ur Rotarian of the Day today is Kevin L. Best. Kevin was born in Oklahoma City and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1979 with a B.S. in construction management. In college, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

He is president of Best Building Materials, founded in 1986. The primary product of this company is a stucco material called “Dryvit.” His company is the exclusive wholesale distributor for the State of Oklahoma. Former Southside member Bob Budrich was general manager of the Sand Springs plant for Dryvit. For those interested in what Dryvit is, two prominent projects in Tulsa are the expansion on I-44 at Cherokee Casino and phase 2 at Montreau Assisted Living Center.

Kevin started Rotary in 1989 in Sunrise Rotary. He served as community and international director before becoming president of Sunrise in 1991. He decided later he was not a morning person and was interested in a lunch club. With Travis Freeman’s influence and Blaine Imel’s graciousness, Kevin joined Southside Rotary in 1997.

Kevin is married to Amy and they celebrated 26 years of marriage last year. They have three children: John, a junior at the University of Oklahoma; Sam, a freshman at Baylor University; and Anne, sophomore at Broken Arrow Intermediate High School. Kevin is a member of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Broken Arrow. His hobbies include golf and being a rancher at Lake Tenkiller.

Kevin, thank you for arranging today’s program. We appreciate it!

This Week’s Program

Rev. Judy Gann

ur speaker today is Rev. Judy Gann, executive director of Camp New Hope, an organization that works with children affected by incarceration. She is a deacon in the Episcopal Church in Oklahoma, serving Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Tulsa. Judy has been directing New Hope since 1998. She began as a volunteer, and in 2005, became employed by New Hope on a part-time basis. In January 2007, Judy began working for New Hope on a full-time basis.

Judy has a B.A. in sociology from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She has taught preschool, been a part-time chaplain at Holland Hall, taught computer classes at Tulsa Community College and Tulsa Technology Center, and served as an administrative assistant in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Judy lives in Tulsa and is married to Randy Gann. They have two children, John and Nate Gabriel. John and Nate have served as counselors for New Hope camps for many years. John now lives in Seattle working with developmentally disabled adults, and Nate is pursuing his Ph.D. degree at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Judy’s hobbies include hiking, biking, reading, and enjoying her two cats, Lewis and Samantha.

Judy, the Southside Rotary Club welcomes you today. Thank you for being with us.

Southsider Quick Notes

Last week…
- Lamp Lamprich was our ROD last week, and Beverly Dollar was our speaker.

- Let Donna know if you have signed up to do an automatic withdrawal for your $100 donation to the RI Foundation.

- Happy birthday to Steve Stephenson and Steve Glenn!

- Just a reminder that dues are due!

- We had a meeting about the dog park on Monday, Jan. 5. Here’s some of what they discussed.

• The name for our dog park will be Biscuit Acres. It will be opening sometime in April.
• We’re borrowing $50,000 from the Southside Foundation, and we’ll need to have a fundraiser to replenish the money.
• We’re looking to have a dinner on March 19 for that fundraiser.
• We also want to put collection cans at pet stores and veterinary offices.
• We’ll also be writing letters to foundations.
• We’ll have a breakout meeting Jan. 29 at Hunter Park to see the area of our future dog park.

- The board meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 15, at 5:30 at Ti Amo’s.

- Bob gave us his pick for the 2008-2009 NCAA football championship.

• OU vs. Florida
  Bob’s pick: Florida, 35-28. The real score: 24-14, Florida. Curses.

- Next week, Donna Petty will be our ROD and Lloyd Fields, the Oklahoma Dept. of Labor Commissioner, will be our speaker.