Announcements from Aug 20 Meeting

Committee Reports

President Will Groover kicked off the meeting reminding us that September is Basic Education & Literacy Month as well as encouraging us to engage in our chapter by bringing a guest, directly donating to the Rotary Foundation (click here), or joining the ASP Fundraiser Committee! We welcome District 6920 Governor Heather Kellen as our next speaker, who, along with Lions District 18-N Governor Shellie Smith, are working together to collect food to fill food banks, feed first responders, and serve their communities' food insecurity needs. The two governors are holding a “friendly competition” to see which service organization can donate the most items. Will also mentioned that they are still looking for host families for the weekend of Oct. 14th. 
 
 
Our Annual Service Partner Brightside's newest Bright House on Wheaton St. is close to being ready to receive people in need of service. Our final service day at the home is Oct. 1st, 9:00am-12:00pm, with the official ribbon cutting on Oct. 7th at 1:30 PM. 
 
 
 
Guests
  • Sondra Tackett a Registered Dietician, was guest of Katie Belthrop
  • Fitz Hale of United Way, guest of Kristen Crawley
  • Brooke Phillips Executive Director of Savannah Downtown Business Association, guest of Julie Wade
  • Wanda Jackson FSA Paralegal, guest of George Seaborough
 

Featured Speaker: Cristina Gibson, MPH

Cristina has been in public health for 19 years, in the divisions of epidemiology, youth development, and has finally found her passion in health promotion. She is the Chronic Disease Prevention Director for the Coastal Health District, serving all the counties along the coast of Georgia and her branch’s motto is “Make the healthy choice the easy choice.” Her current work involves increasing community assets in the way of opportunities for physical activity, access points to healthy foods, and smoke-free environments. Cristina shared statistics showing the impact of the smoke-free work place and Breatheasy Campaign on Chatham County over the past 22 years, specifically the decline in the death rate.
 
Unfortunately, vaping is still on the rise, especially among the youth especially with flavors marketed to appeal to younger persons. One in10 middle schoolers are smoking e-cigarettes, and one in four high school students are. Sadly, 63% of JUUL users aged 15-24 do not know that JUUL contains nicotine, and the FDA only began evaluating the chemical makeup ta few months ago (Summer of 2022). 
 
On a hopeful note, Cristina reported that "Tobacco 21" has been implemented, meaning you must be 21 years or older to purchase any tobacco products now. She also shared the following resources: