Capital Rotary Club

Our speaker on Wednesday morning April 15th was Columbia Fire Chief, Mr. Aubrey Jenkins. Chief Jenkins has been fighting fires for over 30 years and has served Columbia in the chief’s role since 2011.

About the Columbia Fire Department (from the CFD website): The CFD has over one hundred years of proud history serving the residents of the City of Columbia and Richland County. The CFD has changed along with the communities it serves over the years. We will continue to adapt our service delivery model to best meet the challenges we face each day. The personnel of this proud department pledge to continue to provide the best possible service to meet the needs of our citizens and visitors.  We stand ready to put ourselves in harm’s way to protect life, property and the environment.

More information about Chief Jenkins and the Columbia Fire Department

Courtesy: CFD

Our speaker on Wednesday morning April 1^st was Mr. Nelson Lindsay, Richland County’s Economic Development Director.   Mr. Lindsay took his position as Richland County’s first-ever director of economic development in 2011.

He came to us from Kershaw County, where he was the economic development director for the prior 14 years.  While in Kershaw County, more than $860 million in capital investment was announced and more than 3,200 jobs were added.

Our speakers on Wednesday morning March 25th were Dr. Kenn Apel and Danielle Vernedoe, both of USC’s Knowledge of Orthographic Learning Lab.  Dr. Apel serves as Professor and Chair while Ms. Vernedoe is the Senior Clinical Instructor.  The USC Center for Speech & Hearing, “provides quality diagnostic and treatment programs for individuals of all ages with communication disabilities.

Our speaker on Wednesday morning March 11^th was Ms. Karen Brosius, Executive Director of the Columbia Museum of Art.  Karen began her tenure with the Museum in early 2004 and came to the museum from Altria Group, Inc., New York, New York, where her most recent position there was Director of Media Relations. She has served as a senior philanthropic, arts, and communications executive at the company.

Her 21 years with Altria — parent company of Kraft Foods and Philip Morris — included tenures as Director of Corporate Affairs and Director of Corporate Contributions and Public Affairs. Prior to Altria, Ms. Brosius served as Public Affairs Officer for The Pierpont Morgan Library in New York and as Researcher for Research Foundation of the City of New York.  Ms. Brosius received a master’s degree, from City University of New York, Hunter College. She also attended the Juilliard School of Music; Ecoles d’Arts Americaines, Fontainebleau, France; Bryn Mawr, Avignon, France; and Butler University, Indiana.

Our speaker on Wednesday morning March 4^th was Mr. Michael Briggs, CEO of Central SC Alliance.  Since 1997, Mike Briggs has been the President and CEO of the Central South Carolina Alliance, a regional public-private partnership dedicated to representing the economic development efforts of the nine counties in the Central Region of South Carolina. Born in High Point, North Carolina, Mike came to Columbia in 1972 to attend the University of South Carolina receiving a BA in English in 1974. For the next few years Mike pursued graduate studies and taught at USC in the Government and International Studies Department, receiving a Master’s Degree in Political Science.

After completing course work and examinations toward the Ph.D., Mike left the University in 1981 to pursue a career at Anchor Continental Inc., a manufacturing company in Columbia.  Mike lives in Columbia with his wife, Lilla Ann, and they have four daughters. Throughout his years in Columbia, Mike has been actively involved in Shandon United Methodist Church as well as numerous civic and professional organizations.