General News » Capital Rotary Club

Lottery Chief Touts Public Gaming for Public Good

Sep 072017

Matthew Pollard (center), a member of Capital Rotary’s programs committee, welcomes South Carolina Education Lottery chief operating officer Tony Cooper (left) and assistant controller Brian Ford to the club’s Sept. 6 meeting. Cooper told Rotarians the lottery is not gambling but rather “public gaming for the public good” because proceeds fund higher education scholarships, K-12 school programs, and community resources including libraries and ETV. Since the lottery started selling tickets in January 2002 it has resulted in education appropriations of more than $4.6 billion to counties all across the state. Cooper has overseen day-to-day lottery operations since start-up. Previously he was executive director of the District of Columbia Lottery & Charitable Games Board and was president of the Powerball Game Group.

Minor League Baseball Honors Local Rotarian

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Sep 062017

Capital Rotarian Abby Naas has been named Female Executive of the Year for the South Atlantic League. Naas joined the staff of the Columbia Fireflies minor league baseball team in January 2015 as marketing and public relations vice president. She became a Capital club member later that same year. Naas now will be the South Atlantic League’s nominee for the Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year Award, an industry-wide honor presented annually by Rawlings and minor league baseball. Prior to joining the Fireflies, Nass was twice named Midwest League Female Executive of the Year while working for the Fort Wayne TinCaps in Indiana. (Photo courtesy of Columbia Fireflies)

Capital Rotary Tours Transitions Homeless Center

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Aug 302017

Transitions Homeless Recovery Center CEO Craig Currey (standing) briefs Capital Rotary members on what they’ll see during an Aug. 30 tour of the facility. Transitions aims to help the homeless stabilize their lives, increase their income and secure permanent housing. Currey said about 260 people can be housed at the site. Transitions serves more than 240,000 meals yearly while providing assistance with clothing, education and literacy skills, health, community resources, financial stability, safety and fun. Its day center program handles up to 150 clients. Transitions has moved over 1,700 people to permanent housing in the past six years and helped almost 6,000 achieve a more positive living situation. Capital Rotary’s tour was part of the club’s Fifth Wednesday program substituting local field trips in place of a regular meeting.

Hospital Association Chief Addresses Health Care Reform

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Aug 232017

As long as politics continues to overshadow sound policy, it will be difficult to pass meaningful health care reform in the United States. That’s what Capital Rotarians heard from their Aug. 23 guest speaker – Thornton Kirby. Kirby (right), shown with club member and human resources professional Trey Boone, is a health care attorney and former hospital executive. Noting that health care is one-sixth of the nation’s economy, Kirby said reform is also complicated by the public’s “three wishes” – (1) to have the world’s best health care, (2) to have someone else pay for it and (3) to not be responsible for changing their personal behavior to ensure better health. Kirby said a more “intelligent design” for reform would focus on affordability for employers, employees and government; on the clinical effectiveness of drugs instead of their marketability; and on promoting wellness behaviors in place of “sick care” emphasis. Kirby is president and CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association, a private, not-for-profit organization created in 1921 to be a collective voice for the state’s hospital community.

Capital Rotarians Get Cooper River Bridge Details

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Aug 162017

Guest speaker Dan Neal (center) shows a sample of rebar used in building Charleston’s new Cooper River Bridge to Capital Rotarians Tony Thompson (left) and Mike Montgomery at the club’s Aug. 16 meeting. Neal, design/management leader for the bridge’s 2002-2005 construction, said it was the largest project in state history at that time. About 80,000 vehicles daily cross the eight lane, 13,500-foot span connecting downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant. The bridge is 186 feet above the water to accommodate container ship traffic. Neal, a retired Navy captain, formerly was operations director for Richland School District Two and also served a term on the district’s school board.

Capital Club Welcomes Two Additional Members

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Aug 152017

EJ Newby (second from left) and Carol Caulk (far right) are welcomed to Capital Rotary membership, flanked by their respective sponsors, Craig Lemrow and Ione Cockrell. They’ve both been active in other clubs – Newby in Florence Rotary, where he was a board member and took part in a host of service projects, and Caulk in Columbia’s Main Street Rotary, where she was membership chairman and a board member. Newby is major gifts officer for Midlands Technical College and has been a Sunday school teacher for Northside Baptist Church. He and his wife, Mary, have three adult sons and five grandchildren. Caulk is director of workplace safety and wellness for Agape Hospice and LTC Health Solutions, with an extensive record of community service. She’s a 2009 graduate of Leadership Columbia, the treasurer for First Thursdays on Main Street and a board member for South Carolina’s Employers Advocate Association. She and her husband – Columbia Rotary member Glen Paul Caulk – have three children.

Rotary District Leader Lauds “People of Action”

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Aug 092017

Rotary members make a difference in the world because they are people of action, doing good in the spirit of service above self. That’s the message Rotary District 7770 Gov. Gary Bradham delivered to Capital Rotarians at their weekly breakfast meeting Aug. 9. An Air Force veteran and Rotarian for more than 10 years, Bradham said the organization’s “power and value” is in collective accomplishments that exceed what each club member might achieve alone. His goals as leader of 4,000 Rotarians districtwide include supporting club effectiveness and strength, promoting humanitarian service, and boosting Rotary’s public image and awareness. Capital Rotary was the 26^th club Bradham has visited since becoming governor earlier this summer. He and club president Blake DuBose (left in photo) also promoted attendance at next year’s district conference.

District Governor Sets Capital Club Visit

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Aug 032017

Rotary District 7770 Governor Gary Bradham will be guest speaker at the Wednesday, Aug. 9 Capital Rotary Club meeting. Bradham, a retired Air Force officer, has been a Myrtle Beach Rotary member since 2005 and previously served in district posts for membership and finance. He’s a graduate of the Rotary Leadership Institute and received several District Service-Above-Self Awards. District 7770 includes 80 clubs and about 5,000 Rotarians in 25 eastern counties of South Carolina.

Speaker Details Statewide Hospice Support

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Aug 022017

Capital Rotary program committee members Philip Flynn (left) and Mike Montgomery welcome guest speaker Elisa Strickler to the club’s Aug. 2 breakfast meeting. Strickler, who holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of South Carolina, is the Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation’s grants and programs specialist. She explained how the foundation provides finance, education, technology and bereavement support to patients and families facing terminal illness. Since its founding in Spartanburg in 2000, the foundation has grown to serve and enhance the quality of life for hundreds of families in every county of South Carolina.

Rotarians Told Richland Library, Community Ties Strong

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Jul 262017

Its connection to the local community was a key reason the Richland Library earned a 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the highest honor our nation gives to such institutions. That was the message Georgia Coleman delivered as guest speaker at Capital Rotary’s July 26^th club meeting. Coleman, chief customer officer, said the library is no longer just a repository of information, but also a place where patrons can learn, create and share their knowledge and skills with others. She outlined plans for branch library renovations and re-openings for 2017-2018, including a new Edgewood neighborhood facility in Columbia. Coleman said the library system is now recording over a million customer visits a year and expects continued program growth.

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