6/22: Captain Veronica Brecht, US Coast Guard

June 22, 2021

We welcomed Captain Veronica Brecht, Commanding Officer of the US Coast Guard Base in Charleston, to our meeting this week. She shared with us details of the Coast Guard’s operation on the region and its impact on Charleston now and in the future. Don’t forget our Transition Social event this Tuesday, June 29 at 5 PM at 5 Faber (no daytime meeting that day!).

Captain Veronica Brecht, Commanding Officer of US Coast Guard Base Charleston talked to the club about their impact on Charleston in the past and plans for the future. She introduced Captain John Cole, the Sector Commander who first talked about their mission. Captain Cole is responsible for operations and maritime security of their district which ranges from the North Carolina/South Carolina border to St. Mary’s, Georgia. Within these 300 miles of coastline, USCG Charleston provides 9 of the 11 missions of USCG. These are Port & Waterway Security, Search & Rescue, Aids to Navigation, Drug Interdiction, Living Marine Resources, Marine Safety, Defense Readiness, Marine Environmental Protection, and Law Enforcement. The two exceptions that they do not perform are Ice Breaking Operations and Alien Interdiction. There are 4 stations: Charleston, Georgetown, Tybee Island, and Brunswick. Captain Cole also serves as Captain of the Port of Charleston. He noted the huge volume of traffic through the port and its potential to become even busier in the future. Also within the district is the Port of Savannah which is the #3 container port with a 2-mile pier, and Brunswick with is the #2 roll-on/roll-off port in the US. Captain Cole talked about the challenge of keeping waterways safe: there are over 36,000 registered vessels in Charleston County! He did take time to thank their partners who help with marine safety operations: SCDNR, SC Ports Authority, SC Law Enforcement Division, local police, and local fire departments.

Captain Brecht then spoke about USCG Charleston’s Engineering and Logistics. First, she showed some pictures of some of the very early facilities in Charleston. In 1935 a USCG hangar and airs station was opened at the south end of the Naval Shipyard where HL Hunley Museum is located today. Another slide showed construction of the main administration building on Tradd Street 1934. USCG Charleston is now split between two campuses: North Charleston (Register Street) and Charleston (Tradd Street). The North Charleston campus is collocated with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). One of Base Charleston’s biggest missions is to support the National Security Cutter fleet. Base Charleston is currently home to six Coast Guard Cutters and there are plans in place to add two additional over the next 3 years.

To support future growth the Base Charleston recently acquired 76 acres waterfront property adjacent to their current campus in North Charleston. This was done as part of a land exchange between FLETC, SPA, and USCG. This includes two additional Piers: Mike and November next to their existing Pier Papa. There will be some environmental cleanup and soil stabilization required on the site. Master planning is underway and based upon the doubling of Base Charleston population of from the current 1,200 to 2,400. This is great news for Base Charleston and for the Charleston region.

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.
President Lisa Van Bergen presented Health and Happiness.

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

June 29, 2021 | Issue 5011 President: Lisa Van Bergen

COMING EVENTS

- 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

No Meeting Tuesday afternoon this week. Board Transition Social at 5PM at 5 Faber

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!

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.

Run with Bernie Polio Challenge

Many years ago Rotarians made a promise to the children of the world that they would not have to suffer from Polio. We are getting SO close to keeping that promise.

Fellow Rotarian Don Oswalt is inviting you to be a part of the “Run with Bernie” Polio Challenge.

If you walk, run, swim, bike, row, count your steps via your watch then YOU QUALIFY! Or if you want to start doing any of those activities YOU QUALIFY!

This is open to Rotarians and non-Rotarians.

Starting date is July 1^st and runs through October.

The goal is to raise money and awareness for the Fight Against Polio, have fun and maybe just get a little healthier.

If you are interested in joining Don and other fellow Rotarians from our club, please email Don Oswalt [email protected] and he will send you all the details.

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

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 22, 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