Rotary Reflections
– Larry Edwards Friday the thirteenth was indeed tragic for several hundred people living in Paris. While what follows is not perhaps the uplifting message typically found in this column, I feel burdened to share some thoughts on the most recent, but sadly not the most outrageous act of terrorism. Almost all of us can tell you exactly where we […]
How to Diversity Oklahoma’s Economy
Bart Binning, Ed.D. My original plan was that this article would be a second part to my “Foundations of Democracy” series. However,things happen… Specifically, I scheduled October speakers for the Club 29 Thursday Breakfast Makeup meeting; my October 30th speaker failed to appear. As a last minute topic we had a special form of “Table Talk” – we recapped the month’s topic, which […]
Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again
-Michael Whittington Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again. This simple, but profound, phrase is attributed to Siddartha Guatama, who was born in India around 500 BCE and later became known as the Buddha, or the “Enlightened One.” It’s a powerful metaphor for the importance of […]
Disruption
– Larry Stone “Disruption is not about what happens to you. It is about how you react to what happens to you.” – Jay Sammit From its start, Rotary has served as a vector for “disruption,” a disturbance that interrupts a standard event or process. While we often think of disruption in negative terms, it […]
Oklahoma City – Confident, Enthusiastic, and Productive
– Ron Page Economics is not something I’ve studied, and, for that matter, it is not something I even begin to understand. But they tell me that somehow, when people are productive and no king or abusive central government takes an unfair share, prosperity emerges. So far, no one has been able to explain to […]
Reflections – Mike O’Neal
Seeking the Better Way Though there are many divisive issues and personalities in our country, I believe most thinking Americans agree that there is something missing, something lost in civil society—that we are somehow losing the glue that holds us together. Unfortunately, the thought leaders in our culture—locally, regionally, or nationally–are not seeking […]
Hats Off to a Remarkable Teacher
– Emily Stratton When Donna Gradel became a teacher, she probably never dreamed where that life would take her. An environmental science teacher at Broken Arrow High School, Donna was part of a church mission trip several years ago to Kenya, where she saw the critical need for high-protein food in the small Kenyan villages. […]
Old Stories – New News
– Barney Semtner First, an old story or two. When I was president of Club 29 in the early ‘90s, we developed an activity from the podium where Rotarians were honored each week. A committee would decide who to honor and one of the committee members would come to the podium and toast that Rotarian. […]
Don’t We Wish
-Leonard Sullivan A man was once asked if he could be anyone he wanted to be, who would he wish to be? His reply was “I would like to be the only plumber in a city of millionaires.” Most of us generally benefit from the successes of our neighbors. We need a concentration of business […]
A Unique Volunteer Opportunity
– Paul Moore The power of committed volunteers never ceases to amaze me. Throughout my 40 year career in the nonprofit arena, I saw people do so much good, and now I am seeing it again. Bankers, lawyers, insurance executives, CEO’s, marketing experts and so many more are donating their expertise through ESCCO (Executive Service […]
Observations on China
– Susan McVey I recently returned from my first ever visit to China. The trip was on my husband’s bucket list and since we aren’t getting any younger and the flights aren’t getting any shorter, we decided this was the year to go. My husband and I travelled with friends who are originally from China. […]
An Audible Whoosh
– Stanley F. Hupfeld, FACHE, Senior Consultant, INTEGRIS Health On June 25, 2015 there was a noticeable whoosh coming from the 16 Republican candidates for president. The sound was an audible expression of relief over how to handle their individual and collective positions on the Affordable Care Act. On that day the Supreme Court decided to […]