© 2003, Rotary Club of Charleston

P.O. Box 21029
Charleston, SC 29413-1029

Club secretary:
Carroll Schweers
chasrot@comcast.net

Club grows to 275 members in 1980s
Spawns the Charleston Breakfast Club

From "Service Above Self: A History of the Rotary Club of Charleston -- 1920 - 2004," published Feb. 2005.

Read more. You can learn all about the Club's activities in the 1980s by downloading the full chapter.

The Eighties brought exciting change to the Rotary Club of Charleston. The Club, like the city of Charleston, was growing, and during these times members had to make important decisions about how far and in which direction Charleston Rotary should grow. The Club realized that to grow sometimes meant to tear down walls.

And when walls came down in Charleston, new opportunities arose for Rotarians to do what they do best - serve. One of the most notable events to occur during the decade was the acceptance of women to the Club. Breaking down walls allowed the Charleston Club to sponsor the creation another club in the area, the Charleston Breakfast Club, and for the original Club to move to a new meeting location.

As the decade was coming to a close, on September 21, 1989, the members of the Rotary Club of Charleston experienced Hurricane Hugo literally tearing down walls no one ever dreamed of taking down. Hugo was arguably the greatest natural devastation to Charleston since the great earthquake of 1886. The people of Charleston pulled together during this time, and members of the Rotary Club once again responded like they always did, serving the community with their time and resources.

Membership

The Club began 1980 with more than 215 members. By the end of the decade as women were able to join for the first time, the Club grew almost 30 percent to 278 members.

Projects and community service

Club members dedicated countless hours to community service project during the Eighties. Among the most noteworthy were the Gift of Life program, which the Club started to help pay medical expenses for life-saving operations for children from Third World countries, and the Wood for Warmth program, which provided free firewood to local needy families.

Club members also collected used stamps, which were used to get credits for vaccines in Third World countries, and hundreds of pounds of clothes and shoes for the needy in Honduras.

Members agreed to raise money to fund international efforts to eradicate polio and a local effort to finish a campaign to erect a statue in Wraggsborough Square.

During the decade, members helped to start a Charleston Breakfast Rotary Club and an Interact Club.

Notable speakers

The Club continued to attract high-quality speakers to educate and entertain members weekly. Among the more notable:

• Club member Reuben Greenberg, the local police chief who attracted the attention of the TV program 60 Minutes;
  
• Lou Roddis, a member who described an investigation into the Chernobyl nuclear disaster based on his experience as a member of a study commission appointed by President Reagan;
  
• Gene Figg, a Charleston native with an international reputation as a major builder of bridges;
  
• College of Charleston President Harry Lightsey, who described how the school was gaining a great national reputation; and
  
• State Ports Authority Chairman Bob Royall, who described how the port was growing.

-- David Abel, contributing editor