2023 Golf TournamentOur 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.  |
17th Annual Memory Links Golf TournamentPlease join us for our 17th Annual Memory Links Golf Tournament at the Ocean Creek Golf Course on Fripp Island.  |
Oyster Roast Rescheduled!Ok Mother Nature wins and we call an audible. We have rescheduled our epic oyster roast until TOMORROW, Sunday, November 7, from 1-5pm.  Auction, music, beverages, oysters, and all the fun--except without the clouds, cold and rain! Join us tomorrow at Live Oaks--relax and enjoy some great food and fun.
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24th Annual Family Oyster Roast
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16th Annual Memory Links Golf Tournament |
Food Drive a Big Success!The Rotary Club of the Lowcountry recently put together a Food Drive for needy families in our area of Beaufort and Port Royal and the surrounding Sea Islands.  Members were asked to provide non-perishable food items and drop them off on Tuesday, November 10 so they could be donated. We are happy to report that we were able to deliver 4 overflowing shopping carts full of groceries to HELP of Beaufort, a local non-profit that provides a safety net for thousands of people in Beaufort County. This food will be distributed to those in need over the coming weeks. Donations are still coming in and we will be accepting non-perishable food items for a second drive to be finalized soon.  |
WE'RE #1 in Rotary District 7770The Rotary Club of the Lowcountry announced this week they are ranked the number one club in Rotary District 7770 in annual giving per capita to the Foundation. Rotary Club of the Lowcountry's total contributions to the annual fund of The Rotary Foundation reached $19,152.50, or $456.00 per member. This amount includes donations by individual members as well as a portion of net fundraising activities. Additionally, the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry contributed $1,543.00 to fight polio in the world, an effort that is matched 2 to 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Rotary District 7770 is comprised of 79 clubs and almost 3700 members. The Rotary Foundation, Rotary’s charitable arm, issues grants each year totaling over $86 million to support projects both locally and around the world focusing on 6 key areas: Preventing Disease, Providing Clean Water, Supporting Education, Growing Local Economies, Saving Mothers & Children, and Promoting Peace. |
CRAB RACE WINNERS!! |
CRAB RACE DAY!! |
WE'RE STILL MEETING!! (with ZOOM)Hey just because we're not getting out to Golden Corral doesn't mean that we still can't connect! Keep up to date with what our club is doing through our use of ZOOM Cloud Meetings. Check your email each week for the meeting link. Download the app on your phone or computer and join the meeting each week!
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Late Winter HappeningsHey Club Members! We here in mid-February and that means we're gearing up for the Port Royal Crab Race as well as several other opportunities to help meet our goals! Please help us get sponsors for the Crab Race, which will be held on April 18, 2020 in Battery Creek Port Royal, SC. This event is held in partnership with the Port Royal Soft-Shell Crab Festival which goes on for most of the day on Paris Avenue in Port Royal. Also on our schedule is helping the Beaufort Charities organization with their fund-raiser Oyster Roast in Live Oaks Park on March 7, 2020. Sign-up sheets have circulated at our meetings but there is still space left for volunteers at the beverage tent for shifts from 4-7 and 7-10 PM. Please help us fill up this list. Additionally, don't forget to do your part if you have signed up to clean up our adopted section of the Spanish Moss Trail (weekly) or our Adopt-a-Highway on March 21. Let's keep our club active in the midst of Winter her in the Lowcountry!
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Lowcountry Club Hits a Long Drive for CART FundThe Rotary Club of the Lowcountry recently finalized the proceeds for the 14th Annual Memory Links Golf Tournament. We added in our quarterly Blue Bucket contributions and the Grand Total is $10,091.00 !! Thanks to all our sponsors and golfers, and of course to all of our members and friends who helped put the tournament together. This event is a ton of fun for a great cause, so if you missed it this year mark your calendar for June 6, 2020.  For those who may not know, the CART Fund is an effort started by Sumter Rotarian Roger Ackerman to fund cutting-edge research for early detection, treatment, and cure of Alzheimer's Disease. Every penny donated to the CART Fund goes directly to a research grant. No donations are spent on administration or overhead. For more information on the work being funded, go to CARTFund.org |
Happy New Year!This Holiday Season was a very busy time for Lowcountry Rotary and our Satellite Club. We started off by helping lay wreaths at Beaufort National Cemetery as part of the Wreaths Across America effort. This was a record year at Beaufort National Cemetery with over 21,000 wreaths layed on graves to honor those service members interred here. Next, it was bell-ringing time at the Cross Creek Walmart. A tried and true indicator that Christmas is around the corner. Also, our members adopted the residents at two local assisted living facilities and took gift bags to those staying at Helena Place and Sprenger. The residents had made lists of things they could use like blankets, socks, shirts, tissues, cough drops, doggie treats for their pets, and of course candy! Our Satellite Club added to the effort at Sprenger by getting students from Port Royal Elementary to help deliver the gifts and to sing some carols.
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Lowcountry Rotary Recipe for 50,000 Meals!Take one Rotary Club of 47 members. Add an enthusiastic partner--a school full of energetic students, teachers, and parent volunteers. In less than 6 hours, The Rotary Club of the Lowcountry, in partnership with Riverview Charter School, helped fill and pack 50,000 meals in an effort for Rise Against Hunger. Rotarians, students, parents, and teachers all worked together in shifts throughout the day on Friday, November 8 until the total was reached. The gymnasium was a blur of activity as students cycled in and out for their shift. One student, Gabby, was heard to say “This is my favorite day of the Year!” After the plastic bags were filled with the flavor packet, freeze-dried vegetables, soy, and rice, they were taken to be weighed and sealed. Then the bags were packed into boxes and loaded onto the waiting truck. From there who knows where the meals will be consumed, but this is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable service projects our club will do this year! For more pictures from this event, please click on the Photo Albums tab labeled “Rise Against Hunger 2019” |
23rd Annual Family Oyster RoastBe sure to get your tickets for this year's Oyster Roast! Tickets are $30 in advance and you can pick them up at the Port Royal Police Department, Bay Street Jewelers, or Lowcountry Insurance. Here's a link to our ad which can be seen on WHHI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOWiaGoef3c  |
Little Free LibraryThe Rotary Club of the Lowcountry installed their Free Little Library Saturday morning at the Southside Dog Park in Beaufort. The library was completely crafted by hand by members Matt and Cheryl D'Angelo, who did a wonderful job building, painting, decorating and installing the library ---- the results are stunning and we hope folks of all ages enjoy the library for a long time to come.  |
CART FUND DonationsRotarians from the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry recently sent off our contributions to the CART Fund and Celebrated with a giant commemorative check! This amount is the total we collected through our blue buckets on the tables at each week's meeting, money donated in honor of our weekly speakers, plus proceeds from our annual Memory Links Golf Tournament. AS you may know, CART is an acronym for Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust. Every dollar donated to CART Fund goes to cutting edge research to find ways to cure, prevent, or treat this debilitating disease. Great Job, Lowcountry Rotary. Shown in the picture are District 7770 Governor David Tirard, Club President Cliff Mrkvicka, Immediate Past President Scott Klumb, and Area CART Fund Coordinator Steve Lanier. And don't forget the CART Fund gala on November 1. Contact Steve Lanier for details.
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Lowcountry Rotary Supports United Way in a BIG Way!Rotary Club of the Lowcountry recently presented a check in the amount of $12,800 to United Way of the Lowcountry to be distributed among several groups. Representatives from Friends of the Spanish Moss Trail, Adaptive Gold Experience, Habitat for Humanity, HELP of Beaufort, Hopeful Horizons, CAPA, YMCA, Special Olympics, SMILE Mobile, Friends of Hunting Island, Wreaths Across America and Team Beaufort member and weightlifter Dade Stanley were in attendance. Money is raised by Rotary Club members through yearly fundraisers including Port Royal Charity Crab Race held in conjunction with the Port Royal Soft Shell Crab Festival and the Annual Family Oyster Roast held the first weekend in November. Rotary International is a service organization who values service above self. Rotary Club of the Lowcountry meets Friday morning at 7:30 am at Golden Corral on Robert Smalls Parkway. The club always welcomes people interested in becoming members.  Team Beaufort weightlifter Dade Stanley pictured with his mother and Team Beaufort weightlifting coach Ray Jones.  Club President Cliff Mrkvicka presents the check to United Way of the Lowcountry Philanthropy Specialist Mae Armoly Young. |
Next Big Fundraiser November 3rd |
We're #1Rotary Club of the Lowcountry received the District 7770 Club of the Year award for medium size clubs at the District Conference held in Myrtle Beach recently. This is the first time the club has earned this distinction. The award was given for outstanding commitment to excellence, impactful leadership and unparalleled service to the ideals of Rotary and Rotary District 7770. The theme of Rotary for 2017-2018 is “Rotary: Make a Difference.” Rotary Club of the Lowcountry is proud to have “Made a Difference” in the Beaufort community.  Rotary Club of the Lowcountry members attending the District Conference include Paula Bunton, Kathy Crowley, Michelle and Cliff Mrkvicka, President-elect, Assistant District Governor & Past Club President Charlotte Gonzalez, Kathryn Parker and Past President Kerry Bunton. |
Tis the Season--For Service!!The Rotary Club of the Lowcountry celebrated an extra busy day of fun, fellowship, and music on December 16th, starting the day early with Adopt A Highway, and braving the bone chilling cold weather along with our wonderful Beaufort High School Interact Club. Immediately after, our members took different shifts ringing the bell for Salvation Army. Santa’s elves were out in full force, complete with a singing, guitar-playing elf leading both volunteers and shoppers in Christmas carols and holiday songs. Our club always has a heartwarming time ringing the bell enjoying smiles and collecting donations for the bucket.  Lastly, on the busy agenda was our participation in Wreaths Across America at the Beaufort National Cemetery. Volunteers joined together to place a wreath on a veteran’s grave to say that veteran’s name aloud and take a moment to thank them for their service to our country. We thank everyone who participated in the busy day and continue to be amazed at the incredible generosity and service of our club members! Look for more photos in our Photo Albums. |
Oyster RoastSaturday, November 4th, Rotary Club of the Lowcountry is hosting it's 21st Annual Family Oyster Roast in Port Royal's Live Oaks Park on Paris Avenue. Gates open at 6 pm. Tickets are $30 and include all you can eat oysters, hot dogs, chili, beer and non-alcoholic beverages. Children under 12 are free. There will be a live and silent auction with lots of door prizes to be awarded. Music will be provided by Mike Kavanaugh. Last year the event saw record attendance levels.
 Tickets can be purchased at Port Royal Police Department, Bay Street Jewelers, Palmetto State Bank and Lowcountry Insurance on Lady's Island. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate. All monies raised benefit charities that help our neighbors here in the Lowcountry. Rotary Club of the Lowcountry is all about neighbors helping neighbors. Come out and support our community and enjoy some of the first, freshest oysters from our wonderful friends at Sea Eagle Market. |
LOWCOUNTRY ROTARY CLUB At the Water Festival Have you seen us on the Big Screen at the Beaufort Water Festival? Do you recognize some of our members? Would you like to learn more about the best Service Organization in Beaufort County (and in the World)? Get in touch with one of our 40 members and come for a visit. We meet almost every Friday morning at the Golden Corral on Robert Smalls Pkwy. Oh, and if you saw the video in Waterfront Park but didn't get the sound, you can watch it and listen in by clicking the YouTube link below. |
Welcome to Lowcountry Rotary!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 $40,000 in the 2021/2022 year to local non-profits. We have also applied for and received Rotary Simplified Grants for such things as the “Good Neighbor” Free Clinic and training materials for Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity as well as recently for the Beaufort County 6th Graders Anti-Bully Program materials. Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 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.
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14th Annual Memory Links Golf Tournament |
2nd Annual Brackets for BucketsCongratulations to Alice Howard for winning the 2nd annual Brackets for Buckets competition. The competition raised $85.00 to be donated to the CART fund in Alice's name. Thank you to all who participated in this fun event!   |
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12th Annual Memory Links GolfJoin Rotary Club of the Lowcountry at the 12th Annual Memory Links Alzheimer’s Benefit Golf Tournament. The tournament will be held Saturday, June 4, 2016 at Ocean Creek Course on Fripp Island. The entry fee of $85 includes cart, beverages, prizes, goody bag and lunch immediately after the tournament. Bring a team of friends and help us continue to raise money for Alzheimer’s research. Rotary has been a strong supporter of funding grants to research.
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The Four Way TestFour Way Test
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Important DatesImportant Dates
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agendaAgenda for January 7, 2016
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Focus on Jones Boxing AcademyRotary Club of the Lowcountry is proud to be a supporter of Jones Boxing Academy. The Club recently provided much needed cleaning supplies and financial support that will help the Academy meet their mission.
  The future goals that Jones Boxing Academy would like to achieve are being able to provide after school care/training, camps for at risk children, and camps for obese children. Anyone that is interested in Boxing Fitness (any age), Amateur (start at age 8) and Professional (18-35) Boxing Management can sign up by going to 17 A Eastern Road Beaufort SC 29906, email at jonesboxingacademyllc40@yahoo.com, or call (843)476-1868
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Great Day at the Beach!Almost half of our club (and several spouses) showed up to cook hamburgers and hot dogs for more than 100 volunteers who cleaned Hunting Island State Park on Saturday, May 30. We also hosted 14 kids from the CAPA shelter for a fun beach outing.
.jpg) Look for more photos in our photo album on the home page of Lowcountryrotary.org.
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2 Service Projects and a Social--In ONE Day!On Friday, April 24, we gathered in the morning for a very informative meeting on DragonBoat Beaufort, but right after work we got down to business. We landscaped our 2 entrances of the Spanish Moss Trail. Lowcountry Rotary adopted this section of the trail from Brotherhood Road to Riverside Drive last year and we spent a little time adding some plants that should make these two trail-heads more attractive. Be sure to take a look at the Photo Album on this event on our home page.
 Then, we moved on to Alice and Gene Howard's house for a social and another element to a service project. Our club is donating about 140 books to the Beaufort County School District to support our Anti-Bullying initiative. We took a little time out from the social to put some "Donated by Rotary Club of the Lowcountry" stickers inside the front cover of each book.
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Lowcountry Rotary sponsors New Years FireworksLowcountry Rotary is sponsoring a new event in Downtown Beaufort this year! Founders' Night Fireworks in Waterfront Park, a joint effort with the City of Beaufort, the Beaufort Tricentennial, and the Lollipop Shop. From 5-7 PM our club will be serving hot chocolate and around 7 PM we want you to sit back in your lawn chairs and look to the sky for the fireworks show!
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Nocturnal Animals Education
Rotary Club of the Lowcountry was excited to have Nancy Owens educate us on the owls and bats that live in our beautiful part of the world. It was wonderful to have a chance to see these nocturnal animals up close.
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Beach Sweep 2014 Fall EditionWith a beautiful overcast sky as a backdrop, 18 Rotarians, spouses, friends and family gathered at Hunting Island.
 We cooked delicious hot dogs and hamburgers for 160 hard-working volunteers who cleaned up litter from the beach, hiking trails, and the marsh boardwalk. Be sure to go to the Photo Album tab to see all the pictures! As you will see, it was a little bit of Rotary and a whole lot of fun! |
Ice Cream SocialOur ice cream social was a cool event on the hottest day of the year! With the temperature at a sweltering 98 degrees, we found several ways to cool off. After inducting our newest member, Cliff Mrkvicka, members and guests chilled by enjoying ice cream with loads of delicious toppings. And if that didn't do the trick, about a dozen members took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
 Welcome Cliff and Michelle! Look for all of the pictures in our photo gallery. |
Lowcountry Supper at Water Festival 2014 |
Rotary International Spouse Service AwardPaula Bunton, spouse of Rotary Club of the Lowcountry's member Kerry Bunton was honored with Rotary International's Spouse Service Award last night. Lou Mello was on hand at Area 5's Joint Installation Dinner to present the award which is one of only 100 given worldwide. We are so very proud of her and truly appreciate all she does for our club.
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Alzheimer's Benefit 10th Annual Memory Links GolfLowcountry Rotary's 10th Annual Memory Links Golf Tournament was our biggest ever!
 With 27 teams competing for prizes and having great fellowship at the Ocean Creek Golf Club on Fripp Island, this event has become the "funnest" golf tournament in Beaufort County. But most importantly, all of the proceeds from this event go to two great organizations. First, we donate to the CART Fund which was started by a Rotarian in Sumter and uses 100% of donations to fund cutting edge research to seek early detection, promising treatments or cures for this awful disease. The CART Fund has been the largest non-governmental provider of grants for Alzheimer's research in the USA. Second, we also donate funds to the local support agency, Alzheimer's Family Services of Greater Beaufort (AFSGB). Currently, AFSGB offers 3 days of group respite care; a maintain your brain group for those recently diagnosed, or anyone wanting to stimulate and promote a healthy brain; home education and training programs for the community and for medical personnel are also available by special arrangement.Our tournament would not happen or be successful without local companies and individuals stepping up to help sponsor our event. Many thanks to Hargray, Hanna's Day of Hope, and Gene Rugula for being our major sponsors. Also, our putting contest was sponsored by Bay Street Jewelers and they provided a beautiful necklace and earring set AND a matching ring that was the prize for the Ladies' Longest Drive Contest.
Individual hole sponsors were Crowley Wechsler & Associates LLC, Jatin J. Patel CPA, Trask & Lynn CPA, Paula Bunton & Jerry Mott, Stokes Brown Toyota, Complete Air LLC, O C Welch Ford , Benjamin Kolb, Smoak Morris Hughes LLC, and Michael Bestwick for the YMCA, and our local PEPSI distributor.
Here is a list of our winners:
 Look at pictures from the event in our Photo Album. We should have the final numbers soon and get the funds out to our two recipients soon.
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Beach Sweep Fun, Food, and Fellowship As one of our past District Governors would say, we had "a little bit of Rotary and a whole lot of fun!" About 1/3 of our club showed up on Saturday morning to cook Hamburgers and Hot Dogs for the many volunteers at the semi-annual Beach Sweep at Hunting Island State Park. At last count we cooked 160 burgers and 120 hot dogs for the hungry crowd, who cleaned hundreds of pounds of litter from the beach, trails, roadsides, and marshes around the park. From Boy Scout Troops to a large group of Wade Hampton High Schoolers, the volunteers worked all morning picking up litter before the start of the summer season.Many thanks to Jeff, Alan, Dick & Gayle, Kerry & Paula, John & Rena, Frank, Bill E., Bill G., Charlotte, Elliot & Pam, Jerry, Chuck, and Alice for pitching in for this event.
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Thanks for supporting the Crab Race!Thanks to all who supported the Crab Race at the Port Royal Soft-Shell Crab Festival on Saturday, April 19th.
For more info on the results, go to www.PortRoyalCrabRace.com
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Adopt-A-HighwayOnce a month the Lowcountry Rotary, partnering with the Interact Club of Beaufort High School, cleans up a section of Sea Island Parkway and Youmans Road near the two entrances to the school. We normally schedule this on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 8:30 AM during the school year and 8:00 AM durng the summer months. We meet at the Seaside Vineyard Church parking lot (the former Lady's Island Cinema).
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Quote of the Week - Who Said It?
We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.
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Thought for the Week - Who Said It?
An optimist is the human personification of spring.
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Anti-Bullying CampaignRotary Club of the Lowcountry partnered with Beaufort Country School District who worked with Beaufort High’s Performing Arts Theatre Group to put on an assembly that every 6th grader in Beaufort County was invited to attend. Beaufort Middle, Lady’s Island Middle Robert Small’s Middle and Whale Branch Middle Schools all attend presentations at Beaufort High’s Performing Arts Center. The Theatre Group put on thought-provoking skits and involved the students and the teachers. Beaufort High’s Theatre Group and Rotary Club of the Lowcountry then traveled to Bluffton Middle and Hilton Head Island Middle to put on the same presentation. The teachers were in attendance at the assembly as well since they are seeing some of these bullying behaviors taking place but unaware of the really harm being caused and may be turning a blind eye to the situation. The program was designed for the teachers to take action, let the victim know they don’t have to tolerate being treated this way, encourage bystanders who see something to say something and to let the bully’s know that this sort of behavior is not to be tolerated. Rotary Club of the Lowcountry distributed anti-bullying activity books and bookmarks to each student as they exited the assembly. The school district also had the Rotarians distribute arm bands that had an anti-bullying message and telephone number listed in case they wanted to speak with someone outside their school. Last year, the drama group performed in front of all the 6th graders in the entire school district, at the Rotary District 7770 Conference in Myrtle Beach, and at the Zone 33 Rotary Peace Symposium in North Carolina.
For a clip of the skits, see the link below:
Check out their article in Bluffton Today: |
Ice Cream SocialRotary Club of the Lowcountry celebrated the beginning of the Labor Day weekend by hosting an at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club. In attendance were club members, past members, friends of the club and potential members for a fun-filled evening of ice cream and swimming
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