The Spokesman Newsletter
We meet Monday - 12 Noon lunch — Program 12:30 p.m. Vol. 99, No. 26
Our Next Meeting February 7 - Omni Hotel
— Our Program —
JAMES DICKENSON
Managing Director and CEO
Jacksonville Electric Authority
Jim Dickenson is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of JEA, Jacksonville, Florida’s municipally owned electric, water and sewer utility. The JEA Board of Directors named Jim the company’s sixth Chief Executive Officer on June 15, 2004. He joined JEA in 1973 as an engineer in the Transmission Design Group and has served in many positions throughout his 37 year career with JEA. Prior to his appointment as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, he served as Chief Operation Officer for 16 months.
Jim is on the boards of Colectric Partners Inc., Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, the Northeast Florida Safety Council, and the City Rescue Mission and is a member of the Large Public Power Council, Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, United Way Campaign Cabinet and the Jacksonville Rotary Club. He serves on the American Public Power Association’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee and the APPA CEO Climate Change Task Force. Jim also sits on the on the Executive Committee of The Energy Authority and was a member of the Leadership Jacksonville Class of 2006.
Jim attended Clemson University from 1969-1973 where he graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. There he was a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi and received the James H. Sams award in recognition of being selected the most outstanding senior in Mechanical Engineering. Jim is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Florida.
Jim is married to Maureen Tice Dickenson and they have three grown children and one grandchild.
Matt Rapp was a guest of our club on January 31, 2011. Rapp has been with the PGA Tour since 2005, after spending five years with the ATP World Tour. Effective February 26, 2010, he was named Executive Director of The Players Championship. Rapp conveyed a messaged of strong belief in The Players event, its brand and what it does for business, charity, the participants and communities. Rapp is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Jacksonville with his wife and 7 children.
One of the stated goals of Mr. Rapp was to fix the perceived disconnect between corporate Jacksonville and The Players that has evolved. He has pledged to commit to creating new venues around the clubhouse corridors to provide a reprieve from the heat, make TPC an overall “more fun” event, and to lower ticket prices for grounds patrons as a way of repairing this “broken covenant” between The Players and Jacksonville.
The Players offers great sponsorship opportunities with viewership numbers quoted 120 million U.S. viewers and 600 million worldwide. Since Rapp has taken over his current position, ticket sales and corporate sponsorship sales have risen 10%. His stated goal is to bring attendance from 132,000 visitors to 200,000 visitors. How does he plan to do this?
Changing venue locations to create more cover and relief from the heat.
- Altering the advertising campaign.
- Promoting charitable outreach.
- Reinvesting in youth sports programs.
His ultimate measure of success of TPC is attendance, ratings and net to charities. Regarding the latter, he expects that TPC will net over $7 million dollars to charity this year.
(reporter: Charlie Jimerson)
100 Notable Contributors
In the January 2011 magazine, The Rotarian, the article “100 Notable Contributors” highlights various interesting people who have appeared in this 100 year old magazine. Each week we will share some of these highlights with you.
“ In March 1946, U.S. Undersecretary of State, Dean Acheson (1893-1971) chose The Rotarian as the place to propose an international conference on trade and employment. Acheson (who roomed with Cole Porter at Harvard Law School) helped design the Marshall Plan and served as secretary of state under President Harry S. Truman. His Cold War memoir, Present at the Creation, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1970.”
“The founder of Hull House in Chicago, Jane Addams (1860-1935) was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Her settlement house, one of the nation’s first, provided services for immigrant and poor families. In March 1935, two months before her death, The Rotarian published her article arguing in favor of the Child Labor Amendment.”
“On 20 July1969, Buzz Aldrin (1930-) became the second person to walk on the moon., after fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong. Aldrin, an honorary Rotarian whose father was a member of the Rotary Club of Spring Lake-Brielle, N.J., USA, also planted a Four-Way Test pin on the lunar surface. In June 2008, he took ‘a look beyond the horizon’ in an interview in the annual photo issue.”
(Excerpts from the January 2011 issue of The Rotarian magazine.)
