9/1: Winslow Hastie, Historic Charleston Foundation

September 1, 2020:

To take our minds of the Covid-19 situation, Winslow Hastie of the Historic Charleston Foundation joined us to talk about our next favorite subject in Charleston – flooding. While the Foundation deals with many different issues related to our city’s great architectural heritage, flooding is a major concern particularly to protect that history. Winslow gave us an insightful overview of the situation. Remember, no meeting this week Rotarians and we’ll see many of you in our first in-person meeting on September 15.  Read the new meeting guidelines in this week’s Keyway.

Winslow Hastie, President and CEO of the Historic Charleston Foundation, spoke to us this week about flooding in our historic district and steps HCF and the City have engaged in over the last few years. It may seem strange and unorthodox that a historic preservation foundation would be interested in flooding but comes down to foundational principles of livability of the city and physical preservation.

Winslow’s presentation was entitled “Living with the new normal: shifting attitudes on preservation and resiliency in Charleston, SC”. His first slide showed maps of the historic high ground of the peninsula and where the fill has been placed in the past 350 years.  Those creeks and lowlands are where water used to go and where it still tends to go today. Another slide showed Lidar (topographic) map opposite a map of Hurricane Irma flooding. As expected, the flooded areas and low areas matched closely.

We have experienced an increased frequency of storm flooding in the past few years. The “triple whammy” of tropical storm Joaquin in 2015 (1000-year flood), and Hurricane Mathew (2016) in Irma (2017) each caused flooding in the area. In fact, of the top 15 highest crests in Charleston Harbor since 1930, 8 of the events occurred between 2015 and 2018.

Winslow shared some jarring photos of flooding from the storms. They also showed the aftermath of flooding with trash, debris, and unhealthy conditions. This period of flooding year after year led to a weariness in the community. In addition, we also are experiencing more frequent nuisance tidal, or “sunny day” flooding. In 2018 there were 89 days of flooding!

Another issue that HCF and the City have been focused on is drainage. The city has taken a very aggressive approach of tunneling under the city into the Cooper marl layer and then pumping this stored stormwater into the harbor. The Dutch who visited as part of the Dutch Dialogues in Charleston were very impressed with this engineering feat.

HCF has been involved with the City in studying elevation guidelines. Several structures have been raised throughout the city over the past few years and Winslow shared photos of those. While some can be visually jarring in context with the unelevated homes on the street, the foundation has taken the position of supporting the raising of historic structures for preservation. Winslow admitted this was a change in mindset and that he would have laughed about the possibility of HCF supporting raising these structures 5 or 6 years ago.

The City of Charleston issued its first flooding plan in 2015 and updated 2018. This became not just a flooding strategy but also addressing sea-level rise. This led to the Dutch Dialogues in 2018-2019. These were co-sponsored by the HCF and the City. Flooding and Stormwater management is a huge industry for the Netherlands, and they reach out to the world to share their ideas to other countries. A group from Charleston visited the Netherlands in October 2018. The spent a week touring the country and seeing the innovative solutions for flood control and protection they have implemented. Their approach is to combine several needs: resiliency, livability, recreation, etc. into the same project. One of the best examples was a reinforced berm that acted as seawall. Outside it looked like a natural dune with native grasses. Inside is a 450-car parking garage. This trip inspired the Charleston contingent and they left with a consensus that we needed to bring the Dutch Dialogues to Charleston January 2019.

Four areas were looked at during the highly interactive meetings: Lockwood Corridor/Medical District, New Market & Vardell’s Creek, Church Creek, and Johns Island. In September 2019, the final report from the Dutch Dialogues were unveiled at the Gailliard Center. The report does not have specific engineered solutions, but overarching principles on how to approach flooding.

Winslow talked a little bit about the Army Corps of Engineers 3×3 study. This is a 3-year, $3 million study of storm surge perimeter protection for the peninsula. A draft of the study was released in April in the early months of the Covid pandemic. The Corps processes are very bureaucratic and byzantine in normal times but sharing information and comments is even more difficult now. The basic concept is a 12’ high perimeter wall around the peninsula. HCF and other have done some renderings of what this would look like at some key points of the city. The loss of views and connection to the waterfront is significant and there was a lot of negative feedback.

A group of local designers, engineers, and landscape architects, led by Scott Parker, created a group “Imagine the Wall” who has proposed a greener more natural alternatives. For example, instead of a massive concrete seawall, a living breakwater archipelago off the shoreline made up of stone, soil, oyster beds, and spartina grasses. There is more study and design required, but the group is showing that there are other options out there.

The City has yet to submit formal comments to the plan. This is a huge investment with significant impacts, so more time is needed to look at the options. The Dutch Dialogues did acknowledge that a wall would likely be needed, but it is very important that it meets recreational needs, connects people visually to the water and does not negatively impact the quality of life for residents. Winslow took several questions from members after his presentation and Lisa Van Bergen thanked him for taking the time to speak to the club.

To access the Zoom recording of this meeting go here.

Passcode: !^q3RJwJ

Submitted by Jeff Webb,  Keyway Committee

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS 

      • Past President Paul Stoney gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
      • President Lisa welcomed all visiting Rotarians & guests.
      • President Lisa presented Health and Happiness.
      • Program Chair, Tom Leonard, introduced his friend and President & CEO of the Historic Charleston Foundation, Winslow Hastie.             

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

September 8, 2020 | Issue 4977| President: Lisa Van Bergen

UPCOMING EVENTS
    • Sept. 8 – NO MEETING (Labor Day)
    • Sept. 15 – Lt. Chris Hulbert, SC State Guard
    • Sept. 22 – Candidate Forum: SC Sen. Sandy Senn vs. Sam Skardon
    • Sept. 29 – Bishop R. Guglielmone
NEWS BRIEFS

 

IMPORTANT Meeting Update – In-Person Meetings Start Sept. 15

We are excited to announce that while we will continue to offer our Rotary Meetings by Zoom well into the foreseeable future, we will be able to begin meeting IN PERSON starting September 15, but with a few alterations to the way we have met in the past (see below).  We hope that this will be welcome news for a majority of you.

Important Note: Attendance requirements for attending the Rotary Club of Charleston luncheon have been waived. Attending the Rotary Club of Charleston Luncheon is voluntary and members/guests are invited to join us in-person or virtually on ZOOM.  Anyone who is “at risk” for COVID-19 is encouraged to stay at home

A RSVP is required for those attending in person, as we have a cap of 70 people for our in-person meetings for the time being. Members should look for an Evite from Carroll for the September 15 meeting in their inbox this week with a request for an RSVP by Thursday, September 10. Everyone (including guests) who is planning to attend must RSVP by this date. We will also offer the meeting on Zoom and that link will be included in the weekly Keyway email.

The following guidelines have been established for our in-person meetings that comply with state and local regulations for events:

ENTERING MEETING/REGISTRATION

  • Attendance is at your own risk and only those who are healthy are encouraged to attend
  • Wearing masks upon entering is optional
  • Entrance doors will be open
  • Marks on floor every 6 feet to registration table
  • Registration table located inside the room past “lounge area”
  • Rotarians/Visitors/Guests wait in line to be signed in by Sergeant-At-Arms Committee
    • Temperature will be taken at door and anyone with a 100.4 or higher will not be permitted in the meeting.
    • Anyone entering the meeting (members/guests/speakers/venue staff) will be expected to sign a COVID waiver. The COVID waiver will be emailed to club members and venue prior to our first several in-person meetings for review. Members can certainly share with guests.
  • Sergeant-At-Arms committee will be wearing masks & gloves
  • No badges
  • No raffle
  • Hand sanitizer located at registration and in various locations in the room

SEATING

  • Lunch will be plated and served as Rotarians arrive at their tables – no buffet or drink station
  • Rotarians/Visitors/Guests will be encouraged to find a seat after being registered. Try to fill tables from the far wall (near the kitchen) outward to eliminate some of the brushing up against others while finding a seat
  • Tables & seats will be appropriately spaced to allow for social distancing
  • Hand sanitizer will be at each table

HEAD TABLE

  • 1 Head table with 2 seats – speaker and speaker introducer
  • Podium with table mic (wipes available on podium)

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS/VISITORS

  • No passing of handheld mic/members will stand-up and introduce guests without use of mic

RSVP REQUIRED TO ATTEND MEETINGS

  • Members/Visitors/Guests planning to attend weekly meetings will be required to RSVP through Evite to let us know if you are planning to attend as we are limited to 70 people at this time
  • Any dietary restrictions need to be noted on the RSVP

ZOOM / RECORDINGS

  • Meetings will continue to be available on Zoom and a recording will also be emailed out after the meeting for those not comfortable attending in person

We will continue to monitor the situation and any changing state and local ordinances to assure we are keeping the safety of all as our highest priority.  Because we are continuing to Zoom the meetings, we hope that those who are not yet comfortable attending in person will continue to log in by Zoom from the comfort of your home. No yummy lunch by Hall’s or the in-person camaraderie of your fellow Rotarians, but it is the next best thing to stay engaged and be connected to your Rotary family. And as we know, the impact of Rotary is felt through our volunteerism and support of one another and the community, especially during trying times.

 

Important COVID-19 Message from the District  

As we go back to attending meetings in person, we wanted to again share the below from the District. Members are asked to keep this in mind.

It has come to my attention that we need to set some ground rules for dealing with Rotarians who contract COVID-19 and how we deal with this in our clubs.  First, for the Rotarians themselves. We MUST maintain absolute confidentiality for ANYONE who tests positive for COVID-19 unless they give us permission to share their information.  That said, we MUST also ask, even require, that any Rotarian who has been to an in-person Rotary meeting or other function and later suspects they have COVID-19 report this to their Club President as soon as possible.  This could be due to being in close contact with a person who tests positive or that they show symptoms. And, they absolutely must let the Club President know immediately if they test positive.  Then, keeping confidentiality, the Club President MUST let all who attended that event know that there was someone at the event or meeting who came down with symptoms or tested positive.  This will, at least, give all those notified the option of being tested immediately.  And, it gives them warning that maybe they should limit their contact with others until it is proven that they are not infected.

July Dues Now Past Due  

If you haven’t already, please be sure to pay your July-December 2020 dues.  Statements were distributed via email the last of June and are now considered past due.  As a reminder to those with an outstanding balance, a statement was emailed this past week. Please note that we have expanded our payment options and you now have the ability to pay via ACH and PayPal. Also of note, a 3% convenience fee is added to all credit card dues payments. 

The below policy was approved by the Board this past Spring and went into effect on July 1, 2020.  Our club’s operating budget depends on members paying their dues as we incur various expenses based on our membership count and we cannot continue to pay for Rotarians, who do not fulfill their commitment of paying semi-annual dues.

Failure to Pay Dues Policy (effective 7/1/20)
“Any Rotary member with dues past 90 days must either pay in full or develop a payment plan, which includes making a minimal payment. If this is not in place by 120 days, then membership in Rotary will be terminated. If a member wishes to return, they must pay all outstanding dues prior to resubmitting an application.”

Another IMPORTANT change …. When we start meeting in-person in September, meal fees will increase to $30 for both excused members and guests. We will also ask that meal fees (Excused & guests) be paid at the door. We will no longer bill.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s

This year, the Charleston Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, on November 7th, is everywhere — on every sidewalk and bridge, the beach, downtown, in parks and anywhere your team chooses to walk. Your team can be one person or 200 and you can walk together or separate. Although the world may look a little different right now, one thing hasn’t changed: our commitment to the fight against Alzheimer’s.

The 2020 Charleston Walk to End Alzheimer’s won’t be a large in-person gathering this year — instead, we invite you to walk wherever you like in small teams of friends and family while others in your community do the same. We want the Greater Charleston area to be covered in purple on November 7th!

There are a couple of ways we invite you to participate. Create a team and walk with us to support the cause or be a Sponsor.

How to participate:
1. Register for the Charleston Walk. 
Sign up as a Team Captain, team member or individual. It doesn’t matter where you live you can sign up for the Charleston walk and walk where you are that day.

http://act.alz.org/charlestonwalk 
2. Start fundraising and spread the word.
We’ll provide tips and coaching every step of the way, including easy ways to raise funds online and at home.
3. Join us on Walk day which is November 7th – everywhere.
Take part in an interactive online experience, walk in your community and visit the planted Promise Garden, which is view only.

Alzheimer’s isn’t waiting. Neither are you.
No matter where you are, you can walk.

http://act.alz.org/charlestonwalk

 

Official Rotary Club of Charleston Statement on Racial Inequity and Business Support

The Rotary Club of Charleston Board of Directors has adopted an official statement on Racial Inequity and Business Support in light of the recent unrest in our community and across the nation and the world. Rotary International had adopted an official statement on June 1, and we felt it was important for our Rotary Club to take a stand to condemn racial injustice and also show support for our small businesses who were affected during the recent rioting. While this has been a very challenging year for our community and our members with this pandemic and the resulting economic effects, we feel hopeful that a shift is occurring for the pandemic that has plagued our country for 400 years. In both our words and our actions, we have a chance to be a part of changing our future to one that allows all of our citizens to have a chance to live up to their fullest potential. With all the amazing and transformative impact the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston has had on our community and milestones that we have celebrated throughout this 100th anniversary year, you can be proud to be a part of an organization that lives up to our vision of uniting to create lasting change in our world, our communities and in ourselves.

The statement in its entirety can be found on the lead page of our club’s website.

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.

Contribute to The CART Fund On-Line

It is now easy to contribute and support The CART Fund electronically. The CART Fund has just rolled out a new portal www.mycartfund.org, which you can easily access. As a Rotarian and a DACdb user, you automatically have an account already set-up in your name. Your user name and password are the same as it is for the DACdb.

Our Club is on Social Media

Members are encouraged 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 sent to Mike Sottak, [email protected], or Rob Byko, [email protected].

 

MEMBER NEWS

With much regret, the Board of Directors accepted the resignations of the following Rotarians this past Tuesday – Heath Beam, Michael Cooper, Emily Cooper.  We will miss these Rotarians and wish them all the best!

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

    • Rotarian:  Jacob Humiston
      • JOINED: August 25, 2020
      • SPONSOR: Heidi Finniff
      • MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: New Member
      • CLASSIFICATION: Military/Government Contracting
      • PROFESSION: Program Manager, Phase II Staffing & Contracting, LLC
      • SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: In college, I cycled for the University of Nebraska, and during non-collegiate season I had individual sponsorships by GoPro and SpyOptic.

Birthdays

    • 13 – Rob Byko
    • 14 – Alan Uram & Steve Morse
    • 15 – Anthony Weston
    • 16 – Courtney Plotner

By the numbers

    • Attendance on September 1, 2020:  50
    • Not in attendance: Allen, Baggs, Baus, Berry, Bickley, Bini, Brack, Clark, Coe, Cole, Cook, Coxe, Crain, Crouch, DeGraff, Diminich, Donaldson, Dopp, Drafts, Echols, Fellabom, Finniff, Galizia, Gill, Giovanniello, Goxhaj, Hanger, Holmes, Howard, Husser, Jones, Jones, Kaynard, Lietzow, Loredo, Lucy, Minson, Miracle, Moring, Morse, Oswalt, Patrick, Peters, Ravenel, Riner, Rust, Savage, Seguer, Shahid, Sidebottom, Smith, H., Smith, P., Strickland, Taylor, Tecklenburg, John, Teller, Tonney, Vanek, Walters
    • Out of Town Make-ups: None
WELLNESS TIP

Stavros Triantafyllidis, who is our club’s new Wellness Chair, has compiled a Wellness Guide for our Rotary club.  In upcoming issues of The Keyway, you will find some illustrations, innovative ideas and tips for exercise at home. The information provided was inspired by the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) at The Citadel.

Mindfulness

During this unprecedented time, it’s possible to become physically, mentally, and spiritually overwhelmed. To help you care for yourself, and perhaps others in your household, below are some resources you may find helpful in mitigating some of the stress you and others close to you may be experiencing during this time.

  • Yoga: Yoga has consistently been shown in scientific literature to improve physical, mental, and spiritual health. There is a myriad of resources available on the internet for Yoga. The first link provided below offers a free video for those new to or returning to Yoga after a long hiatus. The second link offers both free videos and ones that require a membership. One of the things I like about the second one is that it allows for a free instructional video on how you can help lead a Yoga class.

Another resource I’ve found useful in my family, particularly among younger children is the book “Sitting Still Like a Frog,” available in print and audiobook. Here are some free audio exercises from the book.

https://www.shambhala.com/sittingstilllikeafrog/

ARE 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: Lisa Van Bergen
  • 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