January 7, 2024 Committee Updates:
GUESTS: Danielle Pilgrim with Justice Unite Savannah Together, Interfaith Organization (Guest of Kristen Crawley & George Seaborough)
SERVICE: See Events Calendar for all service opportunities - sign up online - three opportunities in January!
LEGACY PROJECT UPDATE: Herb Traub Gathering Space in Forsyth Park
Bret, Jordan, and Reshma presented on our legacy project in partnership with the Rotary Club of Savannah and the City of Savannah. Herb Traub was the owner of The Pirates' House and was responsible for lighting up all of our city’s monuments and fountains. The location of the gathering space will be in Forsyth Park near the cafe and will replace the old playground. Reshma brings incredible architectural and design expertise to this committee as well!
Goals for the space:
-A place to sit, eat, and gather with others
-A big central table symbolizing community togetherness
-Removal of unsafe playground equipment
-Part of the Forsyth Park master plan
-Taking visual and organic cues from Savannah’s oak trees, etc.
-Lots of flow between the quadrants - potential for hosting events at this space
-Concrete “twig” shaped benches and “pebble” seating (ADA compliant)
-Having a large central table made from Georgia granite with quotes engraved about Herb Traub (the most important factor for the Rotary Club of Savannah)
Estimated Cost: $305,000. Metro already has $70K allocated for this project. Rotary Club of Savannah has $120K and they are meeting this Friday., January 10 to discuss next steps with fundraising.
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PAUL HARRIS FELLOWS:
- Reshma Shah
- Aaron Miller (+1)
- Patton Dugas (+1)
- Kelley Boyd (+3)
- Jeff Brady (+6)
- Darron Alvord (+8)
CLASSIFICATION TALK/INDUCTION:
Deanna Whitt classifies her life as sacrifice and purpose through service and adding value. She’s lived a very full life. Growing up in Pittsburg in a blue collar family, her father worked in the steel industry, and she started working at the age of 12. Deanna joined the U.S. Navy active duty in 1997 for 9.5 years. While stationed in Italy, she met her husband how was in the Army. She eventually went into recruiting for the Navy. She then went on to work in marketing for Fortune 500 clients including USAA, Tiffany & Co., Citizens Bank, etc. Deanna currently works for EY as a Business Consultant managing and supporting the US Army’s global audit readiness efforts. She moved to Savannah in 2008 and had her son in 2018. She’s passionate about helping people improve their lives and does so with ACP Mentorship and Ripples initiatives. and now Rotary. She claims she’s a problem solver (not a troubleshooter like her husband claims!)
Deanna shared these thoughts as well: Through two continuous threads of sacrifice and service, I have had the opportunity to either experience or see from a close proximity the gaps in our society in areas of child welfare, social services, access to opportunity and empathy — no matter where and what I came up from or went through there was always someone I could help or who helped me. While I am grateful to provide a much better life full of opportunity for my son, I also strive to teach him to always give back and lift up. Joining Metro Savannah is extremely important for me because its local and the pillars that it stands on create a ridiculously awesome spring board to take action, make an impact, become a living example for my son and become better educated of the needs, strengths, and networks across Savannah.
COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC IMAGE:
- Follow us on IG: @metrosavannahrotary (tag us in your posts!)
- Send your member news and BFW/announcements to Jamie and Kristin
UPCOMING EVENTS: See the calendar listings on the side for the most current updates