6/15: Suzie Shannon, SC Council of Competitiveness

June 15, 2021

We welcomed Suzie Shannon who runs the South Carolina Council of Competitiveness. She shared with us the industries, initiatives and programs her organization focuses on in order to help drive economic growth across the state. Don’t forget our Transition Social event on June 29 at 5 PM at 5 Faber (no daytime meeting that day!).

Susie Shannon, President & CEO, of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness spoke to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston this week about the work that the Council does. She showed their mission statement and gave her informal version: “We are working everyday with anyone who will work with us – academic institutions, governments, private industry – to make South Carolina a more economically vibrant, healthy, and attractive place to live.”

The Council was founded in 2004 by the three South Carolina research university presidents, political, and business leaders. Dr. Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor, was brought in to help develop the Council. He was known for having creative ideas on how geographies and communities compete. One of those ideas was about the development of “industry clusters”. Susie defines clusters as “small, interconnected group of companies explicitly working together to fundamentally change their cost structure. There is shared marketing, shared research, and shared vendor relationships.” Some examples are Life Science industry in the Boston area or the wine region in Napa Valley.

Some of the signature clusters and initiatives of the Council are: TranformSC, SC Aerospace, SC Logistics, SC Tech, and Cybersec. The three main things that the Council works on are Education/Workforce Development, Actionable Research, and supporting Industry Clusters.

The SC Aerospace cluster is of course led by Boeing in North Charleston and Lockheed Martin in the Upstate, but it also includes all the companies that make up their respective supply chains. Academic institutions also play a major role. Trident Tech recently opened S.C. Aeronautical Training Center and The University of South Carolina offer as an Aerospace Engineering program. The Council’s research indicates that the industry has a $28 Billion economic impact within the state and employs 136,000.

SC Logistics supports a very important cluster. South Carolina businesses make a lot of cools stuff: tires, planes, automobiles, boats, and even coffee. But we have got to get the products out the door and bring raw materials and components in the door. Logistics all about how we make sure we have a resilient framework to make that happen farther, faster, and better. This cluster has a $37 billion impact on the S.C. economy.

SC Tech and Cybersec is a huge cluster that continues to grow. Currently 180,000 South Carolinians work in this sector with an average wage of $80,000. The Council’s research indicates the cluster has an $89 billion impact.

SC Fraunhofer USA Alliance is a collaborative effort between the SC Council on Competitiveness, SC Dept of Commerce, and the Fraunhofer USA network, a German collaborative who provides funding for grants. It was created to advance applied research across the state of SC. The Alliance has provided over $1 Million in matching funds to date.

The Transform SC initiative is about education and workforce development, mainly focused on K-12. Working with industry partners, Transform SC developed an ideal “Profile of an S.C. Graduate”. The graduate has three primary characteristics. They will have World Class Knowledge: based upon rigorous standards in language arts and math, multiple languages, STEM. They will have World Class Skills: creativity, innovation, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and knowing how to learn. They will have Life and Career Characteristics: integrity, self-direction, global perspective, perseverance, work ethic, and interpersonal skills. Transform SC has developed and continues to develop, programs and strategies that can be deployed to create more of these graduates from SC schools.

To access the recording from this week’s meeting, go here.

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS

Karla Combs gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
Karla Combs introduce our visiting Rotarians & guests.
President Lisa Van Bergen presented Health and Happiness.
Cleave Ham, introduced our guest speaker, Suzie Shannon of the SC Council of Competitiveness.

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

June 22, 2021 | Issue 5010 President: Lisa Van Bergen

COMING EVENTS

- June 22 – Capt. Veronica Brecht, USCG in Charleston
- June 29 – Board Transition Social; 5-7pm (NO LUNCH MEETING)
- July 6 – No MEETING – Happy July 4th!
- July 13 – Club Assembly; 2021-2022 Board & Committee Chair
- July 20 – P&C Investigative Journalism Group
- July 27 – Dave Echols, Charleston Riverdogs

NEWS BRIEFS

Important – COVID Meeting Protocols Updated

In alignment with the new CDC guidelines, the Rotary Board has determined that the club needs to make adjustments to our Rotary meeting procedures. Effective immediately, we will no longer take temperatures upon arrival or be required to sign a waiver at the door. Face masks are now optional for all Rotarians and visitors, who are fully vaccinated. Those Rotarians and visitors, who are not yet vaccinated, are encouraged to continue to wear masks. Name badges will again be worn at meetings.

The staff and servers at Hall’s will continue to wear masks.

For the safety of our members and guests, we ask all members to please comply with the CDC guidelines and our protocols.

Board Transition Social – Mark Your Calendars

As we have done all year, we are going to do something a little different for our last meeting of this Rotary year. A Happy Hour Social from 5-7 pm is scheduled at Hall’s Signature Events on Tuesday, June 29th in lieu of our lunch meeting that day. There will be a “brief” meeting, but mostly it will be a fun time to celebrate the year, ring in the new Rotary year and catch up with our Rotary friends. We hope you will plan to bring your spouse or guest and join us!

Rotary recognized for its support of CPD’s Leadership Development Institute

The following press release was issued last week from the Charleston Police department:

Historic Rotary Club of Charleston Partners with the City of Charleston Police and Fire Department

Leadership Development Journey

Talent-based Leadership and The 5 Anchors of Leadership

In June, 2021 the City of Charleston kicked off its Public Safety Leadership Initiative with stated goals of creating community-centric and inclusive culture within our police and fire services. Currently 60 participants from all ranks and divisions within our public safety organizations, to include professional staff, are participating in this 6-month leadership journey. This is the first type of collaborative training between all personnel in the history of Charleston public safety.

The City of Charleston’s Police and Fire Departments applaud the support and efforts of the Historic Charleston Rotary Club for their tremendous contribution to making this training possible. Without the substantial financial and professional support from our local Historic Rotary Club this collaborative training, to prepare public safety staff for future leadership positions, would not have been possible. Partnerships such as this illustrate the importance of public, private and community involvement in public safety. The Rotary can be thanked for taking a role in assisting both departments in reaching their goals of professional excellence.

The Rotary Club of Charleston supported the formation of the Leadership Development Institute with a $50,000 grant in 2020, the largest donation to a single cause in the club’s history and one that recognized the 100th Anniversary of its community service in the Charleston area. The club, which counts CPD Chief Luther Reynolds and CFD chief Daniel Curia among its 125 members, has pledged its continued support through involvement by its members in the evolution of the program.

Over the 6 months, participants will have intensive classroom training on 8 critical leadership topics, be assigned to accountability groups, complete a personality assessment, watch reinforcement videos, complete workbooks with team members and conduct a reflective presentation at the conclusion of the program. The following are the 8 courses:

Strength-based leadership 5 Anchors of Leadership
Higher Levels of Accountability Leadership: What is Your Brand
Compassionate Leadership Mission-oriented Mind
Positive Conflict Self-Regulation & Peer Accountability

TY (Thank-You) pins

Our Rotary Club is now recognizing former, long-time retired Rotarians, so we may present them with a lapel pin. The pin was designed by Rotarian Don Oswalt. In the middle of the pin the initials “TY” = Thank-You. On the outside of the pin states that the TY is from your Club – The Historic Club of Charleston – Rotary.

This past Tuesday, Past President Rob Dewey was honored to recognize and thank for his many years of service to Rotary and our community Rick Widman. Rick was joined at the meeting by his wife, Linn. Rick served our club for many years in various capacities and was a long-time, dedicated supporter of our Rotary. It was wonderful to have Rick and his wife back with us!

Our Board feels it is imperative to show appreciation to our former, retired Rotarians, who have given so much of their time, talents and treasure over the years towards making our Club ‘Even Better.’

Contact Membership Chair, Cleave Ham [email protected] with others whom we need to recognize.

ABVI Recognized as RCCF Grant Recipient

On behalf of our club and the RCCF Committee, Past President and RCCF Chair David Burt recognized the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI) as a Spring RCCF Grant recipient. Members of the RCCF Committee visited ABVI back in April and presented the actual check in-person, but we also wanted to recognize this organization in front of the entire membership. Our own member, Courtney Plotner, represented ABVI and thanked the club for our support. Our club’s donated funds will go to support clients in their Own Your Life (OYL) program by purchasing Tel-A-Ride and Tri-County Link tickets to enable them to get to and from the ABVI office so they can take OYL classes to learn independent living skills and/or skills they need to get a job.

Congrats to ABVI! We appreciate all they do in support of the seeing impaired in our community!

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.

Become a PHF & Support the Rotary Foundation

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

Our thoughts, prayers and get well wishes are with Virginia Lee as she is recovering at home from surgery. We wish her a speedy and full recovery.

Proposed New Members

The following membership candidates have submitted an application and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:

Troy McClain – sponsor: Sandy Morckel & Dwayne Green, classification: Entrepreneur

Travis Ronk – sponsor: Silva Goxhaj; classification: Banking/Business DevelopmentIn the event you know Troy or Travis, please tell a member of the Board how he will serve the ideas of Rotary.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Rotarian: Stephanie Dasher

- JOINED: 6//8/2021
- SPONSOR: Skip Fink
- MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: New Member
- CLASSIFICATION: Eleemosynary/Executive
- PROFESSION: Executive Director, Warrior Surf Foundation
- SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: Though I graduated college with a Nuclear Engineering & Science degree, I actually dropped out of Algebra II in high school because I said it was too hard and I wasn’t good in math. I truly believe this and I hated math, but loved science. To me, this is proof that all of our brains mature at different rates and given enough time we can learn to do anything.

Birthdays

6/22 – Past President Jimmy Stuckey
6/24 – Cheryl Kaynard
6/27 – Rudy Thoma

By the numbers

- Attendance on June 15, 2021 (In-Person and Zoom): 52
- Not in attendance.Baggs, Baus, Berry, Bickley, Bini, Brack, Clark, Coe, Coghill, Cole, Cook, Coxe, Craig, Dasher, DeGraff, Diminich, Drafts, Dopp, Echols, Fason, Fellabom, Fink, M., Finniff, Galizia, Gill, Gorrin, Green, Hanger, Howard, Jones, Jones, Kaynard, Lee, Loredo, Lucy, Matheny, Mauk, Miracle, Moore, Moring, Patrick, Peters, Phipps, Ravenel, Raver, Rust, Scott, Seguer, Shahid, Sidebottom, Smith, H., Smith, M., Smith, P., Staley, Stockdale, Stoney, Strickland, Taylor, Tecklenburg, Tecklenburg, Teller, Triantafyllidis, Vanek, Wackym, Walters, Webb, Weston, Williams, Woodell

- Out of Town Make-ups: None

WELLNESS TIP

SLEEP IS ESSENTIAL

Knowing how much sleep your body needs and getting the required amount is key to self-care. Sleep patterns can change during the summer. Melatonin, a hormone produced by the body and released in the dark, helps us feel tired. Melatonin signals to the brain that it is time to sleep. Extended light hours during the summer means that release of melatonin is delayed, so our body doesn’t feel like sleeping until later when it is dark. Our normal sleep pattern, called the circadian rhythm, can be delayed as the day is longer during the summer months.

Think back on the last time you didn’t get enough sleep—it likely affected your entire day. A lack of sleep can impact our mental health, relationships, productivity, and overall well-being. Remember the importance of a good night’s sleep and get plenty of rest during the summer.

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

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