Our Father's God, to thee,
Author of liberty,
            To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might
            Great God, our king.

     After a prayer by Myra Johnston, there was a moment of silence in remembrance of those killed, their friends and families and in support of a nation trying to cope with the unimaginable. Thomas Moore led a somber singing of "America, the Beautiful" followed by the beautiful last verse of "America" quoted above.
     Assistant City Manager Ron Kimble, a new member, provided Club members with an update of the city and county's preparedness if similar acts of terror were to be perpetrated in our community, particularly in conjunction with the day's calamitous national events.
     "Nothing indicates Charlotte is targeted," Ron said, "but we are being overly cautious. We are prepared." He noted that the city's Emergency Operation Center in the Mecklenburg Medic headquarters at 425 Statesville Ave. was activated.
     Interestingly, the community's Terrorism Readiness team, composed of some ninety key individuals, was on duty today for a training exercise. "Its agenda was changed to today's events," Ron said. "They are deployed throughout the city to protect potential targets."
     He summarized some of the measures being taken to heighten the community's readiness to deal with any situation. "We're taking it hour by hour. We will be on alert for at least the next couple of days, then we will reassess the situation."
     He encouraged those with questions to call the city Customer Service Center at 704-336-7600 and to support the relief efforts of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other non-profit agencies.
     In an open session, Alan Barnhardt urged everyone to remember not to paint the Arab-American and Moslem communities with the broad brush of anger and distrust for the actions of an as-yet unknown few.
     Marilynn Bowler introduced the scheduled speaker Matthews mayor and local attorney Lee Myers who was to have spoken on the topic "Have You Hugged Your Elected Official Lately." He will be asked to come back and present that topic in the future.
     The mayor did second Ron's comments about the community's preparedness and the high level of cooperation not only between the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County but also between and among all of the smaller cities in the county including his own town of Matthews.
     Other members of the head table included Carol Jordan, Phil Van Hoy, John Shell and Rich Campbell.

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New Member

JOHN FIELD SNYDER

Joined 1990
Rejoined 2001

Wachovia Leasing Corporation
400 S. Tryon Street (28202)
704-378-5155
FAX 704-378-5146
e-mail: john.snyder@wachovia.com

     John Snyder is a vice president and lease product specialist for Wachovia Leasing Corp. John is responsible for all aircraft and equipment leasing in the metro-Charlotte region, concentrating on direct single-investor transactions in both the commercial and public sectors. Before joining Wachovia's Capital Markets group, John worked for ATEL Capital Group and GE Capital Corp. providing similar leasing services.
     John has lived in Charlotte since 1987 and has been very involved in the community. He is a Paul Harris Fellow and past president of Dilworth Rotary.'He serves on the board of the British American Business Council, and has enjoyed coaching Y basketball and youth baseball. He is an Eagle Scout and a committed volunteer to the Boy Scouts of America. John also is a member of the Charlotte Business Roundtable, and he served* on the Board of the Cystic Fibrosis Pro-Am Tennis Fundraiser from 1996 to 2000.
     A native of Thomasville, N.C., John is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Industrial Relations. He is married to Mary Beth (14 years) and has three boys: Field (12), Patrick (10), and Ward (5). He plays competitive tennis and maintains a 5.0 USTA rating. John has attended Myers Park United Methodist Church since 1987.
     Welcome to Charlotte Rotary, John.

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POWELL'S
OBSERVATIONS

POWELL  MAJORS

     E. K. Fretwell and wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary August 25, 2001.
     Alan Barnhardt reports that Dave Burner, CEO of Goodrich, was trained as an eagle handler in one afternoon and released a rehabilitated eagle into the wild last week.
     Eric Smith in a letter to the editor of "The Observer" points out that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools are taking the lead in teaching math.

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