We are recruiting Reading Buddies for the upcoming school year.  Each Reading Buddy is asked to commit to reading to their assigned classroom one a month.  Reading Buddies are vital to the success of Ready 2 Read, and as our project, we need all our members to volunteer.

If you are interested in being a Reading Buddy, please register online.  Friends, family and coworkers are also encouraged to sign up.  For more information, please contact Richard Davis richard.davis@willis.com.

Reading Buddy Facts & Questions

Rotaract is pleased to sponsor this project, which makes a tremendous impact on our community.  With great economic challenges still facing our community, many students do not have the basic supplies they need to help them begin the new school year.  This project equips these students with what they need to be ready to learn from day one.

The Club will need at least 5 volunteers at each location to help distribute supplies to children and families.  In order to participate in this exciting service project, register online.  For more information about this project, contact Willard McCall at  willardmccall@hotmail.com

About Pam Siddall
Pam Siddall, 41, is president and publisher of The Birmingham News, a post she has held since January 2010.  Prior to working with The News and Advance Publications’ Alabama Newspaper Group, Pam worked with McClatchy (formerly Knight Ridder) starting in May 1997, when she was named chief financial officer (CFO) of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.  In April 2001, Pam joined The (Macon) Telegraph as CFO and was later promoted to vice president with expanded responsibilities for circulation and facilities.  In December 2003, she was promoted to vice president and general manager of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, and was named president and publisher in August 2004.  She was promoted to president and publisher of the Wichita Eagle in November 2007.  Pam has been the first female publisher in each of the three communities: Columbus, Georgia, Wichita, Kansas and Birmingham, Alabama.

Prior to joining McClatchy, Pam was controller of Russell Corporation, Licensed Products Division from 1994-1997.  While at Russell, she was actively involved in the acquisition and consolidation of several business units that formed Russell’s Licensed Products Business.  From 1991-1994, Pam worked as a senior financial analyst for W.C. Bradley Company, a holding company with interests in real estate, farming, retailing, manufacturing and direct marketing.

Pam was involved in several organizations in Wichita including Knight Foundation, Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition Steering Council, Wichita Community Foundation, Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Wichita Technology Corporation.  While in Georgia, she was active in many local civic organizations.  She served on the boards of the Girls, Inc., Food Bank, the Better Business Bureau, the Columbus Business Improvement District (BID) and was a founding member of the BID Steering Committee.  She served on the boards of the United Way, Springer Opera House, Columbus Chamber of Commerce and the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, where she was treasurer.  She chaired the Knight Foundation Advisory committee, and was a member of the administrative board at St. Luke United Methodist Church, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce workforce development committee, Chattahoochee Valley Community College’s Foundation and was active in the Civilian and Military Council.   She is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Columbus and Northwestern University’s Advanced Executive Program.

Pam is a graduate of Columbus State University, summa cum laude, with a degree in accounting where she received the Top Accounting Graduate award in 1991.  She is a certified public accountant in the states of Alabama and Georgia.  Pam and her husband, Greg, have two daughters Haley and Annika, ages 14 and 9.

Rotaract meets on the first and third Thursdays at the Harbert Center located in downtown Birmingham.  Lunch starts at 11:45 a.m. and meetings begin promptly at noon.  Lunch is free for members and $10 for guests.  A limited number of recruitment spots are available.  If you wish to bring a potential member, please email bhamrotaract.membership@gmail.com.

About John Stone
John Stone serves as President and CEO of the Alabama Association of Nonprofits. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, John brings more than 10 years of nonprofit, corporate and political experience to the position and was formerly a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Board of the Association. Prior to joining the Alabama Association of Nonprofits, John served as director of community development for Children’s Hospital of Alabama for more than 5 years. Previous positions also included director of education, workforce and community development for the Birmingham Business Alliance (formally Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce) as well as communications and legislative positions for members of both the U.S. Senate and House in Washington, DC. John is married to Molly Dobson Stone, director of student affairs for Association member Restoration Academy in Fairfield, Alabama. They have three daughters – Ellabee, Anne Bailey and Pryor – and live in Birmingham. They attend The Church at Brook Hills.

E-NEWSLETTER – To better accommodate members, we have redesigned our monthly newsletter. We’ve simplified the look and condensed the content, so members will have a comprehensive, yet convenient summary of our monthly events. Please submit member news Rotaract Communications Director Julie Ward at julie@styleadvertising.com

FACEBOOK – We recently converted our Rotaract Facebook Group to a Rotaract Fan Page, which gives us more opportunities to share information about our club to more people. Our base of fans is growing, but we need your help to spread the news throughout the Birmingham community and the Rotary International family. To become a fan of Rotaract, go to www.facebook.com/RotaractBham. We encourage you to share information, interact with us and suggest our page to your friends.

MESSAGE BOARD – Members can now benefit from the exclusive, members-only Rotaract Message board, which is accessed through the “Members Only” section of our website. Login and start talking about Rotaract and community events, share job opportunities, sell event tickets, talk about sports and more

TWITTER – Follow @RotaractBham for live tweets from Rotaract meetings and events. To follow us, visit www.twitter.com/RotaractBham. Interact with us and share our tweets with your followers to help us spread the news about our club.

Check out our service partner on facebook and twitter!

Rotaract meets on the first and third Thursdays at the Harbert Center located in downtown Birmingham.  Lunch starts at 11:45 a.m. and meetings begin promptly at noon.  Lunch is free for members and $10 for guests.  A limited number of recruitment spots are available.  If you wish to bring a potential member, please contact Jeris Burns.

About Jeffrey Brewer

Jeffrey Brewer joined Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood in 1998 as head of the Birmingham Architecture Department. He currently serves as vice president of the Birmingham, Huntsville and Vernon offices, and is principal in charge of the Birmingham Architecture, Civil Engineering, Municipal Engineering, Geotechnical, Environmental and Transportation departments. In addition to his day-to-day management duties, Jeffrey plays an integral role in the firm’s economic development efforts in north Alabama, where Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood helps provide the planning, infrastructure development and facilities that enable communities to attract new businesses. He also finds great satisfaction in helping bring new clients to the firm, and coordinating projects from assembling the teams to developing concepts and contracts.

In 2004 Jeffrey was awarded the Birmingham Business Journal’s “Top 40 under 40″ and Birmingham’s “Rising Star” recognition. Jeffrey graduated (magna cum laude) from Auburn University in 1995 with the President’s Award designation as the year’s top graduate. Jeffrey studied at the Boston Architectural Center in ‘94 and Europe Study Abroad in ‘93.

Jeffrey’s notable projects include the award winning Ross Bridge Renaissance Hotel and Golf Resort, the State of the art new AIDT Robotics Training Center and the new Bass Pro Shops in Leeds.

Jeffrey is an avid outdoorsman who counts fly fishing and golf among his favorite activities. The proud father of four is also active in his church, Canterbury UMC, as well as various community associations.

Rotaract meets on the first and third Thursdays at the Harbert Center located in downtown Birmingham.  Lunch starts at 11:45 a.m. and meetings begin promptly at noon.  Lunch is free for members and $10 for guests.  A limited number of recruitment spots are available.  If you wish to bring a potential member, please contact Jeris Burns .

About Tom Broughton

Tom Broughton opened opened ServisFirst in May 2005 with $35 million in capital – the most capital raised by a start up bank in Alabama.  ServisFirst has offices in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Dothan.  In 2009, American Banker named Tom “Community Banker of the Year.”

Prior to founding ServisFirst, Tom was the Co-Founder and President of First Commercial Bank and Co-Founder and Director of First Commercial Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ). He also served as the Regional CEO of Synovus Financial Corporation from 1998 to 2004 and was responsible for ten banks in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia with assets in excess of $5 billion.

Tom received a Master of Management from the J. L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and was named a Distinguished Scholar of the Class of 1977.  He received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alabama. He serves as a Director for the Birmingham Music Club, Mountain Brook Sports Park Foundation, Magic Moments and the Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund Board (ACES) and Prepaid Affordable Tuition Board (PACT).  He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham and the World President’s Organization.