Posted on by Mike Sottak

8/4: Anita Zucker: “Life, Family, & Resilience”

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August 4, 2020:

An inspiring talk from our own Anita Zucker, a true Rotarian who is a successful businesswoman, generous philanthropist and daughter of Holocaust survivors. Even though we continue to operate in our Zoom bubble and we have made the decision to maintain our social distance with video conference only meetings only through the end of August, Anita’s powerful messages resonated strongly with our club. 

This week we welcomed Anita Zucker who spoke to the club about Life, Family, and Resilience. Anita is past President of this club and the Chairman and CEO of The Intertech Group. She is an education activist and philanthropist who supports and served on the board of numerous non-profits and institutions in the Charleston region and nationally.

Anita said resilience has many definitions: ability to bounce back, determination, and grit. But one she likes is “advancing despite adversity”. In her family, resilience was taught by her mother. Though she was small in stature with humble demeanor, Rose had the heart of lioness. When the Germans invaded her Polish village of Ludmir, Jews were sent to live in ghettoes and her family shared a room with 16 people. Over the next year, the Germans conducted several aktions against the Jews in the ghetto, killing many, including Rose’s father, brother, and other family members. Rose hid her family in multiple places she called “living graves”: underground, under barns, and other places. She saved her mother, 2 younger brothers and a baby niece. When she returned to Ludmir in 1945, there were only 125 surviving Jews from what was a population of over 25,000.

Anita spoke of the Leadership qualities of Women. Women tend to view work more holistically, as a component of their life than men. They value meaning, purpose, and connection with co-workers. They are great listeners, motivated by challenge, multi-taskers, and have high emotional intelligence

Thanks to values and perseverance of late husband Jerry Zucker when the time came for her to step forward and lead; Anita was ready to put her own strengths into action. She said they had a wonderful team in place and no leader can accomplish great things without talented and gifted individuals who support them.

Her company has adopted a strategic approach to make a profit and give back. Their mission statement: Invest profitably in a diverse global group of business while retaining our core values and providing for our employees, communities, and world at large. They strive to be good stewards in companies in which they invest. Anita feels that great achievements are made by leading by example and inspiration rather than dictation. She said one of the major realizations she had as a leader was recognizing the power of her voice. No matter what our position or role in life, each of us was placed here for a reason, and we all need to speak up for a greater good. 

Anita said her ability to lead was a gift given to her by many people through her lift. They taught her to be resilient and to think about the legacy of her actions. Legacies are not just about what we do, but about how we affect others around us. 

Anita talked about how to deal with stress in these challenging times. She uses several practices: Awareness and monitoring of stress levels, getting rest, getting emotional support from others, exercise, nutrition, attitude, mindset, and learning. Anita ended her presentation by reading a poem she found in her mother’s papers about “making the best of each day”. Anita took several questions from members after her talk. Lisa Van Bergan thanked Anita for sharing and invited her to come back in the future. 

To access the Zoom recording of this meeting go here.

Password:   f5+87CTS

Submitted by Jeff Webb, Keyway Committee

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS 

      • Erica Taylor gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.  
      • President Lisa welcomed all visiting Rotarians & guests.  
      • President Lisa presented Health and Happiness.
      • President-Elect Rob Dewey welcomed and introduced Rotarian and Past President of our club, Anita Zucker.  Anita discussed “Life, Family, & Resilience”.    

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

August 11, 2020 | Issue 4973| President: Lisa Van Bergen

COMING EVENTS
    • Aug. 11 – David Ginn, CRDA
    • Aug. 18 – Todd Gallati, Trident Health, “How COVID-10 is Affecting Hospitals”
    • Aug. 25 – Lieutenant Chris Hulbert, SC State Guard
    • Sept. 1 – Winslow Hastie, Historic Charleston Foundation 
    • Sept. 8 – NO MEETING  (Labor Day)
    • Sept. 15 – Networking
NEWS BRIEFS

IMPORTANT Meeting Update – ZOOM Thru August

With the continuous spike in COVID cases in our area, the Board decided this past week to cancel our in-person meetings through the end of August. We will continue to meet on ZOOM during this time with plans of returning to in-person meetings at Hall’s Signature Events after Labor Day – Tuesday, September 15th. 

We hope members will continue to log in to ZOOM and enjoy meetings from the comfort of their home or office. No yummy lunch by Hall’s or the in-person camaraderie of your fellow Rotarians, but it is the next best thing to stay engaged and be connected to your Rotary family. And as we know, the impact of Rotary is felt through our volunteerism and support of one another and the community, especially during trying times.

 

July Dues Now Past Due  

If you haven’t already, please be sure to pay your July-December 2020 dues.  Statements were distributed via email the last of June and are now considered past due.  As a reminder to those with an outstanding balance, a statement was emailed this past week. Please note that we have expanded our payment options and you now have the ability to pay via ACH and PayPal. Also of note, a 3% convenience fee is added to all credit card dues payments. 

The below policy was approved by the Board this past Spring and went into effect on July 1, 2020.  Our club’s operating budget depends on members paying their dues as we incur various expenses based on our membership count and we cannot continue to pay for Rotarians, who do not fulfill their commitment of paying semi-annual dues.

Failure to Pay Dues Policy (effective 7/1/20)
“Any Rotary member with dues past 90 days must either pay in full or develop a payment plan, which includes making a minimal payment. If this is not in place by 120 days, then membership in Rotary will be terminated. If a member wishes to return, they must pay all outstanding dues prior to resubmitting an application.”

Another IMPORTANT change …. When we start meeting in-person in September, meal fees will increase to $30 for both excused members and guests. We will also ask that meal fees (Excused & guests) be paid at the door. We will no longer bill.

 

RCCF Grant Applications Being Accepted Through Sept. 1The Rotary Club of Charleston Fund (RCCF) is accepting requests for grants.  Interested organizations are required to submit a Letter of Inquiry and complete a grant application prior to September 1 to be considered.  The application and other details regarding the grant process can be found on our club’s website — www.charleston-rotary.org.  For more information, please contact RCCF Chair, David Burt at davidburt@ls3p.com.

 

Important COVID-19 Message from the District

We wanted to share the below from outgoing District Governor, Johnny Moore. This will be part of our club’s COVID procedures going forward. We do not have any scheduled in-person Rotary gatherings until August, but please keep this in mind when we begin in-person meetings.

It has come to my attention that we need to set some ground rules for dealing with Rotarians who contract COVID-19 and how we deal with this in our clubs.  First, for the Rotarians themselves. We MUST maintain absolute confidentiality for ANYONE who tests positive for COVID-19 unless they give us permission to share their information.  That said, we MUST also ask, even require, that any Rotarian who has been to an in-person Rotary meeting or other function and later suspects they have COVID-19 report this to their Club President as soon as possible.  This could be due to being in close contact with a person who tests positive or that they show symptoms. And, they absolutely must let the Club President know immediately if they test positive.  Then, keeping confidentiality, the Club President MUST let all who attended that event know that there was someone at the event or meeting who came down with symptoms or tested positive.  This will, at least, give all those notified the option of being tested immediately.  And, it gives them warning that maybe they should limit their contact with others until it is proven that they are not infected.

With the increased number of cases being reported, this becomes even more critical to the health and welfare of our fellow Rotarians and their families.  Please, join me in helping stop the spread of this nasty bug.  If we are all vigilant and responsible, it can and will make a difference.

Official Rotary Club of Charleston Statement on Racial Inequity and Business Support

The Rotary Club of Charleston Board of Directors has adopted an official statement on Racial Inequity and Business Support in light of the recent unrest in our community and across the nation and the world. Rotary International had adopted an official statement on June 1, and we felt it was important for our Rotary Club to take a stand to condemn racial injustice and also show support for our small businesses who were affected during the recent rioting. While this has been a very challenging year for our community and our members with this pandemic and the resulting economic effects, we feel hopeful that a shift is occurring for the pandemic that has plagued our country for 400 years. In both our words and our actions, we have a chance to be a part of changing our future to one that allows all of our citizens to have a chance to live up to their fullest potential. With all the amazing and transformative impact the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston has had on our community and milestones that we have celebrated throughout this 100th anniversary year, you can be proud to be a part of an organization that lives up to our vision of uniting to create lasting change in our world, our communities and in ourselves.

The statement in its entirety can be found on the lead page of our club’s website.

Global Grant Scholar – Madison Davis

Our Club is sponsoring Madison Davis, a junior at the College of Charleston, for this year’s Ambassadorial Global Grant Scholarship.

Rotary Foundation Global Grants are used to fund scholarships with sustainable, high impact outcomes in one of Rotary’s six areas of focus: peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development.  Madison is planning to attend the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine pursuing an MSc in Nutrition for Global Health.  Madison will be in competition with a number of other candidates within District 7770 vying for a cash grant of up to $50,000 to attend graduate study for one academic year abroad.  Good luck Madison!!!

 

Volunteers Needed for Club Committees 

Interact Club – This club meets at Charleston Charter for Math and Science, and helps promote Rotary values and volunteering with high school students.  We co-sponsor the club with the Charleston Breakfast Club.  The club meets Wednesdays from 11-11:30 am, and will continue to meet in the coming year, though as sponsors we might Zoom in depending on CCSD guidelines.  The volunteer usually attends meetings once or twice a month.  There is a Teacher sponsor who does the bulk of the work.  I personally have volunteered with this group, and truly enjoyed the young people.  Jack Mitchell was doing this but has moved to Atlanta.  One to two volunteers needed.  Contact Lisa Van Bergen at lvanbergen0530@gmail.com

Social Committee – This group coordinates social events for the club.  We need 1-2 people to chair the committee, and more volunteers are always welcome.  Contact Lisa Van Bergen at lvanbergen0530@gmail.com

Zoom Committee – Past President David Burt has done an outstanding job serving as our Zoom host and bringing you our meetings via Zoom each week.  We will continue to offer meetings on Zoom for the foreseeable future.  In order to do this, we need a few additional “Zoom-savvy” Rotarians to assist David with this task as there will be meetings that he will be unable to attend. If you are interested, please reach out to David at davidburt@ls3p.com.

Club/District Emails

As a Rotarian and a member in District 7770, you are receiving emails from our club and the District.  Both the club and the District try to minimize the number of emails being sent, but in today’s world of staying at home and no contact, emails are the main way to get information out and keep Rotarians connected. Please do not unsubscribe from District emails as this also effects your ability to receive club emails. If you unsubscribe from the District emails,  then you are also unsubscribing from receiving club emails.

Contribute to The CART Fund On-Line

It is now easy to contribute and support The CART Fund electronically. The CART Fund has just rolled out a new portal www.mycartfund.org, which you can easily access. As a Rotarian and a DACdb user, you automatically have an account already set-up in your name. Your user name and password are the same as it is for the DACdb.

Our Club is on Social Media

Members are encouraged to follow all of our social media channels and share posts with their followers too!  We also need members to send us picture of anything they do that relates to Rotary – service projects, meetings, events, etc.  We would love to keep our accounts full of smiling Rotarians! Photos can be send to Mike Sottak, mikesottak@gmail.com, or Rob Byko, rob@bykorealty.com.

 

MEMBER NEWS

At this past Tuesday’s Board meeting, with much regret, the Board accepted the resignation of MJ Le.  We will miss her and wish her the best.

Proposed New Member

The following membership candidate has submitted an application and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:

Nick Wackym, III – sponsor:  Past President Alex Dallis; classification:  Investigative Agency/Mgmt

In the event you know Nick, please tell a member of the Board how he will serve the ideas of Rotary.

Best wishes for all of us to stay safe and continue to stay connected as we help those who are most vulnerable in our community.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to fellow Rotarians if we can help you in any way in the days and weeks to come!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

    • Rotarian:  Kim Crain
      • JOINED: 7/14/2020 
      • SPONSOR: Ruthie Ravenel
      • MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: New Member;  Volunteered at 3D Mask making project @ Citadel; Shifia Clinic volunteer
      • CLASSIFICATION: Real Estate
      • PROFESSION: Realtor;  Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty
      • SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: My Grandfather on my Mother’s side was a full blood Apache Indian

Birthdays

    • None

By the numbers

    • Attendance on August 4, 2020:  51
    • Not in attendance:  Allen, Altman, Beam, Berry, Bickley, Brack, Byko, Clark, Clary, Coe, Cole, Cook, Cooper, Cooper, Coxe, Crouch, DeGraff, Diminich, Donaldson, Dopp, Drafts, Echols, Fellabom, Fink, Frume, Gill, Giovaniello, Goxhaj, Hanger, Holmes, Husser, Imam, Jones, Jones, Kaynard, Lietzow, Loredo, Lucy, Minson, Miracle, Moring, Oswalt, Palmer, Patrick, Rust, Seguer, Shahid, Sidebottom, Smith, H., Smith, P., Staley, Strickland, Tecklenburg, John, Tecklenburg, Joseph, Walters, Weston
    • Out of Town Make-ups: None
WELLNESS TIP

Stavros Triantafyllidis, who is our club’s new Wellness Chair, has compiled a Wellness Guide for our Rotary club.  In upcoming issues of The Keyway, you will find some illustrations, innovative ideas and tips for exercise at home. The information provided was inspired by the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) at The Citadel.

WHY WELLNESS?

    • Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle these unprecedented times would play an essential role in keeping our wellness.
    • The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as the “active pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.”
    • Therefore, wellness can be viewed as the pursuit of advancement in our physical, mental, spiritual, social, and environmental levels. Also, wellness can increase productivity.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that every week, a person should be involved in exercise and physical activity for at least 150 minutes (i.e., 2 hours and 30 minutes).

If we would like to break down this timeframe on average and per day, 

    • …we have to exercise for a minimum of 21 minutes every day for our entire lives!
    • On a monthly base, this is approximately equal to 630 minutes or 10 hours and 30 minutes!
    • Finally, per year, we should exercise a MINIMUM of 128 hours!
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, Hall’s Signature Events, 5 Faber, 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
  • St. 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
  • St. Andrews (West Ashley): 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Bessinger’s BBQ, 1602 Savannah Highway, Charleston.

Fridays

  • Charleston Breakfast: Currently meeting by Zoom. Contact carrollschweers@gmail.com for log in information
SOCIAL MEDIA 

Our Rotary club actively uses social media — and we encourage you to interact with us through social media.

  • We’re on Facebook.  Take a look at our page and be sure to “like us”.
  • We’re on Twitter.  You can follow us @chasrotaryclub.
  • We’re on Instagram.  You can 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: Lisa Van Bergen
  • 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