President Steve Stauffer rang the bell to start the meeting
Kevin Courtney offered the prayer and led the pledge to the flag
Announcements:
Sunday December 9, VLR held a great Christmas Party at Spanish Wells. Thanks to John Farrenkopf for organizing it. See vanlandinghamrotary.org/photoalbums/christmas-party-2018 for all the pictures.
Next week will be the last meeting of the year and will feature the auction organization.
December 20 we will deliver Christmas baskets. Meet at 4:00 at Piggly Wiggly. Social at Lagerhead follows.
Bruce Yeager inducted Stephanie Eikenberry (sponsor John Cunningham) and Tim Henderson (sponsor Tim Ridge)
.JPG)
Photo credits Barry Davis
Please make sure to meet Stephanie and Tim and welcome them into the club
Speaker:
Charles Wohl, Vice President of Innovation for the Don Ryan Center for Innovation in Bluffton SC was the speaker. Prior to joining the Don Ryan Center, Charles was the Eecutive Director of Teas Capital Network Inc. helping connect growth stage companies to needed capital.
The goals of the DRCI are:
Create a vibrant business climate
Economic development in 5 core areas - Entrepreneurism, Business attraction, expansion and retention, Real estate and intrastructure, Workforce development, talent retention, Marketing, education and outreach. The HUB Inspires creativity, focus and connection; A place to find community - where companies and people grow together, where good things happen; Education and support programs, acceleration and incubation, mentorship, workshops. Their Acceleration Program: two 11 week classroom cohorts annually - 1/2 day each week, components from Kauffman FastTrac, Weekly office hours with mentors, Supplemented with guest speakers, finishes with a pitch test to a panel, potential to join and continue in incubator program. Their Incubation Program: nurtures scalable businesses - light industrial manufacturing, IT and systems, health service, aerospace; Assist companies thru mentorship - market entry with MVP, cash flow generation, prepare for outside financing.
Create a vibrant business climate
Economic development in 5 core areas - Entrepreneurism, Business attraction, expansion and retention, Real estate and intrastructure, Workforce development, talent retention, Marketing, education and outreach. The HUB Inspires creativity, focus and connection; A place to find community - where companies and people grow together, where good things happen; Education and support programs, acceleration and incubation, mentorship, workshops. Their Acceleration Program: two 11 week classroom cohorts annually - 1/2 day each week, components from Kauffman FastTrac, Weekly office hours with mentors, Supplemented with guest speakers, finishes with a pitch test to a panel, potential to join and continue in incubator program. Their Incubation Program: nurtures scalable businesses - light industrial manufacturing, IT and systems, health service, aerospace; Assist companies thru mentorship - market entry with MVP, cash flow generation, prepare for outside financing.
Visit their website for more information: https://www.donryancenter.com