West Jax Rotary

John Peyton
Mayor, City of Jacksonville

John Peyton was sworn in as Jacksonville’s Mayor on July 1, 2003, only the second Republican in 100 years to be elected to that office. Now in his second term, Mayor Peyton’s accomplishments include successfully hosting the city’s first-ever Super Bowl, cultivating multi-million-dollar economic development, streamlining government operations and launching a nationally-recognized early literacy program.

Mayor Peyton continues to work with business and community leaders to bring more jobs to Jacksonville. In October 2007, in conjunction with Jacksonville Port Authority officials, the mayor signed an agreement with Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd. of South Korea to develop a $360 million container terminal in Jacksonville. The operation is expected to generate at least $1 billion in local economic activity, as well as more employment opportunities.

Peyton is also working with more than 300 community partners to establish a blueprint for increasing per capita income in Jacksonville. That program is long-term, but it’s developing in an environment with considerable momentum. Since Jacksonville hosted the Super Bowl in 2005, local business expansion and corporate relocations have yielded more than 7,100 new jobs and nearly $500 million in private capital investment. Another successful initiative is the Small and Emerging Business program, which Mayor Peyton created to help small and minority businesses compete successfully for city contracts.

The mayor’s focus on the future is evidenced by his early literacy program, RALLY Jacksonville! This cutting-edge initiative, aimed at growing the workforce of tomorrow, has reached thousands of 4-year-olds and their families thus far, and has become a model for other cities to follow.

Mayor Peyton’s work in this crucial area earned him the 2005 James Patterson Pageturner Award in recognition of his “notable contributions to promoting books and reading,” and led to Jacksonville’s being named one of the nation’s Best 100 Communities for Young People by America’s Promise, the Alliance for Youth founded by Gen. Colin Powell. Most recently, President George W. Bush appointed Mayor Peyton to serve a six-year term on the board of trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.

Prior to his election, Mayor Peyton, a Jacksonville native, served as vice president of Gate Petroleum Company, one of the largest privately held corporations in Florida. He has been actively involved in community service for many years, serving on the transition team of former Mayor John Delaney and on the boards of a number of civic and charitable organizations. He is a former chairman of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (where he played an integral part in the development and early implementation of The Better Jacksonville Plan), the Jacksonville Symphony Association and Greenscape of Jacksonville.

Mayor Peyton is an alumnus of Mercer University and the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, as well as a graduate of both Leadership Jacksonville and Leadership Florida. He and his wife, Jacksonville physician Kathryn Pearson Peyton, are members of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral. They are the proud parents of two sons, John Connor Peyton and Kent Thomas Peyton.

Notes
Joe Springer let everyone know that the Boat Outing is postponed until
August 22, 2009, tentatively as there is a club conflict. Also, with the
boat outing we will be able to meet where the boats beach for a picnic. So if you don’t boat you can drive to the location.

Terry Bahn reviewed the recent Sulzbacher outing for the club. Terry said many had to do double duty and attendance was light. For out next outing he asked that more people participate.

Joe Hayward reviewed the Big Brother - Big Sister up coming event with Rotaract. Saturday, August 1, 2009, need volunteers.

Jeff Collins recapped the Blue Berry Sale this past Saturday. 5,000 lbs of Blue Berries were sold for a total of $7,100.00 of which $2,300.00 will come to the Rotary Club of West Jacksonville.

Bob Kidd reminded everyone that for our “Town Crier” we need “Family of Rotary” information. There is now an online form to report any family events. The information will be sent to Marty Sack and Bob Kidd to report to the club.

Phil Voss of LSI was just awarded a $33.7MM contract from the US Government to prepare Course Material for the United States Marines.

Next week we will begin recognizing “Perfect Attendance”. Awards will be distributed for Perfect Attendance ranging from 1 year to 42 years.

Red Badge to Blue Badge exchanges were held for Jim Frech and Tim Alters, congratulations on your “Red Badge of Courage Tour”

Jimmy Kelly introduced our Guest Speaker - Allan Verlander

Allan is the Director of Athletics for Jacksonville University. He proudly recalled the “7″ Championship earned in 2008. JU was one of only two colleges to win championships in Football, Basket Ball and Baseball last year, although other won individual championships but not all three. He also mentioned that during the past 4 years Jacksonville University has won a total of 25 Championships.

Allan believes and stated that the Coaches for each sport has done and outstanding job. He believes that if you hire someone to do the job, give them direction as to what you expect, then get out of their way so they can do the job. The JU coaches have done a outstanding job and continue to do so.

Jacksonville University is a Private School with enrollment as the key driver. The goal is to have at least 600 new freshmen every year with a retention rate of 60% or better. As of this week the school has 602 new freshmen and a retention rate of 70-72%. Dr. Kerry Romesburg is very supportive of the athletic program which is one reason why it has done so well. SportMania in the Malls hails JU as it second best seller of sport wear. This is great as it puts Jacksonville University out to the public.

Jacksonville Universities main focus from the athletic department is “Community and Service”. The departments motto is “CLIO” (changing lives inside and out). The Athletic Department Student GPA has risen from 2.6 to 3.02. A move in the right direction. We want our players to learn and be productive after college not just to play. The school has signed a new contract with 1010 Excel Radio, 50,000 watts, mid morning to lunch with David Lamm.

Allan is a member of NCAA Board on the Policy and Personnel Committee.
The school will host the 2010 Regions at the Jacksonville Arena and has put in a bid for the 2013 Regionals.

Several of our team members are from 1AA schools. 2 are from Temple University, 1 from Utah State, 1 from Wake Forest and 1 from Wilson
University. The school is looking into Scholarships, but at the present
time this is an expensive route and will take some time to accomplish.

Scott Imray led the 4 Way Test to dismiss the meeting.

Visiting Rotarians:
Gerry Kelly — Downtown
Ed Witt — Downtown
Tom Bryan — Downtown
Larry Turknett — Riverside
David Taylor — Riverside
John Roberts — Riverside
Warren Grymes — Arlington

Rotary Guests:
Dan Griffin — Guest of Roger Gibson

Birthdays
Franklin Beard — July 31
Harry Roddenberry — July 31
Frank Surface — July 31
Lorrie Dajani — August 3

Next Meeting - August 12, 2009
Speaker: DG Dave Faraldo, District Governor, Rotary District 6970
Greeters: Preston Keyes and Paul Mohrman
Invocation: Robert Jones
Pledge: Jeff Morrow
Four-Way Test: Phil Murphey

Submit “Family of Rotary” information online.

Please review the 2009 - 2010 Duty Roster and mark your calendar with your responsibilities for the upcoming year.

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