All meetings take place at our new location!
Charleston Atlantic Presbytery
4701 Park Place W, North Charleston, SC 29405
Social break from 2:00-2:30PM

January 8 1:00pm   MEETING CANCELED
Due to the expected traffic disruptions surrounding President Biden’s visit,
CCR’s January 8 meeting has been canceled. Our presenters will be rescheduled for a later date.

President Andrew Hsu, President College of Charleston
State of the College
Andrew Hsu will give an update regarding the College of Charleston’s strategic plan and progress on the related major initiatives/projects.

January 8 2:30pm

Don Campagna, History and Archives Coordinator for City of North Charleston
The Navy Century
Don Campagna will discuss how during the 1900’s, the US Navy, and Charleston Naval Shipyard, dominated the community culture and economy. Sailors came from all over the country. Locals became highly skilled tradesmen. Charleston played an integral role in extending our influence around the globe.

January 15 – No CCR – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 22 1:00pm

Bill Cosgrove, retired from the US-EPA
Firestorm Over Darmstadt
Bill Cosgrove will explain about the devastation of the city of Darmstadt, Germany by a RAF bombing raid in September 1944. The citizens of Darmstadt believed that their city would be spared because of connection with the British Royal family. Bill will examine the planning and execution of this raid that resulted in a firestorm which took over 11,000 lives.

January 22 2:30pm

Eva Heins, CCR Member
When Austria became Germany in 1938
Eva Heins is a living witness to the time when Salzburg, the “Sound of Music” city became Germany and the war that followed. She remembers what it was like as a child growing up in a changing world that left an imprint for life. No one expected beautiful Salzburg to be bombed.

January 29 1:00pm

Patricia A. Ferguson Trident Workforce Advisor, Office of Statewide Workforce Development, SC DEW
Maximizing the Trident Region’s Career Landscape
Dr. Patricia Ferguson will discuss maximizing the region’s career landscape by identifying in-demand, cutting-edge careers and emphasizing the STEM skills required for the careers while facilitating a bold sense of belonging for audiences that are typically underrepresented in the careers. She will review the local efforts that are launched to create a community of innovators rather than mere consumers!

January 29 2:30pm

Max Kovalov, Instructor of International Studies, Bennett Director of the Mroz Global Leadership Institute
Ukraine
Max Kovalov a native of Ukraine and director of the College of Charleston’s John Edwin Mroz Global Leadership Institute, will shed light on the complex dynamics between his homeland and Russia and the factors that have led to the current war. He will discuss the war itself and thoughts regarding Ukraine’s future.

February 5 1:00pm

Cava Compton, builder
Custom Remodeling & Home Building in Charleston
Cava Compton will discuss how to start planning a home building / renovation project.

February 5 2:30pm

Diana Barth, Chairman of CCR’s C.A.L.L. Committee; CCR Board member
CALL Class Preview
Diana Barth will tell us about the Winter/Spring 2024 C.A.L.L. classes.

February 12 1:00pm

Ali Moriarity, Assistant Director, Joseph P. Riley Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston
Development of Union Pier
Ali Moriarity will cover the Union Pier redevelopment project. She will focus primarily on the Riley Center’s community-driven design and engagement processes as well as the scope of the project and opportunities for public input and involvement.

February 12 2:30pm

Bryan Frazier, Wildlife Biologist IV, Marine Resources Research Institute, SC DNR
The Diversity of Sharks in South Carolina: An Overview of Current Research and Monitoring
Bryan Frazier will explain his studies on movement ecology, age, growth and reproduction, and trophic ecology of sharks.

February 19 1:00pm

Michael Sweat, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Director of Center for Global Health, MUSC
Preparing for the next pandemic: an update on COVID-19, RSV, Influenza, and newly emerging infectious diseases
Michael Sweat will provide a summary of the status and risks of COVID-19, RSV, influenza, and newly emerging infectious diseases in South Carolina. He will also outline exciting new efforts being developed to conduct surveillance of acute respiratory infections and detect outbreaks quickly.

February 19 2:30pm

Jim Elliott, President & CEO Avian Conservation Center/Center for Birds of Prey
Avian Conservation Center/ Center for Birds of Prey
Jim Elliott will convey the mission, the evolution, and the activities of the Avian Conservation Center and its implications for each of us and future generations.

February 26 1:00pm

Mary B Johnston, Personal Historian, Editor
Recalling and Recording Our Memories
Mary will begin her presentation with a PowerPoint called “What’s the Story about Stories,” which identifies not only the reasons we humans are drawn to storytelling but also the benefits of writing our personal histories. Then she will explore the obstacles that prevent people from doing so. Finally, she will share some ideas about how to effectively respond to these obstacles.

February 26 2:30pm

Kathy Wilson, SC Department of Natural Resources ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve
The SC Department of Natural Resources Marine Resources Division
Kathy Wilson will describe the work of the Marine Research Division. It is one of the five branches of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, with its headquarters on James Island, MRD serves as a hub for marine science research, management and education, studying fish, crustaceans, sea turtles and other species that call South Carolina’s marine habitats home.

March 4 1:00pm

Damon Fordham, writer, historian, educator, and licensed tour guide
Lost Stories of Black Charleston
Damon Fordham will explain the little-known story of six brave Black leaders who tried in 1895 to stop South Carolina from enacting segregation laws, as covered in his current book “The 1895 Segregation Fight in South Carolina.”

March 4 2:30pm

John Preston, Ph.D. Emeritus Associate Professor, College of Technology, Eastern Michigan University
Artificial Intelligence: Past, Present, and Future
John Preston’s presentation is based on his recent book, Silicon Intelligence: An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. He will provide a historical context for today’s headlines and insight into what we can expect in the future.

March 11 1:00pm

Derek Evenhouse, General Manager Old South Carriage Tours
Old South Carriage Co: 40 Years +
Derek Evenhouse will tell us the history of Old South Carriage Co and the Horse Drawn Carriage Industry of Charleston

March 11 2:30pm

Nic Butler, Historian Charleston County Public Library, host of Charleston Time Machine
Charleston’s Irish History and Traditions: Irish Immigration and the Hibernian Society
The “Irish Connection“ with South Carolina began with the formation of the Carolina Colony in colonial days. Charleston became one of the most important points of entry for Irish Immigrants in the South, and among them were early prominent families like the Rutledges and Barnwells.

March 18 1:00pm

Diana Barth, Chairman of CCR’s C.A.L.L. Committee; CCR Board member
Banned Books
The banning of books, particularly those dealing with gender and race, has become a political issue, both nationwide and locally. Diana Barth will explore the implications of book challenges, as they raise the wider question of what should be taught to children (and when) and will take a quick look at those issues as they play out in our Lowcountry news.

March 18 2:30pm

Duane Lewis, Sheriff of Berkeley County
Lawmen and Lawlessness: Historical Cases 1880 – 1970
Sheriff Lewis will talk about the history of sheriffs in Berkeley County and interesting and historic cases investigated by each sheriff.

March 25 1:00pm

Brandon Stone, Community Engagement Manager, Middleton Place
Middleton Place Foundation: 50 Years of Stewardship
For fifty years, the Middleton Place Foundation has been the stewards of a site of great historic significance. Brandon M. Stone will share the history of the Foundation and the efforts of preserving and conserving Middleton Place’s built and natural environment.

March 25 2:30pm

Lauren Ravalico, Associate Director CofC Women’s and Gender Studies Dept
A Not So Straight Story: Decoding the WGS LGBTQ+ Alphabet Soup!
Lauren Ravalico will demystify the terms that undergird Women’s and Gender Studies as both an academic discipline and as an educational project that promotes inclusivity. The emphasis of the discussion will be on conceptualizing a spectrum of gender and sexual identities to think through how this expansion of personal identities can open possibilities for human flourishing and just world-building.

April 1 – No CCR – Easter

April 8 1:00 pm
Amy Barch, Founder and Executive Director, Turn 90
A New Direction After Prison!
Amy Barch, Founder and Executive Director of Turn 90, will explain supportive counseling and Cognitive Behavioral Educational strategies with justice involved clients.

April 8 2:30pm
Gibbs Knotts, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Political Science, Dean Humanities and Social Sciences CofC
Election 2024
Gibbs Knotts will discuss the 2024 election. He will focus on the presidential primaries, particularly the results of South Carolina’s “First in the South” GOP contest. He will also preview the upcoming general election.

April 15 1:00pm

Chris Crolley, Founder, The Coastal Expeditions Foundation
Beyond Crab Bank – A Story of Seabird and Shorebird Survival
Captain Chris Crolley will tell the story of the renourishment of Crab Bank – the sandy spit of land off the mouth of Shem Creek that provides a critically important bird habitat. He will discuss the opportunities to renourish South Carolina bird nesting islands and how it represents the most important work that we will have the chance to be part of in our lifetimes.

April 15 2:30pm

Jed Dews, Executive Director, HALOS of South Carolina; Child and Family Advoca
Creative Cost-Effective Care for South Carolina Children: With Kinship Care
Jed Dews will describe KINSHIP CARE and give an overview of the current foster care system. Jed will describe ways KINSHIP CARE can lower the cost of delivery of quality services for children and families using the paid “guardianship“ model of providing for children —through KINSHIP CARE.

April 22, 2024 1:00pm – NO CCR – PASSOVER

April 29 1:00pm

Christina Butler, preservationist, contractor, and professor at the American College of the Building Arts
Charleston Horse Power: Equine Culture in the Palmetto City
Christina Butler will offer an illustrated presentation that provides a glimpse into an equine dominated city of the past. Discussion will include equine breeds and roles (both private and publicly owned functioning in city streets— as fire and police department herds, etc.) Carriage types and animal power used in industry and recreation i.e., the horse- racing culture and Charleston’s equine lifestyles and architecture. Ms. Butler will discuss the animals, as well as the people who made their livings with horses and mules— grooms, drivers, carriage makers, farriers, veterinarians, and trainers.

April 29 2:30pm

Margaret (Peggy) F. Pickett, Author and living history presenter
Rebecca Motte and the Siege of Fort Motte
Margaret Pickett will tell us about May of 1780 when the British captured Charleston, established outposts in the backcountry, and set-up supply depots along the Congaree River Road to serve them. It was essential for the Americans to capture these supply depots for without them, the British could not maintain their outposts. They would be forced to abandon them and withdraw to the coast. Fort Motte was one of the supply depots—its capture was crucial to the Americans.

May 6 1:00pm

Brian Hicks, Columnist, Post and Courier
What is Going On?
Brian Hicks will let us know what is happening in Charleston.

 

May 6 2:30pm

Hannah Marley, historic interpretive park ranger
Hampton Plantation and Our Connection with History
Hampton Plantation was a colonial-era rice plantation lived on by five generations of the Horry, Pinckney, and Rutledge families as well as hundreds of enslaved and free farmers. It was lived on until it became a state park in the 1970s. Hannah Marley will cover a wide range of history that took place here. She will talk about some of the major historical figures and events connected to Hampton Plantation as well as how those connections are still seen and felt in South Carolina today.

May 13 12:30pm – Annual Meeting