July 14, 2009    view this week's photos    
 

Kathy Ridge
Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education
By Cecily Durrett
 
                        
Kathy Ridge was an executive vice president for retail banking operations in the Carolinas for First Union/Wachovia when she decided to pursue her passion for non-profit work. After stints at Community School of the Arts and Teach for America she found her current calling. In 2008, four local education groups were consolidated to form Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education - known as Meck Ed - and Kathy was named executive director.
 
The goal of Meck Ed is to make public education priority number one for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Kathy calls her organization the "civic commission" that links the public and private sectors to non-partisan leadership in the community, such as the Rotary Club of Charlotte, to improve education for all children, regardless of race or economic situation.
 
There are four key points used to make the case for Meck Ed:

  1. Our country is losing its competitive edge. The United States ranks 24th out of 30 industrialized countries in science education … just above Mexico and the Slavic Republic.
  2. Mecklenburg County is slipping behind other urban areas of the state, in large measure because poverty rates continue to outstrip the resources available to combat its effects.
  3. The budget woes at both the state and local level threaten to sabotage the good work being done by Dr. Peter Gorman and his team.
  4. On a positive note, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is poised to become a national model for success, with many in the educational field watching with great anticipation to see the results of many programs already underway.
Kathy shared some keys statistics. For example, the disparity between rich and poor in the United States and in Mecklenburg County continues to broaden. In the United States, there is typically a two-grade level difference between the academic performances of black and white students in the fourth grade.
  
In 1995, the United States was tied for first place for the numbers of graduates going to college. However, today we rank 14th because other countries continue to improve while we maintain the status quo.
  
The "achievement gap" is greatest in high-poverty schools, where more than 50 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Called "focus schools", there were 35 in the CMS system this past school year. There are expected to be 56 next year that have more than 75 percent of the student body in the reduced lunch program.
 
Kathy says there is still time for CMS, and that her organization is raising a target amount of $4 million to allow for the hiring of new principals in 14 focus schools over the next three years. She says Dr. Gorman is considered the "rock star" of his profession nationally, and that we all "need to be the change" that allows every child to have the opportunity for a great education.
 
   
Head Table: Art Ringwald, Ed Wadsworth, John Snyder, Thomas Moore, Russell Ranson, David Auger;
Invocation: David Norman;
Visitors & Guests: Ed Wadsworth; Health & Happiness: Harriman Jett; Song: Gregg Walker; Piano: Thomas Moore; Photos: Bert Voswinkel
   

• Terri DeBoo will join Leadership Charlotte, Class of XXXI; 2009-2010 Roster's will be available for pick up at the check-in desk over the next couple weeks. Thanks to Bill Loftin, Loftin & Company; David Erdman has put together a virtual walking tour of historical photographs of Charlotte. Over 400 pictures cover block-by-block, address-by-address, of the hotels and shops which dominated Trade and Tryon Streets from the turn of the century; Chip Scholz is Senior Editor and Co-Author of Selling for Geniuses, a book written by a group of consultants, speakers and coaches that have built successful practices using the concepts they write about. Copies can be ordered through www.selling-for-geniuses.com.
           
• Volunteer Opportunity: Nexus Ministries (Forest Hills Church) and several other organizations including the South Park Breakfast Rotary Club and the Lion's Club are working together to organize and host a health & career fair for Charlotte's homeless on July 25th. The goal is to provide as many health care related services as possible while the less fortunate are gathered in one area which is at Nexus Ministries (corner of College and 8th Street). Some of the services provided will be eye testing, job training/interviewing skills training, blood screening/cholesterol testing; audiology testing, dental care and a mini barber shop. Other creative services are needed. For additional information on how you can help, contact Thomas Mussoni, 704-348-7060 or tmussoni1@carolina.rr.com.
   
• If you are signed up for the July 23 tour of the NC Research Center and are interested in carpooling, contact Alan Barnhardt, 2gohiking@earthlink.net. Someone asked if shorts were appropriate to wear on the tour and the answer is NO. Business attire is in order, as it is at all meetings of Charlotte Rotary.
   
• Alan Adler gave an update on the October 5th Rotary Scholarship Golf Classic to be held at Cedarwood Country Club. This is the first time at this point that the tournament has not been sold out. Sponsorships are coming along and golfers are needed! Alan also needs items for the goody bags and auction. Registration forms can be found on the lunch tables each week or the here on the website.
 
Mark W. Erwin
Erwin Capital (Financial Services, Investment)
mark@erwincapital.com    704-335-9579
                 
 
Mark Erwin is President of Erwin Capital, Inc., a family-owned investment company located in Charlotte. During the Clinton Administration Erwin served on the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and was United States Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of the Seychelles and the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros from 1999 to 2001. Over the years, Ambassador Erwin has been active in civic affairs and has served on the boards of over thirty-five civic, charitable, and educational organizations. Erwin was an Adjunct Professor at the Business School of Winthrop University for several years and has guest lectured at many schools and universities. He received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Winthrop in 1994. The State of South Carolina's legislature recognized Erwin for outstanding service to the state and in 2000 Erwin received the "Order of the Long Leaf Pine" from the Governor of North Carolina. He and his wife, Joan, maintain a residence in Charlotte. They have two daughters and two granddaughters.
 
   
Attendance Record Wedding Anniversaries Birthdays & Birthplaces
  07/14/09 07/15/08
visitors & guests 9 13
club members 166 163
total attendance 175 176
  22 Sandra and Ronnie Bryant
24 Laurie and Dale Gillmore
26 Sharon and Richard Bullard
26 Debbie and Bruce Darden		   21 Bob Brietz, Charlotte, NC
21 John Phillips, Charlotte, NC
25 Tom Hutchins, Brooklyn, NY
26 Bill Nichols, Norfolk, VA
27 Jim Adams, Salisbury, NC
27 Sadler Barnhardt, Charlotte, NC
27 Charlie Briley, Greenville, NC
27 Matt Ryan, Fairfax, VA
Visitors on 07/14/09:  n/a
- - - -
New Members:  n/a
Resignations:  n/a
Roaming Rotarians:   n/a
     
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Rotary Club of Charlotte -- 841 Baxter Street -- Suite 118 -- Charlotte 28202