News
May 15th Meeting
President Mac Williams presided over the meeting. Pete Beck gave the invocation and led the club in the pledge of allegiance to our flag.
Guests and Visiting Rotarians
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Gayle Moore visited again from the Randolph Rotary Club. She is always welcome.
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Major Monty Holland attended as an associate of Sheriff Terry Holland, our guest speaker.
Announcements and Happy Clams
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Kathy Hackshaw announced the Me & My Life Makeover Event to held on Saturday at Tanger Outlets in Mebane from Noon until 5 pm.
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John Beshel informed the club that his brother, Tim, will give a chiropractic clinic. Call John's office for details.
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Debbie Porch mentioned that Alzheimer's Association will be conducting its annual Memory Walk the last Saturday in September. The Kick Off Breakfast is Thursday, May 31st at Twin Lakes and tickets are $10.
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Micah Fox, the Membership Committee Chair, announced that a new member orientation will take place next Tuesday at 11 am immediately prior to the regular meeting.
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Mac reminded club members that we all should be giving $100 each year to the Rotary Foundation to help our club attain Sustaining status. Click on the "Contribute" link on the left to log in and make a credit card donation. You will need your Rotary ID number, which is available in the directory. If you are confused about how to take care of this, contact crhode@gmail.com. DONATIONS ARE DUE BY JUNE 30 in order to be credited to Mac's tenure. Mac also mentioned that the club will assist its members attain Paul Harris Fellowship status. For details, contact Mac.
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All members should look for two recent quarterly invoices. If you are not getting invoices, contact Brad Moser at bmoser@gcmllp.com ASAP. Please keep your email up to date with Carolyn or Pete Beck or Brad Moser.
Program:
Sheriff Terry Johnson
Steve Carter had the
program this week. Steve is happily married to his wife Judy. Their 42nd
anniversary is on the horizon. they have two children, a son with the
sheriff's department and a daughter who resides in South Carolina. The
Carters have three lovely grandchildren. Steve spent forty years
in banking and now devotes his time to consulting and political
activism, having leadership responsibilities in the Tea Party and
Republican Party.
Sheriff Terry Johnson is an Alamance Country native. He has been married to his wife, Pat, for over forty years. They have a son, who serves with ATF and formerly with the Secret Service, and a daughter, who is a paralegal. He attended East Carolina University, worked for the SBI for thirty years and has been sheriff for ten.
Sheriff Johnson reported on the problems we face in Alamance Country with drug trafficking. We have been identified by the DEA as the drug hub of the Southeastern United States. This notoriety can be attributed to three main factors:
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Years ago our law enforcement agencies were not keeping up with developments.
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We are located where multiple interstate highways intersect.
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We have been an agricultural and textile community which has attracted numerous immigrant workers. Drug traffickers associated with Central and South American cartels can easily blend in with the existing Hispanic community.
According to Sheriff Johnson, several cartels have operations in our county, including the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel, which according to our national intelligence agency is "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." These drug traffickers are highly organized, have more equipment and firepower than our law enforcement agencies, and actually do surveillance on our agencies. They know every officer and every license plate of our unmarked cars, as well as when shifts change and when we are heavy or short of staff.
Alamance County has seen a surge in marijuana, cocaine, and heroin distribution and sales. Sheriff Johnson detailed several seizures that netted large amounts of drugs and cash. These stings are usually the result of joint operations with other law enforcement groups from around the country. The money seized is shared by the DEA and any other cooperating agencies to assist in the purchase of equipment, education, etc. according to stipulated rules. The Sheriff said gangs are part of the problem and commit crimes on behalf of the cartels. Cartels are using minors more and more, knowing that punishment for them is less severe. Often illegal immigrants who are captured escape to Mexico after posting bail.
Card Pool
Pete Sargent was not present; therefore, we had no card pool
President Mac concluded the meeting by leading us in a recitation of the Four Way Test.
Club Related Dates
District and Club Business
2nd Tuesday of Each Month - For officers and committee chairs, 11am until Noon.
Club Assembly - Tuesday, May 29th
Joint Meeting with other clubs - Tuesday, June 5th
Installation of New Officers and Board - Tuesday, June 26th
No Regular Meeting on Tuesday, July 3rd.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
| May | Birthdays | May | Wedding Anniversaries |
| 4 | Philip Smith | 3 |
Brad and Mel Moser Micah and Kari Fox |
| 20 |
Pete Sargent Dawn Daniel |
22 | John and Emily Elder |
| 27 | David Moore | 26 | Mike and Barbara Dunning |
| 28 | Dawn and Tom Daniel |
Upcoming Programs
| May | Program Responsibilities | June | Program Responsibilities | July | Program Responsibilities |
| 1 |
John Beshel: Officer Jack Boyle, DARE Program |
5 |
Rotary Peace Scholar Presentation: Joint Meeting with Other Clubs and Local Bar Association |
3 | NO MEETING |
| 8 |
Penn Corbett: Speaker Cancelled and Tom Manning gave a report on behalf of the county commissioners. |
12 | Pam Duffy | 10 | Dawn Daniel |
| 15 |
Steve Carter: Sheriff Terry Johnson: Drug Trafficking Taskforce Report |
19 |
Brian Dement: Courtney Pierce from CrossRoads |
17 |
Katie Dukeshire: The City-County Gang Taskforce |
| 22 | Lloyd Carter: Craig Honeycutt, Alamance County Manager will talk about the budget. |
26 | Installation of New Officers and Board | 24 | Mike Dunning |
| 29 | Club Assembly | 31 | Club Assembly |
| Aug | Program Responsibilities | Sep | Program Responsibilities | Oct | Program Responsibilities |
| 7 | Taylor Durham | 4 | Bernard Graybeal | 2 | Waiting to see when the District Governor will visit. |
| 14 |
Trip Durham: Doug Rhoads, Football Officials, Coordinator, Atlantic Coast Conference |
11 | Julian Griffin | 9 | |
| 21 | John Elder | 18 | Kathy Hackshaw | 16 | |
| 28 | Micah Fox | 25 | James Honeycutt | 23 | |
| 30 | Club Assembly |