Our Meeting Wednesday October 5th

Lake Murray-Irmo Rotary Club Meeting
October 5, 2005
Reporter- Ashley Rider

The meeting was opened with prayer led by Joel Collins. Harvey Hoots introduced guests and visitors, which again included several members of the Dutch Fork High Interact Club, accompanied by Kelley Payne. Beetle Bailey introduced guest Barry Johns, the new owner of Sign-A-Rama in Irmo. Blount Shepard commented on the turnout and support for last Saturday’s Adopt-A-Highway cleanup, indicating that the event was well attended by the Interact Club. Kelley Payne made the club’s work easy this year. The shrimp and grits were outstanding and in 45 minutes participants picked up 20 bags (300 lbs.) of trash.
President Hite commented on the positive feedback that he has received regarding the club’s new meeting location at Salem United Methodist Church and thanked Joel Collins for his efforts in helping the club locate this venue. He also announced that there will be no club meeting on October 19th due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict at the church. In lieu of the regular meeting, he encouraged all members to attend the Art Auction/Taste of Irmo on October 14. Judy Johnson provided an update on the Auction, indicating that we must have at least 100 attendees in order to obtain an additional $1,500 towards our fundraising efforts. Judy updated the club on some of the auction items that have been donated and recognized Beetle Bailey who brought several golf related items. Judy stressed that volunteers are needed to assist with the event and its set up. The final prep meeting for the Auction will be held on Monday, October 10 at 6:00 p.m. at Carolina Wings in Irmo. Harold Crawford updated the club on the dictionary project.
President Hite announced that the next Board of Directors meeting will be held at 7:30 on October 20th at Three Rivers Medical.
Rod Funderburk introduced our guest speaker, Ambassadorial Scholar Anne Harvey. Anne is a senior at the University of South Carolina who spent a number of months studying in St. Petersburg, Russia. Anne gave a detailed account of her studies in Russia, which ranged from language to literature. She also brought along a number of traditional Russian souvenirs, pictures, and books. During her stay Anne was able to develop a greater understanding of the nation’s culture and its people. She noted the obvious lack of a true middle class in Russia, as well as the obvious juxtaposition between the wealthy and poor areas of the region. Anne made a point to experience as much of the Russian culture as possible during stay, as evidenced by her 12 visits to St. Petersburg’s largest museum. She also volunteered at two orphanages. Anne plans to return to Russia in the near future to work on her thesis, which will deal with the status of women in Russian culture. She closed by thanking the club for its support.