Our Rotarian of the Day today is Ben Estes. You know Ben; he’s always very quiet and dressed to the nines for every meeting.

Ben was born in Tulsa on October 19, 1942, graduating from Edison High School in 1960 and the University of Tulsa in 1964 with a B.A. degree in business administration. He was vice president of Merrill Lynch, but rumor has it that he retired.

Ben has been in Southside since 1989, and Bill Ward proposed him for membership. He served as community service director in 1992-1993 and is a Paul Harris Fellow, Southside Star and Benefactor. He currently serves on the Southside Foundation as vice president. Ben enjoys real motorcycles and is a magnificent cook. His brisket is famous throughout the club.

Ben, thank you for arranging our program today!

This Week’s Program

Chuck Lamson
Our speaker today is Chuck Lamson, the president and owner of the Tulsa Drillers. Chuck has been with the Drillers since 1980, when he first joined the front office in a sales capacity during the off-season. He became a full-time groundskeeper in 1982 and then assistant general manager in 1984. In 1995, he was named executive vice president and general manager. Then, in 2006, he bought controlling interest in the Drillers, becoming team president.

Chuck earned his B.S. in business administration from Langston University – University Center at Tulsa in 1989. He pitched for the Drillers for three years, from 1979-1981. He was a junior college All-American in baseball in 1977, and was elected to his junior college’s Hall of Fame in 1992. He was chosen as Texas League Executive of the year in 1996 and 1998, and in 1999, the Drillers won Minor League Baseball’s President’s Trophy, signifying the best overall franchise.

Chuck is also very involved in the community. He’s a member of the Rotary Club of Tulsa and the Tulsa Executives Association, and he’s also involved with the American Lung Association, DVIS, Family and Children’s Services, and Baseball Chapel.

He has been married to 25 years to his wife, Leigh, and they have two children: Drew, a junior at MIT, and Nikki, a freshman at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Chuck, thank you for being with us today. Tulsa Southside Rotary welcomes you!

Southsider Quick Notes

Last week…
- Our ROD was John Haley at our last meeting, and our speakers was pastor Mitch Wilburn. Hope everybody had a happy Thanksgiving last week!

- As you can tell, our new site is up! Thanks to Jonathan Cox for getting it all pretty-fied!

- Happy birthday to Leon Stagg and Cindy Llewellyn!

- Donna Petty presented Ben Gorrell with a Paul Harris plus 2. Congratulations, Ben!

- Madeline and Grant from the Jenks High School debate team were here to see if anybody wanted to be a judge. They’re hosting a huge debate tournament on January 8-9. If you want to judge or want more information, you can call Grant at 402-5694.

- It’s time to pay your dues! Tracy has emailed statements to everybody.

- Remember to deliver your dictionaries. Fines will be starting soon, so get in touch with your schools!

- David Hughes has asked if anybody has children’s clothes they can donate to Springdale Elementary. If you have any, let him know!

- David Stephenson (Steve Stephenson’s son) was here to tell us about two things. One, the money we donated to EIA last year was used to purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser, which saved the lives of the engineers in Bolivia when it was in a wreck a few months ago. Also, December 3-5, members of the Engineers in Action board will be fasting for 36 hours to raise money. This includes our very own Jonathan Cox. If you’d like to sponsor Jonathan’s fast, or any of the other EIA board member’s, visit EIA online at engineersinaction.org.

- Here are the picks from the sports report last week, Bob’s final one of the year. How’d Bob do?
November 21

• Arkansas vs. Mississippi State
  Bob’s pick: 31-17, Arkansas. The real score: 42-21, Arkansas.
• TU vs. Southern Miss
  Bob’s pick: 35-21, Southern Miss. The real score: 44-34, Southern Miss.
• OU vs. Texas Tech
  Bob’s pick: 21-17, OU. The real score: 41-13, Texas Tech.
• OSU vs. Colorado
  Bob’s pick: 31-14, OSU. The real score: 31-28, OSU.

November 28

• Arkansas vs. LSU
  Bob’s pick: 28-21, LSU. The real score: 33-30, LSU.
• TU vs. Memphis
  Bob’s pick: 35-17, TU. The real score: 33-30, TU.
• OU vs. OSU
  Bob’s pick: 24-14, OU. The real score: 27-0, OU.

- Be sure to check the website for our speaker list through the end of the year. Information on it is subject to change, but we’ll do our best to keep it updated!

- Next week our speaker will be Corey Williams of Sustainable Tulsa!