Our Rotarian of the Day is Bryan Osbourne. Although born in Springfield, MO on September 21, 1962, Bryan grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. He has a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR and a M.S. in Atmospheric Science from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.
After spending 20 years in both the public and private sector positions, he decided to pursue his dream of owning his own business. After much thought and prayer, his passion for education led him to open the first Huntington Learning Center in Oklahoma here in Tulsa. Huntington Learning Center is the oldest provider of individualized instruction in the nation. Huntington specializes in reading, writing, math and study skills for students in K through 12. They also provide ACT and SAT test prep for the college-bound.
He remains happily married to his beautiful bride of 22 years, Sabrina, and they have two amazing kids, Katie, 12 and Ben, 9 – who you have seen at the meeting before!
Bryan is an active member of Fellowship Bible Church where he teaches 7th/8th grade as well as adult classes. He is also a member of the Tulsa Metro Chamber and serves on the Education Committee and in the Hospitality Club.
Bryan joined Southside Rotary in the fall of 2009, and was proposed for membership by Jack Koehle.
Bryan, thank you for being our ROD today! It’s good to have you in the club.
This Week’s Program
Chad McLeod
Our speaker today is Chad McLeod of the Tulsa Rampage. He is a former professional hockey player, a goaltender, who backstopped teams to success in the U.S. and England. The Toronto native received a career ending head injury in 1999 that lead him to begin coaching young players who dream of playing at the levels he’s achieved.
The concept of “Junior” teams is not one that is familiar to most Oklahomans, but is a simple one. In the U.S., hockey players don’t go directly to college from high school as they do in football, basketball, or other mainstream sports. Because high schools don’t have the programs, USA Hockey adopted Canada’s Junior hockey approach, where elite players between the ages of 16 and 20 are recruited or drafted by teams where they are developed and marketed to the NCAA. MacLeod accomplishes this as the head coach of Oklahoma’s only Junior team – the Tulsa Rampage.
His success is widely heralded throughout USA Hockey, as the Rampage have consistently advanced significantly more players than the national average for Junior teamss while under MacLeod’s direction. In addition to advancing players to the NCAA, four players from MacLeod’s first team, who have now graduated from college, have professional contracts. In a country where less than 1 percent of players from the entire nation will make it to the professional level, to have four from the same team achieve that success is a testament to MacLeod’s ability to train and market players to higher levels.
MacLeod has helped turn the Tulsa Rampage training program into one of the nation’s premier Junior hockey programs by including all the aspects necessary for a player’s success. They are not only trained on the ice and in the gym, but also have strict academic and community service requirements. They receive classroom instruction on a variety of subjects, ranging from hockey video analysis and NCAA requirements to life skills training thus fulfilling MacLeod’s goal – “We’re not just teaching them about hockey,” he says. “We’re teaching them about life.”
A LOOK BACK AT AMERICA’S FIRST LADIES
Abigail Adams (1744-1818)
When Abigail Adams was asked late in life whether she would have wanted her husband to go into politics had she know it would mean years of separation from him, she replied in the affirmative. “I feel a pleasure,” she explained, “in being able to sacrifice my selfish passions to the general good, and in imitating the example which has taught me to consider myself and family but as the small dust of the balance, when compared with the great community.”
Abigail Adams was the first woman to be both the wife and mother of a President. (Barbara Bush joined this rank in 2000.) She took satisfaction in her son John Quincy’s steady rise in public life, and, though she didn’t live to see him become President, she was delighted when President Monroe made him Secretary of State, a stepping stone to the Presidency, in 1817.
Women were, she knew, expected to be good wives and mothers, and Abigail, for all her “sauciness” (John’s term), was conscientious about her womanly responsibilities. But she also struck off on her own at times, and both John and John Quincy were well aware of her unusual abilities.
The Adamses were the first to live in what eventually came to be called the “White House” after the capital was moved from Philadelphia to Washington in the fall of 1800. Mrs. Adams found the location of the President’s new house magnificent, but complained about the climate and the unfinished state of the Executive Mansion. Only six rooms were completed, she discovered, the stairs were not up, there were no call bells to summon servants, and the place was so cold and damp she had to keep thirteen fires going to make the place tolerable.
“We have not the least fence, yard or other conveniences without,” she wrote her sister, “and the great unfinished audience room I make a drying-room of, to hang clothes in.” Still, she was hopeful. “It is a beautiful spot.” she acknowledged, “capable of improvement, and the more I view it, the more I am delighted with it.” Besides, “this Home is built for ages to come.”
THIS DAY IN HISTORY (JULY 15)
1957 – EDSEL: The first official day of production of the automobile that would come to symbolize a flop in popular culture.
1954 – First flight of the Boeing 707 capable of flying 21 passengers at 600 mph.
1881 – Jesse James commits his last murders when he kills a railroad engineer and a passenger while he and his gang, including his brother Frank, were holding up a train near Winston, Missouri.
A QUOTE
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
— Author Unknown, But Greatly Appreciated!!!!!
WILL ROGERS QUOTES
“You’ve got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that’s out always looks the best.”
“Republicans want a man that can lend dignity to the office. Democrats want a man that will lend some money.”
HOW TRUE, HOW TRUE
“If you look for beauty, you’ll find it. Look for imperfections, you’ll find them too.”
ABOUT PAUL HARRIS
On a bitterly cold night in February 1905, a young lawyer named Paul P. Harris went to dinner with his new friend Silvester Schiele. Silvester was just about his only friend in the big city of Chicago, and so Paul was very lonely. He had grown up in the tiny Vermont village of Wallingford, where everybody knew one another, where one’s word was one’s bond and where merchants and customers greeted one another by name.
Because of family circumstances, he had been raised by his grandparents, and they had taught him to be tolerant, respectful, hardworking, and honest. When he graduated from law school and arrived in the teeming metropolis of America’s second-largest city, he was utterly shocked at what he found.
(To be continued…)
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
The first year that The Rotary Foundation received total contributions of US$1 million in a single year was 1964-1965. In 2004-2005, about $85 million was given to the Annual Programs Fund. Contributions since 1917 total about $1.7 billion.
DUES ARE DUE
Your first quarter dues are due at this time. You will be receiving the quarterly invoice. Please take care of this as soon as possible. Thank you.
A SPECIAL EVENT
On July 22, 2010, our International President, Ray Klinginsmith will be speaking from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, Arkansas. This is the first time our District (6110) has hosted a sitting Rotary International President while he is in office. Mr. Klinginsmith is a gifted speaker. You will not want to miss this one. Our District Governor, Wallace Williams, is urging members to attend.
A ROTARY MOMENT
John Kenny, Past President of Rotary International, recently said “There is so much we can do as Rotarians that will mean so much to others. And as important as it is to give material assistance – to help in the areas of water, health and hunger, and literacy – it is equally vital that we give that help freely, with true caring for others. Because often, simply caring is what helps others most of all.”
WE HAVE A NEW INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
Ray Klinginsmith is the 100th President of Rotary International. He resides in Kirksville, Missouri. Recently he said, “Rotary lives and breathes in our 33,000 clubs, and it is the clubs that improve lives by Building Communities – Bridging Continents – the new theme of Rotary International for the 2010-2011 year.
If we succeed in helping clubs to become Bigger, Better, and Bolder in the next year, then it will be clear that the best days of Rotary are still ahead. We are fortunate to be Rotarians! Together, we can make the world a better place!”
FUTURE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
New Orleans: May 21-25, 2011
Bangkok, Thailand: 2012
Lisbon, Portugal: 2013
Sydney, Australia: 2014
Sao Paulo, Brazil: 2015
Seoul, Korea: 2016
THANKS TO:
Lynn Fesperman, John Benjamin, Larry Boyer and Glenn Burnett for participating in last week’s program. They are all Past Presidents and gave highlights of their year as President. If you missed the program, you really missed out.
A JOB WELL DONE
I thought our new President, Tom Wilson, did a terrific job last week, how about you?
Also, Tom apparently owns a cap that has a beer opener on it. Who knew?
RESIGNATIONS
Sadly, we had three members resign before the start of the new Rotary year: Bob Winters, Ben Estes, and Jack Koehle. However, we had a new member join us at the Change of Horses: Gwen Goff! We’re glad to have you in the club, Gwen!
FISHING FOR FUN”DS”
Instead of fines, Tom has instituted a new policy of “Fishing for Fun’ds’.” Whenever you want to make an announcement, drop a dollar (or more) in the fishing net that gets passed around. We learned a lot about what’s been going on in the lives of our members last week!
NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAM
Rotarian of the Day: Ben Gorrell
Speaker: Southside’s own Josh Butts who will be speaking about his new role in Major Rooney’s “Folds of Honor” Program. You do not want to miss this program.
