Eight new members were inducted into the Glennville Rotary Club on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, which boosts the club membership to 62 Active/Honorary members
These new members and their mentors are as follows: Grayson Sommers, mentor Dylan Mulligan; David Tucker, mentor Donald Fountain; Becky Anderson, mentor Kristen Waters; Teresa Thompson, mentor Chris Roessler; Mary Beth Lott, mentor Shellie Smith; Sabrina Page, mentor Donna Tootle; Bill Kicklighter, mentor Terry Waters; and Bobby Kennedy, mentor Greg Parker.
Grayson Sommers is a local attorney. David Tucker is principal of South Tattnall Middle School (STMS), and Teresa Thompson is the Media Specialist at STMS. Becky Anderson is the director of Family Connection in Tattnall County. Mary Beth Lott is the RTI (Response To Intervention) Coordinator at South Tattnall Elementary School (STES). Sabrina Page is the Work-Based Learning Coordinator at Tattnall County High School. Bill Kicklighter and Bobby Kennedy are Tattnall County Commissioners.
Mentors assist new members in sharing information on the club protocols, projects, and serve as a source on the club itself and Rotary International (RI).
Glennville Rotary Club President Dylan Mulligan installed the new members with the mentors attaching the pins to their lapels, and Rotarian Donald Fountain assisted as well.
Mulligan reviewed the duties and responsibilities of the members at the meetings, the dues structures, and the "service above self" that is the hallmark mission of Rotary Clubs worldwide. Rotary is a humanitarian organization that has seven areas of focus, one of which is education.
Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust (CART) is one of the many humanitarian efforts that the Glennville Rotary Club supports, explained club treasurer Chris Roessler. Blue CART buckets are placed
on the tables at each Wednesday meeting, and Rotarians are asked to consider leaving one dollar each week. These funds go for research in finding treatments, and, hopefully, one day, a cure for Alzheimer's.
Last year, the Glennville club donated over $4,000 to CART, and the club leads the 61-club Rotary District 6920 in financially supporting CART.
Club member Darla Kicklighter commented on club projects, which on October 5 of last week began the club's biggest fundraiser, the online auction (October 5-8). Darla and her daughter, Tiffany, have chaired this auction for several years. This is a scholarship auction that is dedicated to raising funds for scholarships to local Tattnall County High School (TCHS) and Pinewood Christian Academy (PCA) students as well as other local educational projects. Over the last 35 years, over $300,000 has been awarded to over 150 students.
"One of the these is RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards), which offers training in leadership skills and character building. This will be held in Brunswick this year at the Coastal College, and we look forward to having several rising juniors and seniors to attend, representing our club," Kicklighter said.
In connection with the online auction event, a Last Man Standing raffle and Gift Card Raffle raise funds. This year's Last Man Standing raffle features a Weatherby Orion 20-gauge Over/Under Shotgun, valued at $1,200 (donated by Claxton Poultry); a SCCY CPX-2, 9mm pistol, valued at $250 (donated by Mr. Cash Pawn); and a Ronaldo bracelet, valued at $143 (donated by McCurdy's on Main).
Other projects include annual fall food drive in which the members donate $20 each, which is matched by the club and given to local churches who distribute the food to the needy.
Two other education-related projects are the February speech contest, which is open to TCHS and PCA students, and the distribution of dictionaries to third graders in the Tattnall County school system.
After the meeting, several of the new members placed labels in thedictionaries, which will be delivered to the schools on October 18 to North Tattnall Elementary School and October 20 to South Tattnall Elementary School.
