SGR Welcomes Utah Lt. Governor

Bob Bramlage, SGR’s Sergeant-at-Arms was on duty greeting Rotarians and others visitors to the 3730th regular weekly meeting of St. George Rotary. In honor of Presidents’ Day, Ray Robinson lead the SGR Choir in "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Don Pendleton invited members to follow him in the Pledge of Allegiance and West Martin asked for the blessings of heaven on the meeting and the meal. Ken Sizemore took the reins for Horseplay while Durant McArthur collected fines on behalf of the SK8 Park landscaping project.

PROPOSED NEW MEMBER: Jesse Thompson is proposed as a new member with a classification of Trades. Jim Coleman is his sponsoring member. Comments regarding the proposed new member should be directed to any member of the board.

PROGRAM: Jeannine Holt introduced Utah Lt. Governor Gary Herbert, an honorary member of the Provo Rotary Club. Herbert said he is frequently asked what he and the Governor (Jon Huntsman, Jr.) are going to do in their second term in office. "We are going to do what we have done in the first . . . concentrate on economic development! History is a good teacher, so we’re going to look back as we move forward." Quoting statistical trends from It’s Getting Better All the Time, the Lt. Governor noted, "over the past 100 years this nation has made significant advancements in anything we can quantify, and its because freedom - and an entrepreneurial spirit -works!" Herbert, a former Utah County Commissioner stated, "despite the doom and gloom coming out of Washington DC, the situation in Utah is not all bad. We have a fiscally responsible legislature in the best managed state in the nation . . . and the sky isn’t falling, despite Washington County’s 6% unemployment rate - the highest in the state." Looking ahead, Herbert prognosticated there are about 120 companies considering moving to Utah. Tourism is up "and there has never been a better time to buy real estate in St. George." A 4th Congressional seat for the state is not a done deal, but it could happen following the 2010 census. The district would include the western counties of the state from Washington County in the south to West Valley City in the north.