Announcements from Sept. 5 Meeting

President Jasmine Mills

• If you have not received a membership pin, let Jasmine know. She has pins. (Possible resurrection of “Flair Day”)
• Reminder to provide any and all feedback in real-time (don’t wait until the end of the year)
• Let Jasmine and Jamie know if you spot club members in the news, any recognition/awards/announcements on social media - let's spread the good MetRotarians news!

• Metro Rotary has purchased a brick for the Golden Isles Veterans Village, 30 tiny homes & center project in Brunswick.
• RLI (Rotary Leadership Institute) on Sat., Sept. 16, 7:30am-3:30pm at GA Institute of Technology. Register by 9/6 @rlitraining.org $100. 
• Polio Plus Society of District 6920 - time to pledge.

• Membership push in September- led by Zerik. Focus on people that might be a good fit for Metro. Asking everyone to bring a guest to both meetings in September.
• Be aware of the 6 things you need to know when sponsoring a member.
  • Identify a co-sponsor
  • Invite member to all of our meetings, socials, events
  • Alert them as to the different committees
  • Application
  • Headshot
  • Inform member if they are approved
• Membership moments are coming back.
• Munches will be focused on membership.

GUESTS/VISITORS:

• Emerson Ingram, cyber securities engineer new to Savannah - guest of Jeff Brady
• Katherine Johnson, Marketing Manager with Coleman Company and former Richmond Hill Rotary member - guest of Emily Doherty
• Ruth Hutson, SESCO Lighting Outside Sales Rep - guest of Laura Lee Bocade
• Bob Doe, former Rotarian in North Carolina - guest of Ro Patrick
• Frank Pennington,  Assistant US Attorney running for Chatham County Superior Court Judge - guest of Jessica Pedigo
• Frank Twum-Barimah from Ghana and currently in Ukraine - guest of Jessica Pedigo
• Katie Rudder Fender, Director of Community Outreach and Development at South University - guest of Kristen Crawley
• Conni Reynolds, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and member of Rotary Club of Savannah East 
• Burt Brantley, CEO of Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and member of Rotary Club of Savannah (Downtown) 

Bert Brantley began his tenure as President & CEO of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 1, 2023 after more than two decades of service in various state government leadership positions. Bert and the world-class team at the Chamber and Visit Savannah are dedicated to ensuring economic opportunity spreads through the business community as the Savannah region enters a new era of growth and prosperity.

 

He most recently served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of Governor Brian P. Kemp. As a Senior Advisor, he managed the Communications, External Affairs, Legislative, Policy, and Constituent Services teams. Brantley also held the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, appointed to that role by Governor Nathan Deal in 2017.

 

With more than 20 years of experience in state government, Brantley has held other roles in the Office of Governor Sonny Perdue, the Department of Driver Services, the State Road & Tollway Authority, and the Department of Transportation.

Bert is married to Tonya Brantley, an elementary physical education teacher. They have two daughters, Kendall and Carson, who are both students at the University of Georgia.

 

Bert was formerly a speech writer. He covered three points:

• Personal (see bio above): Recently moved to Savannah in February from McDonough where he worked in state/government positions. He was burned out on Politics and was looking for a change. He’s excited to follow in Bill Hubbard’s footsteps. He and his family reside on Wilmington Island. His wife is recently retired and she is still figuring out what her role will be in the community. He commented on how great we have it here in Savannah!

• Chamber: 7^th oldest chamber in the country. Started focused on the ports and has grown to support almost 2400 members. Businesses outside of Savannah have been joining our chamber because they see what’s going on in our region. Lots of interest in doing business here.

• What they are working on:
  • Infrastructure and keeping up with growth:
    • Transportation & water/sewer are behind, but this is common for any area that is growing. Also a time consuming process. 
    • Fiscally supportive of these efforts and appropriate spending. 
    • Focused project list to present to voters at a later time. 
    • Spends a lot of time advocating for more support.
  • Education/workforce development:
    • Both private & public schools- says there’s unique amount of school options in Savannah. More than larger cities by comparison.
    • Level of business investment into our public schools is very unique. Gulfstream, Ports, Woodville Tompkins career pathways.
    • Savannah State needs to be strengthened.
    • Dual enrolment options for HS students - working on transportation options
    • Savannah Tech is doing great work.
    • Armstrong Campus at GA Southern - Medical campus starting next year. Very exciting for our medical industry!
    • Request in for Dental School funding.
    • Excited about SCAD
  • Housing/Homelessness 
    • New area for Bert - very important to Chamber members.
    • Infrastructure is in place and we need to build from that. Many services out there but more to come, including a possible “community court” focused on these issues and provide aid with services. They are visiting another model to see if this might be a good fit.
    • Ideally we want our community employees to be able to live where they work, not have to commute for hours.
    • Policy matching with the needs of the community.
    • New housing/renovations needed.​​​​​​​