October 28, 2011

Oyster Roast on the Charleston Harbor

October, 26, 2011: An evening social was held in lieu of our regular lunch meeting this week. Members and their spouses/guests enjoyed a lovely Fall evening on the Charleston Harbor at the Maritime Center. Guests were treated to a true Charleston experience ..... a lowcountry oyster roast with the first oysters of the season being cooked by local caterer, Jamie Westendorff.

A special thanks to Denise Barto and the entire Social Committee for all they did to make this such a spectacular evening for our membership. A great time was had by all those in attendance!

October 25, 2011

Cancer Avoidance & Wellness

October 18, 2011: Richard Dowell, chairman of our club wellness committee, introduced our wellness goals: to improve wellness through education and participation in wellness programs; to be a model for other Rotary Clubs; to focus on benefits of workplace, family and community wellness. He then introduced Dr. Michael Wargovich, the Director of the MUSC Cancer/Chemo Prevention Program at the Hollings Cancer Center.

His organization is a pioneer in cancer prevention: drug discovery from Ethnobotanicals in the developing world. He told of the connection of inflammation and cancer noting that chronic, clinically invisible unresolved inflammation may create a very high risk of cancer. Tumors corrupt the inflammatory pathway to survive. Persons in the SE portion of the USA are at high risk of stroke, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The high risk in the USA in general appears to be related to our affluence in that we have the money to eat whatever we want and we make selections poorly. Cancer is highly prevalent in Canada, USA and other highly developed areas and may be strongly related to our high use of processed foods.

As developing societies such as Mexico and India live longer, they will become more susceptible to cancer. The latest high risk areas are Japan, Singapore and China. There are many outstanding fruits grown in South America that the people have been eating for centuries, but it is now becoming more profitable to plant things eaten in America so that they can be grown in their summer which is our winter.

He is involved in ethnopharmacology: learning from traditional healers, research which studies the use of natural products in health care . Anti-oxidedant [why fruits turn brown] and Anti-inflammatory [acts as a pain reliever] are two words to remember. He stressed the value of Green Tea, which most of the world drinks, as being effective in preventing some cancer. The drinking of any kind of tea is beneficial. He also stressed RED in foods, such as red grapes and red wine. He recommends a glass of red wine or juice daily, as well as red fruits. Yellow, too, is important in the use of Turmeric, found in many Indian dishes. He further recommends buying local fruits and vegetables from Johns Island, and again stressed the use of Green Tea. Vitamins and pills are not going to save you, but eating healthy food will.

Submitted by Fred Sales, Keyway Committee

October 21, 2011

The Run for Mayor in Charleston

October 11, 2011: Term limits. Infrastructure priorities and budgets. Term limits. Cruise Terminal. Term limits. 526. Term limits…

Those were the recurring themes during a spirited and civilized debate among the candidates for the mayor’s seat in Charleston.

Sitting mayor, Joseph Riley, in his 36th year as mayor spoke eloquently about the main achievements under his watch and served an appetizer of initiatives to come.

In short order, each of the challenging candidates claimed variations of the call that "thirty-six years is long enough for one administration to accomplish its agenda…"

During the tightly run, expertly facilitated session, Rotarians Mark Smith (president emeritus) and Digit Matheny (timekeepe) the mayor and candidates had the opportunity to make opening remarks, answer questions from Rotary members and provide closing remarks.

The most challenging discussion points revolved around project priorities and related budgets.

Candidate Craig Jelks was the first to challenge the Mayor on the matter of fiscal resources: "Sir, I love you, but you're spending millions on the Crosstown, and we don't have enough to complete the 526 project, we have other budgetary demands…where are we going to get the money? Unless you have a magic wand, I don't see how all this is possible…"

In his confident rebuttal, Mayor Riley assured that audience that "we have carefully planned for these much needed projects and we have budgeted for them accordingly."

Candidate David Farrow began with a strong celebration of all of the Charleston residents, saying "Yeah, us…for maintaining an exceptional quality of life." He emphasized his position to help give a voice to the other Charleston, those less fortunate in the middle and lower levels of our community. Those he termed, "the forgotten ones of Charleston."

Candidate William Dudley Gregorie led his platform with "thirty-six years is too long a time for one mayor." If elected mayor, he said, "I would put the residents first, and I will not build legacy projects. We must complete the Market Street drainage project."

The Mayor and his challengers were asked several questions. A couple of highlights are below:

When asked if the city is at a point where we are catering to too many tourists, risking the quality of life in the Holy City, the candidates replied:

Mayor Riley: "No. We have the nation's first tourism management plan, and we are managing tourism very carefully..." Mr. Jelks: "We need to be very careful because the cruise ships could harm our community. We need to be careful about the environment." Mr. Farrow: "Tourism is important for the future of the city, but we need to fix the battery seawall, it's crumbling beneath us; we also need to fix the Crosstown. We need to be sure we cover the basics to remain attractive." Mr. Gregorie: "We need to focus on quality of life for all members of our community, and we must balance healthcare and education needs with the other priorities."

To the question of where to locate the cruise terminal, the panel responded:

Mr. Farrow: "We should place the terminal up at Columbus Street. That are desperately needs economic development. We need to focus on those areas that most need development and jobs." Mr. Gregorie: "Yes, Columbus Street has great opportunities for growth, we should consider that area." Mayor Riley: "We really should proceed with the terminal plans as they are spelled out today."

And to the question of how the candidates would promote growth job development, they replied:

Mr. Gregorie: "I'm a strong proponent of economic development we need to have the tax credits and other incentives in place to attract and keep businesses. We need knowledge-based businesses." Mr. Jelks: "We need to facilitate things for entrepreneurs," he said and emphasized that "dreams need a good wind." Mayor Riley: "We are privileged to have the top tourism ranking as published in the news today, and we need to be sure we continue to provide for the best quality of life for businesses and their employees."

In closing the session, President Patterson Smith acknowledged the gracious civility and time the candidates gave to our club, and he commended Facilitator Smith and Timekeeper Matheny for their abilities to move the program along so efficiently.

Remember Rotarians, get out the vote on November 8! It's our right and privilege to ensure the solid future of our community.

Submitted by Mark Danes, Keyway Committee

October 9, 2011

Dr. Pastides on USC

October 4, 2011: Dr. Harris Pastides, fellow Rotarian and President of the University of South Carolina, addressed our club today. He was named USC's 28th president in 2008 and was the first internal candidate to be elected in more than half a century. Before joining the South Carolina faculty, Pastides served as professor of epidemiology and chairman of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He received his master's of public health and his Ph.D. in epidemiology from Yale University.

With over 21,000 applications this year, the university currently has the largest number of students enrolled in history. The class of 2015 was selected from the largest, brightest and most diverse pool of high school applicants, ever, and there are more South Carolinians enrolled than ever before. There are eight campuses in the USC system, which totals over 47,000 students. Adding faculty and staff to that count would make USC equivalent in size to the fourth largest city in South Carolina.

USC's increasing attractiveness has been reflected in national publications and rankings. Last year, Princeton Review recognized USC as a top 50 "best value" public university. Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine described USC as a top choice in the nation and one that delivers the "best BA for the buck." The Carnegie Foundation gave USC the highest research designation and recognized it as among the nation’s leaders in providing programs that benefit and engage communities.

USC recently broke ground for the new Darla Moore School of Business. Pastides mentioned a few of the green initiatives slotted. The new building will generate as much energy as it consumes. Rainwater will be collected and used for irrigation and toilets. The building will be awash with windows to allow more natural lighting and the roof will include green turf to reduce heat buildup. Also through the generosity of alumna and highest benefactor, Darla Moore, USC has began planning the new Ronald E. McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research, which will help create a cluster of knowledge-based aerospace companies, including Boeing , by providing applied research and development, and by creating the aerospace future workforce.

Dr. Pastides spoke briefly about athletics at USC, noting the phenomenal baseball seasons of the last two years and remembering one of Coach Tanner's comments: "It's not about winning every game; it's about winning the important games." He hopes to have a fine football season. After all, the team has the size, speed, and strength to beat anybody …or lose to anybody.

11/11/11 is the grand opening for the capital campaign, which will be the largest in the history of the university. Pastides discussed sources of USC funding. State appropriations ranks fifth, with tuition ranking first, grants/contracts second, auxiliary services third, and philanthropy fourth.

Submitted by Loretta Wilson, Keyway Committee
Opportunity Next

September 27, 2011: Our very own David Ginn, President and CEO of Charleston Regional Development Alliance Group, was our speaker today.

In his leadership role with the CRDA, David works closely with the region's top business, academic and political leaders to shape and execute a comprehensive regional economic development strategy.

Before being named President and CEO of CRDA, David served as the executive vice president and project director for the organization.

David is from Atlanta, Georgia. He holds a degree in economics and international business from the University of Southern Mississippi. He also studied abroad at the London School of Economics. He now lives in Mt Pleasant with his wife Jean Marie and their two children.

On Tuesday David gave us a broad overview of the initiatives of CRDA.

David leads a team that serves as the catalyst of Long Term and Sustainable Growth in the Charleston three county markets. Their job is to market the region as a global competitive place for business and talent. The team facilitates the site selection process for companies considering locating to the area and they engage top business academic leaders in economic development.

David says what energizes him the most about his job, is that he gets to speak on behalf of our community and sell it as a global destination for business.

In our three county markets we have 27 cities with over 675,000 people making us the 80th largest metropolitan area in the Country out of 362.

What makes our area unique compared to the rest of the country is we are one of three locations in the world that construct wide body commercial aircrafts and test wind turbines and drive trains. Also our ports, the Medical University and the restoration institute test facility on the naval base are just a few more of our largest assets. These factors alone truly formulate our market as an International destination for business.

CRDA with the help of national business consultants and local task forces put together an economic development strategy for the region’s future.

The four Industries that we are competitive in and have core competencies that connects within our community according to CRDA includes: Advanced Security in IT (Spa War), Aerospace (Boeing), Bio Medical (MUSC), and Wind Energy (Wind Testing Facility on the Naval Base).

Submitted by Katie McCravy, Keyway Committee

Colleen Condon on Recycling

September 20, 2011: Unfortunately, due to a communication issue, The Keyway did not get published last week. We would like to thank our guest speaker, Colleen Condon, a member of the Charleston County Council, who spoke to the club on Sept 20 and brought us up to date with a interesting discussion on the increased re-cycling of paper, plastic, glass and aluminum. A major change is that it will no longer be necessary to separate paper from the other materials; everything will go into a single container. To implement this change every property owner will receive a new enlarged blue container with wheels. The new container will be delivered to everyone within the year. The county is enthusiastic about this new venture and looks for even greater participation by all.