Troy Ward received his 3rd Paul Harris Fellow award at the June 30th induction ceremony.
The following Sea Island Club members received the Paul Harris Fellow Award
from President Paul Moore:
Woody Oakley received his 3rd PHF
Gayle Bowen received her 2nd PHF
Jack Cunningham received his 2nd PHF
The speaker at the Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016 Sea Island Rotary Club meeting will be Karin Skipper, South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (SCDHEC). The meeting takes place at the Quality Inn (2001 Boundary St, Beaufort) at 12 noon. Skipper is the Watershed Manager for the Savannah and Salkehatchie Watershed, which includes the waters in Beaufort County. She will address the quality of the waters in Beaufort County and some of the issues challenging those waters such as storm water discharges, shellfish closures, etc.
Time, date & place: Tuesday, August 23, 2016 @ 12 pm at the Quality Inn located at 2001 Boundary Street in Beaufort.
Incoming president Carole Ingram recieves the gavel virtually from outgoing Troy Ward.
Sea Island Rotary Club installed their new officers for the 2020-2021 year during a virtual ceremony held over Zoom June 30, 2020.
New officers for the year include Club President Paul Moore, Secretary Meredith Keene, and Directors Brandon Gaffney, Troy Ward, and John Perrill. Outgoing 2015-2016 President Dr. Chuck Ingle was also honored for his service to the Club for the past year.
The month identifies and celebrates the notion that world understanding crosses all political, religious, and geographical boundaries. Rotarians have spread this message around the world through acts of kindness, compassion, fellowship, and “Service Above Self”.
We will have another SI Rotary crew, joined by some of our Interact club members from Battery Creek High School, to do our quarterly litter pick-up on Feb 20th, 2016.
Sea Island Rotary’s April 28 meeting was a little out of the ordinary. Our speaker, Stephen Schnabel of the Birds of Prey Center in Awendaw, brought two guests with him: a barred owl and a Cooper’s hawk. The guests let him speak for a while, explaining the good work that the Birds of Prey Center performs, but then they decided to take over the show. The owl made himself known from inside his crate, making mournful owl sounds during the video whenever a certain staff member spoke. Stephen told us that this owl had been brought to the center when quite young and bonded with the young woman to an extent that he called out when he saw or heard her, even on video. The Cooper’s hawk gave us a flying demonstration inside our meeting space, causing several Rotarians to duck when he flew inches over their heads. This was definitely a demonstration and talk that got our full attention!
Stephen tells us about the habits of birds of prey
The Cooper’s hawk addresses Sea Island Rotary
Stephen tries to calm our guest
The hawk takes off while Gayle looks the other way
The April 28 club meeting featured an unusual topic: lessons from SC Drug Court. The speakers, introduced by Rotarian Jim Grimsley, are officials with the local multi-county drug court. Mike Lee comes from a law enforcement background, have served as a City of Beaufort police officer before his (first) retirement. He was called upon by the Solicitor to restart a drug court in the region including Beaufort County and surrounding area. The purpose of the drug court was finding alternatives to incarceration in the face of a badly overcrowded state prison system. Our second speaker, Krista Grabenbauer (yes, she’s Beaufort Rotarian Gabby’s daughter-in-law) comes from a social work background. Krista, who deals directly with offenders, described the 3-step program that helps individuals get free of drug habits and live productive lives. This approach not only gives drug offenders a new start in life, but also saves the state the expenses of incarceration.
Mike Lee tells us about drug court
Krista tells us what it’s like being on the front lines in dealing with drug offenders
As the last of four business-oriented speakers in February, John F. Windley President & Chief Banking Officer, South State Bank spoke on building banks in the 21st Century. He described spending the first half of his career working for major regional and national banks in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, and then transitioning to a much smaller bank. He succeeded in building South States Bank from a small group of local banks into a profitable regional bank with a local feel for business. John was especially proud of the bank’s performance during the recent recession, noting that the bank never lowered its dividend payments.
John Windley is passionate about keeping small to mid-sized banks relevant and profitable
John demonstrates his banking prowess by winning our door prize
On February 17 the Sea Island Rotary Club had a very informative presentation by Dick Stewart. Dick, a Beaufort native, worked in the telecommunications field in his first careers. Dick started with Motorola and then moved to MCI before starting his cell tower business. Dick hit the market right, did very well with his company, and was able to move back to Beaufort in the early 2000s. Instead of retiring as many would, Dick decided to invest in the community, as a business and to help revitalize downtown Beaufort. In addition, Dick serves on the boards of several local nonprofits, applying his business acumen and experience to help these foundations thrive. Dick is also a Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Beaufort.
Meredith and Ed are all ears
Dick Stewart tells us how to succeed in business by working hard – and smart!
Dave takes mental notes on how he’s going to grow his business and take over the town
Our featured speaker on November 11 was Paula Harper Bethea, director of the South Carolina Education Lottery. Ms. Bethea, who has served on many boards, commissions, and other public bodies, has brought a wealth of experience to the SC Education Lottery. She explained that the lottery has contributed over $3.4 billion to South Carolina education since its inception in 2002, divided among grades K-12, higher education programs and scholarships, and other community education programs. She emphasized that her agency is a resource for education and a fiscally conservative, socially aware business enterprise. Ms. Bethea’s lively speaking style and passion for education kept our Rotarians involved in the program, and left us with an appreciation of the large program she administers.
Rotarians busy eating lunch in preparation for the program
Happy drawing winner Dave Homyk, wishing he’d won the SC Education Lottery
Paula Harper Bethea gives us a detailed explanation of the SC Education Lottery
John Perrill makes sure we understand the benefits of the Rotary Foundation