Home Page Stories
Great things are happening with the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry!  Welcome to our newest member, Peggy Bartz - she was a member of a Rotary Club in Clarkston, Michigan for 16 years (they also met in the morning).   
Our member, Peach Morrison, presented a wonderful program for us - she is the Executive Director of the SC Lowcountry Tourism Commission.  We are so fortunate to live, work and play in a beautiful location!
Did you have to do a double-take?
 
 
Our awesome club member, Randy Otto, performing as Winston Churchill for our regular meeting recently.    Bravo!! 👏👏
First Friday in February was Fantastic!  The Interact Club Board Members joined us for our breakfast meeting.  
Dana Bolden was installed as our newest member,  and two members (Andy and Doug) were recognized with Paul Harris pins.
Scott Shipsey is having so much fun with Rotary Reader!! 
Scott has been actively reading with the school children at not one but three different schools — St Helena, Lady’s Island and Coosa Elementary Schools. 
If you would like to be a volunteer, see Scott for more information- it’s easy to sign up and so rewarding!
Dick Deuel, Past President, chose Dec 22, to present checks to the Lowcountry Rotary 2023 Fundraising Recepients.  How appropriate as December is National Giving Month!  There were 14 organizations selected this year and only 3 weren’t available to attend our morning meeting.  Congratulations to all and thank you for your service to our community.
 
Let’s hear it for our Connie Hipp!!  What a great meeting with Connie discussing the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program.  She graduated in the second class, 1987, and has since served for the past 37 years as the volunteer Co-Program Director.  Her enthusiasm and energy is contagious as she beams talking about Leadership Beaufort.  Many of the Rotarians in our Club are graduates.  We are proud that Connie is a Honorary Member of the Lowcountry Rotary Club.  Thanks for the meeting introduction Bill Gossett. #leadershipbeaufort 
Volunteer Saturday!! Thanks to all of our members who donated their time this past Saturday for the annual “ringing of the bell” for the Salvation Army!  Kathy & Doug and Jeff and Valerie had the perfect weather day!  #givebacktoyourcommunity #volunteer #salvationarmy
Congratulations to our club under the Leadership of last year’s President, Dick Deuel.  Kerry Bunton, Foundation Chairperson, presented him with awards:
The Rotary District 7770 Club Leadership Citation and the Rotary International Presidential Citation, as well as the 5 star Rotary Foundation award.  🏆🎉👏 #givebacktothecommunity #rotaryclub #smallclub
Our 26th Annual Lowcountry Rotary Club Family Oyster Roast is coming up on Saturday November 4th, 2023 from 3-7 PM at the Live Oaks Park in Port Royal, SC.  Tickets are available at Palmetto State Bank on Lady's Island or Bay Street Jewelers in downtown Beaufort.  A limited number of tickets will be available at the gate for $45 on Saturday.  Don't miss it!
Congratulations to Oyster Roast chairperson, Pinky Harriott and the committee for a fantastic event!  The weather was great; the crowd was big; the oysters, hotdogs and chili were plentiful; the drinks were cold; the music was perfect; and the auction items were exciting!!   Bringing the community together to raise awareness of our Rotary club’s mission and to raise funds for local charities is so rewarding! 🌭🦪🍻🍷 Thank you to our Sponsors, Club Members, Spouses, Interact Club and Attendees for your support!! 
You're invited to participate!  Thank you to David Edwards, local Coordinator for Wreaths Across America at the Beaufort National Cemetery for sharing his message and enthusiasm for this wonderful program.  This year approximately 3,900 locations will participate across the U.S. in Wreaths Across America; 3.8 million wreaths were placed at gravesites last year. 
David has been involved with the program for 17 years and said it's a way to honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives for us.  On December 16, 2023, about 300 motorcycles and 4-5 freight trucks will enter the Beaufort National Cementery as a convoy to kick off the event, starting at 11:00 am.  You are invited to donate by sponsoring a wreath and/or come out and help to lay wreaths on the graves of the veterans (over 26,000 internments).  Please go to their website www.wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information. 
 
What an inspiring program!  Meet Fil Acker who shared his story about being diagnosed with polio at the age of 5 years old - he was in the hospital in Greenville, SC - in an Iron Lung 24/7.  Fil was able to leave the hospital after 3 months of treatment and lots of PT, encouragement and love from friends and family.   He thanked the Rotarians their continued support of Polio Plus.  
 

Kerry Bunton and Bob Bible recognized Chuck Raynor and Terri Stokes for contributions to the Polio Plus Society.
World Polio Day is Oct 24.
Oh what fun we had on Friday morning, Sept 21st.  We were graced by Bonnie Hargrove, the Director of the Center for the Arts for USC-B, along with Elaine O'Connell Lake.  Bonnie filled us in on the upcoming shows and events - how lucky are we to have Broadway shows, Children's Theatre, Adult Theatre, gallery exhibits, etc. right here in Beaufort...the list goes on with Beaufort Film Festival, Dancing with the Stars, Books Sandwiched in.   
Elaine, aka Mother Abbess,  ended our meeting with her beautiful voice singing, Climb Every Mountain from the Sound of Music - she was remarkable and touched our hearts!   
Check out their website at www.uscbcenterforthearts.com
 
 
Sept 29, 2023 we had the opportunity to hear the very moving story of two young people, Madison (18) and Jon Paul (19), who were tragically killed in an auto accident on 12/4/21… by a repeat offender who was driving at a high rate of speed while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.  James and Jennifer Klepesky, Madison’s parents, shared their vision to keep Madison and Jon Paul’s memories alive through creating Madison’s Miracles, Inc.  Their hearts are full of compassion.  There are so many ways you can get involved:  www.Madisonsmiraclesinc.org
Provide Educational Scholarships, Safe Driving Education, Assist with the Cost of Prom for Underprivileged Students just to name a few.  
Thank you to Julianne Clark and Randy Ott for teaming up for the very meaningful program.  

Did You Know - Beaufort has a National Park?

Chris Barr, the Chief of Interpretation at the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park in Beaufort, was our guest speaker this past Friday. 

Chris has only been in Beaufort since 2019, but he is a wealth of information!  He has the passion, energy and knowledge to keep you on your toes - Chris filled us in

on our very different National Park as it’s not in one location but several including Craven Street Visitor’s Center, Camp Saxton in Port Royal, Darrah Hall at Penn Center, and others.  This may call for a field trip!  Pictured above are President Bob Bible, Park Ranger Chris Barr and Rotarian Terri Stokes. 

Busy 
 
 
 
 
BUSY - As defined in the Oxford Dictionary "having a great deal to do."  Yes, the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry has been busy!  
 
Sept 11, 2023, we had 10 members and one spouse participate in the Patriot Day event in the Beaufort Waterfront Park.  They volunteered to be flag bearers for our Club along with the Exchange Club, Lions Club, Beaufort Rotary Club, Boy Scouts and the Sea Island Rotary Club.  It was a very touching and moving community event to honor and remember those who died on 9/11.
 
On Saturday, 9/16/23, we had 4 Rotarians, 1 spouse and 62 Interact Club members participate in the Walk for Water held in Port Royal at the Live Oaks Park.  This is the 7th annual Walk in Beaufort and we are so proud of those who gave of their time raising money for this mission and of their time to walk.  Pictured from our Club is Dick Deuel, Bob and Colleen Bible, Doug and Kathy Crowley. 
 
 
 
 
 
Doug Crowley was recently recognized as a Charter Member of the Polio Plus Society.  Kerry Bunton, Foundation Chairman, presented Doug
with a pin for his commitment to making an annual contribution to Polio Plus.  See Kerry if you are interested in becoming a Charter Member - join the effort to End Polio Now!
Oh Happy Day!!  We had the pleasure of District Governor Lou Mello visiting our club on Friday, August 18th.  He has his priorities in order to 
make this a great year for District 7770:  from Membership to Foundation, to Public Image, and many other initiatives such as Service Projects.  We were energized from just reading his tremendous Rotary bio, but now we are ready to meet the challenge he has put before us!  
 
Foundation Chairman, Kerry Bunton, had the distinct privilege of awarding 3 Paul Harris Fellows:  Scott Klumb, a Paul Harris Society member, received his 4th Level Pin;  Doug Crowley was recognized as a 5th Level donor; and Steve Keeler for his tremendous heart of Service Above Self with his first PH Fellow.  We are so proud of all of these outstanding Rotarians!  
 
We are looking forward to an interesting program August 25th - William Fugate is the Business Development Manager for Skydrive.    Please come join us!  
Friday, August 11th brought a lot of excitement to our club with a new member and a new incoming Exchange Student! 
 
Welcome to Randy Otto, who recently moved to Beaufort from Wisconsin (where he was a Rotarian for 23 years) - Neil Lipsitz,
Membership Chair, had the honor of inducting Randy into our club.  Randy said he really enjoyed our club as it reminded him of
his previous club, and we are a lot of fun! 
 
Thank you to Kate Samuel, who serves on the Dist 7770 RYE Committee, for introducing our inbound Rotary Exchange Student,
Eliza (aka Liza) Tymburib from Brazil.  She will be attending Beaufort High School this year.  Kate was our Rotex to the Canary Islands,
Spain several years ago.  Abby Chiaviello attended our meeting as well, as she was our Rotex to France (attending Clemson now).    
In June we celebrated our new Rotary year with a Change of Watch Ceremony, welcoming Bob Bible as our incoming President for 2023-24 ensuing year.   He has a wonderful slate of officers to help guide and lead our Club:
 
President Elect - Pinky Harriott
Secretary - Ron Bridges
Treasurer - Doug Crowley
Past President - Dick Deuel
Sgt-at-Arms - Scott Klumb
Foundation Chair - Kerry Bunton
Public Image Chair - Pinky Harriott/Terri Stokes
Membership Chair - Neil Lipsitz
Service Projects Chair - Kathy Crowley
Youth Exchange Officer - Laura Fanelli
 
We are so proud of Kerry Bunton to be named Assistant Governor!   
 
We kicked off our volunteer activities with the Annual Beaufort Water Festival in July with serving beer for two nights:  Motown Monday and 
the Talent Show (where our very own Jeff Althoff is the MC);  we always enjoy teaming up with the other two local clubs to serve Lowcountry Boil on Thursday night.  
Chuck Raynor keeps us motivated with our monthly Adopt-A-Highway - we look forward to Interact Club joining us again soon.  
Spanish Moss Trail Trash Pickup is weekly - Combining the Speaker Assignment with Spanish Moss Trail has been a win /win - so easy to
remember when your turn has arrived.
 
Terrific, Informative, Entertaining Speakers - Wow a great variety of speakers for July!
James Nutt - Beaufort Water Festival Commodore
Pamela Courtney - Port Royal Historic Society & Museum
Stacey Applegate - Freeman Arts District
 
Thanks Scott Klumb and Neil Lipsitz for a fun program August 4th in honor of Rotary Membership Month.
 
The Rotary Club of the Lowcountry welcomes visitors to our club!  Please join us on Fridays at 7:30 am at Sea Island Presbyterian Church on Lady's Island.    Questions?? - contact our President, Bob Bible at  reconmc@aol.com. Our next program is August 11th.  Check out our Facebook page,
Rotary Club of the Lowcountry - Beaufort. 
 
 
Many thanks to our tournament sponsors and volunteers for making this year's tournament the best ever!  We raised over $12,000 to battle Alzheimer's disease through the CART Fund for cutting edge research, and also will provide help to the local Alzheimer's family support agency, AFSGB.  Thanks also to the 23 teams who came out to Fripp Island's Ocean Creek course for a beautiful day of fun and fellowship, all for a wonderful cause.  
 
Our 18th Annual Memory Links Golf Tournament is scheduled for June 3, 2023 at Fripp Island Ocean Creek Course.  To register a golfer or a team of golfers, or for sponsorship opportunities, please email us at LowcountryRotary@gmail.com or call 843.252.8535 .  Click "Read More" to get a copy of this year's Registration Form and Flyer.
 

Welcome to Lowcountry Rotary Club!

Rotary Club of the Lowcountry is known as the little club that could. Although a small club we are very active in the community giving our time and funds we raise to local non-profit organizations. We gave over $30,000 in the 2021-2022 year to local non-profits as well as to the CART Fund for cutting-edge research to prevent, Treat, and cure Alzheimer's disease. We have also applied for and received Rotary District Grants for such things as the “Good Neighbor” Free Clinic, training materials for Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity, and for the Beaufort County School District 6th Graders Anti-Bully Program materials.  On an international level, our members personally donated and raised funds totaling over $15,000 collectively for The Rotary Foundation to support peace projects, maternal and child health, basic literacy, disease prevention, and clean water and sanitation.
 
Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.4 million members in 45,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto Service Above Self.
2023-2024 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL THEME
Club Information
Welcome to our Club!

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Fridays at 7:30 AM
Sea Island Presbyterian Church
81 Lady's Island Drive
Beaufort,, SC 29907
United States of America
CONTACT US
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Speakers
Mar 22, 2024
Happy Easter!
Mar 29, 2024
Executive Director-Beaufort County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Dept.
Mar 15, 2024
Shelter Box
Mar 08, 2024
President-Beaufort Symphony Orchestra
Mar 01, 2024
As Winston Churchill
Feb 16, 2024
March 2024
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