Our Stories
Featured Guest Speaker | December 3
Profile photo of Ciarra McClintonFeatured Speaker: Ciarra McClinton, Community Engagement Fellow, Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex
 
Ciarra McClinton is the Community Engagement Fellow at the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex. She’s been in the low country and with the organization for only six months. Ciarra is originally from Dallas, TX and a recent graduate of Baylor University as a double major in Environmental Science and International Relations. She interacts with the community, participates in outreach events, environmental education and more. This young woman is an excellent speaker and passionate about her work!
Ciarra focused on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's mission of conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. She also explained the Savannah Coastal Refuge Complex: what they do, their management, habitat, and threatened and endangered species. They are part of the National Wildlife Refuge System that includes 571 refuges across the US and includes 7 complexes in the region, including Tybee, Pinckney, Wassaw, Blackbeard Island, Wolf Island and Harris Neck, but the most well-known and visited is the Savannah location (across the bridge into Hardeeville.)
 
Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex | FacebookThe Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex help with threatened and endangered species such as Loggerhead sea turtles, Piping Plover, the Wood Stork (recently delisted from endangered to threatened largely because of their work they have done for protection), and Flatwood Salamanders. They do this by way of having access to a variety of environments: salt marshes, flatlands, woodlands, coastal habitats, etc. They have many resources available to them, including maintenance, wilderness, habitat and law enforcement, as well as controlled burnings, water levels, and equipment work. 
 
For visitors, they offer fishing, hunting, environmental education, photography, trails, interpretation, and wildlife observation. The Savannah Coastal Refugees app provides self-guided tours you can take as well! Link for the iOS/Apple app 
 
One example of community engagement are their raised garden boxes. They’ve given over 100 to the community using Ipe wood from Brazil which was confiscated at the border. They are able to teach the schools and students about gardening. The refuge complex has plenty of volunteer, interns and youth opportunities as well; great for young people who are interested in learning more about conservation and paths to government work.
 
Recent Management/Activity:
  • Spraying of trees that are wildly invasive
  • Microplastics for alligators
  • Post Helene damage
  • Re-opening of wildlife drive from Irma damage (salt water flowing in/damage to their systems)
  • LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey plots
  • Manatee tagging
  • Visitation surveys
  • Daufuskie Ferry
  • Hog eradication (by one single man on Blackbeard Island!)
  • Caretta Sea Turtle project
    Announcements | December 3 Meeting
    Posted by Jamie Arkins
    Happy Holidays | Rotary Club of St. Albert - Saint City
    December 3, 2024 Committee Updates:
     
    UPCOMING EVENTS: Holiday events coming up! See the calendar listings on the side for the most current updates.
     
    SERVICE: Ro Patrick
    GRSP (college-aged/specific to Georgia) and Rotary Youth Exchange (high school aged/worldwide program): Aaron Miller
    • Our GRSP student Sonali is running the Disney Princess 10K & Half Marathon Feb. 22nd & 23rd for American Cancer Society! Donate to support her here: https://d6920.online/run-sonali-run 
    • Metro will be sponsoring a  Rotary Youth Exchange outbound student which means we need to find a school and host families for the inbound high school student. If you are interested in learning more about being a host family, Aaron is hosting a meeting today, Wednesday, Dec 4th at 5:15 at Wexford Pub (upstairs). 
      • Metro has committed to sending abroad (outbound) one student for 10 months. Which means we need to connect with schools to find a home for an incoming (inbound) student.
      • Host Families (3 needed, 3-4 months each) and finding the High School needs to be settled by January 31.
    GLOBAL GRANT:
    • Jasmine Mills presented (on behalf of Cari Phelps) a summary of their trip to India in 2018, including the inadequate government schools: a lack of staff, supplies, education, and sanitation, which leads to disease, deformity, infertility, and other health issues. Their efforts increased attendance exponentially and it was encouraging to see Rotary’s support in process. 
    • Near the end of their tour, one of the girls showed Cari the girl’s bathroom. It was disgraceful to see the difference between the girls and boys bathrooms. There was no privacy, no sanitation for menstruation, and many girls experienced dehydration because they didn’t want to drink water during the day so they didn't have to use the so-called bathroom. 
    • As of September of 2024, 9 happy schools have been completed by our club’s funds, and the support of Rotary International.
    • What’s Next: “United for Life”, spearheaded by Dr. Miriam Rittmeyer (Rotary East), is a maternal & child health national initiative, spanning 2024-2028. Includes travel opportunities to Panama, as well as donating and assembling birth kits for distribution to expectant mothers. Supported by our overage from our club's excellent fiscal management!
    FOUNDATION: Bret Bell
    • EREY Club (Every Rotarian Every Year): 
      • $100 per year per person / $50 is paid from your dues
      • Had the option this year to tie that money into your dues payment, but request that if you didn’t do that to please contribute a minimum of $50 to the Rotary Foundation by March. 
      • Donate to the Annual Fund here
    • Some of the ways your Foundation donations are distributed: 
      • District Grants and how the funds come back to us in three years
      • International Grants - Happy Schools
      • Annual Service Partnerships
    PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBERS: 
    • Emily shared that the New Member Program has been streamlined and documents were shared to outline the process.
    • Chelsea Dye (sponsored by Whitney Shepard & Jeanine Roach)
    CLASSIFICATION TALKS/MEMBER INDUCTIONS:
     
    Molly Knutson gave her Classification Talk on Dec. 3 and thanked everyone in the club for being so welcoming, especially her sponsors, Aaron Miller and Kristin King. She shared stories about serving others while growing up in a large family in Arizona. Anything from helping elderly neighbors or feeding an entire church community. She met her husband Jeff in New York City 12 years ago and immediately fell for his love of service. Jeff attended the Military Academy at West Point, which led them to frequent travel and relocation up and down the east coast. Molly’s background in Urban Planning fit perfectly as they analyzed the good and bad of each city they lived in, but eventually they started to feel the itch of settling down. They had dreamed of one day living in Savannah after having visited here for a wedding in 2017/ When they tried to make it happen with a 1% chance of getting a relocation, they beat the odds and they knew they were here to stay. 
     
    During COVID they organized their own donation drive for The Old Savannah City Mission. They were moved by the community's participation and this led to Molly volunteering at the Mission on a regular basis. Aaron reached out to let Molly know she’d be a great fit for our Club, and she looks forward to sharing her passion for service with her son. 
     
    Fun facts: Molly runs several fantasy football leagues and is a very fair commissioner. She recently quit her job with Ferguson to help run her family's pallet business based out of Arizona. She’s played and coached volleyball. She loves making her own salsa, loves walking, biking, and wants to be voluntarily carless within the next year. Her mantra is to “show up and do!”
     
    Deanna Whitt was inducted as a new member under our recently revamped New Member Program. We will hear her Classification Talk in the near future!
     
    Sponsored by Emily Doherty & Suzanne Kirk
     
     
      Upcoming Events
      View More...
      From the President

       

      Metropolitan Savannah Rotary, or “Metro” was founded to create a club to attract more younger professionals to Rotary while also accommodating diverse needs. Understanding that younger professionals often have limited schedules because of growing careers, family, or both, we built our schedule offering meetings on varying days, times, and activities. Our members enjoy the club because of the different experiences offered through volunteer service, networking, socializing, and community and global impact. Almost 15 years after our inception, we are still thinking and acting creatively to make the club “ridiculously awesome.” 

      While our club offers unique scheduling and meeting formats, we follow the traditions of Rotary International and live by the motto "Service Above Self." We participate in district and global grants to make the greatest impact possible like eradicating Polio, funding Alzheimer's research, partnering with local nonprofits, and sponsoring student programs. 

      If you found our site because you’re interested in joining Rotary or searching for a club to visit while in Savannah, we hope you’ll join us to experience it for yourself. Our upcoming events are posted on the left, and the invitation is open.

      In service,

      Kristen Crawley
      president@metrosavannahrotary.org
      2024–2025 Board
      Club Leadership & Board Members
      President
      Kristen Crawley
      President Elect
      George Seaborough
      Treasurer and Immediate Past President
      Jasmine Mills
      Secretary
      Sara Holton
      Legacy Project Chair
      Jordan Chase
      Service Chair
      Ro Patrick
      Grants Chair
      Cari Phelps
      Programming Co Chair
      Erika Morrow
      Programming Co Chair
      Lexi Henigman
      Membership - Retention
      Florence Slatinsky
      Membership - Recruitment
      Emily Doherty
      Communications
      Jamie Arkins
      Sergeant-at-Arms
      Leigh Acevedo
      Family of Rotary
      Sarah Smith
      Disaster Response
      Chelsea Sawyer
      Foundation
      Bret Bell
      Interact
      Ben Barksdale
      GRSP Liaison
      Aaron Miller
      Immediate Past President
      Jasmine Mills
      Club Information
      We meet In Person
      Tuesdays at 11:45 AM
      JEA
      5111 Abercorn Street
      Savannah, GA 31405
      United States of America
      Meetings are every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 11:45 a.m with the program starting at noon. Additional events are listed in our calendar on the Events tab.
      Venue Map