Friday, January 5, 2007 - Graceland Chaplain David Bayer to visit Rotary

Graceland Chaplain David Bayer

    Today, Rotarians will hear from David Bayer, a much-traveled pastor, who is currently anchored at The Cumberland Presbyterian Church in South Fulton.  David also happens to serve as the official chaplain at Graceland, the home or Rock & Roll Superstar, Elvis Presley. In that capacity, David has had the occasion to conduct weddings on the grounds of Graceland and hear any number of amazing stories about Elvis fans from around the globe.
     Each year, thousands of fans come to Graceland to tour the most famous 14 acres of real estate in Tennessee. Many couples come to Graceland to simply renew their wedding vows in the Graceland Wedding Chapel, which sits behind Elvis’ beloved home.
     Elvis’ birthday (Jan 8) is coming up Monday, so you can expect plenty of media attention in the coming days.
     Thank you---Thank you very much!
 

Dr. Joey Mehlhorn of UTM to Tout Biofuels

 Next week, Dr. Joey Mehlhorn, UTM Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics, will talk about the upcoming conference on Biofuels that UTM will be hosting on January 30 in the Boling University Center on the UTM Campus.
     The conference is called “Biofuels: Opportunities for Tennessee Agriculture.” The conference is expected to draw farmers, economic development directors and other business representatives. Dr. Jim Byford, Dean of the UTM College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences will deliver the official welcome to start the conference.
     Dr. Mehlhorn says Mid-South agriculture will play a vital role in meeting our nation’s future energy needs and the conference will showcase how local farmers, businesses and communities will be impacted by this emerging alternative fuels market.
     Great program next Friday!

Rotarians Tour New OCCHS School in Troy

     Two weeks ago, Rotarians met in the spacious new Obion County Central High School in Troy to eat and tour the $18.5 million facility. The school replaced the old OCCHS built in 1960-61 and encompasses 185,000 square feet of floor space.
   After admonishing Rotarians for “talking too loudly during lunch,” Principal Ray Wilson, OC School Board member Roger Williams and others associated with the new school took Rotarians on about five separate tours of the facility.
     Principal Wilson told us that the new school currently boasts about 950 students but was built to accommodate as many as 1,200 students.  Roger Williams said the school was built at a “bargain” for Obion Countians since most of the contracts were let prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and prior to building costs going through the roof, as they eventually did.
     Williams also emphasized that none of the roofing system at the new school are “flat.” They all have a pitch to them to help with water runoff and to hopefully prevent leaks down the road.
    Rotarians stated the day eating a catered meal in the school’s Commons Area, which on a normal school day, would have four serving lines up and running—all featuring a different menu. 
     Other features of the new school include wide hallways, individual full-length lockers for all students, high-tech security features such as cameras, automatic and remote-controlled door locks, intercoms, and hundreds of computer hookups and terminals.
     “You’d be amazed at the change of attitude among our students in coming from the old building into this new building,” Wilson said. “Our students take pride in helping us take care of this new school.”
     The new school features a state-of-the-art library and a spacious new gymnasium that will seat up to 2,500 fans. One of the final parts of construction will be the paving of parking facilities on the backside of the new school.
     A Special Thanks to Rotarian Roger Williams for helping set up the special meeting and tour of the new OCCHS. Roger started his part of the program by announcing a renewed emphasis on the Rotary Student Exchange Program in the coming year. It’s a program that Roger’s daughter took part in a few years ago. Basically, a local student goes overseas for a 3-week period, and then returns home, bringing with him/her a student from the host country to visit here in the United States. You’ll e hearing more about the program in the coming weeks.
    
 
Coming Attractions

1/12      Dr. Joey Mehlhorn on Biofuels   Conference coming to UT-Martin Jan
              30.
1/19     TBA
1/26     Dan Murrell—Community Foundation  of Greater Memphis
2/2       TBA
2/9       TBA

Happy Birthdays

1/5      Bob Regen
1/9      Bill Tanner

Happy Anniversaries

1/7      Steve and Sally Vaughn
1/8      Jimmy and Karen White
1/11     Mike and Rhonda Rinker

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