Burlington Reporter

Alamance County recently issued the following announcement.

Club Business

President Mary Thomas Gilbert was absent. In her place, Micah Fox brought the meeting to order. Jim Cartner led us in prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Micah welcomed our speaker, Linda Jones, to our meeting, noting that he and she were part of the same Leadership Alamance class in 2012.

Dick introduced his two guests: Anderson Rathbun, the new GM of the Burlington Royals, and Richard Roedner, the new Town Manager of Elon. Anderson told us that he is from Ohio, went to school at Clemson, did a stint with the Royals in 2015, and is glad to be back in the area to work hard to keep baseball in Alamance County. Rick is from Maine, where he said they have nine months of winter and three months of bad skiing. He said he is looking forward to putting down roots in our area.

March Birthdays and Anniversaries

3	Jwan Johnson	8	Francois and Andrea Masuka
11	Matt Patel	27	Joseph and Susannah Williams
30	Susan Watson

 

Next week Stuart Sioussat has the program.

Click here to see all scheduled program dates and responsibilities.

General Announcements

We had the first reading for two new applicants for membership: Marta Moos, who is with LabCorp, and Cliff Craviotto, with Capital Auto Group.

Micah Fox asked club members to be thinking of people to invite to our next Rotary Information Hour, which will be held on March 24 at BBW from 11 until Noon. This is a great opportunity for prospective members to learn more about Rotary in general and membership in our club. Guests will be encouraged to stay for lunch and the regular meeting.

Mary Thomas wants our club to sign up to read on May 6 at Grove Park Elementary when sign up emails are sent. Readers do not have to be Rotarians.

Micah encouraged as many members as possible to support District Governor Randy Perkins by attending the District Conference April 24-26 in Myrtle Beach. Randy wants us all to go.

Micah reminded us of the planned Rotary Reads Car Show which will held on March 21st in the Holly Hill Mall parking lot. This will raise money for this worthwhile joint literacy project.

Happy Dollars

Dick said last weekend at PETS training was amazing. He learned a lot about Rotary that he believes will help him be a better president next year.

Jim happily told us that his wife is now doing extremely well.

Pete shared of an approaching ministry trip to South America. 

Program: Linda Jones – 2020 Alamance County Census Coordinator

Jones

Dan Seiler said a few words before introducing his speaker: “Hello, my people. Thanks for coming.” Claiming that this brief oration fulfilled his duty, he promptly introduced Linda Jones, the Alamance County Census Coordinator, whose job is being funded by Impact Alamance and her office provided by the Chamber of Commerce. Mac Williams is her boss. Linda recently retired from 25 years in the social services sector. When the census position came available, it seemed a good fit, since she had worked previously for the census in 1980. Alamance County is one of only three NC counties with such a position. The other two are Wake and Mecklenburg, which are quite a bit larger than us. Linda believes this highlights our ability to work together as a community.

The reason such a position is needed is because of a federal budget cut to the census bureau, which has resulted in the nearest federal census office being in Atlanta. Our local federal census representative is responsible for seven counties. Anticipating the need, the federal government encouraged local governments to form census count committees to produce the most accurate count possible. County Commissioner Amy Galey took the challenge to form such a committee locally, which Marlene Isley chairs. This committee hired Linda as their point person.

The census count helps businesses determine where to locate based on available workforce. It determines the number of seats allotted in the House of Representatives, and it somewhat determines the allocation of federal and even state funds to an area. That being the case, the census will affect economic development, political clout, social services, and infrastructure. Linda pointed out that federal money follows the numbers, not necessarily the need. NC stands to gain one to two seats in the House.

In 2010, it is estimated that only 77% of the inhabitants of Alamance were counted by the census. The goal this year is 80%. This year people are being encouraged to file electronically. If no response is made, paper forms will be mailed eventually. As a last resort, after May 30, census workers will be sent to collect data from those not responding electronically or by mail. April 1 is National Census Day, which is a bit ironic.

Dick asked if the potential of fraud is not a huge issue. Linda said that the census bureau will never initiate their interaction with individuals by phone. Census workers will only call people to try to clear up confusing details on a submitted form. They will never ask for your SSN, money, or your political affiliation.

Conclusion

Visitor Rick Roedner held the winning ticket but drew the 10 of Spades instead of the Ace of Spades. 42 cards remain in the deck. Micah led us in a recitation of Rotary’s four-way test before we adjourned. Next time!

Original source: https://alamancerotary.org/march-10-2020-linda-jones-2020-census/