Club of West Knoxville

Bearden Banquet Hall May 23, 2014

Engaged in Service and Growth

Meeting Make-ups

For a list of Knoxville-area Rotary clubs

for makeups and visits, click here.

Membership

If you know anyone who might help us

to achieve our membership goals for

this year, please bring them to our next

meeting! For more information on how

to become a Rotarian, click here.

Rotary Links

Rotary International

Rotary District 6780

Rotary Club of West Knoxville

Future Speakers

May 30, 2014 - No Speaker- Rockytop

BBQ Fundraiser Begins

June 6, 2014 - Anita Henderlight, Africa

ELI, “Update on South Sudan”

Jun 13, 2014 - Professor Charles Miller,

“History of the Duel”

Presiding: Oliver Smith

Song & Pledge: Bob Ely

Invocation: Anita Henderlight

Guests & Visitors: Tom Daughtrey

Humor: Joe Kirk

Editor: Charlie Biggs

Club Business and Announcements

President Oliver Smith announced that it was Bob Holsaple’s 88th birthday.

Members sang “Happy Birthday” to Bob.

Jason Fields delivered Mobile Meals.

Sarah Wegman and J.P. Mackay were inducted as members of the Club. Bob Ely

read the charge. Sarah is the Community Relations Coordinator for Choices in Senior

Care. Her sponsor is DeAnna Coulter. J.P. is a financial planner for Edward Jones. His

sponsor is Richard Bettis. Because Richard was absent, Phil Parkey gave J.P. his

Rotary pin.

Rotary Club of West Knoxville

P.O. Box 10457

Knoxville, TN 37939

President Oliver Smith thanked Leo Knight for fostering the Club’s relationship with

Entrepreneurs of Knoxville. Sarah is a member of EOK. President Oliver thanked

DeAnna for bringing Sarah into the Club, and he also thanked Mike Bailey for

doing a great job as Chair of the Membership Committee.

Rotary Moment: Phil Parkey reviewed the history of Rotary International’s

Presidential Themes and the International Convention. Each May or June, Rotary

International holds a worldwide convention “to stimulate, inspire, and inform all

Rotarians at the international level.” The Convention, which is generally held in a

Phil Parkey, J.P. Mackay, DeAnna Coulter, Sarah Wegman, President Oliver Smith and Bob Ely.

Rotary Club of West Knoxville 2

different part of the world each year, is the annual meeting

to conduct the business of Rotary. Each year, a distinguished

Rotarian is selected as the worldwide President of Rotary

International. The process begins one year in advance when

a 17-person Nominating Committee is elected from separate

zones of the world. Because there are 34 zones, each zone is

represented every other year. In the Rotary Year 1949-1950,

RI President Percy C. Hodgson established four objectives for

his term and launched the tradition of an annual theme.

Since then, the annual RI Themes have varied in length and

message, but all have inspired Rotarians to greater action.

Below are the themes for the last ten years and the sites of

the next five conventions.

Rotary Year RI President RI Convention Theme

2003-2004 Jonathan B. Majiyagb, Nigeria Osaka, Japan Lend a Hand

2004-2005 Glenn E. Estess, Sr., Alabama Chicago, Illinois Celebrate Rotary

2005-2006 Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar,

Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark Service Above Self

2006-2007 William Boyd, New Zealand Salt Lake City, Utah Lead the Way

2007-2008 Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, Canada Los Angeles, California Rotary Shares

2008-2009 Dong Kurn Lee, Korea Birmingham, England Make Dreams Real

2009-2010 John Kenny, Scotland Montreal, Canada The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands

2010-2011 Ray Klinginsmith, Missouri New Orleans, Louisiana Building Communities - Bridging Continents

2011-2012 Kalyan Banerjee, India Bangkok, Thailand Reach within to Embrace Humanity

2012-2013 Sakuji Tanaka, Japan Lisbon, Portugal Peace Through Service

2013-2014 Ron Burton, Oklahoma Sydney. Australia Engage Rotary, Change Lives

2014-2015 Gary C.K. Huang, Taiwan Sao Paulo, Brazil Light Up Rotary

2015-2016 Seoul, Korea

2016-2017 Atlanta, Georgia

2017-2018 Toronto, Canada

2018-2019 Durban, South Africa

2019-2020 Honolulu, Hawaii

Phil noted that this year’s RI Convention is in Sao Paulo,

Brazil, and he reminded members that the Convention was

held in Sao Paulo in 1980-1981 as well. Rolf Klarich of Finland

was RI President that year, and the Rotary theme was “Take

Time to Serve.” Bob Ely attended the convention with his

wife Dottie.

President Oliver Smith presented Bob and Dottie Ely with an

award to honor of their participation in the 1980-1981 RI

Convention. Bob remembered that the program included

Mother Theresa and Pelé, the Brazilian soccer star. While

Bob and Dottie were in Brazil, they visited Iguazu Falls and

the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Bob said

that thanks to Rotary he and Dottie have visited many

different parts of the world.

Bob Ely, Dottie Ely, and President Oliver Smith with

Bob and Dottie’s award for attending the 1980-1981

RI Convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Rotary Club of West Knoxville 3

Joe Jarrett, The Law and Lore of Snake Handling in East Tennessee

Ed Campbell introduced our speaker, Joe

Jarret, an attorney and mediator and

former Law Director for Knox County.

Mr. Jarrett spoke to the club about the

history and legal issues related to snake

handling, He noted that this is a difficult

issue because there is a conflict between

religious freedom and the government’s

need to protect people .

Snake handling began in the early 20th

century as part of the Holiness Movement.

It is rooted in Mark 16: 17-18:

And these signs shall follow them that believe: . . . They

shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly

thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the

sick, and they shall recover

People who handle snakes typically use copperheads,

cottonmouths, or timber rattlers. The practice is most

common in the 20 state Appalachian region.

George Went Hensley, a minister with the Church of God in

Grasshopper Valley, TN, was one of the first snake handlers.

He saw a rattlesnake while he was walking in the woods,

picked it up, and brought it to his church.

In 1947, five people died while handling snakes at a service

in Tennessee. As a result, the Tennessee legislature passed a

law prohibiting snake handling if it endangered the life of

any person. A few months later, ten people were arrested

for handling snakes in a church in East Tennessee. They

appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court,

which upheld that law.

For the next 30 years, people kept handling

snakes, but there were few prosecutions. In

1975, in the case of Swann v. Pack, the

Tennessee Supreme Court was asked to

decide if the state can ban snake handling if

it is a religious practice. The Court side-

stepped the issue by ruling that the state

could ban snake handling because it

endangers children at the service. They

ruled that snake handling is a public

nuisance and that the state has the right to

protect people and to require them to protect themselves.

Other states have also wrestled with what to do about

snake handling. Until recently, for example, if someone died

from handling snakes during a church service in Georgia, the

pastor could be sentenced to death. Kentucky also has a law

saying people can’t handle snakes in church, and this law

has been upheld by the state Supreme Court. West Virginia

has the highest number of deaths from snake handing, but

the legislature there has never banned the practice.

Mr. Jarrett closed by noting that at least 100 people have

died from handling snakes, and the number is probably

higher because many churches won’t report such deaths.

Dedicated people believe in handling snakes, and most

prosecutors won’t touch these cases. Religion, law, govern-

ment, and society are in turmoil about this issue, and there

is no agreement.

Jim Pugh announced the winner of the Club’s annual Ely-

Pickle Scholarship Award. He first thanked Bob and

Dottie Ely and Art Pickle for funding the scholarship. He

said there were a number of good candidates this year.

The committee looks for students who are active in the

community, demonstrate leadership, and make a

difference. They also look for students for whom the

scholarship will make a difference as well.

Jim then presented this year’s Ely-Pickle Scholarship

Award to Sidney Kesler, a senior at West High School.

Sidney is Captain of the volleyball team and very

involved in her church. She worked 25-30 hours each

week while going to school and was manager of a team

of employees at Chick-fil-A.

Sidney thanked the Club for the scholarship. She said she

will attend the University of Memphis next year. She

plans to major in special needs education and then work

with inner-city special needs students. As a result, she

said, the scholarship will not only help her, it will help other

people in the future as well.

Dottie Ely, Bob Ely, Sidney Kesler, and Art Pickle.

Sidney received this year’s Ely-Pickle Scholarship.

Rotary Club of West Knoxville 4

ABC’s of Rotary

“The Rotary-CDC Partnership” is a new video showing how

Rotary and the Centers for Disease Control have worked

together to eradicate polio from the earth.

You can watch the video here or by clicking on the image

below. You can watch more videos from Rotary

International here.

Volunteers are needed for the Rockytop

BBQ Cook-Off,

Friday and Saturday,

May 30-31.

To volunteer, contact

Tommy Wolf.

For more information, click here.

President Oliver Smith announced that there was a great

article about Pond Gap School in the Bearden Shopper

News. (You can read the article here.)

Gary Ricciardi announced that David Alley, President Oliver

Smith, and President Oliver’s wife Sarah were pictured

recently in the Karns/Hardin Valley Shopper News. The

photo was taken at the Episcopal School’s 10th annual gala.

You can view the photo here (click through to page 11).

Helen Harb announced that the Sponsorship Committee has

raised $51,300 in sponsorships for the BBQ. Sponsors include

Regal Cinemas, Pilot, Bush Beans, and Wells Fargo.

Tommy Wolf announced that we need volunteers for the

BBQ early Friday morning and on Saturday. Nine members

of the Rotaract Club have volunteered to help Saturday. We

have 100 volunteers signed up. If you have not signed up or

if you can change your time, contact Tommy.

Scott Boling asked members to patronize the venders while

you’re at the BBQ. Each vendor has paid $250 to participate.

If they make over $1,000, they will give part to the Club.

President Oliver Smith thanked Tom Daughtrey for doing a

wonderful job coordinating the BBQ. He said that this was

the last time we would hold the event at ESK. They have let

us use the campus for two years without cost. The Board is

hoping to hold the BBQ in Bearden next year. We would

also like to do a volunteer program with ESK to thank them

for their help.

Lucy Gibson announced that our request for a District Grant

has been approved. The money will support digging a well

and building latrines at the Excel Academy in South Sudan.

Lucy thanked Anita Henderlight for her help with the grant.

The District commented that it was very well-written, and

they included it in their PowerPoint presentation at the

District Assembly.

President Oliver Smith closed the meeting with a quote

from Henry James:

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those

have always been the two most beautiful words in the

English language.

David Alley, Sarah Smith, and President Oliver Smith

at the ESK 10th annual gala (photo from the Karns/

Hardin Valley Shopper News, 5/19/14, p. 11).

Anita Henderlight and Lucy Gibson. Anita and Lucy

wrote a successful proposal for a District grant to

help the Excel Academy in South Sudan.

Club Business and Announcements (continued)

Rotary Club of West Knoxville 5

ROCKYTOP hummin’ & strummin’

BBQ COOK-OFF

May 30th – Friday 8:00 am KCBS Registration begins 8:30 am Meat Inspections begins 4:00 pm Cooks Meeting in Judging Area 4:45 pm Sign-in begins for Celebrity Judges 6:00 pm General Admission Opening 6:00 pm Bush Bean Category Turn-in 6:30 pm Wampler Sausage Category Turn-in 7:00 pm Dessert Category Turn-in 8:00-9:30 pm Diva and the Black Tie Affair 8:30pm Ticketing Closes 10:00 pm General Admission Closing

May 31st – Saturday 7:00 am-8:00am Team Breakfast in Judges Area 9:00 am Judges Check-In Begins 10:30 am Judges Meeting in the Judges Area 12:00 noon General Admission Opening 8:00pm Ticketing Closes 9:00 pm General Admission Closing

Judging Schedule 11:55 pm-12:05 pm Chicken 12:25 pm-12:35 pm Pork Ribs 12:55 pm-1:05 pm Pulled Pork 1:25 pm-1:35 pm Brisket 2:00 pm-4:00 pm People’s Choice (limited to 200 tickets) 4:30 pm Awards Ceremony

Band Schedule 12:00 pm-1:00 pm Public Apology 1:30 pm-2:30 pm Subtle Clutch 3:00 pm-4:00 pm The Early Morning String Dusters 5:30 pm-6:50 pm Sparkle Motion w/Roger Alan Wade 7:10 pm-8:40 pm Second Opinion

Eating Contest Schedule 1:00 pm Hooters Wing Eating Contest 2:30 pm It’s So Yummy - Ice Cream Eating Contest

Other Events Schedule 12:00 pm-3:00 pm Classic Car Show 12:00 pm-6:00 pm Children’s Play (Face painting, children’s games, etc.)