November 16, 2021
Our guest this week was James Dusenberry, Manager of Commercial Banking at First Citizens Bank. Lots of holiday activities and events coming up so be sure to read through your Keyway this week!
James Dusenberry, Manager of Commercial Banking at First Citizens Bank was our guest speaker this week.
James is a graduate of West Point Military Academy, is a major in the Army Reserves and served in four combat tours and is a graduate of Army Ranger School, Special Ops school, French Foreign Legion Jungle School and French Alpine Warfare school and speaks French, Spanish and Haitian Creole.
He opened with saying that he believes we live in the greatest country on earth and he is thankful and has tremendous hope for us as a nation. He has traveled to over 25 countries and pretty much all of Europe. While many trips were military, many were also peaceful missions and has given him a perspective on the United States that many don’t have. 99% of Americans live above world poverty.
The world poverty line is 1 dollar a day, the US poverty line is $35/day. There are 7 key factors that define poverty and Food, Safe Water, Shelter Sanitation, Health, Education and Information and not having access to any 2 defines poverty. Shelter for example, in the US includes Electricity, Water, Shower, Heating, and Sanitation. None of these are guaranteed outside the US.
We have the most amazing health system in the world. Having experienced socialized health, and hospitals in other countries, the level of access and care here is a class above. Every American has access to Education. The First Amendment guarantees, not only freedom of speech and religion but is allows for the facilitation to support that. He used as an example, the Army sending a Rabbi to Afghanistan to provide Passover service for the soldiers of Jewish Faith. Their number is a small percentage of the troops but access to their faith was provided by the Army sending a Rabbi into a war zone for them. He didn’t gloss over that we do have issues to deal with but wanted us to understand how good we really do have it.
Click here for a recording of last week’s meeting.
Passcode: 9aqe@NhR
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
- Debbie Barton gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- Amy Riley introduced our visiting Rotarians & guests.
- President Rob presented Health and Happiness.
- President-Elect Virginia Lee introduced our guest speaker, James Dusenberry, Manager of Commercial Banking at First Citizens Bank.
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
November 23, 2021 | Issue 5028 President: Rob Dewey
COMING EVENTS
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- Nov. 23 – NO MEETING. Happy Thanksgiving!
- Nov. 30 – Gil Kerlikowske (former director of DEA and Border Patrol)
- Dec. 3 – Salvation Army Bell ringing
- Dec. 7 – Chloe Tonney, Trident United Way
- Dec. 14 – Holiday Luncheon @ Hall’s Chophouse on King
- Dec. 16 – Holiday Lunch for Seniors @ Ansonborough House
- Dec. 21 – NO MEETING – HAPPY HOLIDAYS
- Dec. 28 – NO MEETING – HAPPY HOLIDAYS
NEWS BRIEFS
No Meeting on Nov. 23 – Happy Thanksgiving
We will not meet on Tuesday, Nov. 23. We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and is able to enjoy time with family and friends.
Watch for the Evite in your inbox for our meeting on Dec. 7. It will be emailed the beginning of Thanksgiving week. The deadline to RSVP will be on Black Friday, Nov. 26th.
Meetings to start promptly at 12:30 pm – IMPORTANT
President Rob will “ring the bell” for all upcoming meetings through December at promptly 12:30 pm. All members and their guests are asked to please arrive early, be seated and served lunch prior to 12:30 pm. Hall’s will be prepared to start serving your lunch as early as 12 noon.
Board Nominating Information
In line with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Rotary Club of Charleston, the secretary shall supply each member in good standing with a roster giving the names of those members who are eligible to serve on the Board of Directors. The below list reflects those eligible members who have agreed to serve, if elected.
The By-Laws were revised in June 2017 and state that to be eligible for election to the Board of Directors, a selectee, must be a member in good standing of the Rotary Club of Charleston (with no current dues delinquencies) and must be a member of the Rotary Club of Charleston for at least twelve (12) months as of October 1 of the year in which the election is to occur and met all requirements of a Blue Badge member. Additionally, the selectee must have exhibited regular and reliable attendance of at least 70% (including make-ups) over the past twelve (12) months and must not have served on the Board in the prior twelve (12) months unless otherwise permitted herein. A member must also have actively participated in a committee of the Club, as determined by the nominating committee. If elected, a member must agree to become a sustaining member of the Rotary Foundation and agree to attend at least one of the following District meetings: District Convention, District Assembly or District Foundation Meeting.
The list of eligible members shall be presented to the members of the Club who shall by ballot each indicate their first through fourth preferences from the below list of eligible members to serve on the Board of Directors for the coming year. Each member, in attendance at the annual meeting, or by proxy previously submitted, shall have four (4) votes to elect the four (4) new Board Members. The annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 30th.
Rotary members who are to remain on the Board of Directors during the 2022-2023 year are: Rob Dewey, Virginia Lee, Cleave Ham, David Cohen, Kelsey Willey and Stefany Ceccato. Outgoing members are: Lisa Van Bergen, Rob Byko, Jeanne Jamme, and Joseph Tecklenburg.
Nominating Committee
The following members have been assigned by President Rob Dewey and Nominating Chairperson Lisa Van Bergen to the Nominating Committee: Alex Dallis, Sandy Morckel, Digit Matheny, Paul Stoney, and Karl Brady.
Members Eligible and Willing to Serve:
- Alan Burgreen
- Owen Clary
- Karla Combs
- Rich Dukes
- Tom Giovanniello
- Phoenicia Miracle
- Ken Morelli
- Amy Riley
- Michael Smith
- Robert Sullivan
- Chad Woodell
TY (Thank You) Pin to Kyra Morris
Our Rotary Club is continuing to recognize former and 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, Membership Chair Cleave Ham was honored to recognize and thank Past President Kyra Morris for her many years of dedication and service to our club. Kyra served our club for 12 years until resigning in 2015. She was President of our club in 2009-2010 and served on the Board of Directors. She was a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society Member, Rotary Benefactor, Rotary Foundation Major Donor and a RLI Graduate. She also served a two year term as Assistant District Governor for our District. It was a treat to have such an outstanding former Rotarian 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.
RCCF Fall Grant Check Presentations
On behalf of our club and the RCCF Committee, Past President and current RCCF Chair Alex Dallis recognized four of our eight Fall RCCF Grant recipients.
Meredith Crowe accepted the check on behalf of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Our funds will be used to support the purchase of 3 computers and associated equipment to be used by their mission delivery staff. The staff uses the computers to interview and qualify new mentors, to interview families, to create new mentoring relationships between caring adult mentors and youth facing adversity, etc. Joel Cardwell was the Rotarian sponsor for the grant.
Father to Father was represented by Sean Wilson. Our funds will support 4 cultural activities for those participating in the “Reality Check” program, which is designed to be a crash course on the realities and responsibilities of early fatherhood. Tom Leonard sponsored this grant.
Marie Elana Roland attended on behalf of The Navigation Center. Our funds will support the purchase of 2 laptop computers, a mini IPad and cases for both to be used during local travel for new licensed social workers and their interns. Past President Sandy Morckel was the Rotarian sponsor for this grant.
Operation Home was represented by Miriam Langley and club member, Leah Donaldson. Our funds will support the critical home repairs program with 2 ADA-standard accessibility ramps for 2 low-income families. Past President David Burt sponsored this grant.
We congratulate all grant recipients and appreciate all their organizations do to assist those in need in our community. We were able to grant 8 different organizations this grant cycle and will be recognizing the other organizations on 11/30.
Operation Warm a big success!
Great job by Team Operation Warm who distributed coats and winter weather great to the student at Mitchell Math & Science Elementary School.
International Grants Committee – Get Involved
It is that time of year for the International Committee to solicit grants from organizations working to make our world a better place. Our Club has a focus on organizations in developing countries and has previously funded grants in Kenya, Liberia, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Paraguay (to name a few) that work to solve a wide variety of issues facing those communities. Serving on the international grant committee is a great way to learn about impactful organizations around the world. You will also be able to see first-hand how our Charleston Rotary Club makes a difference throughout the globe. Please contact Joseph Tecklenburg, if you would like to help (and helping involves just a couple of meetings!) in this worthy endeavor.
Rotary Foundation year-end giving campaign now in progress
Matching Points Campaign will last until December 31, 2021. Gifts of $100 to $500 will be matched by the District (7770). If you would like to become an instant Paul Harris Fellow for $500, the district will match your donation. Please reach out to Karl Riner to participate or for more information.
You can also donate to Rotary’s efforts to end polio now: https://endpolio.org/donate.
No cash? No problem. We now take Venmo!
Thanks to overwhelming demand by our younger, cash-fee members, the club will now accept Venmo payments. Venmo can be used to pay dues, meals for guests, contribute happy dollars and conduct other transactions which previously required cash, check or credit cards. Simply add @rotaryclubofcharleston as a payee on your Venmo account. Thanks Joseph Tecklenburg for helping us reach this incredible technology milestone!
Rob Dewey is now looking into how we can use Bitcoin to pay our dues.
Senior Holiday 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 have a wonderful holiday. This year we will be hosting a luncheon for the seniors on 12/16 and giving each resident a holiday card with a Harris Teeter gift card inside. We need 8-10 volunteers to help with the card stuffing immediately following our Holiday Luncheon on 12/14 (1:30-2:30pm), as well as 8-10 volunteers to help host/serve the lunch from 12noon-3pm on 12/16. If you would like to help with this project, please reach out to Sandy Morckel at [email protected] or Denise Kaufman at [email protected].
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. 14 at 12:00noon (doors open at 11:30 am). 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.
Salvation Army Bell Ringing
Our long-standing holiday tradition continues! We will be ringing the bell for the Salvation Army on Friday, Dec. 3 from 10am-5pm. 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.
Charleston 50: Year Two
Charleston50, a fundraising campaign launched by the Rotary Club of Charleston to fund community grants, has already reached 58% of its 2021-22 goal during the first 24 days of our fiscal year!
Begun last year when traditional events were canceled due to COVID, the project is continuing thanks to the overwhelming response by members who donate $500 annually to support deserving non-profits in our club’s service area.
The Rev. Rob Dewey, club president, said, “Charleston50 was a surprise success for us. After decades of supporting projects by selling tickets and sponsorships, we quickly learned that our members value the impact our club has in the community and the easy way they can give through Charleston50.”
Charleston50 members receive several visibility benefits including being listed on the club’s website and on a slide deck visible for 20 minutes before each meeting; a pin; a sticker; and an opportunity to briefly greet club members. Donations to Charleston50 are made through the non-profit arm of our club and are 100% tax-deductible.
Please download and complete the Pledge Form here, and return it via email to Phoenicia Miracle at [email protected].
Important – Face Masks Optional
At its meeting this past Tuesday, your Board re-evaluated our current mask policy. Due to the decline in COVID cases, 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.
For the safety of our members and guests, we ask all members to please comply with the CDC guidelines and our protocols.
Change in Membership Status Deadline
If you plan a change in your club member status by January 1, 2022 to Excused, Leave of Absence, E-Member or if you are planning to resign, please notify Carroll in writing NO LATER THAN December 3, 2021. This change will affect January statement, which will be distributed in mid-December. All current members who officially resign after December 3 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 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 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
We inducted two new members this past Tuesday – Mike Seekings and Chip Wyatt. Mike was sponsored and introduced by Cleave Ham. He will hold the classification of Law/Construction. Chip was introduced and sponsored by Jan Luth and joins us under the classification of Engineer/Civil. We welcome both Mike and Chip into our Rotary family!
Congratulations to Samuel Steinberg, who was recognized by our club’s Rotary Foundation Chair, Karl Riner, as a Rotary Foundation Major Donor this past Tuesday. Samuel was joined at the meeting by his wife, Sunny, who is a long-time member of the Charleston Rotary Auxiliary. Karl presented Samuel with a crystal recognition piece and a Major Donor Lapel Pin/Pennant. The Rotary Foundation recognizes couples or individuals whose combined personal, or cumulative giving has reached $10,000. All outright contributions made to the Foundation are included in this total, regardless of the gift designation.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Tom Giovanniello and President-Elect Virginia Lee, who both had surgery this past week. And, we continue to keep Luther Reynolds close in our thoughts
Thank you to Skip Fink for taking our Rotary bell and getting it polished and repaired by Pastor Randall Horres of Folly Beach United Methodist Church. It is beautiful and something we can all be proud of!
Proposed New Members
The following membership candidates have submitted an application and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:
- Baxter Hahn – sponsor: Cleave Ham; classification: Financial Advisor
- Jonathan Ply – sponsor: Mackie Moore; classification – Retired
In the event you know any of these prospective members, please tell a member of the Board how he will serve the ideals of Rotary.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Rotarian: Tracy Christopher
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- JOINED: 10/18/2021
- SPONSOR: Cleave Ham
- MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: New Member
- CLASSIFICATION: Banking/Finance
- PROFESSION: Mortgage Loan Originator
- SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF
The Community Service organizations or activities Tracy currently or has served in the past include Living Resources, the Leukemia Society, the Cerebral Palsy Society, the LaSalle School for Boys and providing volunteer Rotary service to the community in Albany, NE with her mother, Joan Meyer (ex-officio, Albany, NY).
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Birthdays
- 11/29 – Phoenicia Miracle
- 12/1 – Dan Moses
WELLNESS TIP
Holiday Greenery
It shouldn’t be a surprise that bringing greenery indoors can increase allergy and asthma symptoms—especially greenery as large as a Christmas tree.
Trees can have mold spores and pollens on them. And these are common triggers.
Many people are also allergic to terpene, a substance found in the sap of trees.
If holiday greenery causes serious allergy problems, use artificial products. But there are ways to lessen pollen and other allergens on real holiday trees. Try these tips from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and the AAAAI:
- Hose down the tree to remove pollen, mold and dirt. Bonus: This step will tidy up your tree.
- Let the tree dry thoroughly in an enclosed porch or garage before bringing it indoors.
If you set up an artificial tree, you may want to avoid spraying on artificial snow (flocking). These sprays can irritate your lungs and aggravate asthma, according to the AAAAI. If you choose to use these products anyway, follow the directions carefully.
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: Rob Dewey
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