The Capital Rotary Club of Columbia has sworn-in new officers and a new board of directors for the 2014-2015 Rotary year. They include (from left in photo) Neda Beal and Bryan Goodyear, directors; Jay von Kolnitz, sergeant at arms; Robbie McCullough, treasurer; Matt LaMarche, secretary; David Boucher, president-elect; Scott Wallinger, past president; and (not pictured) Jimmy Gibbs, director.
Our speaker on Wednesday morning was Mr. Carl Blackstone, President and CEO of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce. Prior to joining the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Blackstone worked as the government relations advisor for the clients of Copper Dome Strategies, LCC, a subsidiary of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. In that capacity, Mr. Blackstone assisted clients with legislative and other governmental actions before the South Carolina General Assembly, South Carolina Governor’s Office, and executive branch of the state of South Carolina. Prior to joining Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, Blackstone served as senior legislative advisor to South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford where he was the governor’s liaison to the South Carolina Senate and House of Representatives.
As an active member in the community, Blackstone currently serves as a member of the Riverbanks Society, the South Carolina Economic Developers’ Association, Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital board of directors and a member of First Presbyterian Church. He is also a graduate of Leadership South Carolina. Blackstone received his degree in business administration from College of Charleston.
Mark Bokesch will serve as Capital Rotary Club of Columbia’s president for 2014-15. He received his new president’s pin from outgoing club leader Scott Wallinger (right in photo) in late June. Bokesch joined Capital Rotary in 2004 and previously was club secretary and treasurer.
Originally from Mount Airy, NC, Bokesch earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina Law School and a Master of Taxation degree from the Moore School of Business. He is certified as a public accountant, valuation analyst and fraud examiner. He has worked for international and local accounting firms, with experience in the tax, business valuation and litigation fields.
Bokesch is a principal in the firm of Bokesch & Tipton, LLC, and also is a member of the Ebenezer Lutheran Church Foundation Board.
Capital Rotary Club member Scott Wallinger has earned Circuit Court Mediator certification by the S.C. Supreme Court’s Board of Arbitration and Mediator Certification. This designation allows him to assist parties and attorneys in resolving and mediating disputes as an alternative to civil jury trials.
His recent certification means more than 25 percent of Collins & Lacy attorneys are now certified mediators and are able to provide statewide mediation services.
A shareholder in Collins & Lacy, P.C., Wallinger is chair of the firm’s professional liability practice group. His law career has focused on complex litigation, representing healthcare providers, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, financial and investment advisors, attorneys, insurance brokers and agents. He has been recognized by Greater Columbia Business Monthly as one of the Midlands’ Legal Elite.
Wallinger has served as Capital Rotary president for 2013-14 and rejoined the club in 2010 after relocating from Charleston.
Tommy Phelps (right in photo), Rotary Foundation chairman for Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club, congratulates five club members recently recognized as Paul Harris Fellows in acknowledgement of a $1,000 contribution made in their names. The honorees include (from left) Gloria Saeed, Bryan Goodyear, Matt LaMarche, Robbie McCullough and Neda Beal. Paul Harris Fellow designation was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encouragement of substantial contributions to the Foundation and its programs.
Capital Rotary Adds Five to Paul Harris Fellows Ranks
Our speaker on Wednesday morning will be District 7770 Governor, Dr. Jimmie Williamson. Dr. Jimmie Williamson has been a Rotarian since 1996 having served as President of the Cheraw club, President-Elect of the Kingstree club (where Jimmie and I first became friends), Assistant District Governor for 3 years, and member of the nominating committee and the finance committee.
Jimmie is a Paul Harris Society member, a Benefactor and a Bequest Society member. He resides in Cheraw with his wife Kim and son, Jake. Another son, Jordan, lives and works in North Charleston. He has an undergraduate and master’s degree from Winthrop University, a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina and is an author of Roadways To Success, a text book for underprepared college students, now in its 5th edition.
He is a former member of the Winthrop University Board of Trustees and of the Chesterfield County School Board. Professionally, Jimmie spent 28 years in higher education as President of 2 technical colleges, left for a 6 year period in the business/healthcare world working at Agape Senior and currently works as the System President/CEO of the South Carolina Technical College System.
Capital Rotary’s speaker on Wednesday, June 18 was Lou Kennedy, President, Chief Executive Officer and Owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Mrs. Kennedy joined Nephron Pharmaceuticals in 2001, and accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2007. Having held a variety of marketing and operational roles during her career; one notable achievement at Nephron was creating a national sales force from the ground up, a rarity in the pharmaceutical industry. In the years following, this helped Nephron Pharmaceuticals grow by 300% and increased shipped product to one billion doses each of the last four years.
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Nephron Pharmaceuticals recently opened a state of the art manufacturing facility in West Columbia, South Carolina. Mrs. Kennedy was at the forefront of this expansion, which opened in early June 2014.
Along with her husband Bill, Mrs. Kennedy helped establish the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in conjunction with the USC School of Pharmacy. She serves on the Central Florida Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Advisory Board, Garnet Way Campaign, and the USC Mass Communications Construction Committee. A graduate of the University of South Carolina’s College of Journalism with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Mrs. Kennedy never shies from the opportunity to cheer on the Gamecocks!
Adam Dougherty has been named 2014 Rotarian of the Year by Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club. President Scott Wallinger (right in photo) made the plaque presentation at a club assembly June 25th. The award recognizes dedicated service and loyal devotion to the ideals of Rotary.
Dougherty joined the club in January 2010 and has served as chair of its annual Christmas wreath sales fundraiser. Profits from this project (approximately $15,000) go toward college scholarships for local students.
Dougherty earned an undergraduate degree in business and an MBA from the University of South Carolina. He is a territory manager for the John Deere construction and forestry lines at Flint Equipment Company in West Columbia.
Dougherty and his wife, Haley, have been married for 10 years and have three children.
Chris Ray, a 25-year member of Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club, has been recognized as a Major Donor for the service organization’s Rotary Foundation.
The foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports international humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs to promote world peace and understanding. It was created in 1917 and receives voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends who share its vision of a better world. A major donor is one whose cumulative giving reaches $10,000.
Ray is a past president of the club, also serving as secretary, treasurer and chair of its Rotary Foundation committee. He was a member of the club’s Scholarship committee for 18 years and is a member of the Paul Harris Society (donation of $1,000 annually to the Rotary Foundation).
Ray has been president and CEO for Receivables Management Corporation since 1992. The firm provides services to the accounts receivable industry with a focus in healthcare markets.
Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club has donated $1,215 to assist Harvest Hope Food Bank in meeting the needs of hungry people in the Midlands, Pee Dee and Greater Greenville regions of South Carolina.
The contribution was spearheaded by Rotarian Ione Cockrell, following a visit by Harvest Hope CEO Denise Holland, recent guest speaker at a weekly club meeting. Rotarians also helped pack food boxes earmarked for familiesHar – a volunteer project organized by club member Chip Hardy.
Harvest Hope began as a Columbia-area undertaking in 1981. Since then it has expanded to give food, comfort and hope to those affected by poverty and hunger across 20 counties. The food bank partners with nearly 500 member non-profit agencies. It distributed over 28 million pounds of food last year and fed approximately 38,000 people a week.
Present for the check presentation were (from left) club president Scott Wallinger, Ione Cockrell, Denise Holland and Chip Hardy.
Be sure to see the article on MidlandsBiz: http://midlandsbiz.whosonthemove.com/food-bank-donation-by-capital-rotary
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