Events

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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One tap mobile
+13052241968,,85329982835#,,,,*417550# US
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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 

Rotary District Governor, Todd Freesemann will visit and present what's happening in District 6920 and Rotary International. 

See you at the bar at 17Hundred90 for our February Social! 

Nick Palumbo serves as Executive Director of The Creative Coast - Savannah's flagship startup nonprofit. He also serves as Alderman representing Savannah’s 4th District since 2020, where he spearheaded several innovative programs including the nation's first sustainable to-go cup program, Savannah's 311 mobile APP, and 100% Savannah - propelling the City of Savannah to become the largest municipal solar provider in Georgia. Nick is also a nationally recognized mobility advocate and helped secure over $10 million for Savannah’s multi-use path network Tide to Town. Palumbo brings a collaborative approach to catalyzing an innovation economy in Coastal Georgia and *loves* hearing big ideas from the community.

Update -- This service project has been rescheduled for Friday, March 7 from 3-5pm.

Brightside maintains several closets stocked with essential items for children entering foster care, and our club will help sort and organize them. One of these closets is a spacious room filled with clothing that requires sorting and organization. Another is dedicated to hygiene products and diapers, which needs to be relocated to another floor and arranged properly. Lastly, they have a room with toys and school supplies that also needs to be moved and organized.

This project is family friendly. 

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 won't have a club meeting on March 18th. Enjoy the week off, and we'll see you again soon! 

Our club received over 80 dogwood seedlings from the District Governer in early January, and those little seedlings are currently living their best lives at Savannah Tree Foundation's nursery getting cozy and established.

Join us for a very special Saturday social at Metro member Kelley Boyd's Savannah Yoga Center! Kelley will guide us through an exclusive hour long Gentle Yoga Flow yoga class. All levels and newbies welcome! 

• Register below at the Metro Rotary discount of $15pp ($22 regular price). 
• The class is limited to 20 people, so we will initially open up to Metro members only. Please register ASAP so Kelley knows who to expect. As of now, 3/28 6pm 6 spots remain! Feel free to invite guests.
• BYOMat if you have one. Limited mats available if needed. 
• We will head over to Crystal Beer Parlor after if anyone would like to join! 

Namaste! 

Since we weren't able to get a quorum of volunteers, this service pojrect has been canceled. 

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Each year, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society hosts Walk MS: Savannah, a powerful community event that raises over $85,000 to fund essential programs, services, and research for people in our region living with multiple sclerosis. The 2025 event will take place on Sunday, March 30th at Grayson Stadium, and Metro will lend our support as our March bonus service project. 

We will help them out mainly at the finish line, but also pitch in with any general event support.  There will be two shifts - 12-2pm and 2-4pm. 

Presentation Topic:  The Georgia Hi-Lo Trail, Following the Path Less Traveled.

After earning a bachelor’s in landscape architecture with concentrations in Historic Preservation and Environmental Ethics from the University of Georgia, Mary Charles quickly put her talents to work and found her stride as an entrepreneur. She combined her love of community and small business with a passion for food and culture to launch Athens Food Tours. Many full stomachs and happy customers later, she sold the company and focused on Economic Development with Athens-based W&A.

Her next entrepreneurial move came after four years of being frustrated with a lack of safe cycling and economic opportunities in her hometown of Sandersville and Mary Charles Howard decided to take matters into her own hands. In 2019, she launched the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail initiative. After seeing the success of Athens’ Firefly Trail, she decided to build on the great work of that trail by extending Firefly Trail’s original 39-mile trail south another 200 miles with the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail – through Sandersville and beyond – ending in Savannah. Upon completion, the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail will be the longest paved trail in all of America.

Immediately after launching the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail, she started the Kids Bike League, a program of the Hi-Lo Trail that gets kids ages 2nd-8th grade on a bike in rural communities in middle, east and coastal Georgia. Kids Bike League currently operates monthly rides, summer camp and winter camp in Effingham County, Statesboro, Sandersville, and Sparta.

The Hi-Lo Trail has been receiving a lot of press lately. Mary Charles was interviewed for an Atlanta magazine, she’s been traveling to speak to different groups around the state, there was an article about her in the AJC that was titled “A Georgia Woman’s Audacious Plan” and she had a radio interview on FM 95.5 and the interviewer ended by saying “I wouldn’t bet against Mary Charles.”