Aug 8, 2023
Eric DeMoura, the Town
Administrator for Mt. Pleasant (and husband of our own Katherine DeMoura) was our guest speaker and gave us an update on managing the rapid growth of South Carolina’s fourth largest city – and one of the fastest growing cities in the US.
No meeting this week. Instead we’ll have our August social event at The Joe to take in the hometown Riverdogs game
Reminders:
New member orientation before our meeting on August 27 (11am)
Deadline to submit application for a RCCF grant is September 1.

To access a recording of this meeting, go here
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
- Marion Platt gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- Clara Heinsohn welcomed our visiting Rotarians & guests.
- Health and Happiness was presented by President Cleave.
- Katherine DeMoura introduced her husband, Eric DeMoura. Eric is the Town
Administrator for Mt. Pleasant.
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
August 15, 2023 | Issue 5098 President: Cleave Ham
UPCOMING EVENTS
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- Aug 15 – No Meeting
- Aug 17 – Riverdogs game (register here. space limited)
- Aug 22 – Christine Messick & Dyrell Clark, Reading Partners / New Member Orientation (New member orientation: 11AM)
- 8/29 – Lou Mello, District Governor
- 9/1 – RCCF Grant Applications Due
- 9/5 – No Meeting – Happy Labor Day!
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NEWS BRIEFS
No Meeting this Tuesday!
We will NOT meet for lunch this Tuesday, August 15th. Instead, we hope to see you out at the ballpark on Thursday night.
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.
Welcome Malou!
Our Youth Exchange student for this school year arrived last Friday night from Denmark. Malou Dyhr is 15 years old and will be attending Charleston Math & Science. Her first host family lives downtown and has a daughter her age. She is transitioning well to her new life in Charleston and we hope everyone will get an opportunity to meet her as she will be attending our luncheons and events throughout the year. She plans to attend the Riverdogs game next Thursday, so please take an opportunity to welcome her!
Shifa Clinic Back 2 School Giveaway
Thanks to everyone who turned out for this great event which help tons of kids and families in need with back to school supplies and health checks.
August 19: Community Service Project – Hope Center Closet Project
On August 19, we need some volunteers to help with completion of the Hope Center Closet Project (which involved donating work clothes to job seekers who use the Hope Center, a vital resource for many things). We will need about 8-10 people to sort through all the donations, categorize them by type and then size and then organize the closet with hanging clothes and bins. The Hope Center is located on Meeting Street downtown. Should be about 2-3 hours. Contact Karla if you can help: [email protected].
Sign up here
New Member Orientations
Part of a New Member’s “RED to BLUE” checklist is attending a New Membership Orientation Session. If you are a new member and have not attended a New Membership Orientation session, there are some opportunities coming up that you can plan for! The dates and times are listed below:
- August 22nd, 11:00 am at Hall’s Signature Events
- October 24th, 11:00 am at Hall’s Signature Events
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 – Ben Kloepping! Ben was introduced and sponsored by Past President Digit Matheny. He will hold the classification of Real Estate. We are excited to have Ben join our Rotary family!
With much regret, the Board accepted the resignations of the following members this past Tuesday: Jason Eckenstein, Kirsten Hill, Matt Miller, Curt Morse, Courtney Plotner, Ashley Shaver. We will miss these Rotarians and wish them all the best.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Rotarian: Richard Parker
- JOINED: February2022
- SPONSOR: Dan Ravenel
- CLASSIFICATION: Hotel Management
- PROFESSION: Hotel Management, The Inn on Folly Beach
- Community Service Organizations, Current Activities or Activities/Volunteer Work in the Past: Habitat For Humanity Built a house through and with my company. Homeless Events/Oak Grove United Methodist Church – Decatur, Georgia
- Something Unique About Yourself: I am certified in the “5 Voices” (based on Myers-Briggs) which quickly identifies your natural strengths and weaknesses
Birthdays
- None this week
WELLNESS TIP
Make half your plate veggies
A simple hack for healthy eating (and portion control) is to make half your plate veggies at each meal. The veggies pack in essential vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients important for health and longevity. And, because they’re rich in fiber, they help to aid digestion (aka keep you regular!) and keep you feeling full longer.
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 1st & 3rd 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
Copyright 2018, Rotary Club of Charleston. All rights reserved