Passing of the Gavel from Brenda Durant, President (2025-26) to Dat Hoang, President (2026-2027)

June 29, 2026, is the end of the term for the current President, Brenda Durant. Most of the past Presidents attend the annual event of passing a gavel to the new President, Dat Hoang. Over twenty Past Presidents honored the meeting and took turns introducing themselves and their year of service. A group phot was also taken. Rotary Oath was given by Bill Keogh, AG, to Dat Hoang.

The ceremony ended with President Brenda passing the gavel to incoming President Dat Hoang.

Both Brenda and Dat thanked the club for their support and their service. We will officially kick off the new year at our next meeting on Monday July 13.

Kemp-Puryear Rotarian of the Year

This award is named after two of our most distinguished club members, Bill Kemp and Jim Puryear, and is awarded annually to a club member who has demonstrated outstanding service to the club during the year. President Brenda, along with Jim Puryear, awarded Bill Keogh with this honor.

Rotary Club of Augusta and Augusta Technical College Partnership  for GED Students Test Fees

The Rotarians were invited to participate in a new annual event to celebrate the students who have recently completed their GEDs. The Rotary Club was recognized as a sponsor at this event and our members would have the opportunity to meet students they are supporting. This is a restricted, project-based grant. We have received a $500 grant from the district which has matched with $500 from our club. A check of $1000 was presented to the Dean of Augusta College. Augusta Technical College will transform $1000 into 20 vouchers at $46 each. The GED test Fee is $46 for each test they take. Augusta Tech will identify qualified students, provide progress reports and use $1000 for test fees.

Rotary Club of Augusta is strategically partnered with Augusta Technical College to use District grants) to help the General Educational Development test (GED) students who are being educated to pass the GED test. The GED students are among the most motivated and deserving people served by Augusta Technical College. The students enter the classes and leave the classes according to their own schedules. Once they are ready to move on, they may take their tests. This means that there is no common start date or completion date.

In order to best accommodate their as-needed testing, the College has established a system to provide testing vouchers for students whenever they are needed.

Each student requires about 4 vouchers @ $46/test to complete the program. Our suggestion is to pay 20 vouchers for the first test to the students. Our Club will add $500 to the scholarship amount of $500. There may be some celebration and publicity costs which will be paid by the Rotary Club of Augusta.

Since Augusta Technical College has a continuous program of enrolling, qualifying and providing vouchers to graduated students, it was prudent to join their program.

A grant of $1000 was given to the Dean few months ago with some photos at a meeting.

Each part of the GED exam is $46, with a full battery exam (all 4 parts) cost of $184. Because you requested, we use the funds quickly, we did not issue individual parts of the exam, we issued full battery exams.  In a normal instance when we have time to issue individual subject vouchers of $46, that typically takes serval months to exhaust. As you see, even with issuing full battery exams, it takes time as students need time to study and prepare. 

With the $1,000.00 we purchased 5 full battery exam vouchers ($184 x 5 = $920.00), 1 one subject exam voucher for $46, and 2 retake exam vouchers ($20 x 2 = $40.00).  This totaled $1,006.00. Ms. Langham donated the remaining $6 to help us fulfill the voucher order.

Augusta Technical College invited Brenda Durant, Current President and me to attend a small celebration with graduated students at the college conference room.

Rotary Club of Augusta -Signature Fundraising

This event was managed by DDustin Young – Chair of the Fund Raising committee. He and other Rotarians presented the check to RISE Augusta.He thanked everyone who participated in this year’s Rotary Club of Augusta Signature Fundraiser. Because of your commitment, effort, and generosity, we were able to make a meaningful impact in support of RISE Augusta and the children they serve.

I’m excited to share that the winning ticket was #1044, and the winner is Nancy Wates of Edgefield, SC. It was a great afternoon of fellowship at Miracle Toyota, and the drawing created plenty of excitement as we reached the final ticket.

While only one person took home the car, every member who participated is truly a winner. By supporting this fundraiser, you helped strengthen our community and invest in the future of children who need literacy and academic support. That impact reaches far beyond a single drawing.

We were also fortunate to have coverage from WJBF News Channel 6, which highlighted the event and the impact of this fundraiser. You can watch the two-minute interview featuring Rotarian Dr. Mac Bowman, De Pierce, and Nancy Wates at the link below:

Within the next few weeks, we will formally present a $25,000 check to RISE Augusta at one of our Rotary meetings. I hope many of you will attend as we celebrate the tangible impact of your hard work and generosity.

Thank you again to every member who sold tickets, purchased tickets, promoted the fundraiser, volunteered, or supported the effort in any way. This fundraiser represents the very best of Rotary — service above self and a shared commitment to strengthening our community.

I am grateful to serve alongside each of you.

2026 SPEECH CONTEST

The Rotary Club of Augusta sponsors a speech contest for high school students in Richmond and Columbia Counties. The 1st place award is $1,000 and the 2nd place award is $750. Both winners will then compete at the Rotary Zone level. The Zone winner will present his or her winning speech at the Rotary District Conference in April 2026 where he or she will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

The Rotary Club of Augusta contest was held on February 26, 2026, at the Morris Museum of Art (1 10th Street). The 1st and 2nd place winners will present their speeches to the Rotary Club of Augusta at one of its meetings in March where they will receive their awards.

Students must prepare and present, without the use of artificial intelligence, a speech of 3-4 minutes in length on one of two topics.
One is the Rotary 4-Way Test:

“Of the things that we think, say, or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?”

If you choose the 4-Way Test as your topic, think about what those principles mean to you personally and how you think applying them in daily life will benefit you and those around you. How will applying these principles help you be successful? For more information, go to www.Rotary.org.

The second topic is the Rotary International theme for 2026, “UNITE FOR GOOD.” This theme encourages Rotary members to work together to create positive change in their communities and around the world. The theme emphasizes the power of unity and collaboration in achieving Rotary’s goals of service and impact. To learn more about Rotary International’s global impact since its founding in 1905, go to www.Rotary.org.  Think about what this concept means in our divided world and how subscribing to this principle could help reduce the differences among us.

                              Rotary Meeting by Students from Grovetown, Evans, Lake side and Westminster Schools

The meeting was guided fully by members of Rotaract Clubs from various local schools, guided by Augusta Rotarian Dora Hogg.

Ari Iribhogbe (Westminster) rang the bell and called the meeting to order.

Katherine Cristofanelli (Westminster) led the pledge.

Justice Pennington (Aquinas) gave the invocation.

Elizabeth Elliott (Aquinas) gave the Sunshine Report.

Connor Shouse (Richmond) called on members to introduce their visitors and guests

Rotary Speech Contest 2026

Lillian Harrison (Aquinas) introduced the speakers, Augusta Rotarians Stacy Johnson.

Stacy gave a report on Rotary’s annual Preston Johnson Speech Contest. We had 29 applicants, with 22 completing the process. There were great speeches, and the process of going through them spanned an entire day. Thank you for the attention and patience of the Rotarians who served as judges. Thanks to an anonymous gift that we combined with funds from the club and Hull Fund, we were able to provide 12 awards, more than previous years. Sheridan Aleshire (9^th grade Grovetown) and Vithyashpraveen Ayyappan (11^th grade Evans) were the first and second place award winners respectively and presented their speeches to the group. We will begin planning in July for next year’s contest. Please join the committee; it’s very rewarding to work with these standout students.