Bulletin for February 17-24, 2012

President Gordon D. Brown of the Provo LDS Missionary Training Center with club president Steve Densley.

Upcoming Provo Rotary Luncheon Meetings and Events

February 23: Clark G. Gilbert, President and CEO of Deseret News

and Deseret Digital Media, Salt Lake City.

March 1: Chief Rick Gregory, Provo Police Chief


March 8: Wayne Parker, Chief Administrative Office for Provo City, speaking about the new Utah County Convention Center 

March 15: Gary Garrett, Vice-president for Community Relations for Nu Skin, speaking about the new Nu Skin building


March 22: Todd Mckee, Principal of Timpview High School

and Jeff Schoonover, Principal of Provo High School

 

March 29: Greg Hudnall, Student Services Director for Provo School District, speaking about suicide in Utah

Report of the Weekly Luncheon Meeting held February 16, 2012

Today's meeting was held at Riverside Country Club. President Steve Densley conducted. Ron Roberts played dinner music and accompanied the singing of the Anthem. Ann Calder lead the singing and the Pledge. Vic Ludlow offered an invocation.

     Guests included Jamie Brown of Brent Brown Toyota, guest of Greg Hudnall and Ann Calder attending with her husband Jim.

     President Steve Densley announced that Rick Hood has accepted a new club position as member retention specialist.

     Paul Warner reported that Monty Groesbeck recently broke his hip.

Tom Powell

     Tom Powell served as sergeant asking questions about Steve Densley's column which appeared in today's Daily Herald.

     Jim Calder introduced today's speaker, President Gordon D. Brown of the Provo Missionary Training Center  (MTC) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dr. Brown is a physician and former president of the LDS Illinois Chicago Mission. It was noted that one of his first Church callings was as a branch president of a Coast Guard ship in Viet Nam.

MTC President Gordon Brown

     First President Brown showed excerpts of a new video shown to incoming missionaries called "The First Two Days" which tells new missionaries what to expect as they become acquainted with life at the MTC. The MTC is its own self-contained world with a US Post Office, book store, laundry, medical facilities, food services, and much more. Fifty-two languages are taught with Turkish being the newest. There are 950 teachers, mostly BYU students. More than 2.6 million meals are served annually.

     Although the MTC in Provo is the largest, training approximately 72% (21,000 in 2011) of the world's 56,000+ full-time missionaries, There are fourteen other MTCs around the world. The second-largest is in Brazil with 600 beds, the third is in Peru with 120 beds.

    The Provo MTC is four years into a ten-year building program. There will be many large building projects beginning soon.

     The number of full-time missionaries is increasing. It is up 5% just in the last year. There has been a 22% increase in young women missionaries and a 35% increase in senior couple missionaries. There are currently 340 missions in 165 countries worldwide.

     President Brown noted that 70% of BYU's students speak at least two languages.