8/22: Christine Messick, Reading Partners – Rotary Club of Charleston

Aug 22, 2023

We welcomed Christine Messick and Emily Swanson of Reading Partners. This is a great organization that provide valuable reading resources and reading tutors to kids around the Lowcountry. Our club and the Breakfast club are partnering with them with additional volunteers to go to the schools or participate via Zoom. It’s something everyone can get involved in and doesn’t take a lot of time. Look for more information about an orientation session in September.

Reminders: Deadline to submit application for a RCCF grant is September 1.

To access a recording of this meeting, go here
Passcode: 2vAH7+83

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS

- - Elizabeth Hills gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
  - Alan Burgreen welcomed our visiting Rotarians & guests.
  - Health and Happiness was presented by President Cleave.
  - Clara Heinsohn introduced our speakers, Christine Messick and Emily Swanson of Reading Partners.

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
August 29, 2023 | Issue 5099 President: Cleave Ham

UPCOMING EVENTS

- - 8/29 – Lou Mello, District Governor
  - 9/1 – RCCF Grant Applications Due
  - 9/5 – No Meeting – Happy Labor Day!
  - 9/5 – Sept Social. Starlight Motor Lodge, North Chs. 6PM
  - 9/12 – Tiffany Ervin, The CART Fund / 11am Board Meeting
  - 9/16 – Adopt-A-Highway “Trash Talk’in” @ 9am, Bee Street
  - 9/19 – Coach Pat Kelsey, CofC Basketball

NEWS BRIEFS

Reminder … Guest RSVP Protocol

If you are planning to bring a guest to Rotary, please let Carroll know by no later than Monday at 5pm. There is some preparation that needs to be done for all guests prior to the meeting.

Special Dietary Requests

If you have a special dietary request or need, be sure to let Carroll know in advance of a meeting. She will work with the staff at Hall’s to ensure that you are prepared a special plate that meets your restrictions. Please do not enter the kitchen area to make a last minute special request.

Maui Fire Relief Efforts – How You Can Help

We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in Maui, Hawaii. As Rotarians, such tragedies are a call to action, and our Rotary Club wants to do all that we can to create hope and help the people on Maui devastated by this disaster.

Thanks to the generosity of many of our club members, our Club collected $875 at this past Tuesday’s meeting in the Blue Buckets and via Venmo. If you didn’t get an opportunity to donate, we will continue to collect individual donations to the Rotary Club of Charleston Foundation (“RCCF”) for “Maui Disaster Relief” at our upcoming Club meetings this Tuesday, Aug. 29th. Please bring your cash or checks for the Blue Buckets to these meetings. Venmo will also be available.

Checks should be made payable to “RCCF”, indicate “Maui Disaster Relief” on the “for” line on the checks)
via Venmo (state your name and how the funds should be directed, i.e. “Maui Support – attn Jay Gibson”).

We will then send the aggregate collected funds to the District 5000 Foundation (District 5000 represents the more than 50 clubs on 5 Hawaiian islands — learn more at https://rotaryd5000.org ).

Our Rotary Club’s Board is also in the process of discussing a donation directly from the RCCF to the District 5000 Foundation from budgeted funds designated for “Disaster Relief

Hope Center Closet Project A Success

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend last Saturday at The Hope Center for the Closet Project (which involved donating work clothes to job seekers who use the Hope Center, a vital resource for many things). An energetic group sorted through all the donations, categorized them by type and then size and then organized the closet with hanging clothes and bins. Thank you to Karla Combs and her Community Service Committee for making this volunteer opportunity available to our Club.

RCCF Grant Applications Being Accepted Through Sept. 1

The Rotary Club of Charleston Fund (RCCF) is accepting requests for grants. Interested organizations are required to submit a Letter of Inquiry and complete a grant application prior to September 1 to be considered. The application and other details regarding the grant process can be found on our club’s website. For more information, please contact RCCF Chair, Lisa Van Bergen at [email protected].

Run with Bernie – Fight to End Polio

Run with Bernie is done in an effort to raise awareness and funds for our fight to end Polio. The event runs from July 1st to October 24th (World Polio Day), getting involved is easy! You can either:

Be an Active Participant: you will keep track of your mileage (Runs, Walks, Swims, Bikes, Rowing, Shopping, etc.)
Be a Supporter: as a supporter you will help through money pledges or direct contributions

Anyone can join our team: club members, family, friends, etc. If you have any interest in either being a participant or a supporter, please reach out to Alex Bourland, our club captain for the Run with Bernie campaign, at [email protected] or 843-860-7141. We appreciate your support of this important event.

Get Involved on a Committee!

At our Rotary Club Assembly meeting on Tuesday, July 11, our Club committee chairs gave excellent presentations about their committees and their plans for this Rotary year. Their enthusiasm and leadership for their committees was apparent to all! We are grateful to them, as well as to all of their subcommittee chairs and committee members who help accomplish their committees’ goals on behalf of our Rotary Club.

For members in attendance at Hall’s 5 Faber on July 11, sign-up sheets were on the table to indicate committees in which they are interested in participating, which I then sent to the committee chairs.

Other members can also sign up to explore and potentially help with Club committees as well, as follows:

“I attended the Club Assembly on Zoom, not in person. How can I sign up to help with a Club committee(s) that interests me?”

Click on this link to a “Google form”, and follow the prompts to input your name, contact info (email and cell phone), and check-off committees of interest. Committee Chairs are indicated for each committee.
When completed, click “submit”.
This information will be shared with the Club’s committee chairs

“I could not attend the Club Assembly last Tuesday. How can I access the information which was presented about the Club committees and sign up to help with a Club committee(s) that interests me?”

To watch the recording of Tuesday, July 11 meeting and the committee chair presentations, please use this link (the Club Assembly portion of the meeting begins at about the 12:20 mark): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/UsVssdFBsyCBl1wG8EQYdKuOHj7WSsKSppoqQmN3WGMpDQP55eABw3NOjagrXExB.NgmO3b0fbeq50lBAPasscode: 2pb8KYP#

If you attended the Club Assembly on Zoom, or watch the meeting recording, please let Carroll know and she will give you “attendance credit”.

We look forward to your participation and engagement!

Outbound Youth Exchange Students Needed for 2024-2025

The District needs your help in finding potential Outbound Rotary Youth Exchange Students for the 2024-2025 exchange year. They ask that you share information with local school guidance and foreign languages teachers, church youth groups, friends, neighbors, etc.

The District will start accepting preliminary applications now from the students via the Rotary Sponsor Club only. In order to make it much easier on the Clubs in terms of finding host families, the following rules are in effect immediately.

The rules going forward for Outbounds and Clubs:

Outbound Preliminary application must be submitted by the Sponsor Club.
Outbound must secure three Host Families for the Inbound student and have at least 2 before the District Interviews in January.
Parents of Outbound must Host an Inbound (unless this would create a hardship, we will decide as a committee)
Sponsor Club of Outbound must accept an Inbound student.

July-Dec 2022 Dues Invoices – Credit Card/Bank Transfers Accepted On-Line

July-December 2023 dues invoices have been distributed via email. Payment is due promptly within 30 days. As a reminder, we are able to accept credit card and bank transfer payments on-line. Members just simply have to click on the “pay now” button on their invoice and make payment. We hope this feature makes those of you paying by credit card or bank transfer easier. We also continue to also accept payments by check.

Support The CART Fund

It is easy for club members to make individual contributions and support The CART Fund electronically. The CART Fund has 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 picture 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 send to Mike Sottak, [email protected], or Rob Byko, [email protected]

Member News

Welcome to our newest Rotarian – Karl Brady, Sr.! Karl was introduced and sponsored by his son, Karl Brady, Jr. He will hold the classification of Retired/Executive. We are excited to have Karl join our Rotary family!

Congratulations to Chris Olson and Duncan Grant, who are now official BLUE badge wearing Rotarians! Both Rotarians successfully completed all “Red Badge” requirements and were presented their BLUE membership badge this past Tuesday.

Our most heartfelt condolences to Harry Staley on the passing of his lovely wife, Annis, last week. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Harry and his family.

Proposed New Members

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

Chito Walker – sponsor: Digit Matheny; Classification: Law Enforcement

Mickey Renner – sponsor: David Baggs; Classification: Banking/Regional

In the event you know Chito or Mickey, please tell a member of the Board how they will serve the ideals of Rotary.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Rotarian: Katherine Demoura

JOINED: July 2022
SPONSOR: Kerby Teller
CLASSIFICATION: Architect/Business Development Management
PROFESSION: Regional Business Development Leader
CURRENT PROFESSION McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
Community Service Organizations, Current Activities or Activities/Volunteer Work in the Past: Was an active member of Rotary where she lived in Pickens, SC from 2009-2014 and recently participated with Kerby Teller for LLS-Man and Women of the Year raising more than $130,000 for LLS research.
Something Unique About Yourself:I began my career as a City Manager in Pickens, SC right after grad school. I spent 5 years learning there and was heavily focused on physical aspects of community building. This is eventually what lead me to work for McMillan Pazdan Smith and help communities as they plan for their capital needs. On a personal note, I grew up in Maine, but got to SC via Clemson as soon as I could to warm up.

Birthdays

None this week

WELLNESS TIP

Limit sugary drinks

While calories in drinks are not exactly hidden (they’re listed right on the Nutrition Facts label), many people don’t realize just how many calories are in the beverages they drink. Here’s the good news: Water is a great, no-calorie, low-cost substitute for sugary drinks. Drinking plenty of water every day is a great habit to establish for a lifetime.

OTHER AREA ROTARY CLUBS

Mondays

https://www.cainhoyrotary.com/

Summerville – Oakbrook: 7:30 a.m., Monday, Westcott County Club, 5000 Wescott Club Drive, North Charleston

North Charleston: 12:30 p.m., Monday, Hilton Garden Inn, 5265 International Blvd, North Charleston, SC

Summerville Evening: 5:30 p.m., Monday, Montreux Bar and Grill, 127 W. Richardson Ave., Summerville

Tuesdays

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

Cainhoy: 6PM, on the first and third Tuesday of the month, King’s Cross Church, of Clement Ferry Road

Wednesdays

Daniel Island: 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Daniel Island Club, 600 Island Park Dr., Daniel Island

Mount Pleasant: 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Hibben Methodist Church, 690 Coleman Blvd., Mount Pleasant

Summerville: 1pm-2pm on 1^st & 3^rd Wednesday. Hilton Garden Inn-Homewood Suite/Lowcountry Conference Center, 406 Sigma Drive

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: Cleave Ham

Executive secretary: Carroll Schweers, [email protected]

Mailing address: Rotary Club of Charleston, P.O. Box 21029, Charleston, SC 29413-1029