Richmond Hill Exchange Club
July 5, 2008 PO Box 967, Richmond Hill, GA 31324
Our Recent and Upcoming Programs
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5/28 Veterans Memorial Program – We Dedicated 11 bricks at Veterans Park for 3rd ID soldiers killed in Iraq. Here is a list of the 3rd ID casualties whose names and rank are now engraved upon the bricks of the park monument: PFC Nicholas Riehl, SFC William Zapfe, Pvt Kelly Youngblood, Sgt William Beardsley, Spec Forrest Waterbury, PFC Joey Sams, Sgt Adrian Lewis, SSG Harrison Brown, PFC David Simmons, Spec Eddie Tamez and First Sgt Paul Smith (Medal of Honor). Our speaker was Bill Cathcart, General Manager of WTOC-TV – J F Gregory Park - This was a great success, with a large attendance. For those who could not come--we missed you. You can view the coverage on WTOCTV.com. For more information on this ceremony, please visit our homepage. In addition to WTOC-TV, special thanks to The Bryan County News, and Bryan County NOW for their coverage of this program.
6/11 Victoria Ten Broeck, American Cancer Society
6/25 No Meeting Due to Installation Banquet on Friday evening
6/27 Officer Installation Banquet (Friday evening at The Wetlands Education Center in J F Gregory Park) with catering by Bruce Ford
7/4 Welcome Home to the 3rd ID - Fort Stewart from 3PM to 6PM - We operated a booth jointly with The Lions Club, cooking and distributing hamburgers to soldiers and their families.
7/09 Kid's Fishing Derby Awards Luncheon at Southern Image Restaurant - Derby winners and their families have been invited to attend.
Our President-Elect, Brad Brookshire has is going to need help in arranging and scheduling interesting programs for our meetings for the 7/1/08 to 6/30/09 year. Please contact Brad with ideas for programs at 756-4444 or brad.brookshire@bryanbank.com.
18th Annual Kid's Fishing Derby
Our 18th Annual Kid's Fishing Derby was a tremendous success - on Saturday, June 7th, from 8:30AM to Noon. This is one of our longest-running events, beginning in June, 1991. Over the past eightteen years, we have hosted thousands of area children and their parents at our fishing derby. This year, we had over 270 children to participate, and total attendance of over 500, which was our best year ever. Flyers were sent home to each child at the Primary School (800+ kids), and announcements were also being provided to the area print and broadcast media. Special thanks to Jamie Parker at Bryan County NOW, Ross Blair at The Bryan County News, and Jennifer Beale of WJCL-TV for their coverage of this years derby. Also thanks to our club members that were able to come out to help, including Jan Bass, Laura Evans, Jeff Nethery, Mark Schaefer, Bob Whitmarsh and Lynn Bennett. Georgia Masons also were on hand to offer their Child Identification Program (GACHIP) for participating children. Even though we live in an area blessed with natural beauty, and plenty of opportunities for fishing and getting back to nature, it is amazing how many children come to our event every year, who have never fished before. This is always a fun event, and is a great way for families to be able to have fun together. Our 19th Annual Kid's Fishing Derby is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, 2009, so mark your calendars. For more information, go to: http://www.rhxc.org/fishing.htm
Election of Officers and Directors
Our club elections were held at our club meeting on April 9. Congratulations to our new officers and directors for the 2008-09 year, which begins July 1.
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Officers and Directors 2008 - 2009
President: Laura Evans
President-Elect Brad Brookshire
Director -Year One of Two: Bill Cox
Director -Year Two of Two: Tyler Randolph
Secretary: Lynn Bennett
Treasurer: Shirley Heagerty
Immediate Past-President: Bob Whitmarsh
Our Installation Banquet was held Friday, June 27, at the Wetlands Education Center in J F Gregory Park. Social hour began at 6PM with dinner at 7PM. This banquet took the place of our regular meeting on Wednesday, June 25, 2008.
Some of Our Community Service Activities
Students of the Month - Recognized Monthly from September through April - $50 check
Student of the Year - Chosen from among our Students of the Month and $500 scholarship awarded at RHHS Honors Night, and our Student of the Year and his parents are invited to our meeting on May 28 as well. Our Student of the Year for 2007-2008 was Lauren Hall. The award was presented on behalf of our club by Brad Brookshire at the RHHS Honors Night on May 15, and Lauren and her parents attended our Veterans Memorial program on 5/28 as well.
Public Safety Officers of the Year - Our club recognizes outstanding public safety officers from the various local law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical organizations each year - 4/23/08 at the Holiday Inn.
Veterans Memorial Dedication - We dedicated 11 bricks for members of the 3rd ID that have been killed in Iraq. The program was held on Wednesday, May 28 at J F Gregory Park - Our speaker was Bill Cathcart - General Manager of WTOC-TV. Families of the honorees were invited to attend, and two families made long trips to be honored. Thanks to Laura Evans for spearheading this program.
18th Annual Kid's Fishing Derby - We hosted our 18th annual kids fishing derby this year on Saturday, June 7 from 8:30AM to Noon at The Richmond Hill Fish Hatchery. This was our best year ever, with over 500 children and parents attending. Our Fishin Derby Awards Luncheon will be Wednesday, July 9 at Noon at Southern Image Restaurant.
Welcome Home to the 3rd ID - Our club will participate, along with the Chamber of Commerce, in the Welcome Home 3rd ID event on Friday, July 4th at Fort Stewart. The majority of the troops that have been deployed to Iraq for their third tour will be home by then, and we expect thousands of troops and their families to attend. We will be serving free hamburgers and will serve from 3:00Pm to 6:00PM. We participated in this program on March 25, 2006, and it was one of the best events we have ever been involved in. Please make plans to attend and help.
Our Newest Members
Welcome to our newest members, Jan Bass with the City of Richmond Hill, and Harvey Lashley, also with the City of Richmond Hill. Thanks to Bob Whitmarsh for inviting Jan and Harvey to join. Let's all try to invite at least one prospective member as our guest to our next meeting.
Local Newspaper Coverage of Club Activities
We offer special thanks to Ross Blair of the Bryan County News, and Allison Bennett Dyche of Bryan County NOW for their reporting of the activities of our Exchange Club. As you know, The Exchange Club contributes a lot to the quality of life in our community, but our efforts have often gone unreported in the past. Thanks for the support, and the reporting of "Good News" about Bryan County. Members of our local media are always welcome to attend our meetings as our guests.
Our April 1 to June 30, 2008 dues are due now, and the July1 dues statements will be mailed soon. While most members have paid their dues for prior quarterly dues, if you haven't, please send in your membership dues payment as soon as possible. Statements for our current quarterly dues are mailed at the beginning of each quarter, but you can pay your dues without a statement. Quarterly dues are $75. Dues cover the operating expenses of the club, and assure that all other funds of the club are used to support our community service activities. If you have any questions about your dues, please contact Treasurer Brad Brookshire at either 756-4444 or brad.brookshire@bryanbank.com.
Please mail payments to: Richmond Hill Exchange Club, P O Box 967, Richmond Hill, GA 31324.
Editor: Lynn Bennett