Committee Reports
President Cecilia Arango reminded members that February is Rotary Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution Month. She recommended the article, Education on the Front Lines by Frank Bures, from the Rotarian. Cecilia discussed our roles in promoting peace by explaining that Rotary and its members can serve as practitioners, educators, mediators, and advocates.
She announced that Metro President Elect and General Manager of Operations for JAN-PRO South Carolina & Georgia Coast Will Gruver was featured in Savannah CEO in a segment covering, “continuing cleaning practices coming out of the pandemic.”
Cecelia urged members to download the GroupMe app for a more robust method of receiving texts and other information from Metro.
She reminded everyone to purchase their Roastary tickets. The event will be held at Coach's Corner on March 13, which is also Metro’s birthday. Past President Jessica Pedigo reminded members that ticket prices will increase on March 1.
Interact Liaison Sarah Smith said five students will compete in the Preston Johnson essay contest and will present their essays at an upcoming meeting.
Disaster Response Chair Chelsea Sawyer talked with the club about the differences between weather watches and warnings, using cupcakes as an example. She also asked members to take the Chatham County Hurricane Questionnaire.
Guests
Pitch Powers
Helen White
Lexi Henigman
Jennifer Graham
Membership Minute
Ellen Harris is owner of Ethos Preservation, a firm that offers a wide range of preservation planning services with a focus on project consulting in historic districts. She has three children, a five-year-old and two 15-month-old twins. Interesting facts about Ellen: She earned an undergraduate degree in medieval history and had a pet goose who lived in her house. She likes being a Rotarian because of Rotary’s dedication to both local and international service.
Prospective Member Profiles
Kristin King is marketing director for Sago Property Management, a boutique firm specializing in long-term residential rentals. She’s also worked in hospitality, banking, public works, and at the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women & Children Job Resources Department. She was raised in Farmington Hills, MI and attended Loyola University of Chicago for her undergraduate degree as a concert harpist, majoring in music with minors in business and psychology. She moved to Savannah in 2004 to start New Arts Ensembles, a live music booking agency, which she co-owns with violinist Ricardo Ochoa. She remains an active/working concert harpist.
Rowena (Ro) Patrick works at the Ad Council, where she leads a cross-functional team, is part of the organization’s senior leadership team, and stewards more than $10 million annually in resources and budgets, while leading all facets of campaign development. As a college undergrad during the tech boom of the late 1990s, her dream was to move to Silicon Valley and work at a startup. Ro was born in Hong Kong and has lived in many different cities throughout her life, but she calls New York City her hometown. That’s where she’s lived the longest, found herself, and met her husband, Brad. 
Brad Patrick is the deputy chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he supervises other assistant U.S. attorneys, paralegals, investigators, and support staff. He grew up “on a dirt road 30 miles northwest of Charleston where everyone in my community knew each other, and most were somehow related to me.” After completing undergrad at the University of South Carolina and law school at Tulane University Law School, he moved to New York City to take a job as a lawyer for the City and met his wife, Ro.Featured Speakers: Denise Grabowski and Ellen Harris
Denise and Ellen gave a presentation on the benefits of removing the I-16 flyover and redeveloping the acreage it occupies. They talked about this history of this area of Savannah from the Oglethorpe era, through the establishment of rail service, to the destruction of Union Station and neighborhoods to make way for the interstate off-ramp.
They described how the flyover has created a physical, social, economic, and psychological barrier that has had negative consequences for the Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard and Montgomery Street corridors for decades. New opportunities for federal funding make this an ideal time to explore the possibilities, they said. Their previous presentation at the Jan. 27 Savannah City Council workshop can be viewed here.