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This time of year, we have a lot of discussions around friends, family

and traditions. Thanksgiving has plenty of these discussions that

consist of different recipes passed down through the generations,

NFL football, gathering together and sharing what we are thankful

for…I’ve even seen #friendsgiving posts and tweets start to pop up.

Thanksgiving transitions right into Christmas, which also have many

tried and true yearly rituals. These rituals include baking cookies,

decorating the tree and (fingers crossed) sleigh riding are just a few examples that we look forward to

in anticipation.

Our club has a little tradition going, too. Last year, we had a great Christmas party and we broke out

some pretty ugly sweaters. How could we not do it again? How could we not give our reigning

champion, Forrest Cronise, the opportunity to defend his title wearing the “ugliest sweater”? I am

looking forward to sharing some good times with our club, reflecting upon the past year, thankful for

each of you and really hoping you bring out your ugliest garb in December. “Ugly Sweater, The

Return” is almost upon us.

Special points of

interest:

Looking forward

Family Month

Guest Speaker

Know your

Rotarian

In this issue:

President’s Piece 1

Guest Speaker:

JD Sutphin

2

Rotary Recognition 3

Family of Rotary 4

Member’s Page

5

Flyers 6

Rotary District 7

Future Events 8

Rotary Club of the Blue Ridge - New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

R O TA RY R E F L E C T I O N S

New Gen Scorecard

Members 44

Avg Attnd 56.00%

(As of October 2014)

Pres ident ’ s Piec e

By: Judy Kilgore

Planting the seed,

To help the need

Being a friend,

Prayers and hope to send

Not walking away,

But trying to stay

Not turning away,

No matter what day

Being there,

No matter where

Giving hugs,

Instead of tugs

Not pushing aside,

Getting to know the person inside

We are all human,

Sometimes we just need a hand

It can do so much

So take the time,

Everyone gets in a bind

Let’s all show random acts of kindness,

No matter how big or small

We’re all in need of

Someone to care,

We all need someone to be there

We A l l Ne e d S o me b o d y To B e Th e re

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Roanoke, VA – Wednesday, November

5, 2014 our guest speaker comes from

Roanoke, and has been a part of this

community all of his life. This is

something that was instilled within him

at birth as he came from a tight knit

family that always held their community

with high regard. Their motto, “Take

care of others, and they’ll take care of

you. Love others, and they’ll in return

show you the same.”

Coming from a family that has this

outlook toward not only their own

family, but extends out to the community

gives you confidence to follow your

dreams and accomplish things that some

might be hesitant to even think about

putting into action.

JD Sutphin was the person that came

from that family, and he is now here to

deliver a presentation that is completely

different from the saying, “we have

always done it this way!!” JD is first and

foremost a musician that happened to

land in Clear Channel Media as a

Vi s io n S te ms Fro m Fa mi l y Va l ue s

New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

Guest Speaker: JD Sutphin program director, music director and

market director for 11 years. He and his

family then suffered a major life

changing event when his cousin

Anthony Hall suddenly died. This event

changed everything within JD’s life as

he struggled to concentrate on his work.

JD’s cousin’s motto was, “positive

thinking equals positive results.” This

kept going through JD’s head, and he

decided he wanted something different.

He wanted to be in a less corporate,

restrictive career. He wanted to take

what he had learned his whole life from

his family, and combine it with his

cousin’s life lesson to create, inspire,

and work with passion and from the gut

within his own community.

He then went to a friend’s event called

the Cityworks Xpo event and was

inspired yet again by the very first

speaker that represented Virginia and

US tourism. During his presentation he

asked, "Do you want people to visit your

town? Ask yourself, when was the last

time you visited theirs?" This made him

think to “Pay it forward!!”

After the event he then made the biggest

leap of faith that many of us are scared

to even think about, and that is to quit

your job and follow your dreams, and

that is when Big Lick Entertainment was

born. According to JD, “Big Lick

Entertainment's mission is to create

events with a message and meaning.

Whether producing a fundraiser, festival

or concert, each date is a crafted

partnership with the goal of enriching

our area culturally and economically

with drive, passion and creativity.”

He has taken this mission and made his

brand extremely successful as they

started with one event with the Big Lick

Downtown Countdown December 31,

2013, and since then have SEVEN

signature, sold out, relevant and

impactful events in southwest Virginia.

Those events include Big Lick Burger

Fest, Big Lick Oktoberfest, Big Lick

Wine and Swine, BOCO BBQ Fest, Rare

Beer Festival and more. In 2015 JD and

Big Lick Entertainment will host over 16

different signature dates, talk about

“Positive thinking equals positive

results!!”

Their vision is to “celebrate everything

that make hometowns so wonderful,

while heralding the people, organizations

and businesses that it makes it one close

knit family.”

This is something that we as a world

should all applaud, and position our own

thinking toward this type of vision.

Rotary also offers this type of vision, and

it is ironic that I am sitting here writing

this recap during rotary Family Month.

His mission and vision for his company

is to have events that support and give

back to the community as a family

supports and gives to each other. Rotary

also does this in the services that we

provide not only in our own community,

but worldwide. Our servant leaders that

are called Rotarians help support those in

our community, and we live by the “Four

Way Test” which helps confirm our

actions and services to help those in

need. When you combine these things

we are all one big family ready to help

and support when called upon.

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Each November during the annual Club Assembly it gives New

Gen an opportunity to both recognize current leaders for their

time and dedication, as well as to announce new leaders who

will succeed them. This year we took an opportunity to honor

two outstanding Rotarians for the service during the 2013-2014

Rotary year. Membership Chair, Brittany Sandidge, presented

the following awards:

Jessica (Jessie) McPherson was awarded the first annual

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD for her unwavering

commitment to the Rotary Club of the Blue Ridge New

Generations. Jessie embodies the Rotarian ideal of service

above self, achieving both the highest club and service project

attendance for the 2013-2014 year.

Daniel Bliley was honored for his two consecutive term years

serving as President of New Gen. Daniel was recognized for his

dedicated efforts to promote the service and professional ideals

of Rotary throughout the Roanoke Valley, and for his

exemplary leadership of the Rotary Club of the Blue Ridge

New Generations during his term.

R o ta ry R e cogn i t i on

New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

“A leader is one who knows the

way, goes the way, and shows the

way.”

John C. Maxwell

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New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

American writer Will Durant said “The

family is the nucleus of civilization,”

and while that statement is pretty much

common sense it does bring up an

interesting concept. We grow to learn

that our family is typically the one thing

that stays consistent throughout our

lives, whether it is our grandparents,

parents, siblings, or even step parents

they are the ones that stand by you, lift

you up and help support you through

both good and tough times. Some

would even go further and say that their

friends are an extension of their family.

This is particularly true especially if

you are those who have stayed close to

your childhood friends.

December is Rotary Family Month, and

in honor of this month we need to think

even more outside of the philosophical

box and recognize that our community

is part of an extended family. The

reasoning for this concept is that we

tend to spend about the same amount of

time if not more with people at work,

school events, community events, etc.

Now I am not saying that you would

invite the majority of these people to

holiday family gatherings, but I am

saying that in some form or fashion

these people have made a connection to

you throughout the years, or maybe

It is true a traditional family is defined

as a group of individuals living under

one roof, but if you continue to look

there are many definitions that have

expanded from the that term, and the

one that makes most sense is a group of

people united by certain convictions or

a common affiliation.

“Without a sense of caring, there

can be no sense of community.”

~ Anthony J. D'Angelo

even impacted your life and have built a

lifelong friendship. These people if you

really sat down and thought about it

might even be just as close to you as

some of your own members of your

own family.

Why does the term Family matter when

speaking about Rotary? It matters

because it is about community. The

community we live in, the worldwide

community and the community of

Rotarians. If we are to live out the

Rotary vision to create a better world,

we must start with the family. We need

to treat all the members of our Rotary

like an extension of our family, because

without the support of one another there

is no community.

Through networking and service

projects, Rotary forms another side of

the family equation. Each and every one

of us that are members of this great

organization feel connected and we all

have the similar qualities within each of

us whether we are in Roanoke, VA, in

Sydney, Australia or any other club in-

between. There is a true feeling that all

Rotarians are an extended part of your

family connected through the same

ideals and morals.

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New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

Forrest Cronise

Education: B.S. Business and Accounting,

Emory & Henry College '06

MBA, Virginia Tech '13

Birth Place: Salem, Virginia:

Employer: Precision Steel Mfg. Corp.

What I love about my job: Working for a

small company has many benefits. The wide

range of responsibility and multiple hats that

you wear give you a sense of inclusion not

common in the corporate world. Also, being

able to witness the materialization of your

work is fulfilling.

Favorite Food: Steak. Any cut, as long as

it's prepared right and not overcooked.

One fact about yourself:: I won the first

annual "New Gen Rotary Ugly Christmas

Sweater" contest last year and I'll be looking

to repeat! So you better bring your A-game!

Member’s Minute

Greenway Cleanup

Roanoke, VA - Saturday, November 1, 2014 New Gen put a team together to go to

our section of the Greenway to help maintain the appearance. It was a pleasant

surprise to find that the appearance was not too bad, and was finished in a little bit

over an hour. Around the trail it was in pretty good shape, but the closer you went

to river the more things you found.

It was noticed that the markers were being torn off from the posts, and most

markers were found thrown towards the river. Leah contacted Roanoke City to

make sure they were aware of the situation, and the markers are in process of

being replaced.

The day in all ended up being a good time of being out on the Greenway with each

other, and ended up collecting a few bags of trash. Also it was appreciated by the

people of the community that New Gen was out there helping preserve the

Greenway.

“Yesterday is not ours to recover,

but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”

~Lyndon B. Johnson

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New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

7

New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

8

Celebrating 100 Years

of

Rotary District

Conference

The 61st

Conference

at

The Homestead

Distr ic t Convent ion 2015

S a v e t h e D a t e

M a r c h 1 3 - 1 5 , 2 0 1 5

New Generation December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 5

Hot Springs, Virginia

540.839.1766

9

We’re on the Web

http://www.rotaryblueridge.org/

400 Salem AVE, 2C

Roanoke, VA 24016

President: Daniel Bliley

E-mail: rotary.newgen7570@gmail.com

Rotary of the Blue Ridge - New

Generations

What The Future Holds Roanoke Area Events

12/04-06: Scrooge

12/05: Dickens of a Christmas starts

12/05: Holiday Pops

12/13: Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis

12/31: Big Lick Downtown Countdown

12/31: New Years Eve Gala

Birthdays Amanda Bumeier 03-December

Michael Gardner 04-December

Daniel Bliley 08-December

Michael Galliher 08-December

Kate Lewis 31-December

December 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 Rotary Meeting 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 Rotary

Meeting

18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

Rotary

12/03-Rotary Meeting

Guest Speaker: Community Youth Program

12/05 - Volunteer Appreciation - City

Market Building

12/17-Rotary Meeting

December 2014 New Generation Volume 1, Issue 5