District No. 6920 | Club No. 4189

February 27, 2023

Meeting Minutes

President Faye rang the bell and called the meeting to order. 

Robert Osborne gave the pledge and invocation

Bill Keogh gave the Sunshine Report today.

Club members introduced their guests in attendance today.  We also had members from the Augusta Tech Rotaract Club and the ARC and Aquinas Interact Clubs.

President Faye shared a Rotary recruitment video highlighting the good work we do.

Announcements

  • On the first Monday, of the month, Jerry Woods and the membership committee will be available to spend 15 minutes sharing information about Rotary International and our club with prospective members.
  • The Hull Fund will meet today following the conclusion of the Club meeting.
  • YPA hosted a networking mixer on February 21st at the Crowne Plaza from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.  Several club members were able to participate.  YPA is looking for mentors and anyone interested in participating should contact Steve Munn.
  • The Speech Contest winners will present their speeches to the Club on May 6th.  Rotaract Club members will participate in running the meeting.
  • The first Monday of the month is Foundation Monday and we will hear an update on our foundation efforts.
  • The Member Engagement Committee is working on an event for the club.  After an impromptu vote, a Greenjackets game was selected over a ride on a riverboat. 
  • Dr. Rick Franza will be leaving his post as Dean of the Hull College of Business and returning to the classroom.  As a result, he will also be resigning from the club.
  • President Faye reported the club participated in the Peace through Scouting initiative with St. Luke United Methodist Church and assisted both a Brownie and a Boy Scout Troup.
  • February is Peace and Conflict Prevention Month and Bob Goodman reported on the creation and purpose of the Peace Pole.  This concept was created in 1983 and there are now over 200,000 Peace Poles around the world.  The Pole includes an inscription “May Peach Prevail on Earth” and is often times accompanied by a Peace Prayer.  Anyone with suggestions on where to place the pole should contact Bob or President Faye.
  • The Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) will be held in Brunswick, GA this year and is available to interested high school students. 

Save the Dates

  • The Club will host a golf clinic on April 18 at Westlake Country Club at 5:30.  It will be free to all members. 
  • The District Conference will take place at Callaway Gardens on April 27-30.  Anyone interested in attending can sign up online.
  • May 2nd is the date of our annual golf tournament. Details will be made available very soon.

CART: Faye 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.  Also, please complete our club’s Google form to sign up to be a Cart Challenger.

Guest Speaker/Program

Bob Goodman introduced our guest speakers, Kari Viola-Brooke (Executive Director) and Kate Crocket (Augusta CAC Director), with Child Enrichment.  Kari and Kate gave a history of the organization which was founded in 1978.  In 2022, over 1200 children where provided free counseling and support services. 

Child Enrichment had two divisions, CASA and Child Advocacy. CASA is the Court Appointed Special Advocate program where a trained volunteer is appointed to represent a child for the entire time they are in the system.  There is one CASA for each child, whereas there is only one caseworker for nearly 40 kids.  The CASA gets to know more about the child and their needs than anyone else in the process.  Judges look for input and recommendations from the CASA to help them make the best decisions regarding the child.

Augusta is fortunate to also have a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) as part of Child Enrichment.  The CAC is proactive in fighting the exploitation of children using its CSEC Response Team.  Richmond and Fulton Counties are the two largest hubs for child sex trafficking.  By having the Advocacy Center and the Response Team in Augusta our vulnerable children have a greater chance to escape these horrible situations. 

Faye 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

Return to Online Bulletins 2023