Jay von Kolnitz (left), a member of Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club for over 25 years, is congratulated by president Mark Bokesch for 18 years of service as sergeant at arms, a job that entails making preparations for weekly club breakfast meetings. Von Kolnitz, a retired executive for an asphalt manufacturer, also has hosted the club’s annual Christmas celebration for a number of years.
Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club now has a father-son team as Bud Foy (left) recently joined son Darren in the service club’s ranks. The elder Foy, a retired dentist, relocated to South Carolina after 47 years in California, where he was a member of the Rotary Club of Monterey for 24 years. Bud is a Batesburg native and earned his DDS from the Medical College of Virginia after graduating from Dreher High School and Wofford College (also Darren’s alma mater). A Navy and Vietnam veteran, Bud is a two-time Paul Harris Fellow whose wife, Linda, earned Paul Harris honors, too. The couple has three married children and six grandchildren.
Scott Wallinger (left), immediate past president of Columbia’s Capital Rotary, congratulates Dr. Tommy Gibbons, the club’s most recent member to be named a Paul Harris Fellow in acknowledgement of a $1,000 contribution to the Rotary Foundation. Gibbons, a native of Clarendon County’s Turbeville community, is President of Doctors Care and Chief Medical Officer at UCI Medical Affiliates, Inc. and Doctors Care, PA in Columbia. He has degrees from the College of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina and earned an MBA from the Darla Moore School of Business. A member of numerous medical professional organizations, he’s also been a volunteer for The Children’s Trust SAFEKIDS South Carolina, the DHEC Disease Prevention Committee and the Pandemic Influenza Task Force. He and his wife, Lorri, have two grown children.
Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation CEO Lou Kennedy (far right) conducts a tour for Capital Rotary Club members during a field trip to the 408,000 square foot West Columbia facility. Though still in start-up stages, Nephron represents a $313 million investment and presently has over 100 employees at the SC location. It will manufacture and distribute respiratory products, eye drops that are preservative and additive free, sterile injectable drugs and oral vaccines. Capital Rotary periodically tours various points of interest throughout the community.
Denise Holland, CEO of Harvest Hope Food Bank, is welcomed as the newest member of Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club by president Mark Bokesch (right) and by Chip Hardy, her sponsor for induction. Denise is a past board chair of the South Carolina Association for Non-Profits and worked for the American Red Cross for 16 years. A Palmetto State native and University of South Carolina graduate, Denise also has been a volunteer for the Souper Bowl of Caring and for Airport High’s School Improvement Council.
Our speaker on Wednesday morning was Mr. Gary Goodman, General Manager of the South Carolina State Fair. The SC State Fair is one of the only non-profit state fairs in the United States and they distribute their excesses to young people in South Carolina in the form of college scholarships – similar to the Capital Rotary wreath sales proceeds.
SC State Fair Dates: October 8 – 19, 2014
For more information: http://www.scstatefair.org
Our speaker on Wednesday morning was Mr. Lewis Gossett, President & CEO of the South Carolina Manufacturing Alliance. This Alliance is the state’s only statewide organization dedicated to the interests of manufacturers. Lewis served as the Director of the SC Department of Labor during the Beasley Administration from 1995-99 and was a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins law firm prior to becoming the SCMA CEO in 2003.
Mr. Gossett received his Bachelors of Arts degree from Furman University in 1987 and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1990.
Capital Rotary Club president Mark Bokesch greets Rotary District 7770 Governor Jimmie Williamson (right in photo) at a recent meeting in Columbia. A Cheraw resident, Dr. Williamson is System President/CEO of the SC Technical College System and has been a member of the international service club since 1996. Dr. Williamson encouraged support for district initiatives in 2014-2015 which include (1) raising funds for medical research grants seeking cures for dementia and (2) promoting literacy education in local communities and schools. He said Rotary International remains committed to Polio Plus, its worldwide effort to eradicate polio, along with membership growth and sharing of Rotary information with non-members over the next 12 months.
Capital Rotary members Chris Myers (far left), Chip Hardy (back row), and Jimmy Gibbs (far right) show Rotary Has Heart by packing food
Boxes at Harvest Hope Food Bank this morning. Assisting the group are (L-R) Hannah Kapp, Mary Stuart Hardy, Landon Hardy, and Tuller Gibbs.
This small team proved it can make a huge difference by packing 100 boxes in under an hour. Hannah and Landon are juniors at Heathwood
Hall, and Tuller is a sophomore at Ben Lippen.
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