February 23, 2021:
Helen Hill is the face of Charleston Tourism and the driving force in the success of this important aspect of our local economy. She shared her thoughts on how the region dealt with the impact of Covid-19 and painted a bright picture for tourism in Charleson as things gradually get back to normal.
Last Tuesday, Helen Hill gave a wonderful presentation on the impact of COVID on our tourism industry. Helen is CEO of Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the main marketing arm for one of the region’s biggest economic engines.
The Charleston native is a graduate of Ashley Hall and Clemson University, where she switched her major from accounting to parks, recreation and tourism management.
In 2019, before Covid, the tourism industry employed about 40,000 residents with a total impact of $9.67 B and an estimated 7.43 million visitors. 90% of the visitors come from the continental US with a larger percentage from nearby states within driving distance, with about 10% international. The situation is completely different not only for the reduction in international travel but people are also willing to drive further so Charleston’s reach is increasing.
All of the good things about our region are still here. Our market is built around these pillars. History, Culinary, Family, Outdoors, Arts & Culture, and Shopping. Charleston continues to win awards, Best City in the US – Travel + Leisure (8 years in a row.) Best Small City in the US, Conde Nast (10 years in a row) among many others.
Air service to Charleston has been a major contributor to getting people here from farther away and air travel has plummeted over the last year but we have recovered somewhat faster than the rest of the country since we are a leisure destination and people want to getaway. Business travel is still down. Advertising for Explore Charleston has focused on the outdoors since that is where everyone needs to be. The Charleston Visitor center has also recently been remodeled so the groundwork for recovery has been laid.
Go here for a recording of this week’s meeting
Submitted by Don Baus, Chairman, Keyway Committee
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
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- Dwayne Green gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- President-Elect Rob Dewey welcomed all visiting Rotarians and guests.
- President Lisa presented Health and Happiness.
- Peter Shahid introduced Helen Hill, CEO of the Charleston CVB, who discussed the impact of COVID-19 on our tourism industry.
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
March 2, 2021 | Issue 4997 President: Lisa Van Bergen
COMING EVENTS
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- March 2 – New Member Orientation (11 am)
- March 2 – Chief Luther Reynolds/Captain Cretella/Assist. Chief Kostyrka, CPD Leadership Development Institute
- March 9 – Todd Lant, Blackbaud
- March 16 – Dr. David Cole, “The Latest on COVID-19”(ZOOM ONLY)
- March 23 – Dr. Mary Thornley, Trident Technical College
- March 30 – John Darby, “How the Beach Company makes our region even better”
- April 6 – John Warren, President/Kiawah, PGA Championship (ZOOM ONLY)
NEWS BRIEFS
Happy 116th Birthday Rotary!
This past Tuesday, February 23rd was Rotary Day! Rotarians all over the world celebrated 116 years of Rotary members volunteering their time and talents to transform lives at home and around the world.
Since Rotary was founded we have been one of the world’s largest service organizations – with 1.2 million members in over 200 countries – and one of the most successful humanitarian ones – with a long track record of addressing challenges at home and around the world.
Rotary has stepped up to the world’s biggest challenges; in particular since we committed to eradicating polio, we’ve helped reduce cases by 99.9%. Rotary’s End Polio Now program has immunized almost 3 billion children, protecting them from polio and preventing 19 million cases of paralysis.
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.
Rotarian/Non-Rotarian Volunteers Assist With COVID Vaccine Rollout

The Rotary Club of Charleston is playing a critical role in a Covid Vaccine public/private partnership with Rotary District 7770 and all 3 local hospital systems . Our most recent event was last Wednesday and Thursday at The Galliard Center which was supported by Past presidents Sandy and Patterson, as well as Rob Byko and wife Karen.
On the ground report from Rob: “During our shift, 1,200 doses dispensed, and so many of the patrons came up to us afterward to thank usRotary Club of Charleston, Gaillard Center and of course Harris Teeter for hosting the event, making it so easily accessible and organized. Many, many positive comments on the warm & friendly greeters, HT staffers and Rotary volunteers…quite a few Rotarians & former Rotarians stopped by our station just to say ‘Hi!’ and thank Rotary for their involvement. All-in, a greatly beneficial event for all concerned.”

Charleston 50
The Charleston 50, a special group of generous supporters who contribute $500 annually to the Rotary Club of Charleston’s community grants program, is almost 50% filled! What a great opportunity to continue our decades-long tradition of grant-making while also building brand awareness and visibility before a group that values local businesses, generous leaders, and community-minded professionals. This group receives exclusive benefits, and all funds will support local charities. Your donation is 100% Tax-Deductible. The group will never exceed 50 donors, and this is your opportunity to join the inaugural class of The Charleston 50! Memberships will be accepted until 50 are obtained, and benefits continue through June 30, 2021. At that point Year Two will start!
Please download and complete the attached Pledge Form, and return it via email to Phoenicia Miracle at [email protected].
As benefits (through June 30, 2021), each Charleston 50 member will annually receive:
- Their logo or name on the website with a hotlink
- Recognition at a meeting (Recognize two at a time)
- Right of first refusal for 2021-22
- a Charleston 50 lapel pin
- A frameable certificate for office
- A decal
- Permission to use The Rotary 50 on their website and email
- Automatic enrollment in and recognition at other Rotary events
- Name association with every good deed Rotary funds
- Special event post-Covid
Students and teachers of the Month

Continuing our support of education in our community, this week our Rotary recognized the Student of the Month and Educator of the Month at James Simons Elementary for the months of both December and January. Kingston Godfrey was the Student of the Month for December and was joined by his mother and grandfather. Jatorre Hamilton was the Student of the Month for January and was joined by his father. The Educator of the Month for December was Lakeatra Daniels who teaches three and four years olds. The Educator of the Month for January was Margaret Williams who teaches art and also assists with the school’s STEM programs. Ms. Williams could not be with us, since she had just had a baby, but we were pleased to have Ms. Christine Ryan, the principal of James Simons with us also to recognize these outstanding teachers and students.
Share The Warmth – Coat/Warm Clothing Drive
Fellow Rotarian, Joel Cardwell, is coordinating a Rotary “Share the Warmth” coat drive, for the next FOUR weeks!
Donations can include coats, blankets, socks, sweaters, hats, gloves, or any warm clothing our less fortunate brothers and sisters could use to keep warm this winter. Donations can be for men, women or children.
These donations will also be used for outreach in the streets by Slums to Slumber, and Uplift Charleston to help transition those suffering from homelessness into safe housing and care.
Joel will collect items brought to meetings, and is also happy to come to your location to pick up donations. You can contact him at 317.850.0853 or www.joelcardwell.com.
Thank you for supporting our needy neighbors!
PR Committee Seeking Volunteers
Our club’s PR Team is looking for additional members to join their committee. Specifically, volunteer photographers are needed to take photos at our meetings. If you are interested in serving on the PR committee and helping in this role, please email Mike Sottak at [email protected]. Fancy cameras are not required, an iPhone will do! It would be wonderful to have a couple of volunteers alternating the weekly duty.
Support The CART Fund
It is easy for club members to make individual contributions and support The CART Fund electronically. The CART Fund has 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.
Support the Rotary Foundation
The District 7770 Million $ Campaign and dinner will be held on May 5th 2021 at the Francis Marion Hotel. Our own Sandy Morkel 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.
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 pictures 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
Welcome to our newest member, Deb Mauk. Deb was introduced and sponsored by Past President Sandy Morckel. She will hold the classification of Medical/Admin. We welcome Deb into our Rotary family!
Our thoughts and prayers are with David Cohen, who is recovering from surgery at home. We wish him a speedy and full recovery.
New Member Orientation on March 2nd
If you are relatively new to our club and Rotary and haven’t attended a new member orientation session, please make plans to join Past President Digit Matheny and the membership team for a meeting on Tuesday, March 2 at 11 am upstairs at 5 Faber. Over the past year due to COVID, we have been unable to hold a new member education session and know that many of you who are new to Rotary have lots of questions. Attending a new member orientation session is a requirement of new members, so we hope as many of you as possible will attend. New members should also look for an email from Past President Digit with details of the meeting.
Proposed New Member
The following membership candidate has submitted an application and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:
Jimmy Gorrin – sponsor: Skip Fink; classification: Auto/Sales
Jan Luth – sponsor: Denise Kaufman; classification: Retired/Museum
In the event you know Jimmy or Jan, please tell a member of the Board how she/he will serve the ideas of Rotary.
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: Joel Cardwell
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- JOINED: 2/2/2021
- SPONSOR: Past President Sandy Morckel
- MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: New Member
- CLASSIFICATION: Real Estate
- PROFESSION: Broker Associate, Brand Name Real Estate
- SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: I won first place in the City Paper photo contest in 2006, and have had my photos published in virtually every local newspaper and magazine in Charleston. I have one of the best collections of Charleston photography around, have had my Charleston photos installed in two local hotels, and sold photo CDs in the visitor center gift shop, the airport gift shop and the aquarium gift shop in the past. I frequently participate in fundraising silent auctions by donating my Charleston photography and photography services to help local nonprofits raise money. You can find my photo galleries on Facebook, or Instagram.
Birthdays
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- 3/2 – Richard Sidebottom
- 3/6 – Steve Coe
By the numbers
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- Attendance on February 23, 2021 (In-Person and Zoom): 60
- Not in attendance: Allen, Baggs, Baus, Berry, Bini, Brack, Coe, Coghill, Cohen, Cole, Cook, Coxe, Crouch, DeGraff, Diminich, Drafts, Dukes, Festa, Fink, Fink, Finniff, Galizia, Gill, Hanger, Holmes, Howard, Husser, Imam, Jones, Jones, Kaynard, Lucy, Moore, Moring, Oswalt, Palmer, Patrick, Plotner, Ravenel, Rust, Sidebottom, Smith, H., Smith, M., Staley, Strickland, Taylor, Tecklenburg, John, Tecklenburg, Joseph, Teller, Vanek, Wackym, Walters, Webb, Weston, Woodell
- Out of Town Make-ups: None
WELLNESS TIP
Get sunlight every day
Fill your home with houseplants
Houseplants help to cleanse your indoor air (sadly, it probably needs it!), they’re pretty, and research even shows they improve mood, creativity and problem solving!
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
- Copyright 2018, Rotary Club of Charleston. All rights reserved