The Charleston Rotary Board is closely monitoring the increase in cases of COVID-19 in WV and Kanawha County. The CDCs recommendation is to wear a mask for all indoor activities where cases are high. While masks are not yet required, the Board does recommend wearing a mask when not actively eating or drinking. As a reminder, virtual attendance is still available and you have received an invitation to register for that platform. We will continue to monitor the cases and make appropriate decisions to protect all Rotarians.
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Hybrid Meetings Continue Through August. Look for your invitation. If you, or anyone you know does not receive an invitation or a newsletter email rotarycwv@gmail.com.
August 23rd
Ben Adams
Charleston City Council
City of Charleston – Overview and Update on the City’s Cable Franchise Agreement
Introduced by Vic Grigoraci
Ben Adams is a native Charlestonian and lives here with his wife and young children. Ben has practiced law at Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC since graduating from law school in 2010. Since that time, Ben has gained a reputation amongst the bench and bar for his fair and effective representation of clients. Ben is AV-Preeminent Peer Rated and has also been repeatedly recognized by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star.” In 2018, Ben was elected to Charleston City Council as an at-large member, where he serves on the Finance Committee, Urban Renewal Committee, and Environment and Recycling Committee. He also serves on the West Side Board of Advisors for Charleston Main Streets, is a member of the board of the Charleston Land Reuse Agency, and is a member of the board of the of RCCR.
Ben Adams serves as Chairman of the City of Charleston’s Select Committee on the its Cable Franchise Agreement. Ben will provide background and an overview of the City’s current Cable Franchise Agreement, as well as, an update on the renewal processes and community input gathered.
August 30th
Jim Hull, Hull Property Group
Plans for Charleston Town Center Mall
Introduced by Mayor Amy Goodwin
Jim Hull is the founder and managing principal of Hull Property Group. He has led the acquisition, development and redevelopment in excess of 70 big-box retail, neighborhood and regional shopping centers, including the acquisition of 33 enclosed regional malls, many of which comprise the Company’s approximate 16 million plus square feet of owned retail portfolio located in 16 states.
Jim is a lifelong resident of Augusta, Georgia and is an active communicant of the Church of the Good Shepherd. He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. He is also the Chair of the AU Health System and on the boards of the Medical College of Georgia Foundation, State of Georgia’s REACH Scholarship Program, Georgia Research Alliance, Community Foundation of the CSRA, America’s Warrior Partnership and the University System of Georgia Foundation.
Jim endowed the Hull Scholars programs at the Hull College of Business at Augusta University, Paine College and Vanderbilt University. He is a long-standing member of the United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society and has been honored with the United Way’s Founders Award. Jim received the President’s Award from Augusta University, the Liberty Bell Award from the Augusta Bar Association and the Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Society of Fundraising Professionals. He is a Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow, past president of the Augusta Assembly, and has been inducted in Junior Achievement’s Business Hall of Fame and Beta Gamma Sigma’s Honor Society. Jim is a recipient of an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Augusta University.
IMMEDIATE HELP NEEDED for short term assistance on grant writing for Rotary funds. The deadline is fast approaching and the board needs help making sure applications are submitted in a timely fashion. This is a 2-3 hour total commitment.
Join Melissa Pemberton and Brian Sloan for dinner at The Pitch on Tuesday, August 24th at 5:30 If you know any potential Young Professional members, please connect them with Melissa and Brian. They will also discuss a new date for the Kanawha State Forest Hike.
CELEBRATION STATION UPDATE-Under the leadership of Michelle Foster, chair of the Community Investment Committee, Rotary has been a key community player in the upgrade of this critical community park. We are working with the City of Charleston, Kanawha County Schools, Piedmont Elementary and their PTO, Childhood Language Center and the local community to make this dream a reality. We have raised $89,476 of our $100,000 goal and we need all Rotarians to help us get there. The West Virginia American Water Company Foundation recently donated $20,000 to this project. We were selected second out of nine projects submitted from a multi-state area. We have received generous donations from banks and other corporations involved with Rotary. We don’t have far to go. We hope you will agree to help us get there. All donations help! Click here to contribute!
MLK MURAL PROJECT Mike Fidler, chair of the Fellowship Committee, is planning a workshop day for Rotarians and their families to come together with the City’s Director of Public Art, Jeff Pierson, to make portraits for the mural project.
SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, September 25, 2021 10AM-12 Noon
Charleston Civic Center Coliseum
Our Rotary club is participating in a significant community project, under the direction of the City of Charleston Department of Public Art, to create a mural honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This mural will be fixed to an exterior wall of the Martin Luther King Center in Charleston. Our contribution will be the addition of individual self-portraits surrounding the main portrait of Dr. King. The portraits require no artistic talent but are instead fanciful, cartoonish, or as representative as your skills permit. The project should be fun and an opportunity for fellowship.
A family-included workshop to create the self-portraits has been scheduled for Saturday, September 25, 2021, from 10AM to 12 Noon, at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum. Refreshments will be available. The workshop will be directed by Jeff Pierson, Director of Public Art for the City of Charleston. This should be a fun outing for the whole family!
Sign-Ups by the Fellowship Committee will begin soon.
For more information, contact Mike Fidler, Fellowship Chair at: mofidler@suddenlink.net
The Program Committee invites any and all members to join us every Monday at 1:00 in our meeting room. We only meet for 20-30 minutes and we plan our weekly speakers. We need new energy and encourage all members to join us!
Reminders:
- Masks are not required but recommended for those who feel more comfortable wearing one.
- Lunch will be served buffet style with plexi-glass guards in place.
- Hand sanitizer will be provided.
- Pay-at-the-door lunches are $11.00 and can be paid via cash, check or card.
Please direct all correspondence that would normally go to Deb Coffman to Mary Cook at rotarycwv@gmail.com.
2021-2022 Board of Directors:
Christy Elliott, President
Justin Southern, President- Elect, Program Committee Chair
Michelle Foster, Secretary, Community Investment Committee Chair
Harold Holstein, Treasurer
DF Mock, Club Director, Membership Chair
Brian Sloan, Club Director, Public Image / Technology Chair
Craig Glover, Club Director, Diversity and Inclusion Chair
Mike Fidler, Club Director, Fellowship Chair
Melissa Pemberton, Club Director, Young Professionals Membership
Allison Francis, Club Director, Program Committee Secretary
Bill Scharf, Club Director
JB Akers, Club Director
Bob Welty, Immediate Past President
Mary Cook, Interim Club Administrator
Vaccines are encouraged! The Board of Directors is in full support of the Governor’s, as well as the Health Department’s, efforts to vaccinate the citizens of our great State and County. We encourage all members to support this effort and get vaccinated. If you are still in need of a vaccine, please go to www.vaccinefinder.org and locate a vaccine site near you. You can even make an appointment there. If you do not use the internet, you can also call the WV COVID Vaccine Hotline at 1-833-734-0965 and they will help you schedule an appointment.
LOCAL ROTARY CLUB MAKE-UP LOCATIONS
MONDAY
The Program Committee will resume weekly meetings at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center when in person meetings commence, directly after the regular scheduled meeting. Parking is free just let the parking attendant know you are with the Rotary Club of Charleston.
TUESDAY
Putnam Rotary Club Meeting begins at 12:00 noon at Area 34
7013, 971 WV-34 in Hurricane.
WEDNESDAY
Vandalia Club meets at Edgewood Country Club Wednesdays from 7:30am – 8:30am. The last Wednesday of month is a social or service project.
THURSDAY
St. Albans Rotary Club meets every Thursday at 12:00 noon in their new meeting location at City National Bank 560 4th Street, Saint Albans, WV 25177.
South Charleston Rotary Club meets on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 12:00 noon. Meetings are located at Little Creek Country Club, South Charleston, WV.
Other Ways to Make-up a Meeting:
1. The board unanimously approved another avenue to get additional credit for attendance. In addition to attending a committee meeting, doing an online make-up, or visiting another Rotary Club you can now get one meeting credit for every new member prospect/guest you bring to a regular Monday meeting. The credit will apply during the same quarter in which you bring the potential member/guest. This is a great way to both make up attendance and recruit new members into our club. Contact Paul White with questions.
2. To attend a make-up meeting on-line, click the link below: Rotary Club Online make-up location: http://www.rotaryeclubone.org/ The on-line system is set up to provide a written confirmation of the make-up to the person who actually did it. The member is then responsible for providing confirmation to their Rotary Club Administrator. Please forward a copy of your confirmation letter to rotarycwv@gmail.com to receive proper credit.