Stories

Please send your Brags, Finds, and Whines to arango.c@tandh.com in order to be included in Repeats. 

 

 

Metro was awarded the title of Best Large Club of the Year because we completed the most activities on the Celebration Citation (membership, service, communications, Foundation, etc.) for a club our size, as well as other activities (fundraisers and service projects).  Let's keep up the good work!  Whitney has given Bret some shoes to fill!

 

 

Thanks to everyone who came out on Sunday, May 19th, for our annual Family Field Day in Tiedeman Park.  A fun time was had by all!

 

 

 

We've had some great weekends of service! Thanks to all the volunteers who made it out on Saturday, May 18, to the Tiny House Project.  Volunteers helped plant trees and made pathways on the property of The Cove on Dundee for homeless veterans.  Whitney also presented a $6,000 check, on behalf of Metro, to Cindy Kelley, Executive Director of Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless and was featured on WTOC's Mid Morning Live on Friday, May 17 to discuss our service and fundraising partnership.

 

On Saturday, May 11th, volunteers helped build the first of the 3 residential rain gardens to help the Ogeechee Riverkeeper. Tanya Mandel is working on drawings and designs for all 3. 

 

 

 

The votes have been tallied and we'd like to announce our 2019-2020 Annual Service Partner - Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity (CEHFH)!  It came down to CEHFH and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Thank you all who voted.  

 

Since 1983, CEHFH has brought low-income working households together with donors and volunteers to build 145 affordable homeownership units in Chatham County. CEHFH also operates a robust homebuyer education and counseling program to equip Habitat homeowners with financial, leadership, and maintenance skills. We look forward to fundraising and providing service to Habitat!  Our Habitat for Humanity Consolidation Project will involve working on the new training and office space, as CEFHF consolidates its programs under one roof at its ReStore (701 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in downtown Savannah).  With Metro's volunteers, we'll help reduce the labor costs associated with constructing the new space. We'll also help with minor exterior repairs and landscaping work at their current office in preparation of its sale.

 

Our $10,000 will be used to cover the costs of purchasing the building materials and supplies which are needed for repairs at the current office and build out of the new offices and training area.  Construction is proposed to start in July 2019.

Elizabeth Summerell, sponsored by Patrick Phelps and Mason Heidt, is a Certified Public Account and is an audit manager for Holland, Bromley, Barnhill & Brett, LLP.  She has more than 10 years of public accounting experience servicing publicly traded and closely held companies in a number of industries. Engagements include providing services in the audit and accounting areas for software development, software-as-a-service, biotechnology, government contracting, manufacturers and distributors, financial institutions, restaurant franchisor, airport facilities development, not-for-profits, construction, professional sports franchise. 

Laura Walker, City of Savannah's Environmental Administrator for the Office of Sustainability, dropped some knowledge to our club about the different types of water resources  - potable water, stormwater, and wastewater.  The Water Resources Bureau at City of Savannah designs, builds, and maintains infrastructure that produces, treats, and conveys safe drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater. Did you know a source of our drinking water is the Floridan aquifer and that it's the best drinking public source in the world? Laura also talked about getting to know your water meter.  If you just got your water bill (I did this week), check your water meter!  It should be less than what you see on the bill.  If not, call the City.  If there's a blue thing spinning, you have a leak.  And THE MORE YOU KNOW (insert Reading Rainbow here).

 

Are you scared of lead in your water?  Turn your water on and before you use it, count to 3.  This allows fresh water to come through your tap.  Here's another fun tidbit:  Use cold water, not hot, to cook.  Doing all of this limits the possibility of coming into contact with lead.  Leaking all kinds of safe water wisdom on you today.  

 

Want more?  Did you know that your water UTILITY bill includes not just water, but wastewater and utilities?  The most expensive thing on your bill is sewer because it's expensive to treat. #eew  We also learned the 4 Ps that can be flushed down the toilet - paper, pee, poop....and puke. #quadrupletheeew.   And for those who like additional wipes, don't flush those down the toilet.  There's no such thing as flushable wipes - even when it says flushable. #misleading

 

Dropping some other bombs here - 80% of the pollution was once point-source (sewer waste), now 80% of the pollution is non-point source - pointing to us vile humans.  We need to be water advocates regardless of any political leaning.  Call 311 when you see your neighbor blowing leaves down the storm drain!  Create a rain garden.  Use that water to irrigate your grass (we also learned that grass is dumb). Compost (PS - Daniel "wins everything" Weiner won the composter). 

 

Be on the lookout for a cool project in Habersham Village at Jacob G Smith Elementary.  The City is doing some green infrastructure design and have received funding from the State to deal with the school's drainage issues.  Some solutions are to put in pervious pavers and create rain gardens through functional art.  

 

 

METRO MIDWAY SUCCESS:  Thanks to all the pinball wizards, ping pongsters, cornholians, rock-paper-scissorsssszzzzers, chili cooks, and house partiers for coming out to Metro Midway and raising $6,085!  Thanks to our Kick-Ass Committee who made it a success:  Kelley Boyd, Amelia Harper, Suzanne Kirk, Daniel Weiner, and Josh Yates, as well as all of our volunteers to make the magic happen!

 

$10,000 DONE: Congratulations and a pat on the back for us in reaching our $10,000 donation to our Annual Service Partner, Ogeechee Riverkeeper!  With that said, here's your REMINDER! ANNUAL SERVICE PARTNER:  The application deadline is 4/8/19 so please distribute it out to your favorite organizations and get the word out!  The Committee will narrow the applicants down to 6 finalists and each will be asked for an in-person interview during the week of 4/26/19, which will then narrow the finalists down to 3.  The finalists will be presented at the 5/7/19 Program Meeting and everyone will have an opportunity to vote for their choice via SurveyMonkey.  The voting will close on 5/14/19.  The application is posted on our Members Only page.

 

REMINDER! ROTARY FOUNDATION DONATION (for you Voldemorts that shall not be named):  You know how Metro donates $50 to the Rotary Foundation each year on your behalf, and we ask you to match that with another $50 donated at www.myrotary.org? Great news - you have until March 30 to make it count! Log into myrotary.org to get started. Don't have a Rotary International account yet? This is your chance to change that. Otherwise, you'll have to deal with Whitney's RBF.

 

 

CART Donations:  Thanks to Whitney Shephard who matched CART donations for a total of $153.80 raised for Alzheimer's research!That nearly doubles our year-to-date giving. It's not too late to contribute.  Email Whitney if you'd like to make an online donation and she will match it dollar for dollar!

 

 

NEW MEMBER ALERT: Please welcome Reshma Shah as she enters into our new member program!  If you haven't met Reshma yet, introduce yourself at the next lunch meeting! 

A big warm welcome to the following guests who attended our last meetings:

Please send your Brags, Finds, and Whines to arango.c@tandh.com in order to be included in Repeats. 

 

Please send your Brags, Finds, and Whines to arango.c@thomasandhutton.com in order to be included in Repeats. 

 

 

 

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you! 

 

We had a blast getting to know the hobbies and passions of members Cecilia Arango, Jake Crawley, and Josh Yates.  Cecilia is a Marketing Manager for Thomas & Hutton and is a marathoner, actress, singer, and booknerd.  Jake is a transportation broker in logistics and enjoys woodworking and racing remote control cars.  Josh is a restaurant owner (Green Truck) and has an affinity for pinball machines.  Each of them talked about their different passions, what drives them, and what they enjoy most about their hobbies.  They discussed how they make time to do the things they love and encouraged everyone to get to know one another better and discover each other's passions to help build better relationships.  

 

 

 

 

Our Metro Midway fundraiser was a huge time and a YUGE success!  People were dropping fists with the Rock Paper Scissors competition where Leigh Acevedo was proclaimed the winner because she got "lei-ed" all night!  Josh Yates was busy upstairs with everyone exercising those thumbs with the pinball competition - and can I say, what a stellar 80s playlist Josh had going on upstairs?!  Ariana Berksteiner dropped it like it's hot with that kick ass chili that took home first place, while people were ping ponging and cornhole tossing all night.  Thank you to Whitney and Josh for opening their crib to all of us for one epic house party!  PS - we're still talking about Lee Perry's momma's red velvet cake.

 

Metro Midway raised over $6,000 and with both fundraisers (Yachty by Nature), we've raised our $10,000 for our ASP, The Ogeechee Riverkeeper!  Thank you everyone for making it happen!

 

Jasmine Head is a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor.  Jasmine grew up in Forsyth, Georgia and attended Macon State College and Georgia College and State University.  She loves hiking, reading, sunshine, shopping, and attending live theater.  She and her girlfriend, Brandi Mills, have two cats, Sarabi and Si.  Congratulations to Jasmine on finally getting inducted into the Metro family!  ONE OF US!  ONE OF US!  What better way to welcome you in than kicking it off with Orlando's Membership Minute!

 

Meet the Political Rascals, a motley crew of a grassroots collective voice in the community, founded in 2019 who formed their very own state PAC in just 3 days. Six of the 11 Political Rascals were in attendance at our meeting, Clinton Edminster, Amanda Hollowell, Coco Papy, Michelle Solomon (not pictured), Molly Lieberman, and Tre Singleton. They spoke passionately about why they formed a PAC and their mission to teach young people how to be engaged and understand politics.  What first started as just a group of like-minded friends transitioned into this group of "rascals." They realized that money was needed to impact real change and created a PAC out of spite and love for the community. Their PAC was formed as a legal mechanism to make political contributions specifically for certain goals and candidates; however, their focus is on the policies versus the candidates. As a state PAC, they support legislation in Georgia and all 11 Political Rascals have to be in agreement for any type of support to be given. Their goal is to make progressive change with providing a whole new excitement around civics and politics with new age mechanisms and technology for communication. In 2019, the Political Rascals' goal is to make politics accessible to the common people so that all have a voice, with voter engagement as a high priority on their list.

Please send your Brags, Finds, and Whines to arango.c@thomasandhutton.com in order to be included in Repeats. 

 

 

As part of the Windsor Forest Stormwater-Wise Project, and in collaboration with Ogeechee Riverkeeper and UGA Marine Extension, a total of 20 volunteers from both the Metropolitan Savannah Rotary Club and residents of Windsor Forest neighborhood tiled 125 storm drains on Saturday, January 12, 2019. These tiles educate the public that these drains lead directly to our waterways (streams, marsh, river, ocean, etc.) and do not go to a wastewater treatment plant. Many uninformed people illegally dump paint, oil, and many other pollutants into storm drains. Storm tiles have been shown to reduce these practices, protecting our waterways.

RLI:  If your new year's resolution was to be a better Rotarian and make Metro the best by strengthening your Rotary knowledge, now's the time to register for Rotary Leadership Institute for Part I, II, and III & Graduation (Membership) Course now being offered and open for registration!  This will take place at Georgia Tech Savannah Campus on February 16th from 8 AM - 3:30 PM.  $100 fee includes class registration, course material notebook, breakfast, lunch, facility fees, and completion certificate. Register today!  Jamie Smith Arkins and Cecilia Arango will be attending.  Will you?

 

FUNdraisers & Club Socials:  Y'all. There's a contest for BEST CLUB Fundraiser and BEST CLUB Social event.  We could win $500 for each!  Whitney is looking for volunteers to help make our upcoming FUNdraiser on Feb 23rd a success! Please let her know if you can help!

 

STATE OF FUN District Conference May 3-5, Jekyll Island:  Registration is free!  You only have to pay for meals.  Registration opens this week. Stay tuned for more details.

Deb Thompson became the new President/CEO of United Way of the Coastal Empire (UWCE) in August 2018. She replaced Gregg Schroeder who retired after 33 years.  She is the first woman and non-United Way member to be appointed for this position in 80 years! She comes with a strong business background and understands the struggles of small business start-ups.  In addition, she has personally benefited from the United Way as a single mother and recipient of United Way funds.  Deb says now it's her turn to give back.  

 

UWCE has the same mission and focus of United Way worldwide, but is a franchise.  What does this mean?  It means for every dollar you donate to the UWCE, 96 cents of every dollar is going to a service/program in OUR community. It's important to note that overhead expenses do not come out of donations.  These expenses specifically come out of a trust fund - Herschel Jenkins Trust Fund.

 

Deb talked about the extensive process that non-profits must go through to receive funds, as well as the Allocation Committee, a group of community and business volunteers who visit each agency, meet their staff, and see how the programs work. Last year, 55% of the campaign was designated by donors to go to specific organizations and the remaining 45% funded the rest of the programs. 

 

Deb talked about the future of UWCE. Where are we going? She mentioned UWCE and the community (private businesses, government, non-profits, religious sects, etc.) working collaboratively to solve our local community issues to make our area attractive for business. She is hoping to create multi levels of relationships with non-profits and have incubators to teach business savvy skills to help make each non-profit stronger in our community. 

 

Now, what can we do to help? 

 

Stephen Lowry, with Harris Lowry Manton, LLP, spoke to us about the wave of the future - self-driving cars. When will all of this newfangled craziness happen, you ask? The answer is...before you know it. By 2020, it's estimated that there will be 10 million vehicles with self-driving capabilities. Some of this is already happening (looking at you with your auto parallel-parking cars).  Our streets won't be completely taken over by autonomous vehicles by 2020, but it's going to happen sooner than we think.  Some say they will be commonplace by 2025.

 

Stephen discussed the ups and downs of Tesla's driverless Autopilot system and the Google Car prototype - the Waymo.  Google has installed LIDAR equipment, in addition to cameras, to help sense nearby hazards like pedestrians, cyclists, other motorists, as well as road signs and traffic signals. It's still not perfect and has experienced some fatal accidents. Tesla has been receiving quite the backlash since Elon Musk isn't a fan of LIDAR - the laser sensor that most car and tech companies sees as a vital component for self-driving cars.

 

Stephen also talked about the ethical dilemma with Self-driving Car and the Three Laws of Robotics:

The ethical dilemma the autonomous vehicles face include the Trolley Problem, Tunnel Problem, and the Infinite Trolley Problem. It's really interesting - check the diagram here.  For example, are you gonna push a large man onto a trolley to help save five people? Hmmm, questioning all your moral principles or whether or not you're a jerk...the struggle

 

 

Our family is growing!  Congratulations to Emily Salzer, with sponsors Jordan Chase and Suzanne Kirk, on her induction to the club on Tuesday, Jan 15th.  Welcome to the family!

 

Emily gave her Classification Talk a few meetings ago and here's what you should know:

Please send your Brags, Finds, and Whines to arango.c@thomasandhutton.com in order to be included in Repeats. 

 

 

Please welcome (back) to the board, Jessica Pedigo!  She will serve as President after Bret Bell's reign.  The club unanimously approved the Board's nomination at Tuesday's meeting.  This is what happens when you quit coming regularly to meetings...sucker!!  

 

PS - that was actually quoted from none other than Jessica

A big warm welcome to the following guests who attended our last 2 meetings:

On May 15 Fearless Annual Service Partner (ASP) Leader Daniel Weiner will present the three finalists. Then it's your chance to vote and help the club determine which worthy organization we'll be supporting in 2018-19. The three finalist have all been interviewed by the committee and you can read their applications here:

 

 

Mike Nadeau, sponsored by Cecilia Arango and Suzanne Kirk, is the owner/operator of Fleet Feet Savannah. He's had an awesome opportunity to serve our country in the United States Air Force working as a Signal Intelligence Analyst, U1N471. While in the Air Force, he traveled to Japan, South Korea, and all over the Middle East. Personally, he's traveled all over Europe and Central America. One of Mike's greatest experiences in life was driving in an old Jeep from CA to FL with his dad when he separated from the Air Force. Mike's career has taken him all over the country and provided him with experiences that have created amazing memories. He's a passionate runner and has completed an Ironman, 140.6 miles (swim 2.4, bike 112 and run a marathon), as well as completed an ultra-marathon covering 100K, 62miles. He enjoys music and plays very little guitar, although he does enjoy it. Mike has an amazing wife who puts up with most of it, and a daughter who attends Catawba College on a soccer scholarship. She’s majoring in biology in preparation for vet school. Mike's bucket list includes wanting to hike the AT, fly a helicopter and travel the Pacific Northwest. Still so much to do in life, but he's tackling it one challenge at a time.  

 

Denise Grabowski is an urban planner who has been a part of many important ongoing projects that affect us all, from the arena, to the parking study, to the bus system redesign. She came to Savannah from her native Atlanta 23 years ago to work for the Metropolitan Planning Commission.  Denise founded her own urban planning firm, Symbioscity, 8 years ago.  She is married with 2 kids - 6th grader, Julia, and 3rd grader, Michael. She loves cooking, gardening, being on the water and travel, with recent trips to Russia, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia.  She played for Georgia Tech’s coed Ultimate Frisbee team and was invited to a national tournament with them in San Diego, although she doesn’t play the sport much anymore.

Random: If you could replace the bow, the wave, the handshake and the salute, what interesting new gestural greeting would you create?  Blowing a kiss gesture.

Preference: Closed cabinets or open shelving?  Closed.

Trivia: Does alcohol warm or cool your body?  Denise got it right - cool is correct.  Alcohol dilates warm blood vessels near your skin, creating the impression of warmth, while it actually can drop core body temperature.

Audience: What is the transit system redesign that your firm is working on? This initiative will result in a realignment of our fixed-route bus network, led by an international transit planning firm, Jarrett Walker + Associates, with the assistance of CAT and Symbioscity.  Check out Brags, Whines, & Finds for more information on CAT's Let's Go Community Open House.

 

Jordan is Human Resources Senior Business Partner at Memorial Health where she has worked for eight years.  Born in Macon, she was raised in Savannah from age 2, taking ballet at the former Montessori school, now Husk on Oglethorpe Avenue.  She attended John Hopkins University and College of Charleston. Her hobbies include fitness, namely, running, swimming, and health club workouts.  She also loves trying out new restaurants and reading, especially historical fiction.  She was Metro's first full-term president, a role she earned by drawing straws with Clint Murphy and David Acuff, and was the first of this club’s two "pregnidents", mother of children ages 10, 9, and 5 and married to club member Danny Chase (who proclaimed he is actually considered her oldest child).

Retro Metro Art Bazaar to benefit our Annual Service Partner will take place Wednesday, Nov 15th. Food, 60s beats, libations, and art - all to benefit Savannah's community art program.  Buy your tickets now!

 

 

Thousands of Rotarians from around the world will descend upon Atlanta June 10-14, 2017 for the Rotary International Convention and Centennial Celebration of the Rotary Foundation! Convention and Hotel registration begins May 28 and goes up in price over the next year. Take advantage of the discounted prices beginning May 28. Find out more by watching this short video here. Metro will mostly likely organize group transportation and lodging. More to come on that. For now, we hope you will mark your calendars, register early, and plan to be in Atlanta June 10-14, 2017!

 

Registration fees:

May 28 - June 6, 2016..............$265.00

June 7 - Dec. 15, 2016.............$340.00

Dec. 16, 2016-March 31, 2017..$425.00

On Site Registration.................$490.00

 

 

 

Metro inducted two new awesome members during the April 5 Meeting. They are Patrick Bentley, a Project Manager at the Savannah Economic Development Authority, and Jeff Harris, Vice President of Human Resources & Auxiliary Operations at SCAD.

 

Congratulations Patrick and Jeff, and welcome to the Club!

 

Metro inducted five new awesome members during the March 1 Meeting. 

 

They are: Justin Hummel, Sago Property Management; Henry Lee Perry, Savannah State University; Kevin Klinkenberg, Savannah Development and Renewal Authority;  Cecilia Arango, Thomas & Hutton Engineering Co.; and Liz Parizo, Memorial Health. 

 

Congratulations to all!

 

 

With interminable debates in Cleveland and California in the rear-view mirror, the election world now pivots to Savannah, where the political event of the season will be held September 22 at The Florence. 

 

There, Metro Rotarians will share the stage with more than two dozen Savannah City Council candidates - an unpredictable bunch on a good day. Throw some alcohol into that mix, along with a pair of take-no-political-prisoner Rotarians named Clint Murphy and Staci Donegan, and there ain't no telling where this night is gonna go. 

 

This will be a casual opportunity to get to know the candidates better, and for them to get to know our Club better. It should be fun and informative. And The Florence has an awesome bar. 

 

We want to look good, so please make every effort to come. 

 

See everyone at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at The Florence, 2 W. Victory Drive.

We Have a New Logo  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• VIP Area
• Parking- general public and bands
• Merchandise
• Ticketing
• Vendor assisting (set up/breakdown)
• Band/Backstage Hospitality

 

 

 

• Kids swimming pool (Just one) 
• Water Balloons 
• Bats (6-8 Needed)
• Buckets (6-8 Needed)
• Pool Noodles - Full Length (8 Needed) 

 

 

Some scenes from the Aug. 22 volunteer event with the Forsyth Farmers' Market Farm Truck at the Cool Communities, Hot Savannah event in Wells Park. More than 15 Metro Rotarians helped organize activities for children, and paint the Farm Truck (not the awesome mural pictured, but equally impressive stuff). A great start to our partnership!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark your calendar: The much-anticipated Family Field Day is ON. 

 

Set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, in Tiedeman Park, it's an event you really don't want to miss. Last year's totally rocked.  

 

Jessica Thomas' planning crew is looking to make it even better, and needs your help. Please take a moment to fill out this short survey about what you'd like to see at the event: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3S2JBGN

 

Event details:

• A friendly competition for the whole family – age 5+ recommended for games.
• BBQ and non-alcoholic beverages provided by Rotary – bring a side dish or dessert to share and a cooler with other libations, if you wish.
• Wear comfortable clothes and tennis shoes.
• Bring folding chairs or a picnic blanket.
• Tiedeman Park is located at across from Savannah Arts Academy between 46^th Street and Washington; Atlantic Avenue curves around the park.
• Please RSVP on the Metro website so we know how many people to expect.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

At his final meeting as President, Robert McCorkle presented annual awards to Rotarians who went above and beyond during the course of the year.

 

 

Metro Rotarians prepped, cooked, served, cleaned and helped 100 souls receive a hot meal at Emmaus House on July 10. Amazing service, amazing experience. Nice job everyone.