7/31: Angela and David Muirhead: Beautiful Gate Center

July 31, 2018:  We were joined at our meeting today by Angela and David Muirhead, Co-founders of the Beautiful Gate Center. Angela has a 30-year history of successfully building, managing and operating businesses in the commercial and mortgage banking, real estate, legal and non-profit sectors and Dave is Principal with Blue River Systems, a Denver based management and software consulting firm.

They began the presentation with 3 take-away points:

  • Of 11,000 exceptional children in the tri-county region, approximately 3,000 are moderately to severely impacted by intellectual and developmental delays.  Currently, there are three non-traditional schools in theregion that serve approximately 100 of these children, two of which are unable to serve children with intellectual delays.
  • Beautiful Gate Center will establish a program to meet the needs of these highly-impacted children who are inadequately served in existing public and private special education programs due to their need for a broader range of more intensive learning supports than those traditional environments offer.
  • In addition to improving long-term quality of life for these children and their families, the Beautiful Gate program will have far-reaching educational, social and economic benefits to our community and the state for years to come.
David and Angela Muirhead

They continued with the story of one little boy named Jack. At 13 months old, Jack was diagnosed with water on the brain. The family had waited 4 months not knowing if Jack would live or die, the diagnosis was good news but Jack would have developmental disabilities.

The family was overwhelmed with the thought of the future and not knowing how to care for their child, having no previous experience like this. Jack’s experience entailed: 3 Children’s hospitals in 3 states, 35 specialists, 5 surgeries and prescriptions for 5 different types of therapies. Jack’s therapy over the years (he is 12 now) entailed over 1200 clinical, school and home-based sessions, which were all coordinated by his family and care givers. Throughout 5 years of public education and Educational Assessments, Jack was never given any homework, no report cards were issued and no books given although the family participated in over 120 special education sessions.

After 6 years the family placed Jack in a private program and Jack did achieve goals, have homework and report cards over the 2 years in that program.

Today, Jack is a gentle spirited, sweet and happy boy who has never had a bad day but he is home-schooled because there is no school in the tri-county region that will accept him or is able to address his educational needs.

While there are a number of good programs for more “high functioning” individuals, in the Tri-County region, there are few options for kids like Jack who are impacted by Intellectual Disability, Developmental Disability, Communication Disorders, Behavioral Challenges and/or Adaptive Functioning Deficits. Many of these kids matriculate through the educational system and end as adults with low quality of life for them and their caregivers.  Their families also tend to become isolated from communities, friends and relatives.

There are only 3 schools that serve less than 100 of the approximately 11,000 special needs students in the area. The Beautiful Gate Center is a first of it’s kind in SC–ABA Developmental-Day Treatment Learning Center for Children and Youths ages 5-21 with Developmental Delays and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The Center will provide a broad range of educational and therapeutic supports with a unique state of the art environment needed for children to learn and thrive.

Dave revealed that Jack was indeed their son and they wanted to create a place, for the many families that don’t have resources, where parents can know their children are getting the best education possible in a nurturing and caring place.

The regional impacts include meeting the needs of young people with developmental disabilities who are currently underserved by existing public and private education systems, reducing the time, cost and intensity of the care and improving quality of life, enabling community partnerships to benefit those with developmental disabilities and provide an alternative program that supports the needs of people moving into the area for new businesses and growth.

– Don Baus, Keyway Committee Chair

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS

• Bryan Buzon gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
• Jim Bickley introduced our Visiting Rotarians and guests.
• President Alex Dallis presented Health and Happiness.
• Past President David Burt introduced our speakers, David and Angela Muirhead, who are Co-Founders of Beautiful Gate Center.

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
August 7, 2018 | Issue 4899 | President: Alex Dallis

COMING EVENTS
  • August 7 – District Governor David Tirard
  • August 11 – Hootie Back to School Round-Up Service Project
  • August 14 – Jacobo Mintzer, Roper Innovation
  • August 21 – Cheryl Irwin, 9/11 Survivor
  • August 28 – Susan Johnson, Blue Zone Project
  • September 4 – No Meeting
NEWS BRIEFS

Board Meeting

The Board of Directors will meet briefly with District Governor David Tirard prior to our Rotary meeting on Tuesday, August 7 at 11:45am upstairs at Hall’s Signature Events.  The regular monthly Board Meeting has been moved to the following Tuesday, August 14 at 11:00am in same location.

Hootie Homegrown Round-Up

We are once again supporting the Hootie Back to School Round Up, which is scheduled for this Saturday, August 11.  This is a wonderful volunteer opportunity (Red Badgers – hint, hint) and we will need a couple of volunteers to pass out school supplies at the event.  Please let Trey Lucy know if you are interested.

RCCF Grant Applications Being Accepted

The Rotary Club of Charleston Fund (RCCF) is accepting requests for grants.  Interested organizations are required to submit a Letter of Inquiry and complete a grant application prior to September 1 to be considered.  The application and other details regarding the grant process can be found on our club’s website — www. charleston-rotary.org.

Youth Exchange Student

Past President David & Luci

 Our 2018-2019 Rotary Youth Exchange student, Luci, arrived from Italy over the weekend. A group from our club, as well as her host family, Jon and Haley Carter were there to welcome her. The Carters have a daughter, who has just returned from a year abroad in France and are excited to host Luci. Luci will be attending Rotary meetings and participating in activities with our club and the District throughout her exchange, so we will all have a chance to meet her.

Join the PR Committee and Earn Service Hours, too! (Fame, notoriety and recognition from your peers is FREE!)

We’re looking for 3 to 4 Rotarians to help us spread the word about our Club through various communications channels. Your contributions will reach countless Club members, family and friends, as well as the local community at-large more than 36-times a year! Your feature stories and timely coverage of Rotary Club events may also be picked up by District, National and International Rotary news channels.

Don’t worry if your’re not an expert techie, can’t write like Hemingway and Pat Conroy, or wield a camera like Steve McCurry or Annie Leibovitz – our super-qualified A-team will be right there to support your efforts with training and guidance you’ll need to see your by-line and photo-credit circulation grow to an epic scale.

Social Media Manager:  Work with team members, committee heads and the Board on developing, publishing and promoting social media content for the Club. Active channels now include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Familiarity with these or emerging platforms will be helpful, as will knowledge of what makes for successful SM content. Experience with search optimization techniques will earn you immediate MVP status. While your own exposure to Social Media is helpful, it is not essential. The team will gladly train our e-challenged volunteers, too!

Keyway Production Manager: Work with co-chairs, Keyway editor and our content development team to publish our weekly newsletter on club web site. Familiarity with web publishing and content managing systems (e.g WordPress) a plus.

Keyway Content Developers: Copywriters & storytellers who can develop short-form, original content including summary articles, possibly combined with team-generated photos and/video content, to provide coverage of weekly meetings and presenters, as well as occasionally produce special features on past or upcoming club events, special projects and fundraisers.

So if you are interested in maximizing your Rotary experience, this is your chance to create an immediate and long-lasting impact on how our Club is regarded by current and prospective members. You will also be shaping how our Club will be recognized by our peers, our community and by Rotary International for the good work of our members.

Join the Charleston Rotary Press Corps and help generate that buzz! Contact Mike Sottak, [email protected], or Rob Byko, [email protected], for more information.

US Coast Guard – 228th Birthday Celebrated

Clary

Our club’s lone Coast Guard veteran, Owen Clary, shared the below information on the Coast Guard with our club this past Tuesday.  Owen’s son is also currently in the Coast Guard, assigned here in Charleston as a helicopter pilot.

The Coast Guard is one of America’s five armed forces and traces its founding to Aug. 4, 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of 10 vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of federal revenue. Responsibilities added over the years included humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress.

The service received its present name in 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service to form a single maritime service dedicated to the safety of life at sea and enforcing the nation’s maritime laws.

The Coast Guard is a multi-mission, maritime, military service and the smallest of the five Armed Services. Its mission is to protect the public, the environment and U.S. economic interests in the nation’s waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security.

Locally, CG Base Charleston was established on October 19th 2015, and is comprised of two campuses, one in downtown Charleston and one at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in North Charleston. There are 7 Officers, 111 Enlisted, 35 Reservists and 22 Civilians for a total of 175 personnel. Base Charleston manages 21.5 acres of property with 214,841 square feet of facilities, and 2 major and 2 floating piers.  Base Charleston serves as a mission support touch-point for Coast Guard operations within the northern 7th Coast Guard District, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with operational partners to ensure the delivery of professional, responsive and cost-effective services to the American public. It’s large area of responsibility spans from the North Carolina/South Carolina border down to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Happy Birthday to the US COAST GUARD!

MEMBER NEWS

Kudos

Congratulations to Past President Alissa Lietzow and Charleston Pro Bono for being recognized as Non-Profit of the Month by the City of Charleston Division of Business Services.

In Memoriam – Tom Clymer

Past President Tom Clymer

With much sadness, we announce the sudden passing of former Rotarian and Past President of our club, Tom Clymer. Tom passed away at his home in Concord, NC last Friday unexpectedly. He was a dedicated Rotarian and member of our club for over 11 years.  Tom loved Rotary and his life exemplified the very best of what Rotary stands for in the lives of so many.  He was a Paul Harris Fellow, served our club as a Board Member and then President during the 2012/2013.  He was also a friendly face for many years at our Sergeant-At-Arms table.  We will all greatly miss Tom!  Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Alma, his son, Tommy and his family.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 128 S. Tryon Street, Suite 1588, Charlotte, NC 28202 or to St. James the Greater Catholic Church, 139 Manor Avenue SW, Concord, NC 28025.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Byko

Rotarian: Rob Byko
• Joined: 2/26/2018
• Sponsor: President-Elect Sandy Morckel
• Membership Involvement: Co-Chair, PR Committee; Parade of Boats Committee; Photographer, Writer, Ramp-builder…
• Classification: Real Estate
• Profession: Realtor
• Something Unique About Yourself:  Rob is a Charleston Realtor; an avid Nature, Landscape & Travel Photographer; a Boxer-lover and Animal Rescue enthusiast. Rob works and plays on Sullivan’s Island with his wife, Karen, and loves spending time at their cabin in the mountains of WNC. Originally from Cranford, NJ, Rob moved to Charleston in 2012 from Atlanta, GA. Rob and Karen are both graduates of UGA, back in the halcyon days of Hershel Walker, REM and the original 40-Watt Club. Go Dawgs!

Birthdays

• August 7 – Amy Chico/Karl Brady
• August 8 – Hilton Smith
August 12 – Margaret Ann Youngs

By the numbers

Attendance on July 31, 2018: 62

Not in attendance:  Allen, Barry, Beam, Berlin, Bishop, Bodkin, Bullard, Carico, Channell, Chico, Christian, Clark, Coe, Cooper, E., Cooper, M., Cooper, J., Davies, Deavenport, Donnellon, Dopp, Drafts, Dymek, Fellabom, Gill, Hart, Holmes, Hudnall, Husser, Jones, Kaiser, Kaynard, Kerrigan, Krumwiede, Leonard, Livingston, Marty, McGhee, Morris, Palmer, Prewitt, Ravenel, Rich, Rust, Schmidt, Sidebottom, Smith, H., Smith, M., Smith, P., Sottak, Stokes, Strickland, Taylor, E., Tecklenburg, John, Teller, Thomas, Van Bergen, Webb, Welborn, Williams, A., Williams, D.

Out of Town Make-ups: None

WELLNESS TIP

Protect from Overexposure

 While enjoying the sun and outdoors, protect yourself from overexposure to sunlight by wearing a hat and using natural sunscreens without excessive chemicals. Carry Aloe Vera gel for overexposure and have an aloe plant growing in your home for any kind of burn. The cooling and healing gel inside the leaves will soothe any sunburn. It works great.

AREA CLUB MEETINGS

Mondays

  • Summerville – Oakbrook: 7:30 a.m., Monday, Westcott County Club, 5000 Wescott Club Drive, North Charleston
  • North Charleston: 12:30 a.m., Monday, Hilton Garden Inn, 5265 International Blvd, North Charleston.
  • Summerville Evening: 5:30 p.m., Monday, Montreux Bar and Grill, 127 W. Richardson Ave., Summerville

Tuesdays

  • East Cooper Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Cooper River Room at Waterfront Park, Mount Pleasant
  • Charleston: 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Hall’s Signature Events, 5 Faber, Charleston
  • Goose Creek: 12:45  m. Tuesday, Gilligan’s, 219 St. James Ave., Goose Creek

Wednesdays

  • Daniel Island: 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Daniel Island Club, 600 Island Park Dr., Daniel Island
  • St. John’s Parish (John’s Island): 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, 2817 Maybank Highway, Unit 1, John’s Island
  • Mount Pleasant: 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Harbor Breeze Restaurant, 176 Patriots Point Road, Mount Pleasant
  • Summerville: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sticky Fingers, Summerville

Thursdays

  • North Charleston Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Embassy Suites, 5055 International Blvd., North Charleston
  • Moncks Corner: 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Gilligan’s Restaurant, Moncks Corner
  • St. Andrews (West Ashley): 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Bessinger’s BBQ, 1602 Savannah Highway, Charleston.

Fridays

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Our Rotary club actively uses social media — and we encourage you to interact with us through social media.

ABOUT THE KEYWAY 

The Keyway has been published weekly as a newsletter for the Rotary Club of Charleston for more than 90 years.

  • President: Alex Dallis
  • Keyway editor: Don Baus [email protected]
  • Executive secretary: Carroll Schweers, [email protected]
  • Mailing address: Rotary Club of Charleston, P.O. Box 21029 ,Charleston, SC 29413-1029
  • Copyright 2018, Rotary Club of Charleston. All rights reserved.