July 15, 2025
We kicked off the new Rotary year under President Karla with a Club Assembly meeting, where the heads of the main service committees gave an overview of the team’s roles and goals for the coming year. Membership, Fundraising, Club Service, Community Service Vocational Service, International Service and Public Image are all committees that every Rotarian should consider joining. complete list of committees, and who leads them can be found here.
Congratulations to our Bill Hall Rotarian of the Year, Karen Clark, who was recognized for her commitment and dedication to International Service, and everything else she does for our club. She was honored with a presentation from the Hall family. Also congratulations to Jason Nobel for being named this year Rotarian Rookie of the Year! Thank you both for all you do.
Remember to bring school supplies to any meeting in July to support of Back to School Drive for the kids at Windwood Farm To make a donation, go here.
To join an upcoming meeting by Zoom use this link and the passcode: Rotary.
To see the video of this week’s meeting, go here
Passcode: 9q+B.W#D
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
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- Cody Callarman gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- Drew Faw welcomed our visiting Rotarians and guests.
- We held our Club Assembly this week and enjoyed hearing from President Karla and our 2025/2026 Board of Directors regarding their plans for this Rotary year. We encourage everyone to get involved and help make this Rotary year our best yet!
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY July 22, 2025 | Issue 5172 President: Karle Combs
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 7/22 – Sheriff Carl Ritchie (Sign to make a donation to Windwood Farm and bring the items to the meeting)
- 7/29 – District Governor Sandy Morckel (Sign to make a donation to Windwood Farm and bring the items to the meeting)
- 8/5 – NO MEETING
- 8/12 – Morgan Crapps, Redwood Materials
- 8/19 – Tyler Jones, Chas. Edge Collective, College Sports & NIL
- 8/26 – Eric Bland, Murdaugh Case & Leadership
- 9/2 – NO MEETING (Labor Day Holiday)
NEWS BRIEFS
If you are planning to bring a guest to Rotary, it is important that you 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. Guest fee is $30 paid at the door. First-time prospective members are free.
Bill Hall Rotarian of Year to Karen Clark
The Bill Hall Rotarian of the Year Award is presented at the end of every Rotary year, in memory and honor of Bill Hall, who was a vital member of this Rotary Club. Mr. Hall was the founder of the Hall’s Restaurant group and a long time dedicated Rotarian for over 34 years. He truly lived his life by our motto of “Service Above Self”. This year’s recipient has been a member of our club since 2015. She has served our club for several years as one of our club’s Youth Exchange sponsors coordinating all aspects of our inbound and outbound exchange students’ abroad year. She is currently serving her second year on our Board as International Service Director. She has brought her energy and enthusiasm for our club’s international endeavors. She continuously finds ways to enhance our club and to expand our service globally. This year’s recipient is Karen Clark. Karen, congratulations! You are an asset to our club and we couldn’t do it without you!
Jason Noble named annual “Rookie of the Year” Award.
This Award is presented to a Rotarian who has been in the Club less than 18 months and has had a major impact. This person has shown enthusiasm in demonstrating ‘Service above Self’ while also provided leadership in our Club. This year’s recipient joined our club as a new member in August of 2024. He has come into this club and given 110%. He not only stepped up when our club needed it, but also stepped up just to be an outstanding Rotarian. He is someone whose impact on the club has been seen but has also been more behind the scenes. This year’s Rookie of the Year is Jason Noble. Jason – we appreciate your service and support of our club! We’re so glad to have you as a member!
School Supply Donations for Windwood Farms
As a kick-off to our new Rotary year, we will be collecting school supplies for Windwood Farm, whose caseworkers are working with approximately 80 kids in the community. Windwood Farm serves boys aged 6-16 who 1.) have experienced prior abuse and neglect, and are in the custody of SC Department of Social Services, or 2.) are experiencing behavioral issues without abuse or neglect and are in their parents’ custody. Below is a link to the Signup Genius which lists the items Windwood is seeking for donation. Please review these items and sign-up for the item(s) you would like to donate. We will be collecting these items at our regular Tuesday meetings so please bring them with you; should you have items to donate but are not able to attend a Tuesday meeting, please reach out to me directly to coordinate pick-up. If another Rotarian has signed up for item(s) you would like to donate, please do not hesitate to sign-up for the same item, as duplicate donations will still be used given the needs of the children. Sign Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945A4AA2AA7F5C52-57539963-windwood
“Birthday” Blue Bucket Donations
President Karla plans to announce all monthly member birthdays at the first meeting of every month. Blue Buckets will now be “Birthday” buckets and all donated contributions, unless otherwise announced, will go to support BabyBLOOMERS, which is a program at the Ronald McDonald House Charleston. This new program offers support and resources designed to strengthen and assist families as they journey from the hospital to home. Through weekly learning and activity sessions, BabyBLOOMS seeks to enhance the parenting experience using evidenced-based practices, while creating an opportunity to enrich bonding, infant care, and development.
July – December 2025 Dues Invoices Emailed
July-December 2024 dues invoices have been distributed via email. All members should have received an invoice. If you didn’t receive an invoice, please contact Carroll. Payment is due promptly within 30 days. Please note that payments can easily be made on-line by either credit card or bank transfer. Members just simply need to click on the “pay now” button on their invoice. If you prefer to pay by check, please mail to PO Box 21029, Charleston, SC 29413.
Be “Spotlighted” at a Meeting
The Rotary Club of Charleston will continue to highlight members twice a month. Members who are interested in being spotlighted should let Julianne Farnsworth know of your interest and she will assign you a date. Members who want to be spotlighted need to let me know of your interest and I will assign you a date. At the assigned meeting, you will have approximately 2 minutes to tell the Rotary Club membership about yourself. You can use visual aids and/or just talk about yourself. Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to “spotlight” you and your personal and professional achievements. Contact Julianne Farnsworth at [email protected] if interested or for more information.
Rotarians Against Human Trafficking (RAHT)
One of Rotary’s big initiatives this year is to combat human trafficking. It’s a prevalent, but also oftentimes unspoken issue. Past President Alissa Leitzow is the RAHT Ambassador for our club, so please reach out to her for more information on how to get involved. [email protected]
Rotary International 2025/2026 Theme: Unite for Good 
The 2025-26 presidential message, announced at the 2025 Rotary International Assembly in February, will remain Unite for Good, which calls on Rotary members to be a force for unity in a world increasingly divided by politics, geography, and ideology. Through service projects, Rotary brings together people of every background — across races, religions, and professions — in a shared mission to do good in their communities.
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: New Instagram Account
We now have anew Instagram account! Please follow us on @charlestonrotaryclub. Thanks To Charlie Jablon for setting this up. Continue to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn, too. 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] Charlie Jablon [email protected], and Jason Noble, jnoble @primefinancial.com
MEMBER NEWS
Congratulations to Rotarian Dan Curia who was awarded the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs 2025 Career Fire Chief of the Year. See below article here.
Proposed New Members
The following membership candidates have submitted an application and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:
- Anthony Libardi – sponsor: Robert Sullivan; classification: Insurance
- Robert (“Bob”) Brzenchek – sponsor: Richard Kelly; classification: Consultant/Security
In the event you know William, Holton, Randy or Leo, please tell a member of the Board how he will serve the ideas of Rotary.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Rotarian Meredith Mule from Beacon Point Advisors spoke about legacy and financial planning, emphasizing leaving assets to heirs or charity while minimizing taxes. She mentioned managing over $43 billion of bandwidth and her role as a park commissioner appointed by Governor McMaster.
Birthdays
- 7/24 – Stefany Ceccato & Kali Kobylka
- 7/27 – Bob Leventhal
WELLNESS TIP
Stay Hydrated
Proper hydration is important any time of year (the human body is about two-thirds water, and we need it for all bodily functioning!)—but it’s especially important in the summertime sun and heat. In general, you’ll want to drink about two-thirds of your body weight in ounces of water each day. (In other words, a person weighing 100 pounds would aim for 67 ounces of water daily). And, remember to boost your water take if you spend time in the heat—especially exercising or exerting yourself in the heat.
OTHER AREA ROTARY CLUBS
Mondays
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. https://www.cainhoyrotary.com
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 302 Hibben St
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: Robert Sullivan
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