The weekly meeting was called to order at 12:00 pm by President Barry Bondurant.  Charles Brady offered the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Everyone sang a beautiful rendition of “God Bless America”. Sarah Knotts, the greeter, introduced visiting guests. Visitors were Maya Ansara-Raja, Aalia Ansara-Raja, Dr. Keshia Washington, Mauricio Galante, and Theresa Crouch.

 

Announcements: Randy Hendricks informed us of a club training opportunity on 8-12-23 sponsored by Rotary District 5790. To sign up, go to District5790.org. During our 8-3-23 meeting, Rotary apparel will be available to purchase.

 

Jill Regina is collecting sharpened pencils to be provided to the teachers at Webb Elementary School for the upcoming school year.

Dave Davis asked for volunteers on

9-9-23 for the Arlington Heroes’ Run.  Please take advantage of this opportunity to volunteer for a very worthwhile fundraiser.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sal Capuli, D.C. announced Rotarians with anniversaries and birthdays.  Celebrating birthdays were Joan Church, Jean Hood, Mary Jean Moloney, Brian Anderson, and Stephen Zimmer. Rotarians with anniversaries are Earl Harcrow and Carolyn Mebus.

Barry Bondurant announced the program for today.

 

The program was Classification Talks, New and Old. The first presenter was Shirley Cox of Amegy Bank. Shirley has been in the banking business for many years. Shirley had previously lived in Arlington and was a longtime member of the Arlington South Rotary Club. Shirley works in the Loan Collection Office at the Amegy Bank location in Arlington. She is very experienced in non-profit and commercial lending. Shirley indicated that the new generation of bankers is having a difficult time navigating the era of rising interest rates.

 

Charles Brady was the next presenter. Charles is a lawyer with the firm of Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson, LLP. He is a graduate of the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law and has been licensed since 11-05-2004. Charles loves being an attorney and indicated that he became involved in Rotary because of Victoria Farrar-Myers. Charles believes Rotarians are making the world a better place. Rotary benefits local schools and enhances the education of our children. Charles stated that our country needs for Rotary to exist, and he intends to get more involved in our Rotary Club.

 

Randy Hendricks was the next presenter. Randy was born and raised in Sweetwater, Texas. He came to Arlington in 1968 to attend UTA and pursue a degree in engineering. Randy soon discovered he was not suited to continue in the School of Engineering, and he began pursuing a degree in Business Finance. Randy worked for forty years in corporate America. He worked for Westinghouse for thirteen years and worked for G.E. Capital for twenty-four years. Randy was the Global Compliance Officer while he was employed by G.E. Capital.  Randy believes one must continuously learn, be adaptive and be a chameleon in order to succeed in the business world. Each person is the CEO of their brand.  People must constantly work to improve and protect their brands. Randy’s next topic of discussion was the origin of Rotary’s Four-Way Test. The Four-Way Test was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor. The Four-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943. The Four-Way Test has been translated into more than one hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. It is one of the world’s most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics.

 

Dr. Tommy Thompson, a professor in the College of Business at UTA, was our last speaker. He leads a group of 15-20 UTA students in the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF). Students can be graduates and undergraduates. The students are motivated by the opportunity to manage real money and to receive Bloomberg certification. SMIF was funded with $50,000.00 by Mr. Sam Mahrouq with initial purchases in May 2020.

Students are divided into eight sector teams based on the eleven S&P 500 sectors. This includes energy and utilities, financials and real estate, and industrials and materials combined. Teams have two or three members based on the S&P 500 market cap weight. Ten Bloomberg terminals are available during class and at other times. One Bloomberg terminal is in the main library for 24-hour access. All students complete Bloomberg training with their grades based on Bloomberg exam scores. The current value of the Fund is $79,207.24. SMIF usually outperforms the S&P 500.

 

Kris Landrith provided us with the “last laugh”.

 

Barry informed us that the next program will be on July 27, 2023. The meeting will return to FUMC-Arlington.

 

The quote for this week: “Each day provides its own gifts”.  – Seneca.

 

Barry thanked the special guests and everyone else for coming.  He then led us in the Four Way Test, and we were adjourned.