June 27, 2022

Meeting Minutes

President Shanda Vaughn rang the bell and called the meeting to order. 

Erick Montgomery gave the pledge and invocation.

Bill Keogh gave the Sunshine Report today.

Club members introduced their guests in attendance today.

Announcements

• Please continue to sign in each week so that we have a record of attendance.
• The Hull Fund Committee will be meeting immediately following today’s meeting.

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.

SAVE THE DATES

Our next meeting will be Monday July 11 and we will have our annual Club Assembly.

YEAR IN REVIEW

President Shanda presented the highlights form the 2021-2022 Rotary Year which included;

• Hosting the GRSP student, Kaushini Pathirana, and meeting her family upon her arrival
• Participating in the Greenjackets baseball game for Family of Rotary Night
• Presented Past District Governor Hamsa Thota a check for the MAPS program
• Partnering with the Augusta West Club to support the RIP Ministry and School
• Hosting a fellowship outing at Top Golf
• Helping the AU Rotaract Club with their canal cleanup project
• Recognizing our club members who served in our Armed Forces
• Packing snacks for the “Notes and Nibbles” project benefitting the Center for Hope
• Holding the College Pick-Em Contest won by Bill Keogh
• Recognizing Ed Presnell as a Major Donor for his financial support of the Rotary Foundation
• Decorating the Christmas trees at the Ronald McDonald House
• Hosting a Family of Rotary Christmas Social
• Joining the Horizon Foundation to support the Red Cross efforts to help tornado victims in Kentucky
• Helping raise $100,000 for the Horizon Foundation through our Signature Fundraiser which provided $25,000 to Augusta Locally Grown
• The Literacy Committee raised funds and donated books to Rise Augusta to help them reach their reading and learning objectives
• Conducting the annual speech contest and giving cash prizes to three winners and three honorable mentions
• Hosting March Madness with Fox 54 which was won by Dr. Paul Dainer
• Hosting the New Member Engagement social at Sacred Heart
• Collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House
• Receiving the Gold Citation and Highest Contribution to Cart awards at the District Conference in Augusta
• Chartering the Augusta Tech Rotaract Club
• Chartering the Aquinas High School Interact Club
• Hosting the annual golf tournament
• Making a financial contribution to the Boys and Girls Clubs
• Having the Westminster Interact Club preside over our weekly meeting
• Presenting William Morris III the Paul Harris Fellow for his contributions to the community
• Presenting Susan Jernigan the GRSP Foundation Hue Thomas Fellow Award

Through all of these activities and personal contributions from members, the Augusta Rotary Club was able to provide nearly $170,000 in financial support back to the community, the district, and to the world.

During the year, we added 23 new members and recognized 23 others as either a new Paul Harris Fellow or a PHF Plus recipient. 

President Shanda recognized and thanked the current Board of Directors for their support and service to the Club.  She also recognized the incoming Board of Directors and wished them well in the coming year.

President Shanda took a moment to share a personal story related to the unrest taking place in the Ukraine.  She shared pictures of her niece and nephew who were adopted from the Ukraine several years ago and both are now thriving in the US.  Her niece is finishing nursing school and her nephew is activing serving in the US Marines.  Because of the close personal ties to the Ukraine, the Vaughn family has donated $500 to the relief fund helping nearly 20,000 refugees.  And, as a tribute to her service, the Club matched the donation for a total of $1,000 in support.

MAJOR DONOR RECOGNITION

President Shanda called on Past President Dustin Young and DG Ed Presnell to come forward and make a special presentation.  TR Reddy was recognized as a Major Donor for contributing more than $10,000 to the Rotary Foundation. 

Will Watt Award

President Shanda presented Surrendra Gupta with the Will Watt Fellow Award and thanked him and his wife for their support of the GRSP Program and our student, Kaushini. 

Kemp-Puryear Award

President Shanda asked Jim Puryear, Past President and Past District Governor to come to the podium to help present the Kemp-Puryear Distinguished Rotarian Award to Past President Dustin Young.  The award is named after Bill Kemp and Jim Puryear who have both served Rotary for over 50 years. 

Dustin earned this recognition for his tireless efforts keeping the club moving forward during the Covid pandemic.  He helped transition the club to online meetings and back to in person gatherings.  He sponsored new members and co-chaired the Programs Committee and the Signature Fundraiser Committee. 

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

Guest Speaker/Program

There was no formal speaker today as this was our last official meeting on the Rotary year.  President Shanda gave her heartfelt appreciation to the Club for their support this year and specifically thanked those who have mentored and guided her during the year. 

Following her remarks, she invited all club members who had served as President of another club to stand and be recognized.  She then invited all prior Augusta Rotary Club Presidents in the room to line up in preparation for the Passing of the Gavel ceremony.

The gavel passed from one to another with each person stating their name and years of service.  It was quite an impressive group of men and women who have given of their time and talents to serve the club. 

After receiving the gavel, Shanda presented it to President Elect Faye Hargrove and congratulated her on her new role. 

President Faye thanked Shanda for her service and presented her with a gift from the Club and her new pin.  Shanda then graciously accepted the gifts and her new title of Immediate Past President.

President Faye reminded the club of our next meeting on July 11 where we will have our Club Assembly then she led us in reciting the four-way test and adjourned the meeting.