Although belated, the St. Patrick's theme was not neglected this year: Bob Heely led the singing of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (and wished for a pint of Guinness to improve the harmony). He then directed Frank Whitman, our beloved pianist, to play the third verse of "America" in which "music swells the breeze." Following the Pledge, Harry Taylor gave the invocation and reminded us of our commitment to service.

The School of the Week is Fairlawn Elementary. Jean Owens claimed her computer went down so she had no visitation report.

Visitors

Bill Eisenbeiss introduced our guests. Buddy Early, from the Princess Anne club, is a frequent visitor. Dona Overstreet brought along Michelle Nettles; Chip Finch had Bob Batcher in tow (the voice of the city of Norfolk); Steve Schultz came for his third meeting; Diane Wallach had Lorraine Eaton from the newspaper.

Announcements

President Sigur first brought Lisa Chandler to the podium to discuss the results of our Suds and Buds event last Friday.  It seems that we have netted about $15K to distribute to our three charitable projects: the Foodbank, the Botanical Gardens, and our own Charities. Lisa thanked all the volunteers, especially Erin Thomason, the sponsors, etc. There should be more publicity about the event with photos of the action. A good time was had by all, as the saying goes. We look forward to doing it again!

President Sigur then introduced Dyteya Lewis from the Park Place School. Ms. Lewis described the school as private, Christian, and focused on children who have not had success elsewhere. There is both an academic and spiritual aspect to the content. Ms. Lewis emphasized that the classes  have a small class size (about twelve) so that the students receive much attention. They are encouraged to rise to expectations and not to adopt an attitude of "victim." Norfolk Rotary Charities awarded the school a grant to purchase new Chromebook tablets with dedicated reading software. The school is excited to get new, portable computers for the children to use. So that is a great example of what our Happy Bucks support!

Several Paul Harris Fellows were then recognized: Harry Taylor is at PHF plus 3; Lorna Cochrane is a new Fellow as is Bruce Wilcox.

Diane Wallach announced that Saturday is Volunteer Day at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens! Bring your gardening gloves and plan on doing physical labor from 9 to 12 noon.

Marty Raiss announced more details of the Spring Family Social at the Zoo on April 19th. It will be open to young and old from 2-4:30 pm and we will have a special tent or enclosure to obtain refreshments. Signup sheets will be available next week.

Rotary Polo Shirt ordering season is on. Laurie Harrison is taking your orders. They have been very popular over the years and of good quality.

Another Thirsty Thursday has been scheduled; this time at the Chow restaurant on Colley Avenue. (Your humble scribe opined: let's go back to Connor Brewing!)

The Rotary Leadership Institute is scheduled for April 11th at Virginia Wesleyan (9 am to noon). Having attended several sessions, I can vouch for the content as well as the quality of participant. Rotarians from across the district come to understand Rotary processes and to learn how to address perennial club issues, e.g., retention, recruitment, management of fundraising, the Rotary Foundation, etc. Our club pays the fee and it is well worth the cost.

Fines/Happy Bucks

Ed Lilly confessed to having purchased a new vehicle ($5 per wheel, folks).

Lisa Sands claimed she met her Romeo thirty-two years ago and so contributed in honor of their anniversary.

Several folks gave Happy Bucks for Lisa Chandler and the amazing successful Suds 'n Buds.

David M. contributed proud but sad bucks for his daughter, a Sweet Briar student, caught up in the unexpected closure.

He who should not be named gave a donation for an NCAA victory; Mal "Badger" Branch kicked in for another victory.

Jim Clary touted an e-newsletter with an article by a soon-to-be-famous economist. At six pages, it does not sound like light reading.

Marty "Dukie" Raiss contributed for her adopted alma mater ODU's victory in the NIT.

The Program

Rotarian of the Day was Lynne Berg, Executive Director of PrimePlus Senior Center. Lynne joined the club in 2009. She chaired the Rotary Smiles program and is on a multitude of committees (not to mention leading the singing of "Home on the Range.")

Our speaker, Pat Richardson, took on the job of Publisher of The Virginian-Pilot in October, 2014. However, she has been with Landmark Communications for twenty-five years so she is no stranger to our area. Ms. Richardson grew up in Maine and has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Maine. She also has an MBA from the University of Louisville. She lived and worked near Louisville, KY, when she was the corporate advertising director for Landmark Community Newspapers. There she was responsible for the advertising and sales of fifty-three community newspapers in thirteen states. Her background in a variety of spheres makes her an obvious choice for the challenges of being the Publisher.

Ms. Richardson's theme was related to the necessity and difficulty of change in the business of newspapers. She contrasted the issues facing the region one hundred fifty years ago--when the paper was founded--with the challenges it faces today. She asserted that a good newspaper brings people and information together and should improve the quality of life. Advertising brings buyers and sellers together. She noted that print subscribers (a majority of the audience based on their age alone) are passionate about print. But newspapers have to be present on a wide variety of platforms, e.g., web sites, social media, tablets, smartphones, etc. Quite a daunting task!  Ms. Richardson indicated that the paper reaches 500K adults in the greater metropolitan area. The median age of a person reading on a mobile platform is 36; the median age of print subscribers is twenty years older. (Oh dear) The Millenial generation expects news to find them via apps on their Smartphone; as opposed to print subscribers who generally set aside time in the morning to peruse the paper. The result is that news organizations tend to push out news around the clock which requires a higher level of engagement. Some new positions have been created in response to these trends: digital editor and social media editor.

Questions which newspapers seek answers to: who are their readers? what are they reading? when are they reading? how are they reading? and what are they sharing?  Other important questions for the business of newspapers: where are the readers shopping? what are they buying?  These are all important issues if newspapers are to survive as businesses. What about print ads? Are they effective in creating demand? (Does anybody read all those ads?)

There was time for a lively Q and A. Bill Jonak wanted to make sure that the funnies were not dropped. Judge Massey wanted to make sure that editors were still doing their job when news is pushed out around the clock. There was a question about monetizing the digital format. Ms. Richardson noted that there is a pay wall up now as ads on mobile platforms are not lucrative. Landmark also provides web services, data mining and other technology assistance to small businesses. One individual thanked the newspaper for delivery during the recent snow season. Ms. Richardson noted that lots of carriers quit in frustration. It has not been easy to replace them.

President Sigur thanked Ms. Richardson for her very interesting presentation, showed her the book going to the school library at Fairlawn, and turned to the Rafflemeister. With $15 in the Daily Pot and $266 in the Big Pot, the winning ticket came from Frank Graves. And our meeting concluded in a timely manner!