ECHO Alabama District North

Inside this issue

Past Governor’s Notes .................2

Governor-Elect Message .............2

Youth Leadership Forum .............3

What’s New? ...............................3

Junior Civitan ...............................4

Servant’s Heart Awards ...............5

Regional Training ... …………….…… 5

Vidalia Onion Sales ………. …….…...6

District Project ……... ………………… 6

Spring District meeting ………..…… 7

Special points of interest

• District Meeting is soon

• Youth Leadership Forum

• Vidalia Onions

• Servant’s Heart

Governor’s Corner

Hello, Alabama North Civitans

Hope everyone is well and has recovered from the storm of Monday,

March 19th. If there was anyone hurt or had damage in the Russellville,

Jacksonville or other areas, our Prayers are with you. We can never be

too careful, when the weatherman forecasts bad weather please take

heed.

I attended the Governors update in Birmingham on March 8th, 9th, &

10th. The update was very informative and uplifting. I wish everyone

could hear Civitan International Executive Vice-President Scarlet Thomp-

son and 2017/2018 Civitan International President Kendyl Massey telling

about the changes (for the better I might add.) The update was an eye-

opening experience knowing Corporate Headquarters will be running on

a leaner budget in the future which is good for all Civitan. I was/am im-

pressed with their guidance and for Civitan in the future.

For those of you that don’t know the Civitan Supply House is back at In-

ternational Headquarters. (That’s GOOD news)

It is March already and we as a District have not built a Civitan Club to

date. As a matter of fact, we are down several members from where we

were on 10-1-2017. Let us all put our best foot forward, invite and sign

up some new members and even build some new clubs. No doubt some

of you know areas that need a club (Notice I said, “need a Club”). We

can help many people that are stressed in the small towns throughout

Alabama North District. Our small towns are hurting more due to the

lack of local industry and opportunities. These are the areas we (Civitan)

can do the most good.

Let us not forget the upcoming Al. North District meeting in Decatur on

April 28th at the Turner-Surles Community Resource Center located at

702 Sycamore Street N.E Decatur Al.35602. Applications are in this

ECHO and the website and will be sent out for attendance soon. Looking

forward to seeing you at this meeting.

Governor Paul Emerson

paul586@centurytel.net

H (205) 935-8306

C (205) 269 8071

March 25, 2018 Volume 2, Issue 3

Big Dog AWARD

Scrappy Puppy AWARD

Lots of clubs are bringing groups to

the District Meeting. Here’s a re-

minder of the (unofficial) Big Dog and

Scrappy Puppy Criteria we will use to

determine the winner. The Big Dog

Award is awarded to the club with

the largest number of club members

in attendance. The Scrappy Puppy

Award is awarded to the club with

the largest percentage of their club

members in attendance. To qualify,

1. Members must be registered

by 10:00 a.m. (start of meeting)

2. Only Club members count (no

Juniors or visitors)

3. Must have registration fee paid

if not a first-time attendee

4. Treasurer makes the determi-

nation on which club wins the

award.

HELLO from Barbara Believe it or not, Spring (March 20) is just around the corner! This weekend (03/11/18), we set our clocks ahead one hour, and, as you have noticed, we already have more day light when we return home from work each evening. We have endured ping-pong weather these past few months, never knowing exactly which clothes to wear from one day to the next. However, we have much to look forward to in our lives besides good weather, namely, the good we can do for oth-

ers through Civitan. Our wonderful members in each of our 47 clubs in AL District North are also looking forward to carrying out the plans they have made to help others in their communities through their projects and fundraisers. When I think of words to describe our selfless, caring members, so many words come to mind describing them: they have a shared purpose; they are defenders; they are our allies; they have a group unity; they have positive in-tentions; they are encouragers and enablers and have a compas-sionate acceptance. I am so glad to be associated with our Civitan members and look forward to working more closely with each of you to accomplish our shared purpose. I look forward to seeing everyone April 28! Let me know when I can be of help to you in any way. “Kindle Your Fire For Civitan” Barbara Burhans Governor-Elect barbaraburhans@comcast.net

Notes from the Immediate Past Governor

Alabama District North Governor-Elect

Spring is upon us! Hope you all

plan to attend the meeting on

April 28th in Decatur. Spring is

also a good time to think about

presenting a Civitan Fellow.

There are several types of Fel-

lows available to honor some-

one. Today I will address the Jun-

ior Civitan Fellow. If your club

sponsors a Junior Civitan Club, a

great way to say thank you to your advisor is to present

them with a Junior Civitan Fellow. The cost is only $300.

What is great about giving a Junior Fellow is that the $300

also goes toward the Shropshire Scholarships that Junior

Civitans, who are High School Seniors, may apply. If you

chose to present a Research Center Jr. Fellow, the cost is

$600. The proceeds from this Fellow goes to help the sci-

entists at our Civitan International Research Center. This is

a “Win, Win”! Recognize the hard work of your advisor and

donate funds toward a scholarship or the CIRC. Junior Fel-

lows can be presented to anyone. I was honored by my

husband and daughter with a Junior Civitan Fellow many

years ago. We presented one to my daughter and one to

my husband. Over the years my family has presented Jr.

Fellows to several deserving Junior Civitans that I had the

honor of working with when I was the Junior Chair. While

you are enjoying the coming of spring, consider honoring a

deserving person.

There are also four other types of Fellows. They ae the

Sustaining Research Center Fellow ($2500 minimum),

Foundation Shropshire Fellow ($1200 minimum), Research

Center Fellow ($1200 minimum), and the Freedom Fellow

($1200 minimum).

I hope that you or your club will consider honoring some-

one by recognizing them and supporting our great organi-

zation.

Other International Fund-Raising programs include Civitans

at the Helm, President’s Council, and Legacy Society. I will

address these in future ECHO’s and at district meetings.

Hope to see you all on April 28th in Decatur at the District

Meeting.

Yours in Civitan

Donna

2

3

What has changed?

“NEW” CIVITAN LOGO “OLD” CIVITAN LOGO Can you tell the difference?

61st ANNUAL

NATIONAL LEADERSHP FORUM FOR

YOUTH

Harding University in Searcy, ARK.

June 3 - 8, 2018

(Sun. through Fri.)

North Alabama Civitans have always sponsored students from North District

Alabama Clubs,

either students in the club’s own area or clubs sponsor students in other clubs’

areas if clubs are unable to select a student to attend. Last year- 2017, 41 stu-

dents attended.

Sponsorship per student is $250 Students do not have to pay for anything – except for spending money.

Students do not have to be Junior Civitans but prefer Juniors, if in local

club area.

Through labs, lectures, films and discussion, participating youth will become

more prepared and confident and equipped with the necessary tools to preserve

the traditions and ideals upon which America was founded. A wide variety of

speakers will present lectures and then allow for question-and-answer periods

and follow up labs.

Email: frankiet@tds.net

Participants (Student

Leaders selected)

should be entering ei-

ther the 9th, 10th, 11th

or 12th grades in Fall

of 2018.

Students should have

excellent character

and demonstrate lead-

ership ability.

This year we would

like for students to be

selected earlier so the

students do not have

any conflicts with oth-

er activities during this

time-June 3-8, 2018

Please select students

as soon as possible

and contact me with

names.

Harding University has

new director and

wants registration

forms by May 1, 2018

Please contact me if you

have any questions.

Sincerely,

Frankie Trammell

Chair of Youth National

Leadership Forum 2018

North Alabama Civitans

675 County Road 449

Centre, AL 35960

(256) 490-7652 – cell phone

SNO-DO—THANK YOU

Our Junior Civitan Governor, Danni Jo Grider and Junior Co-Chair, Dr. Nancy Horton attended the Junior Governor’s update in Barrie, Ontario, Canada as a part of the annual SNO-DO Event.

JUNIOR CIVITANS

Dance-a-thon THANK YOU, ALABAMA NORTH CIVITANS Our district’s 45th Annual Junior Civitan Dance-a-thon representative, Nekahi Adams

and Junior Dis- trict Governor Danni Jo

Grider have just returned from the event

in Myrtle Beach.

ANNOUNCING TWO NEW JUNIOR CIVITAN CLUBS

Congratulations!!! Vina and Priceville

Your Junior Civitan Chairs, Nancy Horton and Julia C. Floyd are happy to announce two new Junior Civitan Clubs

in Alabama District North. Both of these new clubs have already “hit the ground running!” with many new pro-

jects and service to school and community.

5

THINGS TO KNOW

Training

@

Plan an event for April

Civitan Appreciation Month

CIRC Announces New Director

It is with great excitement we share the news that a new director for the Civitan International Research Center has been hired. Craig Powell, M.D., Ph.D., is a national leader in research per-taining to molecular mechanisms of learning and memory, syn-aptic plasticity, and neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, intellectual disability, and Alzheimer’s. He will also chair UAB's Department of Neurobiology.

Dr. Powell comes to UAB from the University of Texas South-western Medical Center’s Department of Neurology and Neuro-therapeutics, where he is the Ed and Sue Rose Distinguished Professor in Neurology as well as director of Preclinical Re-search in Neurology and chief of Developmental Brain Disorders Section in Neurology.

Dr. Powell’s laboratory research has been focused on the molec-ular and cellular mechanisms of cognitive function and cognitive dysfunction in disease. His research is helping to create a more complete understanding of the pathophysiology and potential treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders involving human cogni-tion. These include autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, learning disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cognitive deficits associated with post-traumatic brain injury and major depression.

Dr. Powell will officially begin at UAB on September 1, 2018.

Civitan International welcomes Dr. Powell into our family!

6

??How do I Sell MORE Onions??

Your club may be one that regularly

sells 500 bags of Vidalia Onions.

Or…….not?

Do you want to sell more onions to

raise money for club projects?

ADVERTISE - ADVERTISE

1. Call all the people that have

purchased onions from you in

the past and let them know

that the sale has started.

2. Post on your personal Face-

book page that you are selling

onions and ask all those

friends that are following you

to buy their onions from you

to help support your Civitan

Club’s worthwhile community

projects and activities. Re-

mind them that we are work-

ing “to make the world a

better place!”

3. Put posters and/or flyers on

community bulletin boards at

local businesses such as gro-

cery stores, beauty shops,

community centers, etc.

4. Put an article in the communi-

ty section of the local paper.

5. Post the sale on the marquee

at the town hall, bank, or

other places that have elec-

tronic notice boards.

6. Call friends and relatives up on

the phone and ask them to

buy onions from you.

Remember, all orders must be PRE-

PAID—so collect money ahead of

time. GOOD LUCK AS WE EARN

TO “MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER

PLACE.”

6

Vidalia Onions Sale

Hello Fellow Civitan Members,

I am Michael Rea this year’s Onion Chair. By now you should be in full force

for orders on Vidalia onions. The Civitan Club cost is $5.25 per bag - same as last

year. You will sell the onions for $10.00 per 10 lb. bag. Your club profit is $4.75

per 10 lb. bag.

All your orders need to be phoned in or emailed in by the April 15th

deadline. As it looks now our delivery date should be the 2nd week of May.

I will need to have a check for $5.25 for each 10 lb. bag you order no later

than April 15th. NO CHECK NO ONIONS. Checks should be made payable to:

ALABAMA DISTRICT NORTH CIVITAN

Please mail your check with your order request to the address below;

SOMERVILLE CIVITAN CLUB

Attn: Onion Sales Chair

P. O. Box 413

Somerville, Alabama 35670

PLEASE DO NOT MAIL TO ALABAMA DISTRICT NORTH. My contact information is:

Home number (256) 778-9853

Cell phone: (256) 227-6929

My email address is

mrea0901@bellsouth.net.

District project for the Spring Meeting Bring NEW plastic toys rated 3 years and UNDER

We will have a district wide project at the Spring Meeting. We have been in contact with the Civitan International Sparks Center to see how we can assist them. Memo from Patient’s Representative:

New plastic toys rated 3 and under We have been extremely fortunate to have all our toys donated to us. Most are in the waiting room for kids with long breaks or for siblings who have to spend the whole day here as well. The rest of the toys are kept in the evaluation rooms so providers can play with the kids during testing or keep them occupied while parent interviews are being done. Unfortunate-ly, toys do not last long here and most which were donated in the last few years are falling apart. Plastic toys which are easy clean and do not have

choking hazards are in high demand.

Alabama District North Civitan

2018 Spring District Meeting

April 28, 2018

Turner-Surles Community Center

702 Sycamore Street, Decatur, AL 35601

9:00 A.M.— 1:00 P.M.

Registration: $20.00 by April 15th

Club Name ___________________________________________________________________

(Reminder: ALDN Bylaws state that each club is responsible for one registration)

Attendees(s)

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Total Number registered this form: __________ @ $20.00 each

Amount Enclosed: $____________________

Make Checks to: ALDN CIVITAN

Mail Registration form and payment to:

Barbara Burhans

2414 Henry Street, SW

Huntsville, AL 35801

barbaraburhans@comcast.net

Registration will open at 8:00 am ~ Opening ceremony will be at 9:00 am

Lunch 12 noon

alabamanorthdistrict.com

Please bring PLASTIC toys for the Sparks Center for age 3 and under

See ECHO and website for more information on the project!

Please bring 2 or more Door Prizes for FUN Drawing