October 14, 2025
Our guest speaker was Sym Sing of Scout Motors
Lots of great stuff going on in the Club, including the upcoming Halloween Howl with the Charleston PD, our annual dictionary handout, and our next social on Oct 29. Check the Keyway for more info.
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: qM6=YJ@2
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
- Past President Rob Dewey gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- Mac George welcomed our visiting Rotarians and guests.
- introduced our speaker our speaker Sym Singh of Scout Motors.
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
October 21, 2025 | Issue 5181| President: Karla Combs
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 10/21 – TBD (11am Bikes for Africa Mtg)
- 10/22 – Dictionary Handout: James Simons
- 10/23 – Halloween Howl with CPD
- 10/24 – TBD (World Polio Day)
- 10/24 – Dictionary Handout – Julian Mitchell
- 10/28 – NO ROTARY MEETING
- 10/29 – October Social: Red Palm Tavern
- 11/4 – John Boyleston, SCDOT
NEWS BRIEFS
Reminder … Guest RSVP by 5pm on Monday
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.
Support the College of Charleston LIFE Program
Our Board has elected to fund and match up to $15,000 for a scholarship to a local Charleston student to attend the College of Charleston LIFE program that we learned a lot about during last week’s meeting. If you were unable to attend, I highly encourage you to watch the recording to see the amazing details about the program and the outstanding involvement our community has played in, and the benefits received as a result. Please see below for the PayPal link to make matching donations. Due to the specialized curriculum and teachers involved, this program is more costly than the standard tuition, but the need for these students to be a part of our community has never been greater. Please feel free to share this link with family, friends and co-workers so we can achieve our goal of funding a full-year tuition for a local student. https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=M2LTBDNNBNC8E
Volunteer at CPD’s Annual Halloween Howl
Come volunteer and celebrate Halloween with the Charleston Police Department on Thursday, Oct. 24. Our club will again be participating in this event by handing out candy to trick or treaters. The event includes live music, food, prizes, and community fun – our Rotary Club will be decorating a car and distributing collected candy to trick-or-treaters in this safe alternative with our community members. This is a family focused event, so please dress up in your best costumes and bring your family to participate. Members are also encouraged to bring candy donations to any upcoming meeting through 10/21. RSVP Here: https://www.
Support World Polio Day and Become a Polio Plus Society Member
World Polio Day is October 24 and is a time for Rotary members, public health advocates and all who want a world fee from Polio to come together, recognize our progress in the fight to end Polio, and talk about the actions we need to take in order to end Polio for good. You can support our efforts to end Polio by becoming a Polio Plus Society member by donating $100 through this link https://raise.rotary.org/Sandy-Morckel/fundraiser987.
Chess Club Needs Volunteers
Be A Mentor is a Charleston-based non-profit that partners caring adults with local youth to build supportive, one-on-one relationships that inspire growth, confidence and brighter futures. Through this program, Rotarian Cody Callerman has started a youth chess club to help students develop critical thinking, patience and a sense of community. Please contact Cody Callerman at [email protected] if you would like to be on our club’s Chess Team!!
“Birthday” Blue Bucket Donations
President Karla plans to announce all monthly member birthdays at the first meeting of every month. Blue Buckets will for the first meeting of the month will be “Birthday” buckets and all donated contributions the first meeting, unless otherwise announced, will go to support BabyBLOOMS, 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. On the other Tuesdays of the month during July and August, Blue Bucket donations will go to the Kerrville, Texas Rotary to support flood disaster relief in their area.
July – December Dues 2025 Past Due
July-December 2025 dues invoices have been distributed via email and are now considered PAST DUE. Past due statements were emailed this past week to all those who haven’t made a payment. Payment is due promptly and partial payments are accepted. 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
New Members
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Riana Brennan 
New Rotarian Riana gave us an introduction to herself. A native of Santa Cruz, Calif. and a junior chess champion and accomplished volley ball player (she played at CoC), she grew up in a Rotary family and had the ideals of service embedded in her early on. After college, she started a home care business and later sold it to a company where she still works, providing premium home based medical care . She enjoys outdoor activities, travel and contributing to community service, particularly through Rotary that has been a common thread in her life. Birthdays
- 10/15 – Whitney Schillerstrom, Baxter Hahn
- 10/18 – Deb Mauk
- 10/19 – Past President Brian Johnson
- 10/20 – Steve Latteri
WELLNESS TIP Breast Cancer Awareness October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Take proactive steps for your health by performing self-exams and scheduling regular check-ups
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]