May 30, 2013


A FAMILY OF LAWYERS

May 25, 2013:  Reverend Rob Dewey introduced our Keynote speaker, Judge Bruce “Brucie” Howe Hendricks.  Judge Hendricks, a native Charlestonian, is a Federal Magistrate Judge.  Prior to her appointment to the Federal Bench, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney.  She spends most of her time handling Criminal Matters as directed by the District Judges.  She earned her Juris Doctor degree from The University of South Carolina School of Law and is married to Teddy Hendricks.  Judge Hendricks and Teddy have two children, a daughter who is studying for the Bar Exam and a son who is studying for the LSAT.    
 
Judge Hendricks commenced her remarks by praising the work of Reverend Rob Dewey and his accomplishments with Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy.
 
Judge Hendricks grew up in a family of lawyers:  “One of the things I learned growing up in a family of lawyers is that we are guardians of others.  We have thoughtful concern for one another and we are service professionals.  An ideal lawyer is a collegial one,  one that serves other lawyers in need and slows down to help.”
 
Judge Hendricks brought up the “good ole days,” when friends actually took time to visit and converse.  She referred to it as a “quieter, gentler time.”  Judge Hendricks believes those days of social gatherings with colleagues should not end and that we should appreciate each other both personally and professionally.  She mentioned the importance of friendship with both peers and elders and emphasized not forgetting about personal touches.  
 
Judge Hendricks learned from her family, the role of lawyers in society.  “Law touches every aspect of our lives.  Whether we buy a car, travel, turn on a light, or cross the street – we are all consumers of the law, because everything we do is affected by the law.” 
 
In October of 2004, the Post and Courier published an article which discussed Judge Hendricks’ father, Arthur G. Howe, and his role as former Ninth Circuit Solicitor.  The article emphasized his protection of the innocent and prosecution of the guilty.  Rumor has it that her father would take fruit baskets to men whom he had prosecuted.  Judge Hendricks feels that her dad taught her compassion and not to kick people when they are down.
 
Judge Hendricks started The BRIDGE Program, which is one of the nation’s first Federal pre-conviction drug courts.  Judge Norton and Judge Duffy asked Judge Hendricks to help facilitate this program which seeks to identify criminal defendants whose criminal activity is related to substance and/or drug abuse. 
 
The Program is unique in that it builds a close collaborative relationship between a team of criminal justice and drug treatment professionals.  If the team approves, the criminal defendant can voluntarily participate in the program which involves weekly and intensive drug and alcohol screens, weekly appearances in court to report their progress, and participation in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.  By helping to break the cycle of criminal behavior, alcohol and drug use, and incarceration, the Program ultimately reduces crime by lowering re-arrest and conviction rates, improving substance abuse treatment outcomes, reuniting families, and finally producing measurable cost benefits.  We are saving $2.21 for every $1.00 spent on Drug Court, which is a 221% return.  Judge Hendricks states, “The cold hard truth is that Drug Court saves money.  Prosecution is expensive.  Jail is expensive.  Rehabilitation saves money.”  
 
Reported by Molly Blatt (guest of Abby Edwards Saunders)

May 24, 2013


The University of South Carolina

 May 21, 2013: The University of South Carolina President, Harris Pastides, spoke to the Rotary club about his optimism and the great momentum underway at the university. Dr. Pastides completed all of his graduate work at Yale University and has been USC President since 2008.  Currently, there are 32,000 students on the Columbia Campus with more students at seven other campuses around the state. At the recent graduation ceremonies he shook the hands of over 6,000 students!  Dr. Pastides envisions a better economic recovery in South Carolina than many places in the country, he noted that jobs are coming back and students are applying to USC in record numbers. Over 23,000 students have applied for the incoming Freshman class, and 5,300 applicants have already received acceptance letters have mailed their deposit. Dr. Pastides joked that if all of these students attend the university, it will be “snug.”  He anticipates that the university will grow to accommodate 5,000 Freshman each year. With costs of private colleges booming up to $50,000 per year, 97% of USC students are utilizing the $4,000 per year SC Lottery tuition assistance.
 
The university’s applicants include honors students as well as solid students with an incoming SAT average of over 1200. Great attention is also being given to students who need assistance.  Since the greatest percentage of student dropouts occurs after the Freshman year, attention is being given to counseling incoming students with an emphasis on staying healthy, keeping on task and beginning the semester with strong start. Nationwide, we are seeing fewer college graduates due to the cost of college, the cost of student loans and the shortage of immediate jobs.  At the same time, foreign students from China, India and Brazil are applying in record numbers and arrive with their full costs paid!  Thus, the challenge for US colleges is to be competitive as well as to maintain high student retention rates.  
USC is starting a new on-line program that focuses on students who left college due to job moves, family financing, etc. This will enable those in the workforce to complete their education remotely.  Although not every field is available, nursing, criminal justice, business and human resources are currently being offered.  Unfortunately, people in other fields of work, who want on-line education, are forced into the more expensive for-profit colleges. Although the public higher education system has a long road ahead of working to provide more opportunities for these students, USC has made an excellent start.
 
The second new USC program “ON YOUR TIME,” encourages students to apply their high school AP course credits and graduate in a shorter period of time. The “four year” college schedule is not cast in stone. With costs as high as they are, students are being encouraged to plan their education in the most economical way, including maximizing the use of summer programs as USC has increased its “year around” offerings.
 
[Reporter’s personal note: “As a life-long educator who specialized in education administration I want to state that our state is fortunate indeed to have Dr. Pastides as the President of USC!”  Fred Sales, Ed. D.]
Reported by Fred Sales, Keyway Committee 

May 17, 2013


Honoring Chas County Teacher of the Year & Rotary Scholars

May 14, 2013: Today, the Rotary Club of Charleston was proud to honor outstanding Charleston County teachers and scholars.  Nancy McGinley, the superintendant of Charleston County Schools and a member of our Historic Rotary Club was our speaker and presented each of the award recipients.  Nancy noted that her goals for Charleston County students are for them to be both academically competitive and compassionate.

The first student honored was Rae-Nessha White from Burke High School.  She has been taking advanced placement classes and will already have six college credits when she attends Clemson in the fall where she will be studying Pre-Professional Health Studies.  Rae-Nessha gave much credit to her history teacher, Mr. Fields, for challenging her.  She was characterized by the terms radiant, adventurous and enthusiastic.

Mary Schweers from Ashley Hall introduced the next scholar, Chris Quinn.  Chis exemplifies the Rotary motto of service above self.  She spearheaded a Dragon Boat campaign that raised $2,700 for cancer research, served breakfast at the soup kitchen, and took mission trips to New Jersey, Kentucky and Maine.  Chris will be attending Bucknell in the fall, where she hopes to play volleyball.
 
Skylar McClain was the next scholar honored and was introduced by her coach, Will McCombs from First Baptist.  Skylar has attended First Baptist since the first grade.  She is a golfer and was characterized as having a relentless pursuit of excellence.  She has 38 hours of dual credit at Trident Tech and was a member of the National Honor Society.  Skylar has gained a true appreciation for our beautiful city and its history while working as a tour guide at the Edmonston-Alston House.  She was also closely involved with the Folly Beach Surfers Healing group for autistic children.  Skylar will be attending USC Honors College in the fall.
 
The last scholar, Colin Wallace, was introduced by her service coordinator at Porter Gaud, Gretchen Tate.  Colin amassed 120 service hours while at Porter Gaud by working with the Miracle League, Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics and Pet Helpers among others.  She was characterized as dedicated, selfless and having a passion for service.  Colin enjoyed alternative spring breaks, traveling to Costa Rica and Nicaragua to help children in need.  She received a Richards Memorial Award for $3,000 for her help with schools in Tanzania.  Colin will be attending Washington and Lee in the fall.
 
There were a total of five teachers honored including Angie Grimes, Melissa Yarbrough, Paul Pallagi, Teacher of the Year Runner-Up Kirk Lindgren and Teacher of the Year Lisa Trott.  Angie Grimes is a reading interventionist at Morningside Middle School.  She has also the founded of the Real Men Read book club.   Melissa Yarbrough is a third grade teacher at St. Andrews School of Math and Science.  Melissa was a state finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.  Paul Pallagi is a fourth grade teacher at Ladson Middle School.  Paul believes that teaching is a way of life and that teaching styles must adapt to different student learning styles.  Kirk Lindgren, Teacher of the Year Runner-Up, graduated from the University of Virginia and is a twelfth grade Physics teacher at Charleston County School of the Arts.  He believes in being well prepared, caring and positive.  Kirk has a strong sense of service above self and spearheaded the service projects at his school as well as being the wrestling coach.
 
The Charleston County Teacher of the Year is Lisa Trott, a fourth grade teacher at Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary.  She attended public schools here in Charleston at Mamie Whitesides, Laing, and Wando and is quite proud that her own children attend Charleston County public schools.  Lisa was a Journalism major at USC and CofC.  However, motherhood moved her in the direction of becoming an educator.  Instead of the three R’s, she believes in the three A’s.  Lisa believes that academics, arts and athletics make well rounded human beings.  She was also voted the Humane Teacher of the Year.   One gets the sense that her classes are enjoyed greatly by the students.  Lisa’s classes are nothing short of innovative and engaging as she will try just about anything to get the students involved in learning.  One can imagine learning about the protests of the 60’s and civil rights while singing along with Bob Dylan on YouTube.  Lisa said that one of their biggest challenges is staying a step ahead of students with so much technology at their fingertips.  More access to information seems to have led to an even greater demand for it. 
 
Reported by Doug Holmes, Keyway Committee

May 7, 2013


Picollo Spoleto Program

May 7, 2013: Ellen Dressler Moryl provided the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston with an overview of the 35th year of Piccolo Spoleto saying “Charleston comes alive with friends, strangers, visitors from around the world all celebrating diversity in the arts.”   Ms. Moryl is the Artistic Director Emeritus of the 2013 Piccolo Spoleto Festival and founder in 1979 of this annual festival.

She underscored the integration of so many organizations and individuals who make this citywide arts festival successful. Together with title sponsors Boeing and Publix, and other supporting sponsors from across the region, this year’s activities number more than 700 during 17 days beginning on May 24.

She highlighted a few events that are free to the public such as the new Jazz Picnic that will be held in Hampton Park form 6:00 – 10:00 pm on Saturday, June 1. And for the finale, people are invited to return to Hampton Park for Reggae and Motown Madness on June 8 at 8:00 pm.

Our club was also treated to a wonderful preview of a fun operatic aria “Trouble in Tahiti,” as part of “Island Magic,” performed with great humor and energy by Jennifer Lukin. 
 
From the Piccolo Spoleto website:
“The combination of historic Charleston’s old European charm and the world-class Spoleto Festival USA together produce a unique and impacting synergy for all who come to the city by the sea to experience this magnificent international multi-arts festival. But what really adds the ingredient of magic to the mix is Piccolo Spoleto, which provides access to the festival for every person, especially children.
Focusing primarily on artists of the Southeast region, Piccolo Spoleto is the perfect complement to the international scope of its parent festival and its 700 events in 17 days, transforms Charleston into an exhilarating celebration of performing, literary and visual arts. Piccolo Spoleto’s traditional program offerings include visual arts exhibits, classical music, jazz, dance, theatre, poetry readings, children’s activities, choral music, ethnic cultural presentations, crafts and film.”
For full information and tickets to all activities please visit: piccolospoleto.com.