President Kristin Keller called the meeting to order
The prayer was offered and pledge to the flag led by Kevin Courtney
Announcements:
Jon Eggert's birthday
Run with Bernie, our polio fundraiser is in full swing
Social - the first social of the year will be held on September 13 at Spanish Wells Club. Watch for more info
September 4 at 3 pm a Celebration of Life for Dr. Frances Ferrene at First Presbyterian Church will be held. Afterward there will be a Celebration party at The Taste of Europe, all are invited.
Rise Against Hunger Meal Packing - September 25 at the Rotary Community Center in Bluffton. Sign up to participate at a two hour shift. Our meeting that week will be canceled so that all can attend this event.
Lynn King announced that on Saturday September 4 there will be an opportunity to participate in Oyster Reef Building. Looking for people with boats. More details will follow.
Committee Sign up - Next week there will be sign up sheets to sign up for committees. Committee chairs will be contacted this week . Share your talents with the club and sign up
Bev James shared a letter from scholarship recipient Madeline Politzer. She thanks the club for the scholarship and is looking forward to the school year at Clemson.
Sergeant at Arms, Suzi Oliver collected Happy $$
Speaker:
Suzi introduced the morning's speaker, Roy Brown Jr. who is the Chairman of Operation Patriots FOB and his service dog Mya.
Roy has an impressive military record and experience with working with dogs. In 2002 he attended working dog canine class and in 2003 worked with drug detection dogs at the border. He deployed in 2004. He has transitioned to training dogs to be service dogs. He founded Operation Patriots FOB because he has lost more friends to suicide than during deployment.
The mission is to "create and foster positive experiences for combat Veterans by connecting through outdoor and recreational activities." They "create and alliance through peer engagement in a comfortable and relaxed environment." The intent is to serve Beaufort County Veterans (there are 25,000 plus in the county) and their families and to save lives through their programs. The facility is in Ridgeland where they have many acres and can offer things like hunting, fishing, recreational shooting, golfing, ATV trail riding, hands on activity and peer engagement. When veterans return home they often feel isolated and have difficulty adjusting. According to Roy, 22 veterans a day commit suicide. By offering "outdoor therapy" and the ability to engage with their peers Roy is hoping to save as many lives as possible. He and his wife Stephanie have personally invested a large sum of money in the organization and developing the facility. They always can use financial support. One fundraiser will be held on October 8, 2021 which will be "Concert for the Heroes" which features Mark Chesnutt with Walker Montgomery. There are sponsorship opportunities for this event as well as tickets for purchase. Contributions to the organization, which is a 509(a)(3) nonprofit will help keep these services free to our local Veterans and their families.
For more information, visit their website: www.OPFOB.org