Events

Do you like breakfast?  

I'm sure you do!  Do you like breakfast with your favorite Rotarians though?  I bet you'll jump for this opportunity!  

Meet on Thursday, August 15 at 8:00 AM at Goose Feathers on 39 Barnard Street in Savannah!  

Join us, bring a friend, have a cup of coffee, or stay for breakfast!

Please register so I'll know how many seats to reserve!

Thanks,

Clint Murphy 

Darrell Naylor-Johnson (Vice President for SCAD Savannah), Michelle Gavin (Executive Director of Communications) and Katie Holderness (Executive Director, Friends of SCAD) will present to the club about SCAD’s economic impact on Savannah.

Darrell Naylor-Johnson joined SCAD in 1992 as a Professor of Foundation Studies. In 2000, after several years of leading community art and mural collaborations throughout Savannah, Naylor-Johnson was appointed Dean of the School of Fine Arts. Since then, he has impacted the SCAD community as a leader in numerous roles including Academic Programs Manager, Senior Director of Library Services, Assistant Vice President for Academic Services, Vice President for SCAD eLearning, and Interim Associate Vice President for SCAD Atlanta. Naylor-Johnson currently serves as Vice President for SCAD Savannah. In his capacity as Vice President for SCAD Savannah, Naylor-Johnson is responsible for the leadership of the university’s location in Savannah. As an active contributor to the Savannah community, Naylor-Johnson has served on numerous organization and agency boards, including the West Broad Street YMCA, Beach Institute African American Cultural Center, and the Georgia Department of Children and Youth Services. He currently serves on the Board of Visit Savannah, the Mayor’s REAL Taskforce, the Advisory Board of the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, and the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. 

Michelle Gavin is the executive director of communications for SCAD's PR and marketing department. She works with local and national media to produce features on SCAD student and alumni success, amazing events like the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, and university initiatives such as SCAD SERVE and SCADpro.  Prior to joining the SCAD family in 2018, Michelle was the head of communications for the city of Savannah and was a news reporter for WTOC and WJCL TV.

With a degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia, Katie Holderness brings a wealth of design experience to her role as Executive Director of Friends of SCAD. Over the years she has honed her professional skills working in garden, floral, and event design in London and New York City. Returning to Georgia in 2017, Holderness joined SCAD and today, she leverages her expertise in a new role leading the Friends of SCAD team members in Savannah and Atlanta. Katie fosters creativity, community, and collaboration in all of her endeavors to achieve the collective goals and mission of SCAD.

Join us at the Wexford Pub, the newest addition to City Market for our August Social on 8/27! We will gather at the upstairs bar.  

***THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN CANCELLED***

We just heard from Second Harvest that they had a group come in yesterday and they were very efficient and packed it all up. The SH team is very appreciative of us jumping in, but they no longer need our help. Thanks for everyone who signed up!

This is a last minute service project for this Friday afternoon!

The Second Harvest team is ready for us to pack up the donations they received for flood relief during the past few weeks.  Volunteers 12+ are welcome.  Kids 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult.  Please wear closed-toe shoes. 

Metro will be at Tharros Place on Saturday 9/7, helping to spruce things up inside and out, including:

• Mowing
• Pulling weeds & tidying small yard
• Painting
• Organizing
• Other small tasks (installing towel bars, putting sticky "privacy" screening on windows, etc.

Volunteers must be 18 or older.

Please note: To maintain privacy of all Tharros Place residents, all volunteers must complete an NDA (form attached) prior to the event in order to receive the address/location. 

If you already have the address, that means you've previously signed the NDA and that it is still valid - you are all set. 

If you NEED the address, then you should sign a new one. We will not release the address without a signed NDA. Please send completed NDA to Ruth and she will release address.

Join us for Metro Monday at Emmaus House!

Our recurring monthly service project to assist with the soup kitchen at Emmaus House every 2nd Monday of each month.  This service project is for adult volunteers. Minors 13 and up can volunteer accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Volunteer guidelines: https://unitedministriessavannah.org/volunteer-guidelines 

Join us for our September bonus service project with Loop it Up!

We will be joining the students at Butler Elementary School at their open house event to help with garden clean up. We will be cleaning out garden beds and replacing with new ones. Lots of work with dirt-- so bring gloves and shovels if you can, and wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty. 

This is a family friendly event, and kids are welcome to join.

Join us for a field trip to ARTS Southeast!  PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE! 

Mission: To make Savannah a destination for art and culture in the Southeast by supporting established and emerging artists, engaging a diverse community with creative programming, and developing awareness and appreciation of the arts.

About: ARTS Southeast is an artist-driven 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Savannah, GA. We support artists through programming that provides space, support and inspiration to emerging and established local, regional and international artists. Our organization fosters a flourishing artistic community in Savannah, celebrating artists of the Southeast by offering support and opportunities to artists at all stages of their careers. We offer 27 below-market rate studios to emerging and established artists, host two galleries, the international ON::View Artist Residency, the locally-focused Incubator Artist Initiative, and we produce IMPACT Art + Culture Magazine. To further engage with our community, we organize a variety of events, such as Sulfur Street Fairs, public art projects that reimagine public space, like the Drive Thru Art Box at Green Truck Pub, Artist Talks, and hands-on artist-led workshops. By offering affordable space, opportunities, and free public access to our programming since our inception in 2014, ARTS Southeast is fulfilling its goal of making art accessible to all. 

Join us for our September social at Starland Yard from 5:30-7:30pm this Tuesday! 

If any Metrotarians want to show off their knowledge, Starland Yard is hosting Trivia from 6:30-8pm. 

Join us for our September Munch at The Smoking Egg located on Ogeechee Road. This will be a great way to engage with Metro Legends and Change Agents Members from our club. Register today!

Topic: The brand new Savannah Music Collective 

Mary Dugas is a seasoned music industry executive with a distinguished career in artist management that began in 1993 in Athens, GA. She has worked in artist management for notable Georgia artists Widespread Panic and Gregg Allman. Currently, she continues to work on music legacy projects with the Gregg Allman Estate and provides management and marketing consulting for various music and community initiatives.

Savannah Music Collective represents a shift in non-profit leadership experience for Mary from governance to management. Since 2018, Mary has been on the Board of Directors for the Savannah Music Festival, where she currently serves as Board Chair. Her prior board experience includes serving on the board of the March of Dimes from 2014 to 2020, where she held the position of Executive Board Chair for Southeast Georgia. She also served as Committee Chair in Marketing and PR for The Savannah Scottish Games from 2010 to 2019.

Mary has a deep-seated passion for music and her hometown of Savannah. She believes in the power of collaboration within the music community. "The concept of uniting the entire Savannah music community for collaboration, professional development, and artist support is fantastic. I’m excited to create an environment where everyone is welcome and we can unlock the full potential of local talent and create a thriving, music scene for all of Savannah to enjoy."

Planning on attending Phil the Park?  Come hang out with fellow Metrotarians! Have a drink and a snack, and enjoy the Savannah Philharmonic.  Set up your own picnic near the Metro Savannah Rotary tables, or just swing by for a spell. Fun for the whole family.

Our tables will be set up on the lawn in front of the band shell, parallel to the Civil War memorial monument. Free parking available at Seacrest Partners, at the corner of Park and Whitaker (thanks, Jessica Pedigo)!

If you plan on coming, we could use some help with set up and clean up. Those wanting to set up, meet Erika Morrow by the Civil War memorial monument at 4:30 p.m.

If you only plan to attend, please register with the "members" button under Online Registration. If you can volunteer, select the volunteer link as well.

On Friday Oct 18 and Saturday Oct 19, from 4-9pm, Metro will team up with Oatland Island Wildlife Center and provide support for their Halloween Hike, which is a non-scary event and targets younger children.  

Adults and teens are welcome to volunteer. Here are the types of on-site help that they need:

• **Parking (super important) – walkie talkies, vests, etc. will be provided
• **Crossing Guard (super important) - hand held stop signs, lights, vests, etc. will be provided
• **Concessions
• Costumed animal character – furry mascot type costumes will be provided
• Human companions – talk to the children, pass out treats (e.g. gardener, Little Red Riding Hood, camper, farmer, etc.).  Once you have signed up for a companion slot you can wear your own items that relate to the character (overall, hat, whatever) but they also have costumes.
• Crafts
• Games
• **Fossil hunt

The stared items (**) are areas where they really like to have adults present (as opposed to teenagers). They would like volunteers to arrive between 4:00 & 4:30 to avoid the crowds and you can expect to be leaving around 9pm. They will provide pizza and tea. This is a double-shift service project, and you will receive two credits. 

***This is our new service date for October - rescheduled from 10/14***

Join us for Metro Monday at Emmaus House!

Our recurring monthly service project to assist with the soup kitchen at Emmaus House every 2nd Monday of each month.  This service project is for adult volunteers. Minors 13 and up can volunteer accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Volunteer guidelines: https://unitedministriessavannah.org/volunteer-guidelines 

RSVP Required by 10/23. Since space is limited to 12 guests, we are initially opening this up to club members only. We will open it up to guests on 10/20 if any tickets remain. 

Join us for this very special bonus social hosted by HunterMaclean (Adam Kirk, spouse of Suzanne Kirk). 

They have generously opened up their Ghost Pirates box to 12 lucky Metrotarians! Come cheer on the Ghost Pirates in style with your fellow club members. 

Join us for this spooktacular family friendly event to get us all into the Halloween spirit! We will be carving pumpkins at the Hull Park pavilion. Please BYOP (Bring your own pumpkin) and a snack to share if you're so inclined. We will have limited carving tools on hand, but please bring along your own if you have them! We will have halloween tunes and a lot of festive fun.  There will even be a silly prize for the best pumpkin! 

Note: Please register if you know you are coming! It will help us make sure we have enough seating. Guests and family of course welcome! 

Space Limited to 25 People, Registration Required. NOTE: Tour begins promptly at 11:30am.  

Join Metro on a field trip of the Port! This event will begin promptly at 11:30am. There is limited parking on-site. For a timely departure please consider carpooling and make sure to bring your ID. This is a windshield tour on 2 GPA buses. PLEASE ARRIVE IN TIME FOR ID CHECK FOR 11:30 DEPARTURE.

Due to the JEA being a polling location and November 5 being Election Day (GO VOTE!), we will have a field trip in place of our regular meeting.

Please note: There will be no lunch provided on our field trip. As of today (10/21), there are 10 spots remaining. Registration will close at 11:45 PM on the Saturday prior to our Tuesday meeting (if not fully booked prior).

Join us for Metro Monday at Emmaus House!

Our recurring monthly service project to assist with the soup kitchen at Emmaus House every 2nd Monday of each month.  This service project is for adult volunteers. Minors 13 and up can volunteer accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Volunteer guidelines: https://unitedministriessavannah.org/volunteer-guidelines 

We are supporting Blessings in a Bookbag's 14th Annual Operation Thanksgiving Pack Attack on November 25 from 5:30-7pm.

Come help pack over 100 bags with turkey and all the holiday fixings for Thanksgiving Dinner. This is a family-friendly event and kids are welcome to join!

We'll also have a bonus service the following day where we'll help give away the bags we packed to families in our community.

We are supporting Blessings in a Bookbag's 14th Annual Turkey and Fixings Giveaway on Nov 26 from 11am-noon.  

We'll be giving away turkeys, cornish hens, and over 100 bags filled with Thanksgiving fixings (that we helped pack the previous day) for families in our community to enjoy the holiday season.  

This is a bonus project for November. 

Join us at Perch (Rooftop bar above Local 11ten) for our pre-Thanksgiving November social! 

Ciarra McClinton is the Community Engagement Fellow at the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex. She interacts with the community, participates in outreach events, environmental education and more! 

At our meeting Ciarra will be discussing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's mission of conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. She'll discuss the Savannah Coastal Refuge Complex, what they do, their management, habitat, and threatened and endangered species.

Come join Pooler's finest Metro Rotarian members in a relaxed atmosphere at Pooler's favorite wine bar (possibly one of the only ones) Noble Roots. Once known as a railroading town, it's now home to the young and young at heart with quick access to Savannah.

Drop in and join us, in pure munch fashion, no need to RSVP.

This is a club event that will earn you attendance credit. 

Contact Will Gruver or Emerson Ingram with any questions. 

Join us for Metro Monday at Emmaus House!

Our recurring monthly service project to assist with the soup kitchen at Emmaus House every 2nd Monday of each month.  This service project is for adult volunteers. Minors 13 and up can volunteer accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Volunteer guidelines: https://unitedministriessavannah.org/volunteer-guidelines 

Happy Holidays, y'all!

Join us for some food and drinks at BowTie Barbeque to celebrate the holiday season together. 

BowTie BBQ has an indoor/outdoor patio where we can hang out and enjoy the season. Members and one guest are welcome to attend. Please register for this event.

TEDxSavannah's New Theme and Speaker Call

Karla Jennings is a senior lecturer and one of two full-time professors for the communication studies major at the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University. In the more than 18 years she has been teaching at both Armstrong and the College of Coastal Georgia, she has taught public speaking to thousands of students and has listened to (and graded!) hundreds and hundreds of speeches.

 She studied communication and public relations as an undergraduate at Florida State University and then went to rival University of Florida for her master’s degree. She has worked in public relations and marketing for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Unison Industries – an aircraft ignition systems manufacturer, and for the Coastal Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

 In 2018, Professor Jennings was the opening speaker for TEDxSavannah, with a talk about fear of public speaking. She has been a board member of TEDxSavannah since 2022, and has served as a speaker coach for TEDxSavannah since 2017. She is passionate about “ideas worth spreading” through TED Talks and truly believes that “ideas change everything.” 

Registration is closed for this event. There may be spots available directly through Old Town Trolley. 
 

Join your fellow Metrotarians in some holiday cheer aboard the Old Town Trolley, Holiday Sights Tour! The Trolley can accommodate up to 38 guests -- and if we book 34 we will have it all to ourselves! Family and guests are welcome!

Please register below by November 27th. After that, any remaining seats will be opened to the public. 

The tour begins and ends at the Old Town Trolley Depot and lasts 2 hours. Plenty of parking is available in the lot. 

Adults (13YO+): $33.17 | Children (4-12YO): $19.26

NOTE: If you'd like to book a child please add a note in your booking and Venmo @jasmine-mills-1223 to secure the ticket. It's beyond Club Runner's capacity to have two prices! 

Metro will be packing food for the community at Second Harvest. More details to follow.

**This service project is part of Metro's district grant to support relief efforts from Hurricane Helene in our community.***

Topic: The brand new Savannah Music Collective (Re-scheduled from 10/1)

Mary Dugas is a seasoned music industry executive with a distinguished career in artist management that began in 1993 in Athens, GA. She has worked in artist management for notable Georgia artists Widespread Panic and Gregg Allman. Currently, she continues to work on music legacy projects with the Gregg Allman Estate and provides management and marketing consulting for various music and community initiatives.

Savannah Music Collective represents a shift in non-profit leadership experience for Mary from governance to management. Since 2018, Mary has been on the Board of Directors for the Savannah Music Festival, where she currently serves as Board Chair. Her prior board experience includes serving on the board of the March of Dimes from 2014 to 2020, where she held the position of Executive Board Chair for Southeast Georgia. She also served as Committee Chair in Marketing and PR for The Savannah Scottish Games from 2010 to 2019.

Mary has a deep-seated passion for music and her hometown of Savannah. She believes in the power of collaboration within the music community. "The concept of uniting the entire Savannah music community for collaboration, professional development, and artist support is fantastic. I’m excited to create an environment where everyone is welcome and we can unlock the full potential of local talent and create a thriving, music scene for all of Savannah to enjoy."

Join us for Metro Monday at Emmaus House!

Our recurring monthly service project to assist with the soup kitchen at Emmaus House every 2nd Monday of each month.  This service project is for adult volunteers. Minors 13 and up can volunteer accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Volunteer guidelines: https://unitedministriessavannah.org/volunteer-guidelines 

Join us once again this year for our joint service project with the Interact Clubs at St. Andrews School. 

Together we will support Children Inspiring Hope with their Empty Bowl fundraiser on January 16. Metro will work with the Interact students to prepare and serve dinner, and with general set up / breakdown for the event.

There are 3 ways to support:

- 5 volunteers from 4:00- 6:00 PM to help supervise and assist students with food preparation and cooking (some acumen in the kitchen is helpful here)

- 5 volunteers from 6:00- 8:00 PM to help supervise and assist students with serving and cleaning up

- $25+ gift cards to Publix to buy ingredients for the meal.  Last year, the total costs for ingredients for the dinner was around $400 to make about 200 meals, so any help towards that allows for more proceeds to go to fundraiser.  

Please "sign up" if you are providing a gift card so we can keep track.  $25 for 1 service credit. Max 3 credits. Gift cards can be brought to the 12/3 meeting and given directly to Kelley Waldron, or sent or dropped off at St. Andrews School by January 10th to Kelley's attention.  

Metro's own Bret Bell was appointed City Manager of Tybee Island in September 2024. For the previous 18 years, he served in various positions for the City of Savannah, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer, Assistant to the City Manager, and Public Information Director. He’s a Charter Member of Metro Rotary.

This meeting has been moved to Zoom because of winter conditions. 

Metro Rotary is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Metro Club Meeting
Time: Jan 21, 2025 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85329982835?pwd=IIdvQm1wNyToGHmTdsjclz8aN1RWGf.1

Meeting ID: 853 2998 2835
Passcode: 417550

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****THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER*****

Read United Day 2025

Read United is one of United Way’s programmatic responses to the promotion of Early Childhood Literacy in our region. Read United Day is the hallmark event, an initiative that seeks to increase access to books for every child in Pre-K through second grade in our region. The program focuses on children in these lower grade levels because we recognize that an early response to the literacy gap that exists in homes of many low-income households can enable children in these homes to succeed.

When is it?

Read United Day 2025 will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025 and will cover Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, Liberty and Long Counties.

This event will place community leaders and volunteers in classrooms to read to over 19,000 children across our five-county footprint in Pre-K through 2nd Grades. The books the volunteers read to the students will be gifted to the teacher in that classroom to keep for their classrooms.

Students in Bryan, Effingham, Liberty, and Long Counties will each receive a book to take home with them to build up their home libraries.

NEW this year: In lieu of books, students in Chatham County will receive special cards which will give them access to multiple books on any given day to expand their reading skills throughout the year and ability to participate in year-round programs!

How does Metro Rotary support Read United?

Our club donate funds to Read United each year. In addition, as January’s line up of service projects, we are asking Metro members to volunteer at the school of your choosing and read a book to an assigned classroom, and distribute either a book or cards to the students, depending on which county you are reading in.

*All books and materials are provided!*

Volunteers -- here's what to expect:

• Please sign up DIRECTLY at this link with United Way for 30-minute time slot. Book early so you get the school and time(s) of your choosing!  
• United Way team will send a confirmation “Before you Go” e-mail with details to include: time, location, classroom, teacher's name, etc. (plus any other details!) before the big day
• Upon arrival to the school, you will receive a United Way Volunteers lanyard and a bag full of goodies for the classroom.
• Each classroom will have a hardback book for the volunteer to read (and then leave with the teacher) and enough books for the kids if reading to Bryan, Effingham, Liberty, or Long Counties, or special collateral for the students in Chatham County.
• Read and entertain the students as you feel comfortable, and once completed, the volunteer will then distribute the books or the cards to the kids (everyone loves this part!).
• Since each time slot is only 30 min., we ask if you are able, to sign up for multiple slots at the same school (for example, 8:30AM, 9:00AM, and 9:30AM). Each time slot = 1 service credit; 3 credits max.  Email Ro to receive credit. 

Join us at Lone Wolf for the first Metro social of 2025! 

Join us for a lunch meeting at the JEA. We'll have a club assembly where we hear from committee chairs and share updates on what's happening in Metro. 

Join us for Metro Monday at Emmaus House!

Our recurring monthly service project to assist with the soup kitchen at Emmaus House every 2nd Monday of each month.  This service project is for adult volunteers. Minors 13 and up can volunteer accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Volunteer guidelines: https://unitedministriessavannah.org/volunteer-guidelines