Dist. Directory

www.rotarydistrict6800.org

Table of Contents

Mission Statement, History ............................................. 3

Avenues of Service ......................................................... 6

Paul P. Harris, The Founder of Rotary ............................. 7

Rotary International President John F. Germ................... 9

District Governor Tom Wilson ........................................ 11

District Governor-Elect .................................................. 12

District Governor-Nominee ............................................ 13

District Govenor-Nominee Designates ................... 14-15

Assistant District Governors ......................................... 17

District Organization ...................................................... 24

District Board of Directors ............................................. 27

District Team Leaders ................................................... 28

District Rotary Foundation Team ................................... 29

Teams ........................................................................... 30

Meeting Locations ......................................................... 32

Club Presidents and Secretaries ................................... 36

Past Governors ............................................................. 45

Clubs ............................................................................. 47

Mission StatementRotary District 6800

The mission of District 6800 is to assist, advise and sup-

port Rotarians and their clubs in their efforts to meet the

requirements and challenges in the four areas of service

and to accomplish the objectives set by Rotary Interna-

tional and The Rotary Foundation. As we expand our indi-

vidual and collective generosities and Service Above Self,

we seek . . .

. . . to recruit more Rotarians

. . . to support feeder programs, especially those

that are oriented towards youth and young

professionals, such as Interact, Rotaract,

RYLA, as well as persons with leadership

potential

. . . to expand Rotary by stressing more commu-

nity and international Rotary activity by

Rotarians; and

. . . to foster activities that enhance the quality of

life and human dignity in our communities.

District 6800 embraces high ethical standards and strives

to create peace and understanding among all people. The

district especially recognizes the responsibility of Rotary in

the larger world community and will support and nurture

the expansion and enlargement of Rotary and its programs

throughout the world.

District 68002016-2017 Directory

Tom Wilson, District Governor

Teresa and Tom Wilson withRI President John F. Germ and wife, Judy

Rotary Serving Humanity

Avenues of Service

For years, Rotary’s commitment to Service Above Self

has been channeled through the Avenues of Service, which

form the foundation of club activity. To get started on a

project, think broadly about how your club and its mem-

bers could contribute within each avenue.

Club Service: Club service focuses on strengthening

fellowship and ensuring the smooth functioning of Rotary

clubs.

Vocational Service: Vocational Service involves club

members serving others through their professions and as-

piring to high ethical standards. Rotarians, as business

leaders, share skills and expertise through their vocations,

and they inspire others in the process.

Community Service: Community Service is the op-

portunity Rotary clubs have to implement club projects and

activities that improve life in the local community.

International Service: International Service encom-

passes efforts to expand Rotary’s humanitarian reach

around the world and to promote world understanding and

peace. It includes everything from contributing to PolioPlus

to helping Rotary Youth Exchange students adjust to their

host countries.

Youth Services: Youth Service recognizes the posi-

tive change implemented by youth and young adults through

leadership development activities such as RYLA, Rotaract

and Interact club service projects, and creating interna-

tional understanding with Rotary Youth Exchange.

Paul P. HarrisThe Founder of Rotary

Paul P. Harris (1868-1947) was the founder ofRotary, the world’s first and most internationalservice club. He was born in Racine, Wisconsin,on April 19, 1868. Paul married Jean ThomsonHarris (1881-1963). They had no children. Hereceived the bachelor of physical culture and LL.Bdegrees from the University of Vermont and theLL.D degree from the University of Iowa. He was

awarded an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Vermont in 1933.Paul worked as a newspaper reporter, a business teacher,

stock company actor, and a cowboy. In 1896, he went to Chi-cago to practice law. In 1900 during an after-dinner stroll with aprofessional friend in a residential Chicago neighborhood, Paulwas impressed by the fact that his friend stopped at severalstores and shops in the neighborhood and introduced him tovarious tradesmen in their stores. This reminded Paul of hisNew England village and it occurred to him: “Why not have afellowship composed of businessmen from different occupa-tions, without restriction of politics or religion?” He resolved toorganize a club that would band together a group of representa-tive business and professional men in friendship and fellow-ship.

In February 1905, Paul Harris formed the first club withthree of his law clients - Silvester Schiele, a coal merchant,Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer, and Hiram Shorey, a mer-chant tailor. Because the group’s meeting locations rotatedfrom one member’s place of business to the next, Harris chris-tened his new club “Rotary.”

The second Rotary club was founded in San Francisco in1908. In August 1910, when there were 16 clubs, the NationalAssociation of Rotary Clubs was organized. By 1921, the orga-nization was represented on every continent, and in 1922, theyadopted the name Rotary International.

Paul Harris’ dream, the Rotary Club, has continued to growand expand over the years. The burgeoning movement in Asia,and the over 220 clubs in Eastern Europe, are extending PaulHarris’s ideals of friendship, community service, education, andpeace across the world.

100 Years of Doing Goodin the World

Arch Klumph’s idea for an endowment funddedicated to “doing good in the world” planted theseed of The Rotary Foundation in 1917. Thanksto his vision and staunch advocacy, and the ex-traordinary generosity of Rotary members world-wide, that fund has become one of the world’sleading humanitarian foundations.

John F. Germ2016-2017 PresidentRotary International

Chattanooga, Tennessee

John F. Germ is board chair and chief executive officer ofCampbell and Associates Inc., consulting engineers. He joinedthe firm as an engineer in 1965 after four years in the U.S. AirForce. He serves on the boards of several organizations, includingthe board and executive committee of the Public EducationFoundation, Orange Grove Center Inc., and as board chair of BloodAssurance Inc. He also is founder and treasurer of theChattanooga State Technical Community College Foundation andpresident of the Tennessee Jaycee Foundation.

He was Tennessee Young Man of the Year in 1970; Engineerof the Year, 1986; Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year, 1992; andTennessee Community Organizations Volunteer of the Year, 2009.He is a recipient of the Boy Scouts Silver Beaver Award and theArthritis Foundation Circle of Hope Award. In 2013, the WhiteHouse recognized him as a Champion of Change.

Germ joined Rotary in 1976 and has served Rotary as vicepresident, director, Foundation trustee and vice chair, aide to theFoundation trustee chair, chair of Rotary’s US$200 MillionChallenge, RI Board Executive Committee member, RI president’saide, Council on Legislation representative and chair, membershipzone coordinator, chair of numerous committees, areacoordinator, RI training leader, and district governor.

Germ has received RI’s Service Above Self Award and TheRotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service andDistinguished Service Award. He and his wife, Judy, areBenefactors and members of the Arch Klumph Society of TheRotary Foundation. They have four children and six grandchildren.

District GovernorTom Wilson

andTeresa Wilson

2016-2017

Tom Wilson is a native New Yorker who moved to Memphis

in 1978. He is a graduate of Marist College and Adelphi

University.

He has had his own company which imports forest products

and provides international business development consulting

service worldwide for more than 30 years. Tom served as

director and later as president of The International Wood

Products Association (IWPA). He has been recognized

by IWPA for outstanding service to the industry a number

of times, including a distinguished service award.

Additionally, Tom is a managing partner in a specialty

human resources consulting company.

Tom has served on a number of not-for profit boards in the

Memphis area. Tom first joined Rotary in 1996, joining the

Rotary Club of Memphis where he served on the

international committee. He transferred his membership

to the Rotary Club of Memphis East in 2002, where he has

served on a number of committees and as a director on

both the club and Foundation board of directors, and as

club president in 2010-2011. He served on the district’s

Group Study Exchange (GSE) committee, including

chairing it for five years as an assistant governor and now

as District Governor. Tom is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow.

Tom and his wife, Teresa, live in Germantown, Tennessee.

They have five children and seven grandchildren.

District Governor ElectBethany Huffman

2017-2018

A Certified Public Accountant since 1992, Bethany opened her ownaccounting firm in Millington, TN in 2003, after serving as Chief FinancialOfficer at major corporations for several years, as well as working nine yearsat Deloitte & Touche, one of the top four international accounting firms. Herprofessional life has led her on assignments in Thailand, Mexico and EasternEurope. Bethany received a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude in businessadministration from the University of Memphis.

Bethany was a charter member of the Millington/North-Shelby RotaryClub and served as its president in 2008-09. The club was named BestStandard Sized Club in District 6800 under her leadership. She served asDistrict 6800 Membership Development Chair in 2010-2011 and as District6800 Treasurer from the 2012-2016. She has also served as Treasurer ofOle Man River Multi-District PETS for the past three years and as sponsorshipchair in 2016. A graduate of Rotary Leadership Institute, Bethany is also asustaining Paul Harris Fellow and Paul Harris Society Member. A Rotariansince 2004, she is honored to be selected as District Governor Elect toserve District 6800 in 2017-2018.

In addition to her Rotary service, Bethany’s leadership efforts includecurrently serving as a board member and chair of the Audit Committee atPatriot Bank, as an elected Alderman in the City of Millington and chairmanof Leadership Millington Steering Committee. She served as committeechairman for Young Life, North Shelby-South Tipton, and was recentlyappointed to serve on the board of the United Methodist Foundation for theMemphis and Tennessee Conferences. Bethany also serves on the advisoryboard of the Turner Center for Clergy and Lay Leadership Development inNashville.

She is a past chairman of the American Red Cross Mid-South Chapter,past president of the Millington Area Chamber of Commerce, past presidentof the Memphis Chapter of Financial Executives International, and the 71st

president of the Tennessee Junior Chamber (Jaycees). She has also servedthe Jaycees as National Treasurer and as a National Vice President.

A life-long resident of Millington, Bethany is an avid sports fan enjoyingcollege sports, especially University of Memphis football and basketballgames. She also enjoys traveling, crocheting, needlepoint and good wineas a life member of the Rotary Wine Fellowship.

District GovernorNominee

F. Gray Carter2018-2019

A graduate of NC State University with a BS in chemical engi-

neering and a BS in pulp and paper science and technology, Gray

spent 29 years with Buckeye Technologies, retiring in 2013. He

has been a Rotarian since 1985, having served four terms as presi-

dent of the Rotary Club in Perry, Florida. He served District 6940

as District Conference Secretary ‘93, Assistant District Governor

‘92-93 and was named District 6940 Rotarian of the Year ‘92-93.

Following his move to Memphis, he became a member of the Mem-

phis Club where he served on both the club and foundation boards

and served as club secretary in 2014-15. He is a Paul Harris

Fellow.

District GovernorNominee Designate

Gary Adams2019-2020

Gary, a native of Jackson, Mississippi, is the foundingPastor of BridgeWay Baptist Church, in Mt. Pleasant,Mississippi where he continues to serve as Pastor. Gary is amember of the executive committee of The MS BaptistConvention Board, and is also the chairman of the ChurchPlanting Committee of the Mississippi Baptist ConventionBoard, president of the Holly Springs Farmers Market, a youthsoccer coach, past president of the Holly Springs Rotary Club,current assistant district governor, district governor nomineedesignate, and Paul Harris Fellow. Gary serves on the boardof directors of the Rotary Family Youth Initiative “FYI 50 in 5,”and is a frequent speaker promoting the PolioPlus Initiative.He serves on the Mayor of Holly Springs’ Pastoral AdvisoryCouncil, and received the Outstanding Community ServiceAward from the Knights of Columbus (2014). Gary is a graduateof Mississippi College and The Southern Baptist TheologicalSeminary in Louisville, KY. He also enjoys playing BluegrassFiddle, Guitar, and Dobro.

He and his wife, Lorena, have two sons: Seth, a formerquarterback (2006 & 2007) at Ole Miss and current assistantvice president of sales for Regions Insurance Division inMadison, Mississippi, and Brent, a graduate of Ole Miss with amajor in Economics and Finance, who served as the directorof development of Magnolia Hill Production Co. in Los Angeles,California for Sam Haskell, and director of development for theMiss America Organization. He was also a member of theboard directors of the Miss America Foundation, and is thecurrent director of product development and strategicrelationships for The Juilliard Conservatory in New York City.Lorena is the school nurse for the Holly Springs primary school,and was named School Nurse of the Year for the State ofMississippi (2015), and is the Marshall County representativeon the Community Foundation of North West MississippiRegional Health Council where she is involved in S.O.C.O(the effort to stamp out childhood obesity).Gary and Lorena reside in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

District GovernorNominee Designate

Jonathan Mattox2020-2021

Jonathan Mattox, an architect in Oxford, Mississippi, gradu-

ated from Mississippi State University in 1994. He joined Howorth

& Associates Architects where his work has included a variety of

commercial buildings, institutional buildings, residences, renova-

tions and restorations. In 2001, Jonathan relocated to New York

City and joined the firm, Kliment & Halsband, where he partici-

pated in the design of a number of large institutional projects. He

returned home to Howorth & Associates Architects in 2004, where

his responsibilities are concentrated in the firm’s custom residen-

tial work.

Jonathan is a member of the Oxford/Ole Miss Club where he

has served as vice president and president. He is currently the

service projects chairman.

Jonathan and his wife, Carmen, are members of the Oxford

University United Methodist Church. They have one son, Sanders.

2016 - 2017Assistant District

Governors

Gary Adams (Holly Springs)

Jesse Bandre (Tupelo)

Gray Carter (Memphis)

Sam Cox (Millington)

Jimmy Dobbs (Calhoun City)

Stephanie Lawson (Olive Branch)

Ken Lee (Northeast Shelby)

Jonathan Mattox (Oxford)

Carmen Oguz (Drew/Ruleville)

Assistant District Governors2016-2017

Gary, a native of Jackson, MS, is the founding pastor ofBridgeWay Baptist Church, in Mt. Pleasant, MS where he continuesto serve as pastor. Gary is also the chairman of the Church PlantingCommittee of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, president ofthe Holly Springs Farmers Market, a youth soccer coach, and is presi-dent and a Paul Harris Fellow of the Holly Springs Rotary Club. He isa graduate of Mississippi College and The Southern Baptist Theo-logical Seminary in Louisville, KY. He also enjoys playing bluegrassfiddle, guitar and dobro. He and his wife, Lorena, have two sons,Seth and Brent. Lorena is the school nurse for the Holly Springsprimary school and is the Marshall County representative on theCommunity Foundation of North West Mississippi Regional HealthCouncil. Gary and Lorena reside in Holly Springs, MS.

Gary Adams (Holly Springs)380 Cedar Hills RoadHolly Springs, MS 38635662-252-4960 O / 662-544-1145 Cgadams295@bellsouth.net

Clubs: Corinth, Holly Springs, Iuka,New Albany, Ripley

Jesse Bandre joined Rotary in 2012. In the Rotary Club of Tupelo,he has served as sergeant-at-arms, vice president, and president,has three years of perfect attendance and has attended multipleRI conventions. He is the director of North MS operations for hiscompany, Exceed Technologies Inc., with offices in Tupelo andStarkville, MS. Open only since 2011, the Tupelo office currentlyhas over ten employees. In addition to his Rotary service and business success, Jesseserved in the US Coast Guard and is currently on the boards forthe North MS United Way, Tupelo Main Street Association, andSaltillo Parks and Recreation and chairs the Tupelo MS free summerconcert series. In his free time Jesse coaches soccer and servesas an ambassador for the community development foundation.Jesse is a proud CLI graduate of Lee county and is an active memberat Tupelo First Baptist Church in Tupelo MS. He is married toMerenda Bandre and they have two beautiful girls, Cami andChloe.

Jesse BandreExceed Technologies449 Gloster Creek Village, Suite I8Tupelo, MS 38801662-844-7373 O / 662-871-5515 Cjesse@exceedtech.net

Clubs: Amory, Booneville, Ponotoc, Tupelo,Water Valley

Sam Cox (Millington)University of Memphis371 Administration BuildingMemphis, TN 38152901-678-2307 Oscox@memphis.edu

Sam has been a Rotarian since 2006. He is a past treasurerand president of the Millington Club and has completed RotaryLeadership Institute training. He is a graduate of the University ofMemphis and currently works at the University as director ofbusiness development within the Division of Business andFinance. His duties include cultivating and building relationshipsin the Millington area for the University. He is active in the MillingtonChamber of Commerce and served as chairman of the board in2009.

Sam lives in Collierville, TN with his wife, Kim. They havetwo children, Ben, 22, and Hannah, 20. He is active in his church,Collierville United Methodist, where he has served on variouscommittees. In his free time he likes to play golf and spend timewith his family.

Clubs: Como, Hernando, Memphis Central,Senatobia

F. Gray Carter (Memphis)1046 Center Ridge Rd.Collierville, TN 38017901-921-0766 Cfgc1046@yahoo.com

Clubs: Collierville, Germantown, Memphis,Memphis East