August 29, 2007
Reporter: Scott Moseley
Substitute President Eddie Robinson called the meeting to order. Nathan Ballentine led us in prayer. There were no visiting Rotarians. We welcomed Kelly Payne who brought several Interact Club members from Dutch Fork High School. Lyman Whitehead offered some Health & Happiness.
Larry Stohs passed around a sign-up sheet for members wanting to volunteer for the Okra Strut. We will need members to work the ticket booth and the Okra Man picture taking booth on Friday night. We will also have a float in the parade on Saturday morning. The Okra Strut will be held September 28-29.
The meeting was then turned over to Ben Heritage. Ben is the Golf Tournament Chairman this year. The Golf Tournament will be held October 29 at Golden Hills CC. This will be our one big fundraiser for the year. Our goal is to profit at least $15,000. Proceeds will be used to support our scholarship program with Dutch Fork High School and other Foundation / Special Projects. Club members have been broken up into 4-person teams. Each team is responsible in getting 2 hole sponsors, 2 team sponsors & 1 individual sponsor.
Dr. Robinson adjourned the meeting.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
August 22 2007
Rotary meeting notes: August 22, 2007
Our meeting was called to order today by President Beetle Bailey. Invocation was given by Blount Sheppard. John Hanson recognized our visitors, Kelly Payne and members of the interact club.
Lyman Whitehead shared with our group that Chuck Larsen’s recent surgery did not go as well as anticipated and reminded us to keep Chuck in our thoughts and prayers. He then shared some of his entertaining commentary.
Rod Funderburk was pleased to announce to our club that both of our candidates were awarded scholarships recently. Way to go!
Jim Wellman informed us that the volunteer sign up sheet for the Okra Strut would be available in the near future. This year, the club is seeking children/grandchildren of our members to ride on our float in the parade. Please let Jim know if you have children available/interested. Look for more details on assistance needed for another successful Okra Strut.
The excitement heated up when Beetle asked Skey Caskey to do a quick auction for an Authentic Steve Spurrier signed visor. If you were not present, words cannot describe the fun had by all. Needless to say, the club is $200.00 richer thanks to the generosity of Bob Mosely and Joel Collins and the good nature of our President, Beetle Bailey. If you missed our meeting, call or sit by a fellow Rotarian that was present and ask for details.
Steve Spurrier lands experienced placekicker after recruiting trip to Lake Murray - Irmo Rotary. Beetle Bailey, formerly partial to a different in-state University, shows off his autographed Carolina hat. Beetle says - Go Cocks!!
Eddie Robinson introduced Chip Huggins and our own Nathan Ballentine who provided legislative updates as well as community items:
• They invited us to attend the upcoming Prayer Breakfast at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church on September 27, 2007 at 7:30. Tickets are $8.00 or a table for $250.00.
• There is a Memorial for CPL David Weinmontz(sp?) on August 30th. David was a Dutch Fork Graduate killed at war.
• New law surrounding Gang Violations
• Underage Drinking Laws
• Programs beginning in Middle School for credit, checking acct, etc. Asked for volunteers to assist.
• Department of Revenue errors and its impact on School programs as well as other programs
• Cigarette Tax
• Discussion of our roads and bridges given the recent Bridge Collapse
• Discussion of toll roads--pros vs. cons-status of our toll roads in SC
• AND last but certainly not least the status of the GREEN BEAN Museum
President Beetle dismissed the meeting after thanking our speakers for the opportunity to visit with them.
Our meeting was called to order today by President Beetle Bailey. Invocation was given by Blount Sheppard. John Hanson recognized our visitors, Kelly Payne and members of the interact club.
Lyman Whitehead shared with our group that Chuck Larsen’s recent surgery did not go as well as anticipated and reminded us to keep Chuck in our thoughts and prayers. He then shared some of his entertaining commentary.
Rod Funderburk was pleased to announce to our club that both of our candidates were awarded scholarships recently. Way to go!
Jim Wellman informed us that the volunteer sign up sheet for the Okra Strut would be available in the near future. This year, the club is seeking children/grandchildren of our members to ride on our float in the parade. Please let Jim know if you have children available/interested. Look for more details on assistance needed for another successful Okra Strut.
The excitement heated up when Beetle asked Skey Caskey to do a quick auction for an Authentic Steve Spurrier signed visor. If you were not present, words cannot describe the fun had by all. Needless to say, the club is $200.00 richer thanks to the generosity of Bob Mosely and Joel Collins and the good nature of our President, Beetle Bailey. If you missed our meeting, call or sit by a fellow Rotarian that was present and ask for details.
Steve Spurrier lands experienced placekicker after recruiting trip to Lake Murray - Irmo Rotary. Beetle Bailey, formerly partial to a different in-state University, shows off his autographed Carolina hat. Beetle says - Go Cocks!!
Eddie Robinson introduced Chip Huggins and our own Nathan Ballentine who provided legislative updates as well as community items:
• They invited us to attend the upcoming Prayer Breakfast at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church on September 27, 2007 at 7:30. Tickets are $8.00 or a table for $250.00.
• There is a Memorial for CPL David Weinmontz(sp?) on August 30th. David was a Dutch Fork Graduate killed at war.
• New law surrounding Gang Violations
• Underage Drinking Laws
• Programs beginning in Middle School for credit, checking acct, etc. Asked for volunteers to assist.
• Department of Revenue errors and its impact on School programs as well as other programs
• Cigarette Tax
• Discussion of our roads and bridges given the recent Bridge Collapse
• Discussion of toll roads--pros vs. cons-status of our toll roads in SC
• AND last but certainly not least the status of the GREEN BEAN Museum
President Beetle dismissed the meeting after thanking our speakers for the opportunity to visit with them.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Aug 15 2007
John Hanson introduced our guest and Lyman Whitehead gave us his normal very funny health and happiness. Lynn Richards gave us a Rotary Foundation update. Eddie Robinson introduced, our speaker, Thornton Kirby, the President and CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association. Mr. Kirby attended Irmo High School. He received his undergraduate from University of Virginia and his Law Degree from the University of South Carolina. Mr. Kirby discussed the state of Healthcare in 2007. There are approximately 100 hospitals in SC of those 67 are acute care facilities and 33 specialty hospitals. The SC Hospital Association was founded in 1921 and currently has 33 employees. The member hospitals either directly or indirectly have a 10.7 Billion dollar impact on our state. The member hospitals employ directly and indirectly approximately 158,866 employees. The member hospitals pay approximately 435.1 million dollars in taxes to SC.
Currently there is a dramatic shortage of healthcare workers and the emergency rooms are overcrowded. South Carolina hospitals hire 3000 nurses per year and half of all those come from out of state.
A few questions were asked and then President Bailey dismissed our club.
Ray
Currently there is a dramatic shortage of healthcare workers and the emergency rooms are overcrowded. South Carolina hospitals hire 3000 nurses per year and half of all those come from out of state.
A few questions were asked and then President Bailey dismissed our club.
Ray
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
August 8, 2007
Weekly Meeting Minutes
August 8, 2007
Reporter – Stan Bugner
President Beetle convened the meeting and Skey Caskey opened with a prayer. John Hanson introduced our guests: Fred Midway, Dolly Patton, and Brooks and Brice Miley. Lyman Whitehead had Skey lead us in singing Happy Birthday to Jeannette Coulter and Lynn Richards informed us that this was the 25th anniversary of her family moving from Santa Monica, CA. to Columbia.
Rob Funderburk briefly spoke on the scholarships offered by Rotary, the organization that sponsors more scholarships than any other organization in the world. The primary focus of these scholarships is to be an ambassador to the area being visited. The scholarships are administered by the Districts and a very intense interview process is employed in awarding them. Our District awarded two cultural scholarships last year and five ambassadorial scholarships. Our club sponsored one recipient for each of these scholarships.
Rob introduced our guest speaker, Andrew Schwark, the 2005 scholar that we sponsored, who spent 2006 in Senegal. Andrew is a graduate student at USC in the International School of Business. He applied for the scholarship because he values the educational experience of studying abroad and wants to learn about other cultures. He chose Senegal because he speaks French, their primary language, has always been fascinated by Africa and he wanted to view an emerging economy, first hand. Senegal is one of the most democratic states in Africa. He wore a Korite’, the attire worn by men of Senegal for special occasions. In addition to the university study, which he did at the Universite of Gaston Berger in St. Louis, he focused on the study of two native languages/dialects, Palaar and Wolof. He arrived in Dakar, the capitol and urban center of Senegal, where he spent the first month and a half with its 3.5 million inhabitants. Dakar is very crowded, suffers from pollution and much petty crime, and has poor infrastructure. Power outages are a normal part of life in Dakar, which made things uncomfortable in the rather intense heat.
Andrew then went to St. Louis to pursue his university study. St. Louis has colonial architecture, much like Charleston. He primarily lived in university housing and spent weekends with his host family. The mother of this family is a doctor and is president of the local Rotary Club. The Club only had 15 members. However, it was very active, sponsoring many local activities, such as cancer screening. Being a member of Rotary is a status symbol in Senegal.
Andrew found the people of Senegal, who are primarily Islamic, to be very aggressive, outgoing, hospitable, honest and frank. He also learned that the price of everything in Senegal is negotiable, including a taxi ride. He traveled the entire country, visited Morocco and Guinea Bissau, and attended a Rotary district meeting in Cape Verde. Andrew enjoyed the people and the food, rice is the staple of their diet, and feels the experience stimulated personal growth. He concluded his presentation with a slide show of some of his experiences in Senegal.
August 8, 2007
Reporter – Stan Bugner
President Beetle convened the meeting and Skey Caskey opened with a prayer. John Hanson introduced our guests: Fred Midway, Dolly Patton, and Brooks and Brice Miley. Lyman Whitehead had Skey lead us in singing Happy Birthday to Jeannette Coulter and Lynn Richards informed us that this was the 25th anniversary of her family moving from Santa Monica, CA. to Columbia.
Rob Funderburk briefly spoke on the scholarships offered by Rotary, the organization that sponsors more scholarships than any other organization in the world. The primary focus of these scholarships is to be an ambassador to the area being visited. The scholarships are administered by the Districts and a very intense interview process is employed in awarding them. Our District awarded two cultural scholarships last year and five ambassadorial scholarships. Our club sponsored one recipient for each of these scholarships.
Rob introduced our guest speaker, Andrew Schwark, the 2005 scholar that we sponsored, who spent 2006 in Senegal. Andrew is a graduate student at USC in the International School of Business. He applied for the scholarship because he values the educational experience of studying abroad and wants to learn about other cultures. He chose Senegal because he speaks French, their primary language, has always been fascinated by Africa and he wanted to view an emerging economy, first hand. Senegal is one of the most democratic states in Africa. He wore a Korite’, the attire worn by men of Senegal for special occasions. In addition to the university study, which he did at the Universite of Gaston Berger in St. Louis, he focused on the study of two native languages/dialects, Palaar and Wolof. He arrived in Dakar, the capitol and urban center of Senegal, where he spent the first month and a half with its 3.5 million inhabitants. Dakar is very crowded, suffers from pollution and much petty crime, and has poor infrastructure. Power outages are a normal part of life in Dakar, which made things uncomfortable in the rather intense heat.
Andrew then went to St. Louis to pursue his university study. St. Louis has colonial architecture, much like Charleston. He primarily lived in university housing and spent weekends with his host family. The mother of this family is a doctor and is president of the local Rotary Club. The Club only had 15 members. However, it was very active, sponsoring many local activities, such as cancer screening. Being a member of Rotary is a status symbol in Senegal.
Andrew found the people of Senegal, who are primarily Islamic, to be very aggressive, outgoing, hospitable, honest and frank. He also learned that the price of everything in Senegal is negotiable, including a taxi ride. He traveled the entire country, visited Morocco and Guinea Bissau, and attended a Rotary district meeting in Cape Verde. Andrew enjoyed the people and the food, rice is the staple of their diet, and feels the experience stimulated personal growth. He concluded his presentation with a slide show of some of his experiences in Senegal.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
July 25 2007
Last Meeting
July 25, 2007
Reporter – Chip Lyerly
After the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, Lyman Whitehead humored us with his weekly Health and Happiness. Joel Collins introduced Ryan who is a graduate of Dutch Fork High School and was a recipient one year ago of one of our club’s Rotary Scholarships. Ryan is beginning his second year at USC and is Biology major.
President Beetle Bailey asked new members Dr. Bill Brooks (PhD) and Dr. David Isbell (MD) to give classification talks about their careers and profession. Bill is a graduate of The Citadel and is now retired from the South Carolina Agriculture Department where he was the Director of their research laboratory. David is a cardiologist practicing in Columbia and a graduate of Duke University and the University of Virginia Medical School.
Dr. Eddie Robison introduced our guest speaker Mike Dawson who is the Executive Director of The River Alliance. Mr. Dawson presented a slide show and spoke to the group about the various projects that have been completed since their formation in 1994. Prior to this time there had not been any comprehensive plans to develop and preserve the natural resources of the three rivers that have their confluence in heart of downtown Columbia. The Three Rivers Greenway was first proposed in 1998 and is a master plan that encompasses approximately 90 miles of river frontage. The first project was the Granby Park which opened in 1998. In 2002 the Ginyard family gave approximately 2½ miles of Congaree River frontage which has lead to the development of the West Columbia and Cayce Riverways. Dawson said that on a typical weekend day 450-500 people per hour are using these walkways for walking, running, biking and other recreational activities. The Riverfront Park in West Columbia opened in 2004 followed by the Mill Village Riverlink in 2005. The Mill Village connects the Olympia Mill area with paths to the USC Strom Thurmond Wellness Center and the USC Greek Village. He said that all of these walkways will eventually be interconnected. The next major thrust for the River Alliance will be the development of the river front walkways from the Gervais Street Bridge on the Columbia side of the Congaree going down past the Cayce rail road bridge south of Blossom Street. In the future the River Alliance would like to develop a pathway all of the ways up the Saluda River to the Lake Murray Dam.
Dawson pointed out to the many upscale residential developments that are underway in the Vista area as a testament to the quality of life people are experiencing with much of the credit being given to the public parkways that have been developed by The River Alliance. Columbia and surrounding municipalities are still in the infant stages of seeing the riverfront be a strong drawing card to tourist and residences back to the downtown are of our Capital City.
President Bailey reminded the Club that this was the last meeting that Molley Cousins would be attending before her corporate transfer to Virginia. Many members gave brief testaments to her leadership of our Club as past President and wished her continued success in her new role with Snelling Personnel.
President Bailey also reminded the Club that next week (August 1st) we will be visited by our new District Governor Mary Martin of Little River and asked that we all try to b in attendance for this important meeting.
July 25, 2007
Reporter – Chip Lyerly
After the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, Lyman Whitehead humored us with his weekly Health and Happiness. Joel Collins introduced Ryan who is a graduate of Dutch Fork High School and was a recipient one year ago of one of our club’s Rotary Scholarships. Ryan is beginning his second year at USC and is Biology major.
President Beetle Bailey asked new members Dr. Bill Brooks (PhD) and Dr. David Isbell (MD) to give classification talks about their careers and profession. Bill is a graduate of The Citadel and is now retired from the South Carolina Agriculture Department where he was the Director of their research laboratory. David is a cardiologist practicing in Columbia and a graduate of Duke University and the University of Virginia Medical School.
Dr. Eddie Robison introduced our guest speaker Mike Dawson who is the Executive Director of The River Alliance. Mr. Dawson presented a slide show and spoke to the group about the various projects that have been completed since their formation in 1994. Prior to this time there had not been any comprehensive plans to develop and preserve the natural resources of the three rivers that have their confluence in heart of downtown Columbia. The Three Rivers Greenway was first proposed in 1998 and is a master plan that encompasses approximately 90 miles of river frontage. The first project was the Granby Park which opened in 1998. In 2002 the Ginyard family gave approximately 2½ miles of Congaree River frontage which has lead to the development of the West Columbia and Cayce Riverways. Dawson said that on a typical weekend day 450-500 people per hour are using these walkways for walking, running, biking and other recreational activities. The Riverfront Park in West Columbia opened in 2004 followed by the Mill Village Riverlink in 2005. The Mill Village connects the Olympia Mill area with paths to the USC Strom Thurmond Wellness Center and the USC Greek Village. He said that all of these walkways will eventually be interconnected. The next major thrust for the River Alliance will be the development of the river front walkways from the Gervais Street Bridge on the Columbia side of the Congaree going down past the Cayce rail road bridge south of Blossom Street. In the future the River Alliance would like to develop a pathway all of the ways up the Saluda River to the Lake Murray Dam.
Dawson pointed out to the many upscale residential developments that are underway in the Vista area as a testament to the quality of life people are experiencing with much of the credit being given to the public parkways that have been developed by The River Alliance. Columbia and surrounding municipalities are still in the infant stages of seeing the riverfront be a strong drawing card to tourist and residences back to the downtown are of our Capital City.
President Bailey reminded the Club that this was the last meeting that Molley Cousins would be attending before her corporate transfer to Virginia. Many members gave brief testaments to her leadership of our Club as past President and wished her continued success in her new role with Snelling Personnel.
President Bailey also reminded the Club that next week (August 1st) we will be visited by our new District Governor Mary Martin of Little River and asked that we all try to b in attendance for this important meeting.
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