12/1: Dr. Thad Bell, Health Care Disparities

December 1, 2020:

We heard about the impressive story and efforts of Dr. Thad Bell who recounted his many challenges and accomplishments in taking on racial issues and healthcare disparities as a student and doctor at MUSC. We also recognized our second First Responder of the Year award, bestowing the honor on Charleston PD’s Amanda King. And we welcomed her boss, CPF Chief Luther Reynolds, to our club as our newest member. Don’t forget to RSVP for our Holiday Party at Hall’s, December 15

Dr. Thad Bell joined us last Tuesday to talk about his program, Closing the Gap in Healthcare.

He graduated from SC State in 1962 at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and although not militant, he was part of the movement and was arrested and jailed for 2 weeks for marching on the bowling alley in Orangeburg that would not allow African Americans. He applied to MUSC for medical school but was turned down in 1965, 1966 and 1967 eventually being accepted in 1972. During this time he was applying he was invited to be a teacher at Charleston High School the first African American to teach in an all-white high school in South Carolina.

He came to MUSC thinking that the medical profession was one of the noblest careers but was not aware that it was one of the most racist of professions. The relationship between medicine and African Americans has not been good. He referenced the Tuskegee experiments which used black people for the experiment for syphilis but did not treat them even after a cure was discovered.

He made a promise to God that if he graduated MUSC he would do something about the health disparages he saw. Health disparages are when the burden of disease is greater in a group of people than in others. African Americans die more from every disease than white people.

There are many reasons for the health disparages but health literacy is one thing he thought he could address, as a teacher, as a doctor, as a professor, to help improve the health outcomes for African Americans. So he started Closing the Gap in Healthcare for African Americans.

He received the Wanamaker Award given by the Charleston County Medical Society. In April of 2012, Dr. Bell received the James Clyburn Health Literacy Award in Public Health Communication and Community Service. CTGIHC has received numerous awards from sororities and fraternities for outstanding contributions to the African American Communities in Public Health (Health Literacy). In March 2013, Dr. Bell received the Humanitarian Award from the city of Summerville, South Carolina

He concluded with the tragedies in his life, including losing his son at 21, shortly after he graduated from college, and more recently his youngest daughter, who helped found CTGIHC, to a rare form of cancer.

Go here for a recording of the meeting.

Submitted by Don Baus, Chairman Keyway Committee

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS

- Past President Paul Stoney gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- Karla Combs welcomed all visiting Rotarians & guests.
- President Lisa presented Health and Happiness.
- Cleave Ham introduced our keynote speaker, Dr. Thad Bell, who discussed “Healthcare Disparities”

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

December 1, 2020 | Issue 4988| President: Lisa Van Bergen

UPCOMING EVENTS

- - - Dec. 8 – Board Meeting @ 11 am / Dondi Costin “How Local Universities are dealing with Covid-19”
    - Dec. 11 – Salvation Army Bellringing
    - Dec. 15 – Holiday Luncheon @ Hall’s (MEMBERS Only)/ Write cards for Sr. Giving immediately following
    - Dec. 22 – NO Meeting
    - Dec. 29 – NO Meeting
    - Jan. 5 – Mayor John Tecklenburg, State of the City

NEWS BRIEFS

COVID: In-Person Reminder

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 a warning that maybe they should limit their contact with others until it is proven that they are not infected.

Community Impact-Recognition Award

The Historic Rotary Club of Charleston presented our second ‘Community Impact-Recognition Award’ this past Tuesday. The recipient was Officer Amanda King of the Charleston Police Department. Officer King is a two-year veteran of the CPD and has made an impact with multiple arrests and displaying professionalism and cool-headedness in diffusing tense situations as well as proactively engaging in community relations.

The Community Impact-Recognition Award was approved at the October meeting of the Board of Directors. This Award will be presented at least 4 times a year. When this appreciation is given to a First Responder – they will receive a ‘trophy’, which will come from All American Awards and a gift card from a restaurant. Many thanks to the fellow Rotarian Thomas Berry and The Shelter for providing a generous gift card to the Rotary Club so we could pass it onto Officer King.

The Board has also approved that we will present 2 Awards at our annual end of the year meeting: the other 2 Awards are for 2 members of our Club: The Rookie of the Year and the Bill Hall Rotarian of the Year. Club members will be receiving information about the nominations for these Awards in February.

Our Club is delighted to honor Officer Amanda King as the first member of the CPD to be given this honor from our Club. We look forward to continuing this new tradition for years to come. The next presentation will be on March 30.

Board Elections This Tuesday

It is that time of year to elect 4 new board members for 2-year terms 2021-2023 (beginning July 2021 and running through June 2023). We have contacted those who are eligible for Board Nomination and have compiled a list of those willing to serve (see below).

We wanted everyone to have an opportunity to vote and realized that due to COVID many of you are not able to attend in person. To vote on-line, members can use the link below to vote for your top 4 choices any time prior to 9 am on December 8. We will also have paper ballots available at the meeting for those who wish to vote in-person. We will tally the results during the meeting this Tuesday and announce our new Board members at the end of the meeting.

Click here to vote: https://forms.gle/Cw6YfurxmLeVfvB9A

Eligible Board Candidates:

Debbie Barton
Stefany Di Manno Ceccato
Owen Clary
David Cohen
Rich Dukes
Nick Galizia
Cleave Ham
Stavros Triantafyllidis
Jeff Webb
Charlton Wieters
Kelsey Willey
Chad Woodell

Thanks to the above list of candidates! We appreciate their desire and willingness to serve our club in the upcoming year! We look forward to continuing our 100-year tradition of strong leadership and impact in our community and around the world.

Salvation Army Bell Ringing

Our long-standing holiday tradition continues! We will be ringing the bell for the Salvation Army on Friday, Dec. 11 from 10am-6pm. We will have two stations – one at King/Market and one at Meeting/Market. More information to come about sign-ups, but if you would like to reserve a certain shift in advance, contact our project chair, Denise Kaufman at [email protected]. We hope as many of you as possible will participate as this is a way we can serve our community while safely social distancing outdoors.

Holiday Senior Giving

We are gearing up for our Annual Senior Gift Giving for the residents of the Ansonborough House. We are again very proud to have the opportunity to make sure all 80 residents of the Ansonborough House has a wonderful holiday. Just like much of 2020, this project will be a little different this year. In lieu of the normal holiday party and gift giving, we will be providing a meal that will be delivered by the senior center staff to each senior’s apartment and we will include a Harris Teeter gift card with each delivery. We would like to include a personal card with each delivery and gift. This is where Rotarian volunteers can help! We will be writing the cards immediately following our Holiday Lunch at Hall’s on 12/15. If you would like to help with this project, please plan to stay after the luncheon. It shouldn’t take more than an hour.

Holiday Luncheon at Hall’s

We will return to Hall’s Chophouse for this year’s Holiday Luncheon. Mark your calendar now for this popular holiday event – Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 12:00noon. Due to COVID and social distancing protocols, this will be a Rotarian ONLY event (no guests) and reservations will be limited. We hope everyone will enjoy this fun, festive time and mingling with their fellow Rotarians. Look for an Evite and additional details to be emailed to you soon.

Change in Membership Status Deadline

If you plan a change in your club member status by January 1, 2021 to Excused, Leave of Absence, E-Member or if you are planning to resign, please notify Carroll in writing NO LATER THAN December 7, 2020. This change will affect the January statement, which will be distributed in mid-December. All current members who officially resign after December 7 will be billed $52 to cover Rotary International dues, which are paid the first of each billing cycle. If you have any questions, contact Carroll.

Support The CART Fund

It is easy for club members to make individual contributions and support The CART Fund electronically. The CART Fund has 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.

Support the Rotary Foundation

Just a reminder as we enter the season of giving not to forget the Rotary Foundation! There is the District 7770 Million $ Campaign and dinner to be held on May 5th 2021 at the Francis Marion Hotel. Our own Sandy Morckel is the Chair for that event. $10,000 spread over 3 years or a Bequest gets you an invite.

And do not forget your opportunity to be recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow. Eighty-five dollars a month gets you there. Please reach out to Karl Riner, Club Foundation Chair, to sign up or ask questions.

You can also donate to Rotary’s efforts to end polio now: https://endpolio.org/donate

District Governor Nominations Being Accepted

As the Immediate Past District Governor of Rotary International District 7770, Johnny Moore, serves as Chair of the District 7770 Nominating Committee. In that capacity it is his responsibility to publish this call for nominations, to receive nominations, to present the nominations to the Nominating Committee and to Chair the Nominating Committee during the interview and voting process.

We are seeking nominations for the Office of District Governor of Rotary International District 7770. Nomination data forms must be returned to Johnny at [email protected] no later than 31 December 2020. Included in the attached packet is Article 16 of the Rotary International Manual of Procedure explaining the qualifications for District Governor. The applicant must read, understand, agree to and sign this section in order to be considered. The Club Secretary must sign the nomination form prior to submitting it to me.

Though not required it is suggested that the candidate meet with the Board of their Club to seek Board support for their nomination.

The Nominating Committee will meet on January 29th, 2021 with interviews starting at 9:00 AM. The location or method of meeting will be determined at a later time and meeting via virtual means is a distinct possibility. Those nominated will be informed of the method for meeting as much in advance as is possible and will receive their interview time at that point.

If you have questions, you may contact me at [email protected].

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 affects your ability to receive club emails. If you unsubscribe from the District emails, then you are also unsubscribing from receiving club emails.

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

Congratulations to our newest Rotarians – Luther Reynolds and Dwayne Green! Luther was sponsored and introduced by President-Elect Rob Dewey. As Chief of Police for CPD, he will hold the classification of Law Enforcement. Dwayne Green is a former member of our club and we are excited to have him return as a member! Dwayne was introduced by Past President Sandy Morckel and was sponsored by both Sandy and President-Elect Rob Dewey. Dwayne will hold the classification of Legal Consulting/Gov’t Affairs. We welcome both Luther and Dwayne into our Rotary family!

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: Dan Curia

JOINED: 11/17/20
SPONSOR: President-Elect Rob Dewey
MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: New Member
CLASSIFICATION: First Responder/Fire
PROFESSION: Fire Chief, Charleston Fire Department
SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: I play the drums. Until I moved to Charleston in 2018, I played in a rock and blues band for years.

Birthdays

12/9 – Johnny Stuhr
12/9 – Heath Ward

By the numbers

- Attendance on December 1, 2020 (In-Person and Zoom): 61
- Not in attendance: Baus, Berry, Bickley, Bini, Cohen, Cook, Coxe, Crain, DeGraff, Echols, Fason, Fellabom, Finniff, Gill, Howard, Humiston, Husser, Jones, Z., Kaynard, Loredo, Lucy, Moring, Oswalt, Rust, Savage, Shahid, Smith, P., Strickland, Tecklenburg, John, Tecklenburg, Joseph, Wackym, Walters, Woodell
- Out of Town Make-ups: None

WELLNESS TIP

Keep up healthy habits.

Make a pact with yourself during the holidays. For example, decide that you’ll move more and do something active every day over the next three weeks. Take it a step further, and pledge to start the day with a healthy breakfast, limit the sweets and get at least seven hours of sleep each night. If you don’t completely give up your healthy habits, you won’t feel like you have to start over once the holidays are over..

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

Charleston Breakfast: 7:30AM Hall’s Signature Events, 5 Faber, Charleston

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

We’re on Facebook. Take 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