June 4, 2024
Our new Mayor of Charleston, William Cogswell, paid us a visit this week. Mr. Mayor gave us an update on many important projects and initiatives throughout the city as well as insights into his vision for organizing the city operations and servicing citizens, all guided by his mantra for governing the city: Smart, Safe & Sound. Top of mind are: economic growth, sustainable development projects, affordable housing, enhanced safety and livability, and of course, flooding. He stressed the importance of cooperation amongst governments and leaders across the region. The Mayor took questions from club members and closed by reinforcing his optimism for our great city.
President Cleave made sure to note that The Mayor’s family roots are deeply set in Rotary, with his great grandfather being one of our club founding members in 1920.
For a recording of this week’s meeting, click here:
Passcode: A.M^Qm^8
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
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- Julianne Farnsworth gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- President Cleave introduced our visiting Rotarians & guests.
- President Cleave presented Health & Happiness.
- Past President Rob Dewey introduced Charleston Mayor William Cogswell.
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
June 11, 2024 | Issue 5130 President: Cleave Ham
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 6/11 – DJ Hampton, Trident United Way
- 6/18 – Richele Taylor, CEO of the SC Medical Association
- 6/19 – June Social Red Palm Tavern
- 6/25 – Transition/End of Year Happy Hour (5PM)
- 7/2 – No Meeting – Happy Fourth of July
NEWS BRIEFS
Supporting Rise Against Hunger with CHS Breakfast Club
Thanks to everyone who turned out to help with one of our favorite service projects this past weekend.
We enjoyed the service and fellowship of a project supporting Rise Against Hunger alongside our fellow Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Charleston Breakfast. Together we packed 14,256 meals, in 66 boxes. The meals from this organization are distributed all over the world, to 30 countries. The meals predominantly go to schools to feed children. Each box of meals will provide a year’s worth of meals for 1 student.
Therefore, what our 2 clubs’ volunteers did today will provide about 66 students with meals for a year. The combination of food for the children and education helps to break the cycle of poverty in these countries.
RCCF Grants Presented to Two Local Organizations
On behalf of our club and the RCCF Committee, Past President and RCCF Chair Lisa Van Bergen recognized two local organizations with RCCF Grants this past Tuesday.
Robyn Blake attended on behalf of Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center. Our club’s donation will support their Caregiver Support Services for clients who have transportation barriers. Providing transportation will allow clients to attend Forensic Interviews, Mental Health Assessments and therapy at Dee Norton. Our club’s donation will provide approximately 37 trips to the Center.
Social Emotional Learning Alliance was represented by Wendy Methvin. Our club’s donation will fund a screening of the acclaimed documentary films, Screenagers Next Chapter and Screenagers Under the Influence, which address teenage mental health and substance use in the digital age, at a Title I school (like Burke High School) in the Charleston area.
We congratulate these outstanding local organizations and were pleased to support their efforts to help others in our community.
Children Clothing Drive – Lowcountry Orphan Relief
At our recent care packing event at the Lowcountry Orphan Relief Center we learned there are several items that are very low in stock or completely out. Below is a list of items given by the director as their Urgent Wish List. Please bring any donations you may have to our weekly meetings for the remainder of May and all of June, and we will deliver them. Don’t forget, LOR assembles 500 of these care kits for foster kids being placed in new homes EVERY MONTH, and they provide a few weeks of clothing, toiletries, etc. giving the children something of their own and taking some pressure off the new families.
Short Sleeve T-Shirts (Sizes 2T-5T)
Shorts (3T-5T Boys & 5T Girls)
Pajamas (5T Boys & Girls)
Underwear (2T/3T & 5T Boys & Girls)
Socks (4/5T Boys & Girls)
The clothing items can be gently worn, but the underwear and socks need to be new. Books are also appreciated as each child gets 4 age/ grade appropriate books!!
District 7770 Golf Tournament
Mark your calendars and join fellow Rotarians on Thursday June 20th at Charleston National Golf Club for the 4th Annual RNGI Golf Tournament!
It’s a great course, and we guarantee you will have a day full of fun and fellowship, lots of food and drinks too!!
Charleston National Golf Club is a uniquely beautiful Rees Jones design just north of the city of Charleston in suburban Mt. Pleasant. The course is carved along the intracoastal waterway, through natural wetlands and lagoons and through a pine and oak tree forest. The result is a championship caliber golf course with some of the best views on the southeastern coast. Charleston National was originally designed to be an exclusive private country club in the manner of Augusta National.
Please share the attached information to your golfing and business friends. We need players, raffle prizes and all types of sponsors. You can get all the information and sign up details online by clicking this link. https://www.rnginvitational.com/copy-of-sponsorships
Board Transition Social – Mark Your Calendars
To celebrate the end of this Rotary Year and the beginning of our new Rotary Year, a Happy Hour Social from 5-7pm is scheduled at Hall’s Signature Events on Tuesday, June 25 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!
Change in Membership Status Deadline
If you plan a change in your club member status by July 1, 2024 to Excused, eMember, Leave of Absence or if you are planning to resign, please notify Carroll in writing NO LATER THAN June 7th. Any change will affect July billing. Also, if you are on our membership list as of July 1, the club pays Rotary International and District dues for you. 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 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, mikesottak@gmail.com, or Rob Byko, rob@bykorealty.com
MEMBER NEWS
Welcome back to former member Denise Kaufman! Denise was sponsored and re-introduced by Stefany Ceccato. She joins us under the classification of IT/Management. We are pleased to have Denise return to our Rotary family!
Congratulations to Hamer Darby and his wife, Mary Ellen, on the birth of their son, Edward Hamer Darby, III “Teddy” on 5/19. Also, congratulations to Jane Horetsky on becoming a first-time grandmother! Grant Maxwell was born on June 2nd.
Our own, Amy Chico was featured in an article in Charleston Living magazine. The article states that “For the past 27 years, Amy Chico has had a hand in helping shape Charleston’s environment. She has worked her way up to Senior Vice President with HLA, a prominent Charleston surveying, land planning, civil engineering, wetland permitting, and landscape architecture firm.” Congrats, Amy!
Proposed New Members
The following membership candidates have submitted an application and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:
Elijah Melendez – sponsor: Marion Platt; Classification: Non-Profit/Exec.
David Osborne – sponsor: Rob Dewey; classification: Law/GeneralIn the event you know Elijah or David, please tell a member of the Board how he will serve the ideals of Rotary.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Rotarian: Christopher G. Olson 
JOINED: June, 2022
SPONSOR: Patterson Smith, Harry Staley
CLASSIFICATION: Franchise Owner, Fast Food
PROFESSION: Franchise owner
Community Service Organizations, Current Activities or Activities/Volunteer Work in the Past: YMCA, Clemson SC; Elder at Fort Hill Presbyterian Church, Clemson SC
SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: I am a retired lawyer, former county court Solicitor, father of 2, grandfather of 3, husband of one.
Birthdays
- 6/8 – Travis Ronk, Duncan Grant
- 6/10 – Nick Galizia
WELLNESS TIP
Develop a green tea habit.
Especially if your favorite drink is soda. Researchers have found that people who consumed sweetened beverages were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, while some studies suggest green tea might promote cognitive functions.
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, carrollschweers@gmail.com
Mailing address: Rotary Club of Charleston, P.O. Box 21029, Charleston, SC 29413-1029
Copyright 2018, Rotary Club of Charleston. All rights reserved