5/12: Tobias Kaufmann: Rotary Youth Exchange

May 12, 2020:

Another week, another virtual meeting! We continue to make things work through the magic of Zoom and the resilience of the Rotarian spirit. Our meeting this week was another success thanks to past president David Burt and his technical assistance in ensuring the event went off without a hitch. While we cant wait to meet in person someday soon (keep an eye on The Keyway for updates!), this is a great way to come together and ease our way back to normalcy. Our speaker this week, was Youth Exchange student Tobias Kaufmann, who had no trouble navigating the technology and gave a great presentation about his experience. 

Tobias enjoyed a hunting outing with his hosts the Popes

At this week’s Zoom Rotary meeting, our club’s sponsored exchange student, Tobias Kauffmann, gave a presentation about his year in Charleston. 

First Tobias gave us some background on his home country, Switzerland. He shared photos that captured its natural beauty and scenery of its architecture. 

His hometown is the small rural town of Weinfelden, population 11,534. Weinfelden is a very historic town and site of an early Roman a bridge. The oldest documentation of the name of the town is 838 AD. Although it is quiet and rural, the town has direct train access to major cities – about 20-minute train ride to Zurich. 

Tobias arrived in Charleston in August last year and was greeted by many Rotarians at the airport. Tobias attended Charleston School of Math & Science and played a brief stint on the football team. He had not played football or even attended a game before coming to the U.S. Tobias talked about how much he enjoyed Halloween, which is not celebrated as much in Switzerland. He also enjoyed Thanksgiving, celebrated with his host family at Edisto Island. He loved the food and got to try hunting and fishing.

Tobias lends a hand at the Ride Against Hunger food packing event

Tobias attended many fun events in South Carolina: College Charleston Basketball games, Clemson Football game, and even a Trump rally in North Charleston. Tobias was very appreciative of his host families and Richard Sidebottom and Karen Clark. 

After returning to Switzerland, Tobias said he will finish high school. He has not decided where he will attend college and may consider coming back to the U.S. for college. After his talk, Tobias took some questions and again thanked the club for sponsoring his exchange year in Charleston. 

Tobias with his second host family, the Popes
Tobias enjoys a break from lockdown with his 3rd host family, the Sottaks
Tobias meets some of the other Rotary Youth Exchange students
Tobias and his first host brothers and sisters, the Murrels

Submitted by Jeff Webb,  Keyway Committee

 

 

 

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS 

  • Stefany Dimanno Ceccato gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.  
  • President Sandy welcomed all visiting Rotarians & guests.  
  • President Sandy Morckel presented Health and Happiness.
  • Youth Exchange Co-Chair, Karen Clark, welcomed and introduced our guest speaker, Tobias Kaufmann, who discussed his home in Switzerland, himself and his exchange year in Charleston.

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

May 19, 2020 | Issue 4963 | President: Sandy Morckel

COMING EVENTS
    • May 19 – Meeting via Zoom:  Hank Taylor, Tri-County “One Region”, a Global Competitiveness Strategy for Metro Charleston
    • May 26 – NO MEETING (Memorial Day Week)
    • June 2 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom  (Tosha Conners, My Sisters House)
    • June 9 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom  (Kristopher King, Preservation Society)
    • June 16 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom (CCSD Teacher of Year/Rotary Scholars)
    • June 23 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom (Gracie & Lacy)
    • June 30 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom (Presidential/Board Installation)
NEWS BRIEFS

Rotary Club of Charleston History Moment

At each meeting, President Sandy plans to share some of the snippets of our club’s amazing 100 year history and our impact on Charleston and around the world. It will be a fun trip down memory lane and will also be shared in the Keyway.

The 90’s (Thirty years ago decade) (1993-1996)

The 90’s (1996-2000) 

The Club continued to raise money for the planned fountain in Marion Square. Pollster George Gallup was one of our speakers as were candidates George Bush and John McCain, Fritz Hollings and Governor Hodges. Longtime Secretary Dot Humphries retired and was replaced by Carroll Schweers as Secretary. Our newsletter the “Keyway” was being sent by e-mail for the first time. One great project sponsored by the Club was Project Living Water, headed by Molly Greene, wife of Member George Greene. This great project was one of our main project for years. The Club was awarded the Presidential Citation at the District Conference. The Club lost member and past president Jimmy Bagwell who was responsible for chairing the committee that led to the formation of the Trident Community Foundation. We ended 1999 with 227 members.

 

New Volunteer Opportunity: Meals on Wheels

CASC MEALS ON WHEELS

The Charleston Area Senior Citizens (CASC) has secured COVID funding to provide each of our current Meals on Wheels clients extra meals! Arriving this week are 10,000 shelf stable meals for our clients.

Now CASC needs a team of people willing to deliver a route once a week to seniors across Charleston County. Meals would be picked up from the CASC center on Meeting Street each week and delivered by a volunteer.

Volunteers will come to the center between 10- Noon to pick-up their meals and delivery can be made that day anytime. Volunteers will call each recipient and food will be left on the porch for a contactless delivery.

We hope to keep each route about 2 hours.

Would you be able to help with this?

If so- please email Donna Cool ASAP with the area you would like to deliver and what time you can come pick up your boxes.

Donna Cook at [email protected]

LOWCOUNTRY FOOD PANTRY:
Shifa Clinic’s Lowcountry Food Pantry is in need of Rotary volunteers. The pantry in Mount Pleasant has seen a dramatic increase in the number of families accessing the food pantry as a lifeline due to the ecomomic impact of the Coronavirus containment efforts. Formerly serving 250 families per month, they are now serving 375 families per week.
Volunteers are needed to sort, load and unload food boxes for delivery throughout the region Monday-Friday for the foreseeable future. Pictured is Sandy Morckel with Shifa Clinic Director Dr. Reshma Kahn in the Food Pantry. (Picture)
Thank you, Rotarians, for continuing to live the motto of Service Above Self and for being there for our community with what is needed most!

 

Also, if you are out there and helping in our community during this crisis, please take a photo of you volunteering and email it to Mike Sottak.  We would love to highlight the good works being done by our members. 

 

COVID-19 Rotary Relief Scholarship Fund

We understand some of our Rotary members have been impacted financially by the COVID-19 economic fallout. Our Rotary District 7770 has set aside funding to allow the Board of the Rotary Club of Charleston to create a COVID-19 Rotary Relief Scholarship Fund to help offset dues for the July – December 2020 dues period for those impacted financially and who may not be able to pay their full dues. Active members in good standing will be eligible for this support. Partial funding is available to offset the upcoming Rotary Dues that will be billed later in June for the July 1 – December 31, 2020 dues period. All requests will be kept confidential.

To request relief, please contact Executive Secretary Carroll Schweers (843-412-1009), President Sandy Morckel (614-306-8856), President-Elect Lisa Van Bergen (843-607-3192) or Treasurer Alan Uram (843-518-8977) or submit an application, which was emailed to the entire club last week, to Carroll at [email protected]:

The deadline to submit a request is May 30, 2020.

January Dues Past Due

January 2020 Membership dues are now PAST DUE. If you have received notice, deadline for payment is May 27.  If you received a notice and have questions or concerns, please reach out to Carroll or Treasurer, Alan Uram.  July dues statements will be distributed late June/July.  

Club/District Emails

As a Rotarian and a member in District 7770, you are receiving emails from our club and the District.  Both the club and the District try to minimize the number of emails being sent, but in today’s world of staying at home and no contact, emails are the main way to get information out and keep Rotarians connected. Please do not unsubscribe from District emails as this also effects your ability to receive club emails. If you unsubscribe from the District emails,  then you are also unsubscribing from receiving club emails.

50/50 Raffle 

The 50/50 Raffle continues at our next  in-person weekly meeting.  Members will have a 1 in 8 chance to win. The pot will start at $224. Bring your cash and let’s grow the pot. You do need to be present to win. Tickets are available at meetings – 1 for $5 or 3 for $10. 

Our Club is on Social Media

Members are encourage to follow all of our social media channels and share posts with their followers too!  We also need members to send us picture of anything they do that relates to Rotary – service projects, meetings, events, etc.  We would love to keep our accounts full of smiling Rotarians! Photos can be send to Mike Sottak, [email protected], or Rob Byko, [email protected].

 

Member News

Best wishes for all of us to stay safe and continue to stay connected as we help those who are most vulnerable in our community.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to fellow Rotarians if we can help you in any way in the days and weeks to come!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

 Phoenicia Miracle

  • JOINED: 1/20/2020 
  • SPONSOR: Heidi Finniff
  • MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT:  Attended the holiday party, wrapped gifts for seniors, assisted with the photo presentation for the 100 Year Anniversary Gala. Due to COVID, the Citadel’s classes moved to Zoom and our home in Savannah was a more comfortable for teaching from home.  I look forward to getting back to Charleston and being a part of the club’s activities  in the community  
  • CLASSIFICATION: Non-Profit/Consultant
  • PROFESSION: Principal, Miracle Strategies, LLC, a fundraising/marketing business. 
  • SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: I taught high school English until 2000! I remember the moment when I realized I was far more in love with Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson than I was with my students, so …. I took a marketing positions with the Savannah Food Bank and fundraising quickly followed.

Birthdays

      • 5/19 – Coleen Mooring
      • 5/19 – Steve Dopp
      • 5/25 – Kerby Teller

By the numbers

    • Attendance on May 12, 2020:  54
    • Not in attendance: Allen, Altman, Baggs, Beam, Berry, Bickley, Bini, Brack, Brady, Coe, Cole, Cook, Cooper, E., Cooper, M., Coxe, Crouch, DeGraff, Diminch, Donaldson, Dopp, Drafts, Echols, Fellabom, Frume, Gill, Giovanello, Goxhaj, Hanger, Holmes, Howard, Husser, Jamme, Jones, C., Jones, Z., Kaynard, Le, Lietzow, Loredo, Lucy, Minson, Morelli, Moring, Morse, Palmer, Patrick, Peters, Plotner, Ravenel, Rust, Savage, Seguer, Shahid, Smith, H., Smith, Michael, Smith, P., Staley, Strickland, Taylor, Tecklenburg, John, Tecklenburg, P., Teller, Uram, Weston, Wieters, Willey
    • Out of Town Make-ups: None
WELLNESS TIP

Cleaning During COVID

Research suggests SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can live on plastic and stainless steel surfaces for 72 hours, cardboard for 24 hours and copper for four hours. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said surface contamination doesn’t seem to be the primary way the virus spreads (instead, it’s through respiratory droplets expelled by a sick person), it can’t hurt to wipe down high-touch objects like door knobs, railings and faucets, in addition to regular household upkeep. Most household cleaners haven’t been specifically tested against SARS-CoV-2, but they work against other coronaviruses and are presumed to be effective against this one, experts say.

It is also recommended to wash your hand towels frequently, and remove your shoes and coats as soon as you return from any trips outside. But unless somebody in your household is actively sick, there’s no need to clean obsessively—especially if you’re practicing social distancing and washing your hands regularly.

Decluttering is crucial, especially if you live in a small space. That’s going to make your space feel larger and more comfortable, and you’re going to have fewer things to touch and transmit germs.

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.

  • We’re on FacebookTake a look at our page and be sure to “like us”.
  • We’re on Twitter.  You can follow us @chasrotaryclub.
  • We’re on Instagram.  You can follow us @ChasRotaryClub.
ABOUT THE KEYWAY 

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

  • President: Sandy Morckel
  • 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