Today, Rotarian’s always look forward to a visit from our military, and today we welcome a high ranking officer in the form of Major General (retired) Gale Pollock, Army Nurse Corps.

MG Pollock received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University Of Maryland. She attended the U.S. Army Nurse Anesthesia Program and is a Certified registered Nurse Anesthetist. She received her Master of Business Administration From Boston University; a Master’s in Healthcare Adm. From Baylor University; a Master’s in National Security and Strategy from the National Defense University, and an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of Maryland. She is also a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN)

MG. Pollock has also received several awards and decorations during her career, including the Distinguished Service Medal (with 2 oak leaf clusters), Legion of Merit (with 2 oak leaf clusters), and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 oak leaf clusters), just to name a few.

She received the Army Staff identification Badge for her work at the Pentagon and earned the German Armed Forces Military Efficiency Badge "Leistungsabzeichen" in gold.

Her passion is restoration of sight and when not advancing this cause, she spends time with her "spousal-unit" Doug McAliaster, enjoying exercise and the beauty of the outdoors.

Next week, there will be no Rotary Meeting, due to the Thursday March 18 annual "Ladies Night.

Gary has asked everyone who plans to attend contact him. He can be reached by E-mail: houstong@ucboe.net, or phone: 885-3922. There will also be sign-up sheets on the table today for that purpose. "Ladies Night" is one of the most popular and entertaining programs of the year for rotary and everyone is encouraged to attend.

In two weeks, we have all heard of the wonderful things done down at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, but in two weeks we will get information first-hand, as Jon Cameron and daughter Ally share their experiences at this extraordinary place.

Jon is the son and Ally is the granddaughter of Rotary Member Dr. Robert Cameron.

Jon is married to Holly and they have 3 children, Ally (6) Emmy (5), and Chloe (2). He and his family live in Murfreesboro, where he practices law.

Ally has been a patient at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital since she was diagnosed at age 1 with neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer.

Last week, before we got into our regular program, Roger Williams, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee had a few comments on that program, thanking everyone for their participation last year, and thanking and naming the members of the committee. He then introduced one of the recipients of some of the scholarships in the past, Tommy Gossett. Tommy took the podium and gave us a brief history of how much the monies had helped him throughout his college career. He gave us a history of his experiences as a college student, saying the moneys that he had been able to receive had kept him from having to take part-time jobs, which allowed him to be able to study more and according to the GPA’s he reported, the help was certainly well deserved.

RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE. That was the message last week from Dennis Kosta. Dennis is the manager of Custodial Services at UTM. He brought a powerful message as he explained some of the programs now in place on campus at UTM, as well as the City of Martin and surrounding communities.

Dennis spoke of his first few months at his job in Martin, saying that some of his tactics on recycling were not accepted to begin with, however as he got the students on campus to come on board, others began to come around. He said he visited many organization around the community and eventually got them on board for the program as well3.

In 1991, he said UTM reduced their waste by 52 tons, and Obion, Lake and Weakly Counties set out to reduce their waste by 25%. This year, he said UTM had reduced their waste by 500 tons, the City of Martin has reduced their dumpster’s by one-half. He also said Tennessee had one of the cheapest land fill fees in the United States, this is one of the reasons Obion County has a large mountain of garbage here.

Mar. 18 - Ladies Night

Mar. 19 - No Meeting

Mar. 26 - Jon Cameron and daughter Allie, Sharing a St. Jude experience

April 02 - Ron Green, Boy’s & Girl’s Club

March 13 - Rob Terrell

March 15 - Jim Cooper

March 17 - Trent Arnold

March 24 - Mike Rinker

March 12 - Brently and Celene Beard

March 19 - Bill and Doris Tanner

March 20 - Robert and Martha Clendenin

March 24 - Jim and Rosalee Thompson

March 13 - Rob Terrell

March 15 - Jim Cooper

March 17 - Trent Arnold

March 24 - Mike Rinker

March 12 - Brently and Celene Beard

March 19 - Bill and Doris Tanner

March 20 - Robert and Martha Clendenin

March 24 - Jim and Rosalee Thompson