By Dana Erickson
August 22, 2024 the Civitan Club held its bi-monthly meeting at Duke’s Barbeque. The meeting was called to order by Kimber Santorella who then lead the Pledge of Allegiance and recitation of the Civitan’s Creed. Paul Capers delivered the invocation. Lynn Stroble was nominated for President Elect for next year. The elections are to be held at the next meeting and new officers installed September 9, 2024.
Special guest speak was Howard Nettles, Director of Community of Outreach and Engagement for Genesis Healthcare accompanied by Wes Thrift, Development Officer for Genesis Healthcare. Mr. Nettles gave a background of Genesis Healthcare starting at its beginnings and what it is today. He explained that Genesis was a federally qualified health center which is a federally funded nonprofit health center or clinic that serves medically underserved areas and populations. The Genesis Healthcare facility will treat insured, underinsured, and uninsured on a sliding pay scale based on income. Mr. Nettles also spoke about the new location in Walterboro. It will be a 25,000 square foot facility focusing on adult and pediatric care. The Civitan group was enthusiastic about the new facility and asked many questions which Mr. Nettles and Mr. Thrift were happy to answer. Following the meeting some of the Civitan group were to visit the new facility accompanies by Nettles and Thrift.
With more than 30,000 members worldwide, Civitan International is a global organization dedicated to serving the local communities of its members. Using the structure of building local clubs, Civitan equips its members to address local needs with local solutions.
Civitan is the only service organization dedicated to serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). This long-standing focus began as a local project in Baltimore in the 1940s when Civitan began funding specialized teachers in schools. In 1956, Civitan membership unanimously adopted service to I/DD as the major project focus of the international organization. Today, Civitan supports the Civitan International Research Center in Birmingham, Alabama where more than 100 researchers work on diseases that impact the lives of 1 in 6 people worldwide.
