for GSE team members to go to Germany next Summer has been extended to November 20th. If you know someone who should be considered for the team, get an application to them.
• Please pick-up a few "guest invitations" at our next meeting and invite a friend to join us for lunch and possibly join us for life.
• There will be no Impetus published the week of Thanksgiving. We will begin our new monthly edition of the Impetus starting December 1st.

****HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!! ****

ROTARY REMINDERS
• Don’t forget to make up your missed meetings at Daviess County Rotary, 7 a.m. on Tuesdays at American Bounty.
• John Bryenton is program chair for November.
• Bob Hunzinger is program chair for December.
• Becky Englehart will be at the Fellowship Table during November.
• Barry Young will be at the Fellowship Table during December.
• If you have an email address and are not receiving the Impetus online, or you have changed your email address, please send an email to kim@mediaworksadvertising.com and you will be added to the Rotary email address list.
• Log on to Rotary’s website at www.owensbororotary.org. You’ll find our current member directory, photos of new members, past copies of the Impetus, some interesting history, and more!

Please mail any questions, suggestions, or comments regarding the Impetus to:

Mike Wallace
MediaWorks Advertising, Inc.
208 West 3rd Street
P.O. Box 1866
Owensboro, KY 42302
Phone: 270-684-4554
Fax: 270-684-7314
Email: mike@mediaworksadvertising.com

DEADLINE FOR ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE IMPETUS IS THE WEDNESDAY PRIOR TO MONDAY'S PUBLICATION DATE.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Nov. 29: Owensboro "SCORE" Program Service Corp. of Retired Executives

2006 - 2007 OWENSBORO ROTARY CLUB OFFICERS
President: John Kurtz
Vice President: Tish Correa-Osborne
Past President: Bill Dexter
Secretary: Tim Bradshaw
Treasurer: Bob Nation
Directors: John Kazlauskas, John Medley, Sister Suzanne Sims, Jeremy Bradford, Kirk Kirkpatrick, & Ed Wathen.