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Welcome to Our Club!
Bluffton

Fellowship and Service the Bluffton Way

We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m.
Rotary Community Center/Oscar Frazier Park
11 Recreation Court
Bluffton, SC 29910
United States of America
Phone:
(843) 540-7957
Home Page Stories
We had an action-packed business meeting with lots to recognize!
 
John Anderson and his wife presented Mr. Michael Hodges, Department of Natural Resources South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement (SCORE) representative with a $5,000 donation. These funds contribute to the Oyster Reef restoration process which allows our club and community to enjoy our local oyster roasts. For more information: https://score.dnr.sc.gov
 
Student of the Month:
 
PHF: 15 Paul Harris Fellows (PHF) awarded!
New PHF
- Ed Marcum
- Tom Middleton
- Charlie Wetmore
PHF +1
- Megan Mack
- Sarah Reed
- Dan McMahon
- Dana Marsh
- Steve Wallace
PHF +2
- Carol Branch
- Rob Darling
- Linda Gustafson
PHF +3
- Mary O'Neill
PHF +5
- Don Kensey
PHF +6
- David Hussey
PHF +8
- Dot Jeger
 
Thank you, Dr. Carolyn Grant, Thomas Barnwell, and Emory Shaw Campbell, the Co-Authors of Gullah Days: Hilton Head Islanders Before the Bridge 1861-1956, for speaking to our Rotary Club.
 
Gullah Days took 20 years to publish due to not having a publisher or a fund donor. The co-authors would meet on Friday evenings to share and capture the stories of Gullah culture. Emory shared how isolated Hilton Head Island was growing up and that the first school was established in Mitchellville (required to go to school until 15).
 
Fun fact: the Tabby building that stands at the intersection of Squire Pope and Gumtree Road is the oldest building that was built by the Gullah community on Hilton Head Island.
 
We enjoyed welcoming Daniel Cort, Main Stage Community Theatre, as our guest last week. Daniel shared his personal story of what led him to being involved and passionate about Main Stage Community Theatre.
 
“To watch children mature and have a spark in their eyes is magical after seeing how they enter the theatre so nervous.” ~ Daniel Cort
 
 
Special guest Tricia Mikouchi joined us last week to share her book, “The Sunny Side of Crazy,” which shares the story of her adopted daughter who suffers from dissociative identity disorder (multiple personalities disorder).
 
1.5% of the American population suffers from this disorder which is defined by at least two personalities in one person.
 
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Another Rotary Club of Bluffton SC Annual Oyster Roast was a huge SUCCESS!!
 
Thank you all for coming out and enjoying a beautiful evening of delicious food, live music by Harden & Crenshaw, and great fellowship. We are especially grateful for the many volunteers who worked tirelessly to put this event on. We are fortunate to live in a supportive community who believes in giving back. 
 
 
 
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Last week’s business meeting consisted of updates from each of our Board Members on their respective positions. We encourage each Rotarian to get involved to help make a larger impact in our community. To get involved, please respond to this email stating which committee you'd like to be involved with.
 
 
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The Monthly Business Meeting is always a well attended meeting as we get to recognize outstanding leaders in our community and induct new members!
Congratulations to our Students of the Month: Jacob Broene (Red Cedar Elementary) and Fabio Galeana (M.C. Riley Elementary).
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Bluffton, Tom Middleton.
Do you know the history of the Rotary Club of Bluffton?
Thank you, Mary O’Neill for sharing the history of how we became a chartered club:
• The first Rotary Club was founded by Paul Harris and the first meeting was held in 1905 in Chicago.
• Rotary came to SC in 1915
• After several other clubs within the state were sponsored, the Hilton Head Island Club sponsored the Bluffton Club in 1988.
• On April 25, 1988, 29 men gathered to celebrate the first Charter Night of the Bluffton Rotary Club and since then, our Club has grown and expanded into a vibrant group who has and continues to make large impacts in our local community.
Thank you, Bill Epps, for filling in this morning for Dr. John Perry. We enjoyed an informational presentation on cardiovascular and thoracic procedures.
This week’s meeting was a special treat! Thank you to fellow Rotarian and Club Admin, Cara Vercellone, for organizing our field trip to the Technical College of the Lowcountry - TCL - Culinary Institute of the South.
Rotarians and guests enjoyed touring the state of the art facility that is centrally located right in Bluffton.
We love making a difference in our community. Interested in learning more about the Rotary Club of Bluffton? Reach out, we would love to invite you to join us.
It was a great weekend at District Conference 7770. Our club won club of the year! We have great members and hard working volunteers. We would like to thank our community for their continued support, the Town of Bluffton, Bluffton Police Department and the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office without your support and partnership we would not be able to give back and assist as much as we do. It was a great honor to receive this award with all the outstanding clubs in our area.
The 5th Wednesday gathering is always a special time together. We love spending this time fellowshipping with fellow Rotarians and those interested in learning more about the large impact that the Rotary Club of Bluffton makes.
Do you worry about Alzheimer’s?  We do not have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but we must find one.  Finding a cure starts with you.  Every year the CART (Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust) Fund gives research grants focused on finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. 
 
Have you given to the CART Fund this year?  The CART Fund is dedicated to raising funds to provide “seed” money for cutting edge, high impact research in hopes of finding a cure/prevention for Alzheimer’s disease.  The goal of the CART Fund is to encourage exploratory and developmental Alzheimer’s disease research projects within the United States. This is accomplished by providing financial support for the early and conceptual plans of those projects that may not yet be supported by extensive preliminary data but have the potential to substantially advance biomedical research. These projects should be distinct from those designed to increase knowledge in a well-established area unless they intend to extend previous discoveries toward new directions or applications.
 
If you would you like to donate to the C.A.R.T. fund please scan the code below:
 
Two of the most important factors in business and in service are establishing goals and tracking the progress because it directly impacts its success.
Over the last several months, Fellow Rotarian Wil Saleeby has facilitated our Club’s Strategic Plan and this morning we enjoyed hearing the changes being made to improve the direction of our club.
Interested in learning more? Reach out to us! We’d love to invite you to join us for a meeting.
Thank you, Dana Ridenour, a retired FBI agent and the author of three FBI undercover novels: Behind The Mask, Beyond The Cabin, and Below The Radar, for joining us this morning!
 
Over the years, Dana has been employed in a wide variety of jobs including first mate on a tour boat (her favorite job), lawyer, and Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Dana entered on duty with the FBI in November of 1995 and retired in April of 2016 after over twenty years of service. She was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases to include multi faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime. Over the years, Dana was a proud member of the FBI's Evidence Response Team where she and her team traveled to New York City in response to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. The highlight of her career came in 2003 when she attended and passed the FBI's prestigious undercover school, thus allowing her to work as an undercover FBI agent. This undercover certification opened the door for her to work a series of long term, deep cover cases focusing on domestic terrorism. Dana had the rare experience of working a long term undercover investigation with her husband who was also an FBI agent.
It was a great night for a fireside chat. It's always great to connect with new and prospective member
Congratulations, Madalyn Ricciardi (Red Cedar) and Jessie Hernandez-Hernandez (M.C. Riley) on being recognized as the Students of the Month!
Welcome, Doug Crawford, to the Rotary Club of Bluffton. Always happy to have new members!
Beaufort County Economic Development has some exciting things going on! We enjoyed welcoming John O’Toole, Executive Director, this morning to learn about some of their projects and impacts that they are making in our local communities.
A special Thank you to Foundation Director Dean Turner for all his efforts, knowledge, passion, and presentations on the Rotary International Foundation.
Dean has educated our club on the importance of the RI Foundation and value it has to our local and International communities.
Social Media
Club Executives & Directors
President
President Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Past President
Vice President
Rotary Foundation Dir
Membership Dir
Public Relations Dir
Service Projects Dir
Sergeant at Arms
Club Admin Dir
Youth Services Dir
 
Rotary International Theme 2024-2025
Speakers
General Will Grimsley
Nov 06, 2024
Centennial Commission: Meeting at the Culinary Institute
Howard Turner
Nov 13, 2024
Rotary Foundation
Hilton Head Christian Academy
Nov 20, 2024
Big Fish the Musical - Teaser
No Meeting
Nov 27, 2024
Happy Thanksgiving!
Chris Forster
Dec 04, 2024
Economic Growth and Development in Bluffton
The Singing Eagles
Dec 11, 2024
Holiday Cheer
Student of the Month
Dec 18, 2024
Student of the Month
No Meeting
Dec 25, 2024
Merry Christmas!
Bulletins
 
RCB 20th Anniversary
 
 
RBC Year in Reviews
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Upcoming Events