This Friday, RCSE will be having a No Frills Fundraiser benefiting PolioPlus. Rotary and the Gates Foundation is close to eradicating polio, but we need your help now more than ever. At our meeting on Friday, February 10, 2017 we will be having a No Frills Fundraiser for PolioPlus. We are separating our findraiser from any social event so that 100% of your contribution will go to Rotary Polio Plus. Remember, if you make your contribution by check to The Rotary Foundation with Polio Plus in the bottom left corner of your check it will be tax deductible. Your gift to the PolioPlus Fund is also eligible for Paul Harris Society recognition. Please bring your check books and be prepared to be very generous!!
Another great Friday meeting at RCSE. The club welcomed two visitors and moved Larry Barroll from a Red Badge to a Blue Badge - congratulations Larry! After all Rotary business was complete, Molly Swagler from Tourism Leadership Council spoke to the club.
Molly touched on 3 points during her talk called the 3 S's with the first "s" being Stats of Tourism. Savannah has 13 million tourist visit each year with 8 million of them staying over night. When tourist stay overnight, they spend on average $310 a day. Tourism is the #2 leading industry in Savannah and contributes to $2.7 billion a year in revenue. There are currently 27,000 jobs in tourism in Savannah which is great since tourism provides employees advancement within the industry. The second "s" was selling. The tourism community is a wide community. Visit Savannah is the sales/marketing division whereas Tourism Leadership Council is the operation side of the business. TLC began 19 years ago when around 32 people wanted to join together to make tourism stronger in Savannah. TLC chose to start the Food & Wine Festival in November which is historically a slow time of year for tourism. If you want to get involved in TLC, the membership rate is $200 per year. The final "s" was saturation. Nine new hotels have just opened or are set to open in the coming months. Many residents of Savannah are concerned about the amount of visitors visiting the city. The reason there are so many hotels is that the city can accommodate that number of tourist. Occupancy rates for all hotels are 70% during the week and up to 90% on the weekend. One positive about the number of hotels is that competition is good and helps keep ideas innovative. Tourism Leadership Council works closely with the Downtown Neighborhood Association to help preserve the gem that is Savannah.
Dr. Jose de Arimateia da Cruz is a Professor of International Relations/Comparative Politics at Armstrong State University, Savannah, GA, where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in Latin American and African Foreign Policy, Third World National Security, and Insurgency/Counterinsurgency. He also is currently a Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA. He has served as visiting professor at the University of Stavanger, Norway, La Serena Universidad in La Serena, Chile. Dr. da Cruz holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Wright State University, Dayton, OH; an M.A. in Professional Communications and Leadership from Armstrong State University, Savannah, GA; a M.A. in political science/political philosophy from Miami University, Oxford, OH; an M.S. in criminal justice with an emphasis in cyber affairs and security from Armstrong State University, and a Ph.D. in political science from Miami University, Oxford, OH. Jose is married to Dr. Becky Kohler da Cruz, Interim Provost at Armstrong State University. They have two children: Joshua who is a junior pre-law student at Georgia State University and Hannah who is a junior at Savannah Arts Academy. Jose enjoys reading, soccer and politics. He also volunteers at SCWA, Greater Savannah International Alliance, University System of Georgia Americas Council (chair); National Social Science Association (board member), Georgia Political Science Association (board member); Army War College Foundation. Welcome to Savannah East Jose!
We Missed You on February 3 - Acuff, Belford, Bohnstedt, Donoghue, Ferencsik, Heeder, Kelso, Lester, Matthews, McKinnon, Paddison, Silbermann, Taylor, Turner, White and Mason. 52% Attendance
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