3/29: Bill Dunavant, Dunavant Enterpises – Rotary Club of Charleston

March 29, 2022

Bill Dunavant, a longtime friend of President Rob from their hometown of Memphis, presented at our meeting. Bill, whose family business had been in the cotton export business for decades, talked about their pivot to new opportunities and provided a load of great insights into the current supply chain issues and how they have been impacted by Covid, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. Don’t forget our next club social for April at Saltwater Cowboys in Shem Creek on 4/21. More info below

We were joined Tuesday by Bill Dunavant, Chief Executive Office of the Dunavant Companies based in Memphis Tennessee. Bill is 6th generation from Memphis and graduated from UVA. The company was founded by his grandfather in cotton business, but Bill convinced his father to get out of cotton and do what they did best and that was the business of logistics. The logistics business is very dislocated right now and this is exemplified by the supply chain issues we are seeing due to the war in Ukraine.

At the beginning of covid, he switched to work from home to discover what their weaknesses were if Covid really became a pandemic. When everyone finally did start working from home it was the start of the supply chain issue. Everything in the US travels by truck and when demand spiked with ordering from home, it took all of the truck drivers out of the system and the construction boom only exacerbated that. The truck driver shortage coupled with $6 diesel is a crisis.

He went on to say he has done a lot of business in China, being the first exporter of cotton to China, but when the US allowed free trade with China, companies such as Walmart went to China for products to keep it cheap and now, we cannot get things because of they all come from China.

Internally we have an infrastructure problem, and we need to put more money into domestic infrastructure because it is the lifeline for our country.

There is no doubt we are, and will be paying, more for everything with inflation but he doesn’t expect a recession because there is so much money in the system, in companies and in personal savings right now.

A recording of the Zoom meeting can be found here.

Passcode: Uv!S0#XA

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS

- - - Mackie Moore gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
    - Robbie Wachman introduced our visiting Rotarians & guests.
    - President Rob presented Health and Happiness.
    - President Rob introduced our speaker, Bill Dunavant, Dunavant Enterprises.

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

3/22/2022 | Issue 5044 President: Rob Dewey

COMING EVENTS

- - April 5 –Andy Brack, Charleston City Paper
  - April 12 – T Ravenel, Palmetto Railroads (ZOOM ONLY)
  - April 19 – Greg Parker, Parker’s Stores (11am Board Mtg.)
  - April 21 – Monthly Social – Saltwater Cowboy’s, 5-7:30pm
  - April 26 – Winslow Hastie, Historic Chas. Foundation

NEWS BRIEFS

Meeting Update – RSVP Required for all Guests by Monday at 5 p.m.

As those of you who have attended recently are aware, we have returned to a buffet-style luncheon. Our attendance numbers have consistently returned to pre-COVID numbers, so as we move forward into 2022 there will be NO EVITE or need to RSVP to weekly luncheons. We have been printing nametags for guests, so we do ask that if you are bringing a guest (especially a prospective member), please let Carroll know by 5:00 pm on Monday. Also, if you have a dietary restriction, please inform Carroll weekly, so a special meal is prepared for you.

Adopt-A-Highway Service Project

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, April 9 from 9am – 11am for Trash Talk!! Join us for fun and fellowship as we help keep Charleston looking beautiful for everyone to enjoy. Parking is at 140 Bee St, vests and bags are provided. Follow the link to sign up: https://forms.gle/DYESBL5zdVRxdWRG7

April Social – Saltwater Cowboys

We will be on Shem Creek for our next social event! We are partnering with the Rotary Club of Charleston-Breakfast and hosting our next happy hour social together on Thursday, April 21 from 5pm-7:30pm at Saltwater Cowboys, 130 Mill Street. Guests are welcome! Please bring a friend or co-worker and introduce them to Rotary! There will be live music by Rob Corbett (aka Just Groove-the funky one man guitarist/keyboardist band). Check out him out at https://www.robcorbett.com/. Be sure to RSVP to the email, so we can get a head count.

Blue Bucket Collections – Support Ukraine

Blue Buckets will continue to be on the tables during the month of April. Be sure to bring your Happy Bucks and consider making a cash donation at an upcoming meeting. The money collected in the buckets during April will continue to be donated to the Disaster Relief Fund at the Rotary Foundation in support of Ukraine. To date, we have collected $742.00.

Another successful Charleston 50 campaign

The 2020-21 Charleston 50 initiative ended on March 20th with 46 generous members. Each donated $500 to the Rotary Club of Charleston Foundation to be used solely for grants to local non-profit organizations chosen by our grants committee. Charleston 50 replaced traditional event fundraisers during the pandemic so that our club could continue to support local nonprofits. We thank the following members for their support:

David Baggs, John Bleeker, Rob Byko, Joel Cardwell, Amy Chico, Karen Clark, Owen Clary, David Cohen, John Cowan, Alex Dallis, Jr., Rob Dewey, P. Steven Dopp, Dave Echols, Eric Farr, Skip Fink, Heidi Finniff, Tom Giovaniello, Dwayne Green, Jeanne Jamme’, Brian Johnson, Denise Kaufman, Virginia Lee, Tom Leonard, Rosalinda Loredo, Jan Luth, Digit Matheny, Kay Minson, Phoenicia Miracle, Sandy Morckel, Dan Nale, Mary Peters, Ruthie Ravenel, Karl Riner, Travis Ronk, Andrew Rosenfeld, Patterson Smith, Harry Staley, Samuel Steinberg, Tom Stockdale, Paul Stoney, Erica S. Taylor, Alan Uram, Lisa Van Bergen, Barbara Walters, Alvin Williams, and James Yanney.

Please show your appreciation for their generosity when you see these members at an upcoming meeting.

Youth Exchange Host Families Needed

The Rotary Club of Charleston needs local families to host an exchange student (that our club will sponsor), age 15-18 1/2, for a period of 3-5 months in 2022/2023. The families are grouped together and organized through the Rotary Club. This great opportunity to volunteer and change the life of a young person and expose your family to a different culture!

The exchange student will attend the same high school locally for the entire year so it is important that the host families are in the same school area (and it is convenient to travel to and from). Our inbound student will attend the Charleston Charter School for Math & Science which is located at: 1002 King Street, Charleston SC 29403.

A host family needs to have the desire to provide the following:

Love as a family member. The student will be a part of the family not a guest.
Transportation– The student will not be allowed to drive while in the US.
A Bed-The student does not have to have his/her own room, but we do ask that they have their own bed.
Food– We ask that you provide food for the student, including lunch while at school. Again, treating the student as you would your own.

If you are able to volunteer for this opportunity, please go to http://yehub.net/SC1-hfapp and complete the online Host Family Application. This can be done on your smartphone, tablet or PC. You will also need to consent to a background check as part of this process. Please note the following:

You will need two references (emails, street addresses & phone numbers for each)
Also, to include photos of your home including: student bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, family room, exterior of home & a casual family photo (smaller sizes work best) in the application.
Please review the attached checklist for an overview of the process and timeline.
Once you complete the application, we can schedule a time for me to visit you and your family at your home to go over some additional information and also address any questions or concerns you may have.

Rotary Youth Exchange Dates to Remember:

2022

June: Training- Host Families & YEO/YEC in Charleston
August : Inbound Student Orientation Training Weekend- Charleston, SC
December: Disney World Trip! Mandatory for all Inbounds

2023

March: District 7770 Rotary Conference, Columbia, SC (All Inbound and Outbound Students MUST attend)

June: Rotary Western Tour (optional

If you have questions or need further information, please reach out to one of our club’s Youth Exchange Officers/Counselors – Karen Clark or Richard Sidebottom.

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.

MEMBER NEWS

Welcome to our newest Rotarian – Alex Bourland. Alex was sponsored and introduced by Robbie Wachman. He will hold the classification of Auctioneer/Real Estate. We are excited to have Alex as the newest member of our Rotary family!

Congratulations to our own Past President Sandy Morckel, who is being recognized on April 7th at Trident Literacy Associations’ signature event – 5th Annual Pat Gibson Founder’s Award Luncheon as one of their 6 Outstanding Honorees in the Lowcountry. To learn more about the event, you can go to https://tridentlit.org/luncheon/. The deadline to purchase a ticket is April 4 – PURCHASE TICKETS.

Proposed New Members

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

Joe Maas – sponsor: Andrew Rosenfeld; classification: Retired

Catherine Marra-Grant – sponsor: Cleave Ham; classification: Law/Family

In the event you know Joe or Catherine, please tell a member of the Board how he/she will serve the ideas of Rotary.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Rotarian: Eric Farr

- - JOINED: 3/7/2022
  - SPONSOR: Patterson Smith
  - MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: New Member
  - CLASSIFICATION: Wealth Adviser
  - PROFESSION: Financial / Solutions 4 Wealth
  - SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: Grew up in Eagle River, Alaska

Birthdays

4/7 – Past President Alex Dallis
4/10 – Robbie Wachman

WELLNESS TIP

Start your day with a grateful heart.

Giving thanks and having an attitude of gratitude lead to stronger relationships, better sleep, and improved mood. Research reveals that cultivating gratitude not only leads to better psychological health, but also to improved physical health. While we can always find something to complain about, if we look hard enough, we can always find a multitude of things to be grateful for.

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, Marriott Hotel, 4770 Goer Drive, 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

Mount Pleasant: 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Mt Pleasant Presbyterian Church. 302 Hibben St. 29464.

Summerville: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sticky Fingers, Summerville

Thursdays

North Charleston Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Marriott Hotel, 4770 Goer Drive, 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