Charlotte Tritch who is the Associate Director of Entrepreneurship Programs in the KU Business School spoke to Lawrence Central on August 15th about the programs the Center for Entrepreneurship offers and a peek at some of the exiting things they are working on.
The interesting piece she pointed out is that Entrepreneurship classes are available to all 30K KU students allowing them to “commercialize their passions” helping both undergraduate and graduate students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset by thinking innovatively, recognizing potential business opportunities, amassing resources and familiarity of how to launch and grow a business. For more info go to the KU School of Business website.
Charlotte also touched on their new Red Tire Program that matches well qualified KU and other Kansas regents schools graduated students and alumni with small to medium companies needing new ownership/management. The RedTire program, a partnership between the KU Entrepreneurship Works for Kansas initiative and the Kansas Small Business Development Centers, is designed to address the closing of viable rural Kansas businesses due to the lack of a successor or exit strategy. Without the RedTire program, and with the shuttering of businesses, there will be a loss of those services in the community, a decline in the local tax base and a loss of equity for the business’ owner. For more info on this program you can go to http://redtire.org
Ted Haggart spoke to Lawrence Central August 8th about local and regional economics, housing and outside variables that are impacting the local economy.
He joined Douglas County Bank in April 2001. His time is balanced between customer relationships and recruiting new customers, leadership and management of the bank, and community service activities and working with the bank’s board of directors. Mr. Haggart’s community activities include serving as past chair of the Lawrence Regional Technology Center, past president of the Lawrence Rotary Club, co-chair of the Lawrence Bioscience Task Force, and past president of the Friends of the Lied Center. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Association and Lawrence Junior Achievement.
Other previous board memberships include the United Way of Douglas County, the Friends of the Spencer Museum of Art, and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC). Before joining Douglas County Bank, Mr. Haggart was president of Union National (now Commerce Bank) in Manhattan and senior vice president of First National Bank (now Sunflower Bank) in Salina.
He was an economics professor at Kansas State University, executive director of the Kansas Economic Education Council and an economist for the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. He graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in economics and mathematics, and received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota.
Lt. Matt McCluer gave a presentation to Lawrence Central August 1st. He and his wife Marisa took over the Salvation Army’s Lawrence post in June and in addition to all the work the Army normally does, are spearheading the capital campaign to get their new building. They have the land but need capital so they can build a new center and transitional housing for families and individuals in need.
Matt grew up in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and his wife Marisa is from Bloomington, Ill. They recently completed their training at the Salvation Army’s Officer training station on Chicago’s north-side.
You can reach Matt at the Salvation Army’s building at 946 N.H. or you can email him at matthew_mccluer (at) usc.salvationarmy.org
Dr. Lynn O’Neal presents Club Treasurer with the last of funds to donate our first Shelterbox.
In July of 2011, the Lawrence Central Rotary Club elected to begin a fund drive to raise $1000 to purchase a Shelter Box from ShelterBox USA. George Brenner and Lynn O’Neal, MD were the first contributors to the fund.
Over the course of the the year, at each weekly club meeting, a raffle was held to raise funds for the Shelter Box drive.
The winner of each raffle was allowed to donate her or his winnings to the fund. Thanks to the winners who donated their profits back to the club, we were able to raise approximately $80 per month.
Lawrence Central Rotary looks forward to monitoring the location and use of our shelter box and we hope our small contribution will help a family to survive during a time of crisis.
If you are unaware, ShelterBox is an international aid organization that provides emergency shelter and life-saving equipment following disasters such as earthquake, volcano, flood, hurricane, cyclone, tsunami or conflict.
More than a decade ago, ShelterBox founder, Tom Henderson asked himself what his family would need to survive if they lost their home. His question became a quest to provide a compact, universal tool kit to families displaced by disasters. ShelterBox would afford dignity, self-sufficiency and most importantly, human survival in the chaotic weeks following an earthquake, tsunami, landslide, flood or other disaster.
The top priority of many aid organizations is to provide food, water and medical care to help people survive the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Without protection from the elements, survivors are at a higher risk as they await nourishment or medical attention. We recognized that little or no assistance was given in terms of proper shelter to help them through the first few days, weeks and months as they tried to rebuild their lives. In response, ShelterBox developed a solution to help disaster survivors during the critical period following a disaster but preceding reconstruction.
Each box supplies an extended family with a tent and life-saving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The contents are tailored depending on the nature and location of the disaster, with great care taken sourcing every item to ensure it is robust enough to be of lasting value.
The donation amount to sponsor each box is $1,000, which includes delivery direct to those who need it. Each box bears its own unique number so as a donor, you can track your box all the way to its recipient country via the web site.
Highly trained ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organizations, international aid agencies and a global network of volunteers.
Since its inception in 2000, ShelterBox has firmly established itself at the forefront of international disaster relief, providing emergency shelter for people who need it most following more than 180 disasters in over 80 countries.
They rely on public donations and could not operate without the generosity of people the world over. Shelterbox’s supporters constantly go the extra mile to help make a difference to the lives of families who survive disasters.
We always enjoy having visitors from other Rotary clubs and Lawrence Central had a visiter from Germany on July 25th. Dr. Heinz Beer stopped by for lunch as he was in town visiting his son who attends KU. He and club President Bob Swan exchanged visiting Rotarian banners and he told us a little about his medical practice and Rotary Club in Fichtelgebirge, Germany .
Their banner is particularly interesting as the club logo is made of same porcelain that region is renown for making.
Charlotte also touched on their new Red Tire Program that matches well qualified KU and other Kansas regents schools graduated students and alumni with small to medium companies needing new ownership/management. The RedTire program, a partnership between the KU Entrepreneurship Works for Kansas initiative and the Kansas Small Business Development Centers, is designed to address the closing of viable rural Kansas businesses due to the lack of a successor or exit strategy. Without the RedTire program, and with the shuttering of businesses, there will be a loss of those services in the community, a decline in the local tax base and a loss of equity for the business’ owner. For more info on this program you can go to http://redtire.org
