July 2020 Issue

Rotary Club of Aiken Awards $105,000 in College Scholarships

This has been a year unlike any other, but the Rotary Club of Aiken has made it a very special one for twenty-one high school seniors in Aiken, SC. Foregoing our traditional luncheon celebration due to COVID 19 restrictions, the squeals of shock and delight heard during the notification phone calls to these deserving students were evidence that the $5000 college scholarship each were awarded is a game changer for most of them. The Rotary Club of Aiken Scholarship Committee carefully considered approximately 120 applicants. While grades were considered, it was not the major driver for a scholarship determination. Students were evaluated on their extracurricular activities, their volunteer efforts, the

Little Miss Fired-Up

So, when will your reflection show who you are inside? It’s up to you. I remember when the movie Mulan was popular. There was a song the main character sang that made my heart sing too. When will my reflection show who I am inside? I was so taken with the lyrics that I made my children listen to that song repeatedly. Many times it takes years before your inside catches up with your outside. Now, here is why this was so important to me. My parents placed me in the “C” section when I was in the first grade. There are sayings that might possibly describe their decision: the

Six Steps to Simple Home Cooking

The closure of restaurants and the stay-at-home orders that were enacted during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis have magnified the fact that many households are not cooking for themselves. Many families were eating takeout and convenience meals for the most part. In some cases they didn’t know how to cook, but in other cases it was because of excessive busy-ness. Some people have used this forced time at home as an opportunity to do more cooking from scratch. I was a typical full-time working mother until twelve years ago. Breakfast was usually boxed cereal with milk. My normal lunch was a frozen Lean Cuisine meal with a Diet Coke. I sometimes

I’ll Die When I’m Done: Until Then I Live!

Around Father’s Day each year, I take some time to reflect deeply. It was in the early morning hours of Father’s Day thirteen years ago that I stood by as my father took his last breath and passed away. And while it still makes me have a quiet cry when I think deeply about it, it is not a cry of sadness. It is the cry of deep gratitude. I tell many “dad stories” these days, not because he was a model father or the perfect daddy. I tell them because of a gift he gave me, a gift so overflowing that I can share it deeply and freely with

Raising Bunnies

Happy Bunny Breeding! “By working with the rabbits we raise on campus, the students learn responsibility and the skills required to care for animals,” says Glenn Stevens, Agricultural Education teacher at Belton Middle School in Belton, South Carolina. Stevens and his students welcomed two new litters of adorable bunnies to the school 7 weeks ago and again 3 weeks ago. So far this year, Stevens and his students have raised around 60 young rabbits. Stevens teaches Agricultural Education to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Subjects range from animal science, basic horticulture, and agricultural tool identification to wildlife management, forestry, and hunter safety. There is also a school greenhouse where the

To Tell the Truth

When I decide which subject I will write about, the decision is made usually after talking to a client. At that point, I sit down and talk to my computer as if you were sitting across from me. Welcome to my office. Horse owners have been led to believe that there is a magical feed or supplement out there that can work wonders on its own. There are some that can perform solely due to the “quality” of the ingredients. As I have always said, we can eat mac and cheese three times a day and still get through the day, but we will tire more quickly, our skin and

Beyond the Barricade | SRS Ties That Shaped Our Community | Part 7

When Tambra Wilkerson graduated with a degree in electronic engineering, she never imagined she would start a nonprofit and don boxing gloves on a regular basis in Aiken, South Carolina. It is plain and simple — Tambra Wilkerson is a fighter. Although she came to the area to support an important Savannah River Site (SRS) mission, she realized a calling in her heart to help others in a unique way. Now, she spends her days fighting to improve the lives of individuals who have a debilitating disease such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or multiple sclerosis, and the results of her program have garnered attention. Individuals who are living with these diseases,

Greatest Generation – First Person Account | Sunset for the USS Block Island

Every family passes stories down to the children and grandchildren. Some are unique to the family, and others tell of historical events that affected an entire generation. My father wrote most of what you will read below a few days after the event, and he added some explanatory details later. This article is in 3 parts, and this month we publish Part One. Many many young Americans were lost during World War II. Fortunately for me, my father was not one of them. – Robin Warren “You are going to be the custodian of publications.” Lt. Commander Gilman, the communications officer, addressed me in a friendly, informal way, but his

The Edge of Creativity | Creative of the Month | Aiken Bella Magazine

The Edge of Creativity | Creative of the Month | July

“Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” ~ Pablo Picasso The theme of this month’s issue of Bella is youth, so this month I wanted to focus on young creatives as well as those creatives who are focusing on, working with, or inspiring the youth. As I prepared for this month’s story I came to an uncomfortable realization that there are not a lot of young creatives in my world. Sure there are a lot of young people in my life who are creative, but none that I know of that are considered “creatives” and certainly not a whole lot making a