ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
Patrick Phelps assisted District 6920 Governor, Mike Muldowney, in pinning the Rotary emblem on Reshma Shah Johnson, Metro's newest member (one of us! One of Us! ONE OF US!) Muldowney reminded all members that Reshma is now also the newest member of 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide! You can now find the process for new members (and sponsors) available at the front check-in. Thanks to the Membership Committee for helping with this process.
 
PAUL HARRIS FELLOW 
Patrick Phelps helped recognize Kathleen Wells as our latest Paul Harris Fellow. 
 
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!
Congratulations to Justin Hummel and his new bride, Kim!  They got married on Aug 14th in California. He says he misses us dearly!
 
District 6920 Governor Mike Muldowney explained the history and purpose of the CART buckets and encouraged donations of loose change or dollar bills to support Alzheimer's research. Every penny raised goes directly to research, while other funds are used for administration.
 
ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE SUNSHINE DIVISION: "Building a Better Rotary thru Education"
Registration closes today (9/27) for Parts 1, 2, 3, and a special Graduate Class for the next District 6920 RLI that will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5th (7:30 AM - 3:30 PM) at the Oconee Fall-Line Technical College Campus in Dublin, GA. Some of the interesting leadership topics that will be discussed include Membership Engagement, Analyzing Your Rotary Club, Strategic Planning, Service Projects, Effective Leadership Strategies and the History of Rotary. A special Graduate Class on “Transforming Your Club” will also be offered for those Rotarians that have completed Graduation of RLI.
 
RAISE THE ROOF FOR HABITAT - FALL FUNDRAISER
Suzanne Kirk announced the change of date (Thanks Dorian!) to Tues, Oct. 8th at 6 PM at 402 E. Broughton Street. The theme will be a Kid n' Play house party with DJ Jose Ray, jello shots, and a construction-attire costume contest! We're still seeking sponsors and volunteers with attendance credit given to both. Sign up to volunteer here! Also, we're looking for items for the Silent Auction and need your help and we'll pay you in make-up credits! While all types of auction items are welcomed, we've found in the past our most in-demand items are usually shared experienced building goodwill and better friendships with fellow club members! Some ideas of what we're looking for:
  • Host a cocktail party or happy hour at your home.  Have a pool?  Pool party!  Like to grill?  Have a gameday cookout!
  • Go in with other rotarians as a group to host a progressive dinner or dock party!
  • Have an awesome backyard? Consider hosting a BBQ, oyster roast, or lowcountry boil!
  • Have a boat? Consider auctioning off a sunset cruise or fishing trip!
  • Have an awesome talent, hobby, or skill you can share with others? Auction off a private lesson or session!
  • Have a short-term vacation rental or beach house? Auction off a weekend!
  • Have a pinball collection? Host a pinball party! (can you tell Josh Yates came up with this list?)
If you can't host an event, we appreciate you wrangling in some sweet prizes like festival passes, gift cards, art, and more.  Contact Josh Yates if you have some goodies!
 
Thanks to Cari Clark Phelps for designing the graphic for the Fall fundraiser and thanks to Kacey Kennickell for printing it!
 
GEORGIA ROTARY STUDENT PROGRAM (GRSP)
District 6920 Governor Mike Muldowney explained the history and purpose of GRSP and encouraged volunteers to support Metro's student designate, Ariella Samour, an Armstrong student, with activities such as rides and help navigating her time in Savannah.
 
Whitney Shephard announced further details regarding Metro's partnership with Loop It Up Savannah, one of our past annual service partners. During this partnership, Metro Rotary has adopted Brock Elementary for our Loop It Up reading. We've committed to getting book boxes made and filled with books, as well as reading in classes. We are welcoming volunteers to read once a month to a pre-K or K class. According to Molly L., Brock has three Pre-K Classes and five K classes this year. This means if we are going to start everyone with the weekly readers component all at once, we would be looking for 32 readers - or folks to fill 32 slots-- maybe some people might do more than one. Kindergarten has reading/literacy time between 11:15-1:15, which we thought would be a good time frame for readers to come if they were trying to combine this with their lunch hour. Pre-K could possibly be between 12-1 since the kids nap at 1:00. But if there were Rotarians who could come earlier than lunch time, we might want to move the Pre-K readers to between 10:15 - 11. I think we are open on which day of the week this all happens.
 
Please email Whitney if you're interested in reading!  If you are interested and are not yet approved through Operation Beacon, fill out the background check paperwork for Operation Beacon here:  https://spwww.sccpss.com/aa/sp/beacon/Pages/default.aspx - at some point in this there will be a drop down where you can select an organization you are affiliated with and you should select Loop It Up. 
 
INTERACT SPEAKERS NEEDED!
Bret Bell shared information on behalf of Bea Saba who is coordinating Metro's Interact Club, which is a Rotary Club for young people. It takes place once a month at Woodville Tompkins High School. Saba encourages you to consider speaking to the Interact members who are interested in all kinds of careers, but especially those in the career pathways that include architecture/construction, business and computer science, culinary arts, education, engineering and technology, family and consumer science, government and public service, healthcare services, and marketing, sales, and service. We have agreed to provide speakers for Oct. 23, Feb 5, and March 5th. Thank you to Jason Somers for being our first Metrotarian to speak to about 40 students on the construction industry. Jason discussed safety (OSHA 10 hour class) and soft skills (importance of showing up on time, communication, follow-through with promises/commitments).
 
METRO SOCIAL - CANDIDATE MEET & GREET
While Rotary International, as well as our own club, are decidedly NON-POLITICAL, local politics and policy affect us all. Because so many of our members are not only impacted by, but also engaged and interested in City of Savannah politics, and because many candidates have reached out and expressed interest in connecting with our club, we extended an invitation to all registered candidates for the upcoming local elections to join for an informal networking social at the Top Deck rooftop bar at the Cotton Sail.  Thanks to everyone who came out!