Fort Mill Rotary Club

👻 History, Legends & New Faces at Fort Mill Rotary!

This week’s Fort Mill Rotary meeting took us on a fascinating journey through Fort Mill’s history, legends and even a few ghost stories! 👻

We were excited to recognize Joanne Walker as our Rotarian of the Week! Joanne shared a little about herself, her family and her life in Fort Mill — including her love of ghost stories. That interest made her the perfect person to connect us with this week’s guest speaker, Kimberly Long of the Fort Mill History Museum.

🏮 Legends & Lanterns

Kimberly shared the stories behind the museum’s popular Legends & Lanterns tours, where Fort Mill’s history comes alive through some of the town’s most intriguing — and sometimes spooky — stories.

And if you’ve been on the tour before, don’t assume you’ve heard it all! The tour changes every year, giving even returning guests something new to discover.

One of the stories Kimberly shared centered around the Founders House and the White family. Sam and Esther White experienced tremendous tragedy in their family, including the loss of their son, Robert Allison White, who died at just three years old. Their daughter, Grace White, grew up in the home and experienced multiple miscarriages before passing away at just 36 while pregnant.

According to local legends, Grace’s presence may still linger in the house. Visitors have reported unusual activity, including seeing her image, hearing children laughing and playing upstairs, and even feeling movement in the bed. And then there’s the famous portrait of Sam White — with visitors claiming that his eyes seem to follow them as they move through the room. 👀

🇺🇸 Stories That Shaped Our Community

Kimberly also took us much further back in time, sharing stories from the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Brattonsville, including the role the area played in helping turn the tide of the war.

One particularly fascinating story involved Martha Bratton and the enslaved people who helped deliver critical information about the location of British troops. That intelligence helped the Patriots prepare for an attack and played a role in a pivotal moment during the Revolutionary War.

She also shared some of the darker history surrounding the Civil War era, including the burial grounds at Brattonsville and the stories of the people whose lives were intertwined with this community.

History isn’t always easy, but understanding these stories helps us better understand the place we call home.

To learn more about the Fort Mill History Museum, upcoming events and tours — including Legends & Lanterns, History 101 and the museum’s popular history-themed bar crawl — visit fmhm.org.

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🎃 A Few Rotary Updates

A few other highlights from the meeting:

🦁 Catawba Ridge High School’s scarecrow is #122! Be sure to check it out and support the students — they did a fantastic job!

👓 Vision Screening: A big thank-you to the Lions Club for partnering with us on vision screenings.

👕 We also heard a thank-you for our recent service at Bethel Men’s Shelter, including the donation of a case of TP and plus-size clothing.

💵 Happy Dollars this month and next will support Tega Graze and Historic Paradise as they work to provide Thanksgiving meals to local families.

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🎉 Welcome to Rotary!

We were thrilled to welcome two new members — Rhonda Wild and Kelly Martin! We’re excited to have you both as part of the Fort Mill Rotary family. 💙

And, of course, there was plenty of Rotary fun — from singing and celebrating birthdays to fellowship with fellow Rotarians and guests. 🎶🎂 And a delightful meal!

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📅 Save the Dates!

Mark your calendars for some exciting events ahead:

🎄 December 9 — Holiday Luncheon at Fort Mill High School
🎰 March 4 — Rotary Casino Night
📚 May 5 — Literacy Picnic

And don’t forget the Rock ‘n’ Roll Foundation 5K coming up!

You are NOT going to want to miss this one!!

No lunch meeting this week as we prepare to serve others at Bethel Men’s Shelter (followed by social at Inizio). If you haven’t yet, make plans and sign up for Saturday mornings Riversweep!

All set up and ready to go. Come see us today at Catawba Park!

💙 Two Weeks of Rotary: From Tega Cay to Honduras 🌎

The last two weeks at Fort Mill Rotary gave us plenty to celebrate — from local community updates to a powerful reminder of just how far the work of Rotary can reach!

🏙️ Last Week: Tega Cay & Celebrating Jesse

We were excited to welcome Tega Cay Mayor Carmen Miller to Rotary! Carmen gave us an update on what’s happening in Tega Cay, the work underway in our community and some of the issues on the horizon — including important conversations around the lake and water resources.

We also recognized Kristy Spears as our Rotarian of the Week! ❤️ Thank you, Kristy, for all you do for Rotary and our community!

And there was another special moment — Jesse Cramer was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow! 🎉

Congratulations, Jesse! This is a wonderful recognition of your commitment to Rotary and its mission of service.

🌎 This Week: The Rotary Foundation & the Power of One Meeting

Our plans changed a little this week, giving us the opportunity to learn more about The Rotary Foundation — founded in 1917 and now supporting humanitarian work around the world, including PolioPlus, clean water, education and literacy.

Our own Ben Ficklen, who has served as our club treasurer for the past four years, gave us a great look at how the Foundation works, including District Designated Funds (DDF) and international/global funds.

And the numbers are pretty incredible…

😃 $660,000 in District Designated Funds distributed by our club over the past 35 years.

💧 Nearly $2 million contributed to the Honduras Water Project.

🇭🇳 And the story behind that project is even more incredible.

Rotarian Al Steele shared how the Honduras Water Project began almost by chance.

Our club originally partnered with Grace Presbyterian Church to travel to Honduras and build homes. While there, the group attended a local Rotary meeting and learned about the water challenges facing the community of El Bonete.

That one Rotary meeting led to a rotary club partnership, fundraising here at home and support through Rotary’s district matching program.

The result? A project that has now received nearly $2 million in support and is helping provide access to clean water for families in the community.

And Al? He’s preparing for his 46th trip to Honduras! 🇭🇳❤️

One of the most powerful takeaways from the meeting was this:

It all started with one person’s compassion — and one Rotary meeting.

A small club in a small town like Fort Mill can make an enormous difference halfway around the world.

That’s what Rotary is all about.

We show up. We listen. We connect. We serve. And we invite others to join us.

❤️🌎 Service Above Self.

Stop by and say hi on Saturday!

Join us for lunch tomorrow - we’d love to have you!