Program Highlights from 7/25/11 By: Steve Spry

If you are going to say something negative regarding the Dothan City Schools then you’d better be prepared to back your allegations up with hard facts. The new superintendent wants to know only specifics regarding incidents, records, teachers and programs that are failing to educate the children in the District not unsubstantiated rumors or innuendo. That is the gist of the message that today’s guest speaker, Mr. Tim Wilder presented. Mr. Wilder is the newly appointed Superintendent of the Dothan City School System and he has a mission to not only make the city public schools the best in the state, but to instill a sense of pride in all its students and the public in general as well.

He challenged the Club to name another country beyond the U. S. borders that provided education unconditionally to all its citizens. He stated that the public school system is mandated by the “No Child Left Behind Act” to accept all students regardless of background, behavior, learning abilities and physical constraints; and he warned that gearing school children up for state-mandated education attainment evaluation testing can be a trying time for students and teachers alike. Concentration in the classrooms should be upon education rather than a focus upon meeting the state bar is the concept that I heard from Mr. Wilder while scribbling my notes.

Mr. Wilder comes to the area from the Gulf County, Florida School District, where he served for seven years as the youngest superintendent of that District but has a history here locally. He attended Wallace College 1987-1989, received his Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and his Masters of Education from Florida State University (FSU). He is currently working toward his Doctorate in Education from FSU. While he was superintendent of schools in Gulf County, the District received acknowledgement for having the lowest drop out rate as well as the highest graduation rate in the entire state.

Mr. Wilder’s goals for Dothan are to improve the overall graduation rate, decrease the drop out rate, and managing a budget challenged by Federal and State cutbacks. He also noted that while discipline is an important part of the education environment, in order to establish and maintain a healthy environment for all children, those being disciplined ought to not be sent back to their classrooms with an angry disposition. He suggested that after disciplining a child it is the responsibility of the principal of the school to ensure that the child leave his/her office in a good mood. Otherwise the child will return to class, be disruptive, and returned for discipline over and over again. The principal’s task will be to prevent this perpetual progression of negative events in the school by positive reinforcement along with any discipline imposed on a child.

Tim Wilder’s catch word regarding his management style and education motivational philosophy is “PUSH”. He surrounds himself with talented employees and “pushes” them to achieve better results while “pushing” students along the narrow line that leads to graduation through their educational accomplishments.

	Dothan Rotary Club Officers and Directors By: Hal Edwards

Names of Elected Officers and Directors for the 2012-2013 Year

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	Upcoming Events

08/01/2011 - Upcoming Event
Program:Paul Lee will introduce Mike Hubbard,
Alabama House Majority Leader
Invocation:Lamar Miller
Introductions:Doug Hancock
Ambassadors:Terry Duffie and Jansen Tidmore
Camp ASCCA Drawing:John Gormley and Pat Costello

08/08/2011 - Upcoming Event
Program:Roger Peterson will introduce Sam Crawford who will speak on the "Neighborhood Restoration Corporation"
Invocation:Joe Miller
Introductions:Jed Downs
Ambassadors:Susan Esslinger and Ken Long
Camp ASCCA Drawing:Joe Sette and Andy Gosselin

08/15/2011 - Upcoming Event
Invocation:Cecil Milner
Introductions:Andy Gosselin
Ambassadors:Donna Valeska and Amy Vinson
Camp ASCCA Drawing:Jed Downs and Robin Trimm

08/22/2011 - Upcoming Event
Program:Steve Thompson
Invocation:Arthur Moore
Introductions:Joe Sette
Ambassadors:Robin Trimm and Butch Binford
Camp ASCCA Drawing:Amy Vinson and Donna Valeska

	ROTARY MEMBERSHIP By: Walter Hill

In order to both sustain and grow the Dothan Rotary Club we are going to have to recruit new members throughout the year. It takes all of our members bringing guests to get people interested in the Dothan Rotary Club. Our main membership goal is to end the Rotary year with 180 members. That means we have to recruit and induct nine more new members than we lose to resignations.
There is no way of knowing at this time how many members of our club will resign this year. Therefore, we must be proactive and not wait until the spring to learn we need 20 or more new members to end up at 180. Please invite a friend, family member or co-worker to come with you to a meeting. That is the obvious first step. And you might have to bring three or four guests before one of them becomes interested in joining.
We also need to think of all the businesses in Dothan that do not have a member in the Dothan Rotary Club. Look around at the area companies that you do business with and see if you can find prospects that way. If every current member would bring one prospective new member to a meeting and only 10% of them ended up joining that would be 17 new members. However, do not wait for others to do this. Bring a guest soon and set the example.
We can grow the Dothan Rotary Club if we all work together. Let's get busy and start bringing a lot more guests to the Monday meetings. That is our first step. In the weeks ahead I will be sharing more about some upcoming special promotional efforts we will participate in. The club needs YOU to help us grow.
Thanks, Walter

	End Polio Now By: Mike Azar

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	Camp ASCCA, Alabama By: Willis Smitherman

Camp ASCCA is Alabama's Special Camp for Children and Adults. ASCCA is a nationally recognized leader in therapeutic recreation for children and adults with both physical and mental disabilities. Providing weekend and week long sessions, Camp ASCCA is open year-round.

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	Anniversary List

Aug-02...Jack Cook, Donna Valeska
Aug-05...Danny Sharp, Mike West
Aug-06...Mark Culver, Jim Whaley
Aug-08...Bruce McNeal
Aug-09...Walter Hill, Ed McDaniel, Olivia McDaniel
Aug-11...Archie Solomon
Aug-13...Mark Chambers
Aug-14...Doug Hancock
Aug-15...Jason Rudd
Aug-19...Tellis Copeland
Aug-20...Alfred Saliba
Aug-23...Margaret Futch
Aug-28...Robin Trimm, Hank Vaughn

	Birthday List

Aug-02...Jimmy Barkley
Aug-05...Roger Burchett, Donna Valeska
Aug-18...Bill Durden
Aug-20...Jeff Collins, A. Lamar Miller
Aug-21...Joe Miller, Leila Smith
Aug-22...Steve Thompson
Aug-23...Robin Trimm
Aug-24...Bobby Boone
Aug-30...Gloria Daughtry
Aug-31...Thomas Horton