Membership Committee Chair, Neville Stein described the club's strategy for recruiting and retaining members. President Dodie Gay (R) inducted our newest Rotarians, Pat Burns (L), and Dana Davis (R), with the assistance of President-Elect Doug Foran. Dodie was also the sponsoring Rotarian for Pat and Dana.

Our own Stephanie Burgess provided an interesting "classification speech" chronicling her life and how she returned home to Savannah to establish her law practice.

The Hon. John Ellington, Chief Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals delivered an entertaining and informative account of what
the Appellate Court is all about. His presentation was sprinkled with humorous anecdotes delivered in a smooth south
Georgia accent.

We had a successful "open house" and welcomed several guests. With committee reports and highlights of the various Rotary sponsored projects . . . International, District, and Local, our visitors were given a good overview of what Rotary is all about.

__Sara Todd, Executive Director of Girls on the Run - Coastal Georgia made a presentation about her organization and how it provides young girls with programs that help build self confidence and the discipline of running.  www.girlsontherun-ga.org

Mike Skinner made accounting sound interesting in his updated "classification presentation." We learned about how Mike became interested in his profession . . . his appointment by the Governor to an important post in the organization that regulates CPAs throughout the state . . . and some interesting highlights about his family, including the news that his daughter is currently working on her Masters in Costume Design at the Johnny CarsonSchool of Theatre & Film in Lincoln, NE

Wendy Williamson of the Savannah Mediation Center made us aware of the work the center does in keeping litigation and domestic cases from clogging the Court by getting the parties to agree on a mediated settlement.

The Mulberry Inn was full of Christmas cheer with our annual caroling meeting. Brian Taylor, Choirmaster at St John's Episcopal Church graciously played and led us in several carols and Holiday tunes. Perhaps the highlight was the Sunrise version of "A Redneck Twelve Days of Christmas." Neville Stein . . .
YES, Neville . . .provided the lyrics.

_Mark Streeter made an interesting graphic presentation on his career as the editorial cartoonist for the Savannah Morning News.

Sunrise Rotarian and die-hard Georgia Bulldog fan, Keith Parker, enlightened the membership on his background and the banking business.

_Paul Fisher, president of the Savannah Early Childhood Foundation, updated us on the progress of this initiative involving all the area Rotary clubs. The premise of the foundation is that, if children are prepared in their pre-school years, they will be better students, stay in school, and steer away from destructive life decisions. The program is set up to teach parenting skills as well as focusing on developing good learning habits with the children. 

__Our GRSP student Eevi Haonpera shared her experiences after arriving in Savannah and told us about her home country Finland. Eevi will be studying at Armstrong Atlantic State University until May of next year.

District Governor, Gordon Matthews, thanked Sunrise Rotarians for their generous support of Rotary initiatives, with special attention to Polio Plus and an update on the worldwide organization's efforts to eradicate that crippling disease.

PICTURED BELOW: The most junior member of Savannah Sunrise Rotary, Melissa Bryan, and the most senior member, Sissy Levy, pose with Gov. Gordon.

Muralist Francesco Montefiore shared his experiences in planning and painting the mural he donated to the West Broad Street YMCA. The meeting venue was moved to the Y so that members of the club could see the finished painting first-hand. YMCA Director and Sunrise member, Peter Doliber arranged for his kitchen staff to prepare a fine breakfast for the occasion. The official unveiling ceremony will be at 12 noon on Thursday, November 10th.

Left: The club used the meeting time to stuff "goodie bags" for the 250 participants in the annual Trick or Trot Road Race fundraiser. Right: Club president, Dodie Gay is presented a certificate naming her a METS Ambassador by Linda Herdina, Executive Director of the Rotary Medical Equipment Transport Service. METS gathers donated medical equipment and supplies from all over the district to provide to third world nations that do not have the financial resources to purchase the tools that they need to provide adequate medical care to much of their population.

John Weatherbee, WTOC-TV Meteorologist, made an animated presentation on storm preparation since "it is a matter of 'when' not 'if' Savannah will experience another hurricane event. John also shared some tips on handling yourself in a tornado situation.

Our own Maureen Horvath demonstrated the wonders of the District Database and how easy it is to log on and update members' personal data. We also learned how to gleen important information from the site.

Joe Mareinelli, CEO of Visit Savannah gave an overview of what the organization is doing to promote the city of Savannah with an eye to bringing more tourists to the area. Many of the plans will also benefit residents.

Lesley Taylor, principal of May Howard Elementary School, and head of the Physical Education Department, Janet Gnann, shared information about the school's namesake, and provided a summary of what is happening at the school. They are excited about the facility's new iPad lab which is unique in Chatham county to May Howard School.

Wayne Evans, owner of Coach Wayne Gymnastics at the Savannah Mall, shared his experiences as a motivator of people through gymnastics, tumbling, and cheerleading. Sunrise Rotarians had an opportunity to experience one of Coach Wayne's exercises to teach how to give and receive praise.

Director of the Greater Savannah Sports Council, Ben Wilder, enlightened our members on the function of the Council. As the local liaison for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, he also talked about the logistics of handling an unexpectedly large number of runners for Savannah's inaugural marathon.

Jeanette Caneega, also a member of the Rotary Club of Wrightsville (for 23 years) and District Chair of the Rotary Foundation, presented interesting facts about the Foundation and emphasized the importance of Savannah Sunrise's continued superb support.

Doug Foran, Chair of the 2011 Trick or Trot Committee, discussed the progress to date on our major fundraiser. With only eight weeks remaining before race day, members must focus on bringing in as many sponsors and participants as possible.

Sgt. Winston Fiore, USMC, provided an insightful look at the work the International Children's Surgical Foundation is doing throughout the world bring smiles back to the faces of children in developing countries who afflicted with cleft palate. Winston is motorcycling across the Country to publicize his upcoming Smile Trek, a 5,000-mile walk through Viet Nam, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and Laos, to raise money for the ICSF, and bring attention to the organization's charitable efforts.WTOC-TV reporter, Lynda Figueredo (pictured at left), was on hand to interview Winston and feature his presentation on their news program. See the report at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6cXbXEtyhg  Savannah Sunrise has sent a donation of $600.00, collected from our members, to ICSF on Winston's behalf. So, we are now an official sponsor!
http://smiletrek.org/sponsors  Visit the ICSF site here http://icsfoundation.org/

Our speaker, the Rev. Creede Hinshaw, of Wesley Monumental Methodist Church, shares a story with Judi Painter and Clete Bergen. Rev. Hinshaw's presentation was sprinkled with anecdotal illustrations of how it is easy for us to take for granted our beautiful city of Savannah.

During our August 18 meeting, we welcomed two new members of Savannah Sunrise.
LEFT: Maureen Horvath, sponsor, and new Rotarian Melissa Bryant; new Rotarian Stephanie Burgess with her sponsor, Clete Bergen.

President Dodie Gay administered the oath.

PetSmart Director of Dog Training, Bob Olson, made an informative presentation on the effectiveness of positive reinforcement
training for canines. His stories and tips provided us with insight into our pets' psyches of our beloved pets. Also, thanks to Mick and Connie McCay for bringing their border collie, Noor (a graduate of Bob's classes), as a demonstration dog.
http://training.petsmart.com/

During our Club Assembly, District 6920 Assistant Governor Paul Meyer, provided his perspective on the mission of Rotary . . . particularly on the local level. All the Committee Chairs present made short verbal reports.

Daniel Carey, Preservation Manager, Historic Savannah Foundation, presented an overview of the foundation with several "before and after" images of properties saved by their efforts.

Our speaker, Marty Johnson, Acting Assistant City Manager, Savannah, made an interesting presentation on her area of responsibility
for the city. We learned of the city's plans for a possible new arena, the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, Tourism, and a proposed dog park.

We all know more about Pam Brandt now that she has done an interesting PowerPoint presentation about her background.
Pam's move from Key West to Savannah was bittersweet in that she was coming home, but leaving her "paradise,"

President Dodie Gay shared her vision for Savannah Sunrise for the new Rotary Year. Our Asst. District Gov. Paul Meyer provided a look at his position and how he can help us from the district level.

See the video of this meeting (in two parts) on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJogCP3OpI
and www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4wgR40-0H0&feature=related

Outgoing President Clete Bergen passes the club gavel to newly inducted President Dodie Gay. District 6920  Governor Gordon Matthews did the induction honors for Dodie and the slate of officers who will serve until
June 30, 2012. Governor Matthews pointed out that this same "changing of the guard" was happening this month at all 34,000+ Rotary Clubs worldwide.

Savannah Sunrise Rotary Officers for 2011-12:
President - Dodie Gay; President Elect - Doug Foran; Secretary - Maureen Horvath; Treasurer - Keith Parker; Sergeant at Arms - Rafe Semmes; President Nominee - Mick McCay

Doug Foran presented a thorough analysis of last year's successful Trick or Trot Road Race and that our funds available for distribution, at $6,322.00, was up 28% over the 2009 event. The entities which will benefit from our 2011 race are: Midtown Community Center; West Broad Street YMCA; SAFE Shelter; and May Howard Elementary School. Plans for the 2011 event will begin after our June 30th meeting when the Trick or Trot Committee meets for the first time.

Doug also suggested that a second fund-raiser is necessary.  Several ideas were mentioned with a decision to be made soon.

Savannah Sunrise Rotary, soon to be Sergeant at Arms, Rafe Semmes, presented an update on his Classification Speech and provided an enlightening look at his background and how he became a Rotarian.

_BILL EBERLEIN made a fascinating presentation about his "hobby" of diving off Georgia's cost and estuaries
for fossils . . . in particular, teeth of the giant prehistoric shark known as Megalodon.

For information visit Bill's website, www.megateeth.com