November 18, 2025
We were honored have former US Congressman and local attorney Joe Cunningham join our meeting this week. Joe thanked Rotary for all its contributions to the local community over its 100+ years, and praised Rotary for its steady, quiet support. He called on our colleagues in government to embrace the ideals Service Above Self of more.
With the holidays coming up quickly check our Keyway for upcoming events and schedules. Lots of fun stuff going on in the Club, including all the great holiday traditions of our club.
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: Y90mA@Qw
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
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- Past President Paul Stoney gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- Tyler Jones welcomed our visiting Rotarians and guests.
- Past President Robert Sullivan introduced our guest speaker, Joe Cunningham.
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
November25, 2025 | Issue 5185| President: Karla Combs
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 11/25 – NO ROTARY MEETING (Happy Thanksgiving)
- 12/2 – Lenny Reeder, Military Experience
- 12/6 – Salvation Army Bellringing 4-6:30pm
- 12/9 – CTAR CEO (11am Board Mtg)
- 12/13 – Salvation Army Bellringing 4-6:30pm
- 12/16 – Holiday Luncheon @ Hall’s, 12noon
- 12/18 – Senior Holiday Giving at Ansonborough House
- 12/20 – Salvation Army Bellringing 4-6:30pm
- 12/23 – NO ROTARY MEETING
- 12/30 – NO ROTARY MEETING
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 and sign in at the Membership Table.
Holiday Luncheon at Hall’s (RSVP Deadline is 12/2)
Our club’s Annual Holiday Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, December 16th at 12noon (doors open at 11:30am) at Hall’s Chophouse, 434 King Street. This event is open to all Rotarians and their spouse or (1) guest. No charge for Rotarians. Spouse/Guest fee is $40, paid by CASH or CHECK at the door, or payments via credit card will be accepted in advance at upcoming meetings. We hope everyone will be able to join us as we ring in the holidays! IMPORTANT: DEADLINE TO RSVP IS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2ND. NO EXCEPTIONS! Please click on the link below to RSVP: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945A4AA2AA7F5C52-60445897-annual
Change in Membership Status Deadline (IMPORTANT)
If you plan a change in your club member status by January 1, 2026 to Excused, Leave of Absence, E-Member or if you are planning to resign, please notify Carroll in writing NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 9th. All membership changes will need to be reviewed and approved by the Board at the December 9th meeting. Membership changes will affect your January-June 2026 dues statement, which will be distributed in mid-December. Our club is required by Rotary International to pay semi-annual dues for all members on the club’s membership list as of January 1. If you resign after the December 9th deadline, you will be responsible for paying the Rotary International and District dues which the club pays for you on January 1. If you have any questions, contact Carroll.
Ring the Bell for the Salvation Army
It’s that time again! Let’s join forces with the Salvation Army and collect funds for the less fortunate this holiday season. Each year, The Salvation Army will serve more than 25 million people across America – including many here in your community. That means 55+ million meals for the hungry, 10+ million nights of shelter for the homeless, and countless Christmas gifts for children who may otherwise go without. Note: If you cannot attend one of the dates in the Signup Genius for Marion Square but would still like to participate in the Salvation Army bell ringing, additional opportunities exist on weekdays at Rivera Place throughout November and December. You can sign up to volunteer for these at RegistertoRing.com. Sign Up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945A4AA2AA7F5C52-60464230-salvation
RCCF Grants Awarded to Local Organizations
Our Fall RCCF Grant recognitions continued this past Tuesday with three more local organizations being awarded RCCF grants.
Fellow Rotarian, Josh Davis, accepted the RCCF Grant on behalf of The Salvation Army, which has served our community for over 119 years. Our donation will assist with the purchase of musical instruments for the after-school youth program serving under-resourced children.
Junior Achievement was represented by Board Member, David Hamilton. Our club’s donation will assist with providing a high-impact learning experience for approximately 40 students in Charleston area schools during this school year. $40/student will provide students with essential life skills in financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship skills.
Scott Hamilton attended on behalf of Spectrum Sailing. Our club’s donation will fund camp shirts, US Coast Guard approved life jackets and marine radios for their Fall Charleston Camp. Congratulations to these local organizations! We are proud to support their efforts in our community!
Blue Buckets – Holiday Gratuity for Servers (Dec. 9th last day to donate)
You can support our wait staff/kitchen staff at Hall’s Signature Events by donating in the Blue Buckets at upcoming meetings through Dec. 9. All BLUE bucket donations from this coming Tuesday through our meeting on December 9 will be collected and given as a holiday gift to our servers to show our appreciation for all they do for us each Tuesday. Please consider contributing to the staff at Hall’s Signature Events as they work hard for us every Tuesday.
July – December 2025 Dues Invoices PAST DUE
July-December 2025 dues invoices are PAST DUE. If you have not made your July 2025 dues payment, please do so promptly. We will be closing the books on this current billing cycle on December 31 and issuing January-June 2026 invoices before the holidays. We would like to receive all past due payments before the Board Meeting on December 9. If you have not paid and didn’t receive an invoice or have misplaced, please contact Carroll. Also note that payments can be paid 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.
Bikes for Africa Donation date/location
Charleston, SC metro area Rotary Clubs completed their first collection of used bikes and gear donations on 11/22 in connection with their Bikes for Africa international service project. Participating area clubs collected approximately 150 bikes toward the collective annual goal of 500, to fill a shipping container that we are sending to South Africa . The container filled with the bikes and gear will be re-purposed into a bike shop when it arrives, and locals will be trained to assemble, service and distribute the bikes to individuals that need them for transportation to school and work. We will be announcing our next collection dates and locations for 2026 soon. Please hold on to those old and spare bikes and gear and help us support this great cause!
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
Continue to Support Polio and By Becoming a Polio Plus Society Member
All Rotarians are encouraged to continue to support Rotary International’s efforts to take action and 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.
Club Seeking Outbound Exchange Student for 2026/2027 School Year
Our club is currently accepting applications to sponsor a local high school student for an outbound exchange for the 2026/2027 school year. The Rotary International Youth Exchange Program offers teenage high school students ages 15-19 an opportunity to make new friends, learn new ways of living, open themselves up to different ideas, a new culture, traditions, experiences, and to adapt and gain fresh perspectives while attending high school in another country and living with 2- 3 host families arranged through the local Rotary Club. Typically, the exchanges offer the same benefits to host families. The parents of sponsored outbound students for the exchange program will need to be one of the hosts for the Charleston Rotary Club’s sponsored inbound students (for 3-6 months), while their children are overseas on their exchanges.
- The students selected for sponsorship will go overseas in August 2026, for the 2026/2027 school year, attend high school and will be hosted by 2 to 3 families and the local Rotary Club in the host country.
- The Charleston area family of the sponsored student will need to be one of the hosts for our sponsored inbound student that will arrive in August 2026.
CCSD currently supports this program and is accepting inbound international exchange students at various Charleston County high schools for the 2025/2026 school year and has done so for many years. The following is a website link for additional link formation: Rotary International Youth / Student Exchange Information: Youth Exchanges | Rotary International . Interested students and families will need to complete an application, engage in an interview process, and attend online and in-person training before the exchange year begins in August 2026.
Club Service Team Needs Meeting Day Volunteers
We are always looking for Greeters, Invocation & Pledge presenters, as well as volunteers to introduce our visiting Rotarians & guests at weekly meetings. Please contact Club Service Chairman, Sgt. Cody Callerman at [email protected] if you would like to volunteer at a weekly meeting.
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.
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
Baxter Hahn is a new dad! Congratulations to Baxter and his wife, Katie, on the birth of their daughter, Lillian Caroline Hahn, on November 11. Everyone is healthy and happy!
Proposed New Member:
The following membership candidate has applied and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:
George Ramsay – sponsor: Kerby Teller; classification: Finance/Wealth Advisor
In the event you know George, please tell a member of the Board how he/she will serve the ideas of Rotary.
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
- 12/1 – Channing Proctor, Dave Ziegler
- 12/3 – Theresa Adkison
- 12/8 – Jeff Hollis
- 12/9 – Johnny Stuhr, Heath Ward
WELLNESS TIP
Drink water. Winter may be a good time for hot cocoa and cider, but always make water your drink of choice. While hot beverages can be great for warmth, remember to keep it balanced with at least 8 cups of water per day. A glass of water with and between each meal can keep you hydrated, healthy and ready to fight off any germs winter may bring.
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: Karla Combs
Executive secretary: Carroll Schweers, [email protected]