Our speaker for our September 16 meeting will be Beaufort County School District Superintendent Frank Rodriguez.
Named the 2025 South Carolina Superintendent of the Year, Dr. Rodriguez has significantly impacted Beaufort County since his arrival. Under his leadership, two major bond referendums have overwhelmingly passed, one in 2019 for $344 million and another in 2023 for $439 million, the largest in the district's history.
Named one of 25 "Superintendents to Watch" by the National School Public Relations Association for his communication efforts.
He testified before the U.S. Congress about the success of the district's extended learning programs, a collaborative effort involving community organizations to address pandemic-related learning loss. This innovative use of ESSER funds no doubt contributed to the district achieving its best-ever English Language Arts scores on the 2022, 2023, and 2024 SC Ready state assessment. Additionally, the district has also reached the highest College or Career Readiness scores at 82.8% and the highest graduation rate at 88.6%
Our Featured speaker on September 8 was our own Coach Roy Austin, the founder of Libraries for Kids International.
From mailing a few books to a Kenyan school library in 2019 the organization to date has shipped over 33 containers with over 1.5 million books to over 13,000 schools in Kenya and 86 in Uganda, affecting over 3.5 million children.
A fellow Rotarian in the Bluffton club, Austin has connected with several Rotary organizations in Africa which have provided him support and logistical assistance. He has found that the Rotary network helps him connect with government officials and local leaders who support bringing books to schools with little or no library access. Not only was Libraries for Kids International founded by a Rotarian, but day-to-day operations are also led by a Rotarian, the Uganda Coordinator is a Rotarian and there are 4 U.S.-based Rotarians on the Board of Directors.
His hope is that he will be able to provide books to schools in all of Africa in the next few years.
The Bluffton Satellite Evening Club is hosting a Trivia Night on Wednesday January 30, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the Rotary Community Center, in partnership with Ravens Uganda…and all Bluffton Rotarians are invited to get Trivia Crazy for a great cause!
Get ready to put your thinking caps on, brush up on your useless trivia, and join us for Ravens Uganda Trivia Night!
This fun evening is being sponsored by the Bluffton Satellite Rotary Club as a fundraiser for our Ravens Uganda international project. It’s a great opportunity to have some fun with fellow Rotarians and friends while helping make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people in Uganda. This highlights one of Rotary’s Areas of Focus – Education – as September is Basic Education and Literacy Month.
Your support will help provide tuition for secondary school, university, and vocational training, along with books, uniforms, and other essential supplies. It also helps secure safe housing when needed and provides a monthly stipend for food and transportation. Ensures access to healthcare and medication, including regular check-ups and vaccinations. It also provides leadership development, discipleship, and regular check-ins to support emotional well-being and personal growth.
The details:
Wednesday, September 30
6:00–8:00 PM
Rotary Community Center, 11 Recreation Dr, Bluffton
$40 per person or $220 for a table of 6
So, grab your smartest friends, your favorite trivia teammates, or just show up ready to have fun—and help our club support this incredible international project! Come for the trivia. Stay for the laughs. Leave knowing you helped change a life. Education is a way to success!
Let’s fill the room and show what Rotary can do!
Please sign up using the QR code or website and join us for a fun night supporting Ravens Uganda!
Regardless of issue, please let us know if something is going on to prevent you from attending our meetings. We have many members who can help, pray, or just call to lift your spirits.
Club Dues Invoices - please submit payment at your earliest convenience. Several Rotarians have outstanding balances from prior invoices - if you are unsure of who you are, please reach out to Don Kensey, Rotary Club of Bluffton Treasurer.
Do you worry about Alzheimer’s? We do not have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but we must find one. Finding a cure starts with you. Every year the CART (Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust) Fund gives research grants focused on finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
Have you given to the CART Fund this year? The CART Fund is dedicated to raising funds to provide “seed” money for cutting edge, high impact research in hopes of finding a cure/prevention for Alzheimer’s disease. The goal of the CART Fund is to encourage exploratory and developmental Alzheimer’s disease research projects within the United States. This is accomplished by providing financial support for the early and conceptual plans of those projects that may not yet be supported by extensive preliminary data but have the potential to substantially advance biomedical research. These projects should be distinct from those designed to increase knowledge in a well-established area unless they intend to extend previous discoveries toward new directions or applications.
If you would you like to donate to the C.A.R.T. fund, please scan the code below:
The Bluffton Rotary Club has a YouTube Channel! You will find previous guest speakers and other fun videos, so be on the lookout for more content in the future. All you have to do is create a YouTube account and subscribe...with 80+ current members, we can do better than eight subscriber's!! Link:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8TYzr9_xUE8Jfy-lniTt1A
Did you know ClubRunner is now available on your mobile device app store for FREE?!? Once downloaded, use your ClubRunner log-in. This will give you instant access to our member directory, events, news and other important information. Here is a video that highlights some of the features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFLu08meAHI&t=12s
Wednesday, September 30
6:00–8:00 PM
Rotary Community Center, 11 Recreation Dr, Bluffton
$40 per person or $220 for a table of 6
