Friday, October 13, 2006 - U. S. Marshal David Jolley to Visit Rotary

David G. Jolley, U.S. Marshal

    Today, Rotarians welcome U. S. Marshal David G. Jolley of Jackson. It was on February 14, 2002, that Jolley was appointed U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee by President George W. Bush following confirmation by the U. S. Senate. He was nominated for the position by Senators Fred Thompson and Bill Frist.
   During his talk today, Marshal Jolley will discuss the history of the U.S. Marshal system—the nation’s primary fugitive hunting organization.
   In addition to apprehending fugitives and protecting federal judges and courts, marshals protect witnesses, serve court documents and  transport federal prisoners.
   Marshal Jolley served as a special agent for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) from 1983 until his appointment as U.S. Marshal in 2002. Jolley holds a criminal justice degree from Middle Tennessee State University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.  Welcome David Jolley!

Paul Wood, Coca Cola North America

    Next week, Paul Wood, Vice President of Bottler Business Development for Coca-Cola North America—the largest division of The Coca-Cola Company, will be our guest speaker.
   Based in Atlanta, Coca-Cola is the world’s leading beverage enterprise, operating in 200 countries with some 2,400 brands such as Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, Minute Maid and Powerade.
   Paul’s responsibilities include managing the relationship between Coca-Cola North America and its 80 franchised bottlers across the U.S. He brings 30 years of experience in the business to his job, including 12 years managing multiple bottling territories in several states. A native of Indiana, Paul graduated from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. He and wife, Alice, are parents of two children, Laura and Josh, both of whom attend college. 

Cancer Survivor John Alston Visits Rotary

    Last week, Rotarians were moved by the stirring testimony of John Alston, a young Union City man who has overcome cancer and the loss of his beloved father and is looking to the future with a possible career in music ahead of him.
   At 18 years of age, John has taken many of life’s harshest blows, yet continues to find happiness in every day, demonstrates a deep and abiding faith, and eagerly shares his musical talents with any size group. John started playing piano at a very early age at home.
   It was just over a year ago that John’s father, Bobby Alston, a Union City fireman and minister, succumbed to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Just has John and his family were dealing with their huge loss and grief, John was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that manifested itself as a football-sized tumor growing in his chest.
   John’s education was interrupted as he became a fulltime patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Eight months of grueling chemotherapy treatments drove his cancer into remission.
   During his stay at St. Jude, doctors and nurses quickly became aware of John’s piano skills and before long, he became somewhat of an ambassador for the legendary hospital and one of its key corporate sponsors, Kay’s Jewelers. 
   Fresh from a recent trip to Disneyland, John will embark on a trip to New York in December to appear on NBC’s The Today Show to promote St. Jude Hospital and to perform in Central Park.
   His ultimate goal is to enroll in the world-famous The Juilliard School of Dance Drama and Music to further his education and hopefully begin a career in music education.
   While in Union City, John helps his mother, Beverly, as her restaurant—Beverly’s Bistro Sandwich Shop at First and Jackson. He is slated to perform a piano concert at the Obion County Public Library Oct 29. John demonstrated his amazing keyboard skills for Rotarians last week, playing various types of music ranging from ragtime to gospel.
   “Please keep praying for me as I face one final scan,” John stated. “I look forward to the future and celebrate was God has in store for me.”
   Beverly Alson held up a football—a reminder to Rotarians of the miracle that God has performed to save her son..       

Coming Attractions

10/27    Kelly Powers—Super Retriever Series coming to Obion County
11/3      Wallace Milam—Kennedy Assassination Expert—Conspiracy Theories Abound
11/10    NBA Memphis Grizzlies
11/17    TBA
11/24    No Meeting--Thanksgiving

Happy Birthdays

10/14   Tracy Bruff
10/17   Shea Riley, Jr
10/18   Dick Hall
10/19   Sam Sinclair

Happy Anniversary

10/15   Steve and Regina Sedberry

Football Tonight

Union City at Bruceton
Chester County at Obion County
West Carroll at South Fulton

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