Join us for a unique Professional Development Series! Jim Sokol and Lydia Cheney will open their home to 25 Rotaractors who are interested in learning more about collecting art. This special PDS will take place January 24, 2012 from 5:30 – 7:00pm. Space is limited so please register today. Light snacks, beer and wine will be served.

Sokol/Cheney Residence
2920 Redmont Park Circle 500 E
Birmingham, AL 35205

Space is limited so make sure to reserve your spot before it’s too late! Register on our website.

Not sure if this is for you? Take a look at a recent article on how “Business dining etiquette can make or break a deal“.

The event is from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at Veranda on Highland. Drinks and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. This is a free event but limited to the first 20 registered. Please reserve your spot online today!

This event will take place Thursday, Nov. 11th at 5:30 p.m. at the Southeastern Conference Office (2201 Richard Arrington Boulevard North).  There is no cost to attend and beer and wine will be provided.  Members will also have the opportunity to tour the SEC office following the event.  Space is limited, so register online to attend.

The event will take place on Samford’s campus at the Frances Marlin Center for Ethics and Leadership.  Click here to download a campus map. Please arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.  Refreshments will be provided.  The program will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m. and last approximately one hour.  Please register online to reserve your spot.

About John C. Knapp, Ph.D.

John C. Knapp, Ph.D., is University Professor and Mann Family Professor of Ethics and Leadership.  He serves as founding Director of the Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership, established in the Brock School of Business to support teaching, research and service across the Samford University campus.

Before joining Samford in 2008, he was Professor and Director of the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business, the fifth largest business school in the United States.  The center was established under his leadership 1993 and grew to become one of the nation’s leading resources for leaders seeking to strengthen ethics and integrity in organizations.

Internationally known as a featured speaker and seminar leader for business and professional organizations, Dr. Knapp contributes to public understanding of ethics through frequent interviews with such media as The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Sports Illustrated, Entrepreneur, National Public Radio, Financial Week and Bloomberg News Service. In 2009, at the invitation of Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, he was a major speaker and panelist at the Cairo conference, “Women, Leadership and Social Justice.”

His books include For the Common Good: the Ethics of Leadership in the 21st Century, a collection of essays by internationally recognized thinkers, and Leaders on Ethics: Real-World Perspectives on Today’s Business Challenges. He is co-editor of the three-volume series, The Business of Higher Education, an examination of issues facing universities amidst growing pressures to strengthen accountability and efficiency.  In 2009, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company will release his newest book, Worlds Apart: How the Church Fails Businesspeople (and What Can Be Done about It).

An active proponent of ethics in higher education, he is a member of the advisory boards of Clemson University’s Robert J. Rutland Institute for Ethics and Kennesaw State’s Siegel Institute for Leadership Ethics & Character. In 2005 and 2006 he directed the Oxford Conclave on Global Ethics, a conference for university presidents and other leaders held at England’s University of Oxford.  And in 2008 he co-directed the Stellenbosch Seboka on Higher Education and Ethical Leadership, a gathering of university leaders from throughout Southern Africa.

He earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Wales, United Kingdom, where he has been an Honorary Visiting Lecturer in the university’s postgraduate business program. He earned the Master of Arts, with distinction, at Columbia Theological Seminary and the Bachelor of Science at Georgia State University. He resides in the Birmingham area with his wife Kelly and their five children.

This program provides members from each club the opportunity to learn more about each other’s professions, network and foster relationships with established  and successful members of the Birmingham community.  It also continues to strengthen the relationship between the Rotary and Rotaract clubs of Birmingham.

Timeline

Dec. 16th: Applications due for Rotaract members

Jan. 19th: Notify participants of their pairings.

Feb. 2nd: Announce program at Rotary meeting with all participants in attendance.

Feb. – May: Program and meetings occur

May:  After work reception to wrap up the program.

2011 Professional Partners

Wesley Carpenter – Jim Hughey, partner Lightfoot Franklin and White

Brent Barringer – Will French, CEO, Dunn Investments

Jeris Burns – Debra Lewis, Partner, Balch and Bingham

Andrew Case – Chuck Redden, President, Auto-tec

Michael Chambers – Gail Andrews, Director, Birmingham Museum of Art

Laura James – Carl Thigpen, CIO, Protective Life Corp.

Ely Jones – Barbara Burton, The Securance Group

Mike Mahon – Doug Coltharp, CFO, HealthSouth

Cooper Morrison – Jimmy Holloway, Partner, Ark Real Estate Strategies

John Smola – Jeet Radia, SVP, McWane Inc.

Perry Still – Duane Donner Managing Partner, Founders Investment Banking

Robert Thuston – David Brown, President, Jemison Investment Co.

What: Professional Partners is a joint program between the Birmingham Rotaract Club and the Downtown Rotary Club of Birmingham.  Participants are chosen from Rotaract through an application process to match with a member of the Downtown Rotary Club.

Why: This program provides members from each club the opportunity to learn more about each other’s professions, to network, and to foster relationships with established  and successful members of the Birmingham community.  It also continues to strengthen the relationship between the Downtown Rotary Club and the Birmingham Rotaract Club.

Who:  Each club will provide ten participants to be paired for the Spring session.  Rotary members will be handpicked, and Rotaract members will go through an application process.

When: The spring session of Professional Partners will run from February to May of 2010. The participants will be notified of their pairings in January. In February the program will be formally introduced at a Downtown Rotary Club meeting with all participants in attendance. This gives each partner the initial opportunity to meet.  Between March and May each pair are encouraged to meet at least twice if not more.  At the end of the program in May, we will have an after work reception to end the program.

Timeline:

Dec. 15^th: Applications due for Rotaract members

 Jan 15^th: Notify participants of their pairings.

 Feb: Announce program at Rotary meeting with all participants in attendance.

 Feb-May: Program and meetings occur

 May:  After work reception to wrap up the program.

PUBLIC SPEAKING IN THE BUSINESS WORLD

Tuesday, November 17^th, 2009

5:45 -6:45 pm

Department of Communication Studies

UAB 331 Heritage Hall

The PDS will be led by Dr. Cecil G. Betros, Jr. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  

This event is only open to members and reservatiosn are required. Please visit the Members Only section of the website for registration.

Dr. Cecil G. Betros, Jr. is currently an instructor/course master in the Department of Communication Studies at UAB. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Betros has developed an online public speaking course and successfully put together a blended program for all public speaking sections. Dr. Betros received his Master’s degree in speech-language pathology and his Doctor of Science degree in Health and Human Services. He practiced as a speech-language pathologist in Birmingham for 30 years before beginning his career at UAB. Dr. Betros has several books to his name in addition to numerous professional articles. He completed his master teacher course in December of 2007.

Dr. Betros has presented at local and national conventions. He has consulted with local businesses in the field of public speaking and human communication in addition to consulting internationally.

His teaching philosophy is centered around making the classroom as real as possible. He feels that students need to have “real world” experiences and focuses his courses on bridging the gap between theory and practicality. He considers himself the instructor that will go the extra mile for his students.