Friday, February 2, 2007 - Jim Rippy Reports on Economic Development in Obion County

Jim Rippy, Jr. Reports on OC Economic Development

      Today, Union City Rotarians welcome longtime community leader and fellow Rotarian Jim Rippy, Jr, who will make a report on the economic development efforts of the Obion County Joint Economic Development Council and Obion County Chamber of Commerce. Jim will follow up with his predictions for what’s ahead in 2007!
    Rippy will discuss many issues today, including ongoing plans to change Everett Stewart Airport into a regional airport with financial support from Weakley County, housing development, industrial development, helping existing industry, marketing development,  quality of life initiatives, the mayor’s roundtable, the Governor’s Three-Star Award program, efforts to recruit retail trade, sales tax collections, tourism, professional training programs, and any number of other issues that will impact life in Obion County, including I-69, four-laning projects around Union City, and the Riverport project.
    

Kay Wilkes Dissects Workplace Personalities

     Next week, Rotarians will enjoy a delightful program from Kay Wilkes concerning the differences in personalities of the sexes in the work place.
     Kay is a multifaceted healthcare professional with over 30 years clinical experience in both acute and long-term care.  She is the wife of Ben Wilkes and mother of Abbey, Benjamin, Bonnie and Peter Wilkes.  Kay manages her own consulting company offering practical solutions for long term care through training and consultation to help teach her clients to “work smarter not harder” while having fun in the workplace.
     Kay is a member of the Tennessee Speakers Association and the National Speakers Association and has entertained audiences across America with her humorous and simplistic approach to excellence in the workplace.
     We look forward to Kay’s presentation next Friday!

Dan Murrell Discusses Community Foundations

     Last week, Rotarians heard from Dan Murrell, Director of Development with the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.  Dan currently serves as Secretary of the Memphis Rotary Club, which boasts 320 members.
     Prior to joining the CFGM, Dan taught French in the Memphis City School System for thirteen years. He has been with the CFGM for just over a year and noted, “it was good to get out and reach out to other communities.”
     Dan was quick to praise the work of local projects Union City Rotary is involved with including the local Boys and Girls Club, the Promethean Project, and our various scholarship programs. During his trip into town from the airport, he had time to talk with Clay Woods about other projects in the community such as Masquerade Theatre, the Kirkland Foundation and Main Street.
     “There are over 650 Community Foundation programs in the United States,” Dan said. “Our program in Memphis has been up and running for thirty-five years and is perhaps the ‘best kept secret’ in Memphis—don’t many people know about it.  We awarded 6,000 grants to 1,600 organizations last year for such things as the arts, education, environment, mental health, hunger and various types of incubator programs.”
     Dan focused how he and his 30-member board try to be “good stewards” of the money they receive, with less than one-percent actually going to cover expenses.
     “We promote community through giving and we remain very flexible in our thought process,” Dan said. “We work with attorneys, CPAs, and financial planners to help encourage philanthropy.”
     CFGM has assets of over $280 million and is the largest grant-making foundation in Shelby County. The goal of the CFGM is to build a stronger community by investing in the capacities of individuals, organizations an d institutions so they collectively can contribute to the neighborhoods and communities in which they are located.
     Thanks Dan for a very informative program last week!

Coming Attractions

2/16     Randy Phillips—Union University
2/23     Farm Day-Tenative
3/2       Joe Antal-LennoxHearth Update
3/9       Ron Green with update on Boys and Girls Club plus visit by B&G Club  Choir

Happy Birthdays

2/2      Sam Bradberry
2/2      Jody Kizer
2/3      Clint Joiner
2/4      Jim Thompson
2/5      John Miles
 

Happy Anniversary

2/6      Julius and Ellise Falkoff

UTM Basketball Tickets

Remember that the UTM Skyhawks (both men and women) will host Southeast Missouri State University tomorrow night at the Elam Center and Coach Bret Campbell would like to invite you as his special guest. See Coach Randy Barnes today for tickets to tomorrow night’s games!

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