April 24, 2018 – Our meeting on April 24th was a presentation by Bill Phillips, CEO, and Joe Daniels of the National Medal of Honor Museum currently being planned adjacent to the USS Yorktown.
Mr. Phillips started the presentation by describing Kyle Carpenter, a young Army recruit who was injured in Afghanistan by jumping on a grenade to save his fellow platoon members. His story is the type of story the museum will be teaching. It will honor the youth who sacrificed for our freedom.
Mr. Phillips also gave a brief history of the medal itself. In 1861 President Abraham Lincoln thought we needed a way to honor fallen soldiers. He created an award and in 1918 Congress approved a “Congressional Medal of Honor”. Congress felt the honor required more vigorous review of candidates including the requirement that their bravery required 3 witnesses and review by an “all military panel” consisting of representation by all military branches. To date there have been 3,517 honorees broken out by branch as follows:
- Army = 2,451
- Navy = 748
- Marines = 299
- Air Force = 18
- Coast Guard = 1
71 Medal of Honor recipients are still alive today. During the history of the medal there has been one female recipient, Dr. Mary Walker who was awarded the Medal of Honor on Nov. 11, 1865. The Medal of Honor also has a character development program which operates in 42 states and has impacted 2 million Americans. This program is designed and administered by teachers. It is designed to instill the values of the Medal of Honor in students and challenges them to “find their inner hero” when in daily situations, such as anti-bullying.
The mission of the National Medal of Honor Museum Committee is to finish the work started on the museum to date. In 2013 SC dedicated 9 acres of land and in 2014 a 501c3 was established. International architect Moshe Safdie was chosen to design the museum which will represent all 6 branches of the military. The design itself has a “Hall of Valor” including classrooms and conference areas. The exhibits will be divided by some permanent exhibit areas and flexible exhibit space. Overall there will be 4 exhibit galleries dedicated to the History of WWI, WWII to Korean War, The Vietnam War, and The Presidential Gallery. The museum will also include a military run chapel and can be used for special events, weddings, etc.
Next the new Director of Development, Joe Daniels spoke. He described his first-hand experience of working as the 911 Memorial Director and the aftermath of 911, including how it brought our country together. He feels the importance of the 911 Memorial was to not only tell the story, but to inspire those that visit the memorial. He sees the Medal of Honor Museum as having the same impact on visitors. It has a catalyzing potential to bring the country together and to promote the values of freedom, patriotism, and courage.
The museum will potentially employ up to 400 annually including direct staff, security, etc. He stated that as the museum grows the staffing will grow to meet demand. With an overall expected budget of $120M they have raised approximately $20M to date, but believe they have the ability to raise the funds to start construction soon. He acknowledged that there has been some issues regarding the design, its height, and discontent during the development, but with a new leadership they are committed to correcting the past mistakes and bringing the Town and all associated with the museum together.
–Submitted by Steve Coe, Keyway Committee
IN OTHER MEETING NEWS
- Michael Saboe gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.
- Charles Kaiser introduced visiting Rotarians and guests
- President David Burt presented Health and Happiness.
- Jim Geffert introduced our speakers: Bill Phillips and Joe Daniels with the Medal of Honor Museum
MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY
May1, 2018 | Issue 4888 | President: David Burt
COMING EVENTS
- May 1 – Hayne Hipp, Liberty Fellowship / “On The Table” Community Assessment
- May 1 – New Member Orientation @ 11am
- May 8 – Board Meeting @ 11am
- May 8 – Honoring CCSD Teachers of the Year/Rotary Scholars
- May 15 – Michael Saboe, Dean Culinary Arts @ Trident Technical College, Palmer Campus
- May 22 – Noah Leask, Cyber Security – Ishpi, @ 5 Faber Place
- May 29 – No meeting
- June 5 – Helen Hill, Charleston Tourism
NEWS BRIEFS
May 15 and May 22 Luncheon Location Changes
As most of you are aware, as much as we all love meeting at Riley Park, due to our budget constraints we are having to look for a new meeting venue starting July 1. We would like members to experience a couple of different options to see what would best work for our club.
On Tuesday, May 15, our luncheon will be held at 12:30pm at Trident Technical College, Palmer Campus. Our meeting will be in the Culinary Art Institute building in the Palmer Amphitheater. Our own Mike Saboe, Dean of the Culinary Institute of Charleston, will be our keynote speaker.
Parking is available in the lot in front of the building.
The following Tuesday, May 22, we will be meeting at 12:30pm at 5 Faber Place, which is an event venue in the Hall Hospitality Group. There is convenient parking in the adjacent parking garage on Cumberland Street, as well as various other garages within walking distance.
If you have any ideas of meeting venue on peninsular, please let President David or Carroll know. We are open to your ideas!
New member orientation to be May 1
New Member Orientation is scheduled for this Tuesday, May 1 at 11:00am in Suite 401 of Riley Park. If you are a new member and haven’t attended an orientation session yet, make plans to attend. Attending one of these sessions is one of requirements to receive a Blue badge.
Adopt-A-Highway on May 5th
The Rotary Club of Charleston has recently adopted the stretch of Bee Street from Lockwood to Courtenay under the state’s Adopt-A-Highway program. John Channell and Brett Barry are heading up the effort and will be organizing our first clean up on Saturday, May 5th commencing at 10 a.m at Lockwood and Bee. Gloves, trash bags and vests will be supplied. Jeans and short sleeves are recommended. If interested please contact Brett Barry at bbarry@cleanenergyfuels.com”
“On the Table” Community Assessment on May 1
Our club will be participating in the The Library Foundation’s On the Table, which is an annual forum designed to elevate civic conversation, foster new relationships, and inspire collaborative action across the region. On Tuesday, May 1st, 2018 hundreds of Lowcountry residents will gather in small groups to share a meal and discuss the challenges and opportunities we face. These conversations can inspire new ways that we can work together to make our communities stronger, safer, and more dynamic.
This act of people coming together to discuss the issues that matter most to them has never been more important. Progress will only result when we collaborate to make contributions that add up to a greater solution. On the Table will connect individuals and communities of diverse perspectives and backgrounds to do just that.
What you do matters – and when we come together as a community to learn from and with each other, we have the power to impact both neighborhoods and lives. At The Library Foundation, as strongly as we believe that what you do matters, we also believe that your voice matters. We’ve seen the power of people coming together with their neighbors to talk, listen, learn, and take actions to support positive change in our community.
Operation Home – Volunteers Needed
You may recall that in our Fall round of RCCF Grants that our club donated $1500 to Operation Home. Our donation was to be used to build an ADA Ramp for a person who would otherwise not be able to afford it. The way Operation Home works is that they get 6-8 volunteers to work along side their contractor to build each ramp. Our club has the opportunity to assist in constructing the ramp that we donated the funds to help build.
6-8 Rotarian volunteers are needed to commit to helping out from 9:00AM to 3:00 PM on Friday, May 18th. In the next week, President David will be getting additional information about the location of the house and family we will be helping. This information will be shared with the club. This is going to be a very rewarding experience. Please let President David know if you would like to volunteer.
MEMBER NEWS
Congratulations to Kay Minson, who was inducted into our club this past Tuesday. Kay was sponsored by Doug Holmes and will hold the classification of Real Estate. Welcome to Rotary, Kay!
Get involved. Your 2018/2019 Board has starting their planning for the upcoming Rotary year,
which starts on July 1. They would like to see everyone get involved with our club and participate on a committee. If you would like to find out how you can serve the club or have service project ideas for the coming year, please contact a Board Member – Alex Dallis, Sandy Morckel, Trey Lucy, Peter Shahid, Lisa Van Bergen, Rob Dewey, Karl Riner, Heidi Finniff, or Kerby Teller.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Rotarian: Lisa Van Bergen
- Joined: 2011
- Sponsor: Andrew C. Brack
- Membership Involvement: Board Member
- Classification: Eleemosynary/Executive
- Profession: Principal, Professional Nonprofit Solutions LLC/ Therapist, Lowcountry Pastoral Counseling Ctr
- Something Unique About Yourself: I recently made a career change and started my own business to provide grant-writing services to nonprofits and other organizations. I am also a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Addictions Counselor.
Birthdays
- May 3 – David Baggs
- May 3 – Ry Hudnall
- May 7 – Dave Echols
By the numbers
- Attendance on April 24, 2018: 93
- Not in attendance: Allen, Barry, Barton, Baus, Beam, Berlin, Bodkin, Brack, Bullard, Carico, Channell, Coghill, Cole, Crouch, Dallis, Deavenport, DeGraff, Diminich, Dopp, Drafts, Dukes, Dymek, Fink, Gill, Hart, Hudnall, Husser, Jenkins, Jones, Kaynard, Kerrigan, Krumwiede, Livingston, McGhee, Mitchell, Palmer, Pate, Peters, Ravenel, Rust, Schmidt, Sidebottom, Smith, H., Sottak, Stokes, Strickland, Stuckey, Stuhr, Taylor, E., Tecklenburg, John, Van Bergen, Wachter, Willey, Youngs
- Out of Town Make-ups: Sandy Morkel – San Juan, Puerto Rico
WELLNESS TIP
Take a Walk During Your Lunch Hour. Not only will it give you a chance to stop and smell the daffodils; a walk will also get you away from your desk and provide that moderate exercise doctors keep recommending
AREA CLUB MEETINGS
Mondays
- Summerville – Oakbrook: 7:30 a.m., Monday, Westcott County Club, 5000 Wescott Club Drive, North Charleston
- North Charleston: 12:30 a.m., Monday, Hilton Garden Inn, 5265 International Blvd, North Charleston.
- Summerville Evening: 5:30 p.m., Monday, Montreux Bar and Grill, 127 W. Richardson Ave., Summerville
Tuesdays
- East Cooper Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Cooper River Room at Waterfront Park, Mount Pleasant
- Charleston: 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, The Riley Park Club, Charleston
- Goose Creek: 12:45 m. Tuesday, Gilligan’s, 219 St. James Ave., Goose Creek
Wednesdays
- Daniel Island: 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Daniel Island Club, 600 Island Park Dr., Daniel Island
- John’s Parish (John’s Island): 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, 2817 Maybank Highway, Unit 1, John’s Island
- Mount Pleasant: 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Harbor Breeze Restaurant, 176 Patriots Point Road, Mount Pleasant
- Summerville: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sticky Fingers, Summerville
Thursdays
- North Charleston Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Embassy Suites, 5055 International Blvd., North Charleston
- Moncks Corner: 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Gilligan’s Restaurant, Moncks Corner
- Andrews (West Ashley): 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Bessinger’s BBQ, 1602 Savannah Highway, Charleston.
Fridays
- Charleston Breakfast: 7:30 a.m., Friday, Harbour Club, 35 Prioleau St., Charleston
SOCIAL MEDIA
Our Rotary club is on Facebook – Take a look at our page and be sure to “like us”. We are now also on Twitter. Follow us – @chasrotaryclub.
ABOUT THE KEYWAY
The Keyway has been published weekly as a newsletter for the Rotary Club of Charleston for more than 90 years.
- President: David Burt
- Keyway editor: Don Baus don@sgaarchitecture.com
- Executive secretary: Carroll Schweers, carrollschweers@gmail.com
- Mailing address: Rotary Club of Charleston, P.O. Box 21029 ,Charleston, SC 29413-1029
- Copyright 2018, Rotary Club of Charleston. All rights reserved.
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