Today’s Program: Former Texas Congressman Stenholm
Former Texas Congressman Charlie Stenholm travels to Raleigh for a timely presentation on "Progress, Technology and theAmerican Energy Future." His opinions about the recent Gulf Coast Oil disastershould be most enlightening.
Be sure to bring your friends from Progress Energy and PSNC Energy to join us on this date.
Charlie Stenholm was in Congress from 1979 to 2005. He was a member of the House Committee on Agriculture throughout his 26-year House career, serving as the committee’s ranking Democrat for his last eight years. He earned a reputation for building bipartisan alliances areas as diverse as agriculture, resource conservation, food safety, social security, healthcare, and budget. Mr. Stenholm was co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, the Public Pension Reform Caucus, the Sound Dollar Caucus, and the U.S. – Mexico Business Caucus. After his defeat for reelection in 2005, he joined the Washington, D.C. law and lobbying firm of Olsson Frank Weeda, P.C.
Next Week: No meeting – Memorial Day Holiday
In Two Weeks:
Hear from Dan Wheeler, Vice President and General Manager of Sprit AeroSystems, Inc.'s N.C. Business Unit. Spirit AeroSystems was awarded the contract to construct major components for the Airbus A350. Currently, a500,00 square foot manufacturing facility in being constructed at the TransPark in Kinston. They plan to hire 250employees immediately and project to have a workforce in excess of 1,000 within 4 to 5 years. Why they chose tolocate in North Carolina and the TransPark in Kinston will be the topic of his presentation.
Chamber of Commerce representatives,business development professionals and corporate leaders in general will enjoy this program.
From our Last Meeting:
Greg Hunt delivered the invocation and welcomed our guests and visitors.
Guests
Mitra Tashakkori, guest of Greg Hunt
Joe Teleoglou, guest of Greg Hunt
Andy Penry, guest of Lawrence C. Davis
Allegra Sinclair, guest of Rusine Mitchell Sinclair
Visiting Rotarians
Ron Blackley, Cary Page
Nikita Zhitor, Rotaract of Raleigh
Bob Edmund, Greensboro Downtown
Durwood Laughinghouse, Capitol City
Makeups
Charlie Upshaw, Crabtree
Bob Moore, District Meeting
Announcements:
The District Assembly meeting was held last weekend. Charles King, Bob Moore, Bill McLaurin and other club members attended. We thank all of those who attended.
George Wallace announced that a new member social will be held at his home on May 24 at 6:00pm. All club members and their spouses are invited to attend to welcome new members.
Louis Rogers provided an update on the club in a club program. Please email potential members to Louis.
Cindy Poole announced that our club directory is at the printers. We thank Cindy for putting the new directory together.
Our new club website will be live soon thanks to the efforts of club member Chip Popoviciu.
Rusine Mitchell Sinclair announced that our Honduran water project.
We have a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to present to the district.
Vim Van Eck announced that our district and club received a letter from a former Rotary Youth Exchange program participant, Nate Hester. Nate became an exchange student in France, and later pursued a career in art. Nate is now preparing to attend divinity school and thanked our club for sponsoring him as a youth.
Andy Penry sponsored by Lawrence Davis, was inducted into member of our club. Andy is a partner and co-founder of Penry and Ryman.
Rotary Club of Raleigh
Mentoring Event for Lake Waccamaw Students
Clubs in District 7710 (and others in eastern North Carolina as well) have a longhistory of supporting the Boys and Girls Home at Lake Waccamaw. Support hasincluded the building and equipping of the Rotary House residence and muchmore.
In recent years, the Cary MacGregor Club has assumed responsibility for hostinga small group of graduating high school seniors from the Home for several weeksin June and July. The students are housed in the Triangle and offered a widerange of tours, visits, and in-depth conversations to broaden their horizons andintroduce them to a variety of educational and career options.
Last year our Club accepted responsibility for hosting a small group of seniorgirls for a day. On a Monday, they came to our noon meeting and then visitedvarious sites in the downtown area - Fayetteville Street, Downtown HistoryMuseum, Capitol, Natural Science Museum, History Museum, and rode the fullcircuit on the R.
This year our Club is committed to two days, Monday and Tuesday, June 14-15.There will be six senior boys in the group. Besides inviting them to lunch and ourmeeting on Monday, we can be of help by arranging opportunities for themindividually or as a group to meet with Club members in order to be exposed andlearn more in fields of expressed interests, such as -
• Politics and public service
• Sports management and coaching
• Mechanical design and engineering
• Animation design
• Medical practice and health care
Club members are asked to consider what field of expertise or generalbackground they might be willing to share with the boys within the work: site or atanother convenient location during the two days, focusing especially on Mondayafternoon following the meeting and during the day on Tuesday. Transportation will be provided for the boys.
Please relay your offer of assistance to Sam Stone ( or834-9355) noting the field of expertise and the most convenient time slots andlocation for you.
Last Meeting’s Program – NCSU Senior Licensing Associate, Dr. Terry Bray: NCSU Technology Transfer
Club Member, Dr. Terry Bray from the N.C.S.U. Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), addressed our club. Terry is from Danville, Virginia and was awarded a scholarship by a Rotary club in Danville, which funded his first year of college. Terry built a system that tested pharmaceuticals on the International Space Station. Terry indicated that the actions of Rotary clubs, even though they may seem small, can have large impacts on individuals.
Terry spoke about technology transfer in general and the efforts at N.C.S.U. to commercialize N.C.S.U. technology. Terry spoke about the Bayh Dole Act of 1980, which allows universities to take title to their innovations. Prior to the Bayh Dole Act, federally funded inventions were owned by the federal government, and many inventions never left federal labs. After Bayh Dole, universities created technology transfer offices and economic activity in the area of technology transfer flourished. In 2008, U.S. universities, through their technology transfer offices, were granted over 3,200 patents. Benefits of technology transfer include royalty generation for universities and faculty, the creation of start-up companies, and most importantly, the commercialization of technology that benefits the public. Terry indicated that the N.C.S.U. OTT has created over 3,000 jobs in our state. Successful products originating from N.C.S.U. include an ethylene inhibiting compound that slows ripening of produce and a test for cholesterol particle sizes as an indication of heart disease. We thank Terry for his presentation and service to our community.
Day in History
- 1844– Samuel Morse transmitted the first telegraph message, in which he asked, “What hath God wrought?”
- 1883– The Brooklyn Bridge, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City, opened to traffic.
- 1976– The British and French Concordes made their first commercial flights.
The Rotary Club of Raleigh Bulletin is published each week the Club meets. To contribute items contact Greg Hunt at or phone 919-749-1663. Visit where bulletins since January, 2001 are posted...or call the Club phone at 848-2333 and request that one be faxed to you. Photographs are courtesy of Greg Hunt and are available upon request.