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ROTARY CLUB OF
Dunwoody

ROTARY CLUB OF Dunwoody

This Week's Speaker: Allan C. Vella, President and CEO of the Fox Theatre

Allan C. Vella is the President and CEO of the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, a position he has held since June 2006.

A graduate of the University of Iowa with a BA in Liberal Arts and Arts Management, Vella served as the Director of the Student Commission on Programming and Entertainment.

Vella has worked professionally in the Facility Management field since 1986 managing theatres, arenas, amphitheaters, and exhibition facilities. His experience spans a wide range of events including NCAA Tournaments, MLB, NHL, Ballet, Corporate Events, Concerts, Broadway, and Presidential visits to name just a few.

As the President and CEO, Vella is responsible for overseeing all operations that make up the Fox Theatre as well as programming for the facility. The Fox Theatre averages 200 performances and hosts over 600,000 guests annually - offering an impressive range of events from rock concerts to Broadway, ballet, comedy, and movies.

Under Vella’s direction, the Fox Theatre has been consistently ranked in the top three non-residency theatres in North America for gross ticket sales by industry trade magazines, Pollstar, Billboard and Venues Today. In addition, the Fox Theatre was declared a Top Stop of the Decade by Venues Today and the #1 non-residency venue worldwide for the decade by Billboard Magazine. The historic Fox Theatre has managed to remain cutting edge as well, as it holds numerous titles for Social Media presence for 2000-5000 seat venues in North America as calculated in Venues Today’s Social Media Power 100.

Prior to joining the Fox Theatre, Vella worked for SMG, the world’s largest facility management company. His positions included that of General Manager for Ford Park in Beaumont, Texas where he operated a 227 acre facility consisting of a 16,000 seat amphitheater, a 10,000 seat arena, an exhibit hall, and a State Fair Grounds. Vella’s first assignment with SMG was at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan, where he oversaw the securing of naming rights, privatization, renovation, and operation of a 7,200 seat arena and a 2,300 seat theater.

Other notable experience for Vella includes: 13 years with Olympia Entertainment in Detroit, Michigan, where he held influential positions such as Executive Director of the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York; Director of Merchandising for the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Zoo and parent company Little Caesars Pizza; and finally Senior Director and General Manager of The Fox Theatre, Detroit.

Vella is a Member of the International Association of Venue Managers and Rotary International, a graduate of IAVM’s Venue Management School, and a board member of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as Variety of Georgia, a children’s charity.

He and his wife Nicole have three children and reside in Decatur, Georgia.

BOOKS for DRESDEN AND KINGSLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Thank you to all Rotarians and DHS Interactors who helped package over 1,500 books at last Friday’s meeting and then deliver them to the schools. It was a team effort towards a great cause.

Kingsley Visit Scheduled for Tuesday Dec. 12 at 9:30

This is our first year working with Kingsley so we are not sure if there will be thank you cards to pick up or not (and we weren’t going to ask for thank you cards!). So…we are scheduled to visit the school on Tuesday December 12^th at 9:30 to watch Media Director Nan Keel deliver books to one of the classes there at Kingsley.

When: Tuesday December 12^th 9:30 am

Where: Kingsley Elementary School, 2051 Brendon Drive, Dunwoody, GA 30338

Why: So you can see some of the student receive their books.

Visit Dresden Elementary School Dec. 13^th to meet the students and pick up Thank you Cards.

We are looking for 5-10 volunteers to visit Dresden Elementary School on Wednesday December 13^th at 10:00 am. Every student at Dresden has prepared a thank you card to give to Rotary to thank us for their books. The children put a lot of time into this and it means a lot to them to meet and personally thank those responsible for these books. If you schedule allows please consider joining us at 10:00 as we go to each classroom to pick up these cards. The more volunteers the better! Please contact Jack Sparks at jack.sparks@firstcitizens.com / 404.414.8338 for more details.

When: Wednesday December 13^th 10:00 am

Where: Dresden Elementary School, 2449 Dresden Dr, Chamblee, GA 30341

Why: So you can meet the students who are so appreciative of your generosity.

Looking for the fountain of youth? Try hanging out with younger people

Dunwoody Elementary School (DES) would like to establish a relationship between our older and younger generations who reside in the same community. DES is seeking RCD retirees, who area able, to come to the school once a week (30-minute commitment) and support instruction in the classroom. Individual volunteers will be matched with a teacher who will establish lines of communication with the volunteers.

Volunteers will be asked to help with math and reading fluency and possibly other activities that could benefit from an extra pair of eyes and hands. If you are interested in this opportunity please contact Warren Turner, RCD Youth Services Director (turner@cardinalpoints.com o 404-664-6000) for more details.

Toys for Tots at the Holiday Luncheon - December 15, 2017

We will have representatives from the United States Marine Corps join us for our Luncheon.

Over the years our club has become one of the major donors for this worthy project of taking care of kids in need at Christmas.

Updated Personal Information in R.I. Database Needed

We need your help. The Caring Hands Committee reports several members have written back advising they received birthday cards wishing them well, and although they are appreciative of the thought, have indicated it was not their birthday.

We have traced the problem back to the information members have listed in the Rotary International database.

We ask for each of you to log into the Rotary International database (https://rotary.org) and review the data listed for you (i.e. birthday, anniversary, etc.) in the "My Rotary" section.Once you have verified the information listed is correct, you need to save the record to trigger a download that will also update the information listed in the District database. (Hint: If you make any change you get the option of saving the change. If record is correct make a minor change and then change it back to have the option of saving changes)

If you make a good faith effort to update, but for some reason can't access the RI database, please send the following information to: RCDSecr@gmail.com

• Your Name
• Your Birthday
• Your Wedding Anniversary
• Your Spouse's Birthday

GEORGIA ROTARY STUDENT PROGRAM INC. - OSLO SCHOLARSHIP - Due December 31, 2017

Do you know a worthy 20-24 year-old looking to study abroad?

The Norwegian Rotary Advisory Board is once again will be inviting three (3) young Georgia students to study in Norway next summer.

Rotary Club of Dunwoody (RCD) is trying to identify possible candidate(s) for this award. The final selection will be made by a committee of Trustees in each District.

The program includes:

• Air fares Atlanta-Oslo and return to Atlanta,
• A field tour to Bergen (administered by the University of Oslo),
• Room, board and tuition at the International Summer School at the University of Oslo (http://www.uio.no/english/)
• and visiting for one week with Norwegian Rotary host families.

The recipients of the scholarships must pay their travel expense to and from Atlanta, plus provide their own personal spending money.

PURPOSE:

While the immediate goal of this International School is to impart knowledge about some aspects of Norway, it also seeks to increase understanding and good will among nations through daily living together.

GENERAL COURSES:

Norwegian Art, Norwegian Language, History, Folklore and Literature of Norway and Scandinavia, Economics, Politics, Culture and Society, International Relations and Development Studies

GRADUATE COURSES:

Educational System of Norway, Physical Education in Norway, Medical Care and Health Services in Norway, Peace Research, Energy Planning and the Environment, Special Education, Kulturlivet i samtidesn Norge, Norwegian Petroleum Law and Transboundary Pollution.

The University of Oslo will issue a Certificate of Achievement to all who satisfactorily complete the Summer School courses. Credits may also be certified.

For More information or an application please contact Warren Turner Director of RCD Youth Services at 404-664-6000 or wturner@cardinalpoints.com until December 15, 2017. The scholarship application deadline is: December 31, 2017.

Get Ready to Welcome the World in January 2018!

No we’re not having another Rotary International Convention here in 2018, but January 13, 15, 2018, we will host the 16th GRSP Leadership Weekend – bringing all 45 students from the class of 2017-18 to Atlanta. There is at least one opportunity for every Dunwoody Rotarian and your families to be involved as the students explore “Service Above Self” and their possibilities for making a difference in the world. The weekend starts Friday afternoon at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and continues all day Saturday and Sunday morning at Oglethorpe University. Friday and Saturday evenings are for fellowship and fun.

We’ll share more details on the weekend’s agenda as we get closer. For now, we’re especially looking for host families who can welcome GRSP students to their home on Friday and Saturday night. It’s a great way to get to know a couple of students better – and from personal experience, it’s pretty easy. Host families provide beds to sleep in, breakfast Saturday and Sunday, a Saturday night meal, and transportation (home from Friday night’s event, and to and from Oglethorpe Saturday and Sunday morning). We already have previous host families signed up to help again – with room for about 20-25 of the students, so we’re looking for more volunteers.

If you’re interested, please contact Jackie Cuthbert at cuthbert@mindspring.com or 770-597-1183, and remember - even if you can’t host for the weekend, we’ll have other opportunities for you to spend time with the GRSP students. So watch for more information in November and December.

RCD Caring Hands

An oft-quoted maxim says, "No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care". - Theodore Roosevelt

The cards for members and their families that circulate during our meetings are one way to express shared joy over good news or shared concern about difficulties experienced. As one of our members recently stated at his return from surgery, getting a card with heartfelt greetings from all the members present helped him feel better and heal sooner.

Once we know our friendly breakfast club is also a caring club, our dedication to "Service Above Self" is stronger and we look forward to participating in projects and events with other Rotarians. If we are in need of a service, the first call made will be to a Rotarian.

So, if you are aware of an approaching or pat event worthy of celebration or concern, please tell Dottie Toney-Ransom at toneydot@me.com. You can also write it on either a yellow card (for joy) or a blue card (for concern) and leave it on the table, or place it in Dottie's hand at the end of the meeting.

We ARE a very caring club! Thank you for helping to make it so.

From the desk of the Newsletter Editor

Send your Newsletter submission to: rcdnewsletter@yahoo.com

Our Club's Weekly Newsletter typically consists of:

• Speaker bio
• New Member Name(s)
• Featured article(s) (regarding events, service projects, or on-going topics general club administrative items, etc..).
• Foundation initiatives or other topics of interest to Members and with value for our Club archives.
• Announcements (seeking volunteers, advertising service projects, etc.)
• For Your Calendar (Club and other activities we encourage members and/or their spouses to attend, including Family of Rotary events
• Member News (birthdays, anniversaries, accomplishments, Caring Hands)

Please keep in mind key components to include with your submission:

• Title of your article
• Description of the activity
• Dates, Time, Location, deadline, etc... (especially for upcoming events)
• Key Points of Contact Information and/or a link to reference website for details
• Names and/or headcount of Rotarians (and others) participating,
• The reaction of those benefiting and the numbers of those benefiting.
• Picture(s)

Please also tell me the number of weeks would you like the article published.
Finally, the deadline for articles to run in the current week are Mondays by 5 p.m.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Thank you!
The RCD Newsletter Editor