Today, we welcome Past President of the Hendersonville Rotary Club, Kihyon Kim. Ms. Kim was born in South Korea and moved to the United States at the age of 17. She graduated from MTSU. Beside being past president of her club, she has served as Assistant Governor, she has also been awarded Rotarian of the Year, District Rotarian of the Year and received the Service above Self award from Rotary International. She is the mother of three teenagers.
Her topic today is Rotary’s International Projects: NID, ShelterBox, and Our District Honduras Electricity Project.
A ShelterBox is a basic survival kit, and does not duplicate aid provided by other disaster relief organizations. These boxes are located in strategic locations throughout the globe, ready to be distributed in any disaster situation.
ShelterBox, which was originated by a Rotarian, is the largest Rotary project in the 100+ year history of the organization. The survival kit in a box enables a family that has lost everything to subsist for up to one year with a roof overhead, warmth and protection, drinkable water, a simple kitchen with heat for cooking and essential tools to begin restoring their lives.
In 2002, ShelterBox USA was started by the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Since then, the USA affiliate has received support from thousands of Rotary clubs in the United States.
Next week, after bringing our scholarship programs to an end a week ago, the program will feature one of the recipients of those scholarships, with Joshua Owens, a Union City native and graduate of Obion County Central High School sharing experiences and lesson learned from leading recovery and development efforts in Darfur, Sudan and draw some parallels between effective economic development in Sudan and rural development in Northwest Tennessee.
While attending Vanderbilt University, Josh received a Rotary Scholarship each year he was in school there. He also received the Hardy Graham Sophomore Award and a Vanderbilt Honors Scholarship.
From 2008 - 2010 he worked for a Swiss-based NGO as the manager of a relief and development program in Darfur, Sudan. He was involved with several UN initiatives and led the post-war recovery and peace-building efforts in a remote, volatile province of Darfur still held by rebel militias - overseeing projects in water, sanitation, education, agriculture, and economic development. Besides Sudan, Josh has also worked in Morocco and Egypt and has had the opportunity to learn 2 foreign languages and travel on 4 continents so far in his career.
Last week,
was a special day for Rotarians as we had the honor of witnessing young adults of the area receive their Verhine Scholarship Awards. There were some fifty Union City High School Graduates in the audience, and everyone would have to agree that this group was very impressive, not only in the way they were dressed, but their pride and will to learn was very evident.
Also on the agenda last week was a special guest. Local Attorney, Judy Barker took center stage with a very inspiring message for the students, encouraging them to expand their horizons and learn to take health risks for the purpose of identifying their talents.
Judy spoke of several personal experiences during her life as both a student and an adult relating to healthy risks she had taken and how they had helped her fulfill her dreams. For instance, she recalled a challenge she placed herself in after graduating high school, she ran for a high office as a freshman in college, won the election and had the honor of representing her classmates in Congress, saying this was a healthy risk on her part.
She encouraged the students to become involved in any organization where there are peers who share their common interest, and be involved in that organization by becoming an officer or leader of that organization. This she said would develop a network with other people, which would definitely help them once they began their adult career.
She warned them to not underestimate their own potential, saying that everyone in the room have gifts given to us from our Lord. "You have natural talents that you have the right to discover, and you are supposed to open up your imagination to embellish and utilize that talent."
She closed by reminded those present that they were not going to always win at everything they attempted, but if you loose, just chalk it up as an experience as a lesson in life, but if you win be sure to put it on your resume.
President Houston then took the podium, distributing the scholarships to the 91 recipients.
Coming Attractions
June 17 - Joshua Owens, UN Projects in the Sudan.
Will Rogers died in a plane crash in 1935, but his wisdom & humor lives on. Some of these have been used before, but well worth repeating.
"There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves."
"Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects."
"When ignorance gets started, it knows no bounds."
"Never miss a good chance to shut up."
"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."
"The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf & fishing combined."
