We have multiple holiday projects coming up with Bluffton Self Help!  Two in particular that we will need to be of assistance are "Fill the Van" efforts prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  On November 13 we will have the SH Van at the Rotary Center  to collect food donations for their Holiday Dinner.  Then on December 11 we will have the van at our meeting to collect toy donations for their Christmas store. Please remember to bring food on the 13, and toys on the 13!  

 

 

 

Our speaker will be 

 

 

Will Grimsley is the Chairman of the South Carolina Commission for the Commemoration of the 250^th anniversary of the American Revolution.

 

He graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina in May 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and was commissioned in the US Army as an Infantry officer.

 

Throughout the next 33 years he served in assignments throughout the United States, Germany, Korea, Kuwait, multiple combat tours in Iraq, and operational deployments around the world. Grimsley held command and leadership positions at every level from platoon through corps, and served on staffs from small unit levels up to both the Joint Staff and as Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense; with his last tour as Chief of Staff of United States Strategic Command. Among his many awards and decorations, Grimsley earned the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, multiple awards of the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat; along with the Combat Infantryman Badge and Combat Action Badge.

 

He completed every level of officer education and training, and the Army also afforded him the opportunity to earn two Masters Degrees; one in Advanced Military Arts and Sciences, and one in National Security Strategy, as well as completing Executive Education at the University of North Carolina Business School. Using his GI Bill through the Veterans Administration, he earned his Doctor of Education degree from Creighton University with a concentration in organizational leadership.

 

Retiring from active duty in 2013 as a Major General, Grimley consulted in the private sector for several major multi-national corporations with primary focus on training, leader development, corporate strategy and operational planning; and worked as a senior mentor in Joint military and other national security exercises and experiments. He served as the President and CEO of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic entity that provides scholarships and leader development opportunities for young men of the Fraternity. Grimsley most recently served as the first South Carolina Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, a Governor-appointed and State Senate confirmed Cabinet officer. In addition to his work on the American Revolution Commission, Grimsley also serves as Chairman of the South Carolina Military Base Task Force, and has returned to the private sector to consult in leadership development and executive coaching, strategic and operational planning and execution, and organizational design. An Eagle Scout, he serves on the Executive Board of the Coastal Carolina Council of Boy Scouts of America, and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in August 2018. He is a certified South Carolina Low Country Master Naturalist and a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest award for service.

 

He and his wife Jan live full time on Harbor Island South Carolina in Beaufort County. They enjoy boating, kayaking, fishing, and the beach. They have two sons (Ben and Luke) and a daughter in law (Betsy), and two grandsons, William and Preston.

 

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: