Our next meeting is this Wednesday, January 20, at 7:30am. THIS MEETING WILL BE ON ZOOM ONLY. The Zoom link is below.
THIS WEEK'S MEETING TOPIC WILL BE A COVID-19 UPDATE:
Russell Baxley, President and CEO of Beaufort Memorial Hospital, will speak at the meeting regarding COVID-19 in the Lowcountry. He is scheduled to begin speaking at 7:45am, and there will be some time for a Q&A period, as well. Bring your questions! Do you want to know about the new strain of COVID or are you wondering about vaccine distribution? Join the Zoom meeting and ask the Beaufort Memorial Hospital president and CEO for his insight.
Meeting ID: 822 1719 9157 Passcode: 932409 One tap mobile +19294362866,,82217199157#,,,,*932409# US (New York) +13017158592,,82217199157#,,,,*932409# US (Washington D.C)
In an abundance of caution, the board opted to cancel the in-person portion of this week's meeting because of the rising cases of COVID-19, but we will still meet as a club on Zoom.
At our last meeting--two new members were inducted to the club, and the Board unanimously approved the following club members for the 2021-2022 Rotary Club of Bluffton Board of Directors:
President Elect – Steve Miller
Past President – Joanie Iaco
Vice President – David Hussey
Secretary – Dana Marsh
Foundation Director – Alan Johnson
Membership Chair – Brendan McCahill
Public Relation Director – Shawn Marlowe
Service Project Director – Jim Evans
Sergeant at Arms – Scott Colyer
Club Admin Director – Mary O’Neill
Youth Services Director – Tony Falgiani
CONGRATS TO OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS!
Our two new club members are: Scott Colyer and Dean Hunter.
Scott was born and raised in New Jersey, and has worked all over the country throughout his 27-year career in the radio business. He is married to Carla, and they both work for DBC Radio doing radio and digital sales. Between them, they have 3 daughters and one granddaughter, Kayleigh who is 1 1/2 years old. While living in Mississippi, Scott got involved with organizations like the United Way, Meridian Little Theater, and Jimmy Rodgers Board. He says they plan to spend the rest of their lives in Bluffton, and he looks forward to carrying on the volunteer work he started in MS and to serve the people in his hometown of Bluffton.
Dean has a background in finance and has been in healthcare management since 1981 working primarily in North and South Carolina with small and medium size rural community hospitals. He and his wife, Kathie, originally moved to Bluffton in 2008 when he worked as the COO for the Hilton Head Hospital. They decided during that time that they would retire here someday. In August, he retired as the CEO of Abbeville Area Medical Center located in Abbeville, SC. He and Kathie have four adult children who all call South Carolina home. Over the years, Dean had the opportunity to be part of Rotary clubs in Salida, CO, Perry, OK and Abbeville, SC before retiring to Bulffton. He says he originally became aware of the Bluffton Rotary Club through its involvement in MayFest several years ago and he knew then that he wanted to be a part of Bluffton Rotary when he was finally able to retire and live here full-time. And, he says, that time has finally come.
Last week, students and faculty from Bluffton High School reached out to the community to help them fill their food pantry so they can help families in need who are a part of the BHS family.
As COVID cases continue to rise, more and more families have been reaching out to the school for assistance. The school's resources have been stretched thin and they were left with few options to help their own Bobcat families in need. Their response was to run a food and hygiene product drive. They say the response has been nothing short of amazing! They were able to provide boxes, each with over 50 items each, to over 40 families and the donations are still coming in.
We promoted their food drive at last week's meeting, and Joanie sent an email to the club, as well. She was also interviewed about the food drive by93.5 FM WHHW radio to help the school get the word out.
Wreaths laid on December 19th at the Beaufort National Cemetery were removed last Friday, January 15, 2021, along with some help from our fellow Rotarians. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered. Pam Baker and Mike Frazier were part of the Rotarian crew that day, and Pam sent some before and after photos. Thanks, Pam.
