November 15, 2021
Meeting Minutes
President Shanda Vaughn rang the bell and called the meeting to order.
Jeff Flowers gave the pledge and invocation.
Bill Keough gave the Sunshine Report.
Visiting Guests: Club members introduced their guests in attendance today.
Interact Students: Interact students from the Academy of Richmond County introduced themselves and were welcomed to the meeting.
Veteran Recognition: President Shanda Vaughn called Dr. Paul Danier and Eddie Booth forward to be recognized for their service as veterans. They were erroneously omitted from the veterans recognized in last week’s veteran’s celebration.
World Changers: TR Reddy spoke about the study at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University that is examining the long-term neurological impact of COVID-19. TR Reddy and other community leaders have supported this study through the TR Reddy Family fund at Augusta University. Dr. George Snelling provided $25,000 for the fund and a check was presented to Augusta University’s President, Brooks Keel.
Member Highlight: Connie Melear is the Chief Financial Officer for RW Allen Construction. She joined the Rotary Club of Augusta in 2006 and served as the 100th president of the club from 2012-2013. Connie and her husband, Drew, have two children Bryce a junior at the University of Georgia (where he pitches for the Dawgs) and Brynlee a senior at Greenbrier High School. A native of Toccoa, Ga., Connie says the most interesting placed she has travelled was Ecuador, on a medical mission trip with her husband.
GRSP Student Update: Our GRSP student, Kaushini Pathirana presented to Rotary Club members about her home country of Sri Lanka and her time here in Augusta. She is a student at Augusta University studying Cyber Security and Criminal Justice. Please contact Susan Jernigan or Surenda Gupta if you have ideas for things she can be a part of.
Announcements:
- President Shanda asked members to please continue to sign in each week so that we have a record of attendance.
- President Shanda announced that today is the last meeting that will be conducted in the hybrid format with a virtual attendance option. In the event that things change with the pandemic, it may require a return to the hybrid option.
Membership Development
President Shanda reminded members of our responsibility for membership development and the “Each one, bring one” initiative.
Membership Roster Update in DACdb
Everyone is encouraged to update their pictures and contact info on the DacDb website. This is the best way to access information on our club so please keep it updated. Please review and update information by today, November 15, 2021.
Committee Updates
The Speech Contest Committee will meet today immediately following the club meeting.
Social Media Reminder
President Shanda reminded members of the opportunity to check-in to the weekly meetings on Facebook to enhance our club’s social media presence.
Mentorship Committee
The Membership Committee is looking for volunteers to mentor YPA and Rotaract members and to serve on the committee. If interested, please contact Steve Munn.
New Member Orientation
The new member orientation scheduled for January 18, 2022 from 4:30pm-5:30pm.
CART
President Shanda asked everyone to please continue to contribute to the blue buckets on the table or online at mycartfund.org using the same login credentials you use with DACDB. This inside challenger for this week is Jeff Spears and the outside challenger is Sheehan’s Irish Pub.
College Pick’em
Rick Franza announced winners of the College Pick’em contest. Last week’s winner was Denise Vickers and this week’s winner was Ed Presnell. Each winner received a $50 gift card to a local restaurant. You should be getting an email from Ashley Duren for you to pick your games. If you do not receive the email please contact Rick, Ashley or President Shanda. Great prizes will be given out each week and there will be prizes for the top 3 at the end of the season. Remember, we are using the point spread to determine the winner of each game.
Signature Fundraisier
President Shanda Vaughn invited Dr. Mac Bowman and De Pierce to the front to speak about the signature fundraiser to support Augusta Locally Grown. The raffle for a Mercedes Benz GLA 250 has begun. Tickets are $100 each and a maximum of 1500 tickets will be sold. Each Rotarian is asked to purchase or sell three tickets to support the fundraiser.
Service Projects
President Shanda Vaughn reminded the club about the upcoming service project. The service project will be Monday November 29, 2021 from 5pm to 9pm at Ronald McDonald House of Augusta to decorate for the holiday season. She also reminded the club to collect can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House.
New Member Induction
None
Paul Harris Fellow Presentation
None
Foundation
President Shanda Vaughn invited Haskell Taporek, Hansa Thota, Kevin Wade and Steve Hobbs to come forward. Haskell spoke and presented on behalf of the Hull Education Endowment Fund a $10,000 donation in honor of District Governor, Ed Presnell.
Guest Speaker/Program
Billy Franke introduced this week’s guest speaker, District Governor, Ed Presnell. Ed spoke to the club about service as a Rotarian and shared updates and insights about his travels visiting all of the Rotary Clubs in the district. He also shared some ideas about future engagement opportunities for the club.
President Shanda led us in reciting the four-way test and then adjourned the meeting.
Easy links to pages on our website
Rotary schedule of meeting dates and speakers
Member Proposal Form
Online directory - Find a member or update your information
Bulletins - Weekly bulletins from 2014-current
