Area’s Rotary Clubs facilitate ZOOM video call with sister city in Ukraine
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
There was a historically significant act of diplomacy and international goodwill last week and it took place right here in Beaufort on Wednesday, July 16.
The area’s three Rotary Clubs – Rotary Club of Beaufort, Sea Island Rotary Club and Lowcountry Rotary Club – organized a ZOOM video call between a joint meeting of their members gathered in the Friendship Hall of Sea Island Presbyterian Church on Lady’s Island and the town leaders of Ostroh, the oldest city in Western Ukraine.
The call was organized and coordinated by Dr. Baxter McClendon of the Sea Island Rotary Club, while Barry Wilson, Rotary Club of Beaufort Past President, was responsible for ZOOM call itself, as well as managing any technical issues.
Beaufort City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Mike McFee, as well as City Manager Scott Marshall, were among dignitaries attending the meeting, along with Rotary notables Bob Gross, Rotary’s Past District 7770 Governor; Janie Ephland, Sea Island Rotary President; Scott Shipsey, Lowcounty Rotary President; Bob Allen, Rotary Club of Beaufort Part President; John Barber of Sea Island Rotary Club; Jim Weiskopf, Rotary Club of Beaufort Public Image Chair; Robbie McAllister, who lived in Ukraine 10 years; and Nick and Rosemary Hunt of the Rotary Club of Beaufort.
Ron Garrett, President of the Rotary Club of Beaufort, led the meeting, welcoming the Ukrainian dignitaries, acknowledging those present and introducing the speakers on the Beaufort side.
After the singing of “God Bless America” and the Pledge of Allegiance, McFee spoke first on the Beaufort side and gave a brief accounting of how Beaufort and Ostroh got to this place.
In 2022, not long after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, then-Mayor Stephen Murray reached out and Beaufort and Ostroh became unofficial sister cities.
Thanks to Pride of Beaufort funds and the sale of Ukraine flag pins created by Greg Rawls, the city of Beaufort was responsible for more than $130,000 of humanitarian funding, as well as thousands of MREs (Meals Ready To Eat) and tons of grain delivered to Ostroh.
“We look forward to continued support and to finding ways that we can continue to support Ostroh and Ukraine,” McFee said.
Gross followed and talked about the efforts Rotary has made to make a difference in Ostroh and Ukraine.
“‘Look beyond your club,’” Gross said he said at the time. “‘Rotary is bigger than your club.’ I didn’t know how far beyond that club it was going to go.”
Gross talked about the efforts to get ambulances, medical supplies and a storage container full of wheelchairs to Ukraine. Eventually, the Rotary Foundation sent $25 million to Rotary in Ukraine for water and water purification units.
“This could only be done by an organization like Rotary,” Gross said.
At that point, Ukrainian interpreter Andriy Yukhymenko took over.
He introduced members of the Ukrainian delegation – there were about 20 people in a room with Ukrainian flags hanging behind them — and then a one minute, 12 second video sharing the beauty of Ostroh.
He then introduced acting Mayor of Ostroh Kostyantyn Kyryliuk, who spoke to the Rotary viewers in English.
“Once again last night,” Kyryliuk said, “We heard the sound of air raid sirens. But I’m happy to say we are still able to speak to you today.”
Kyryliuk talked about the history of Ostroh and then a bit about what has happened in the city since the war began.
Ostroh, “like all of Ukraine,” Kyryliuk said, “[is] fighting for its freedom.”
He said 186 citizens of Ostroh had been killed, while more than 100 remain missing.
“It was Beaufort from across the ocean that reached out to us first,” Kyryliuk said. “… A gesture of true friendship.”
Then, acting Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Khorunzhyi introduced a 2-minute video that illustrated how Ukarine is doing in the present.
“War provides us new challenges every day but we continue to go on living,” Khorunzhyi said. “We are a strong foundation for our soldiers that keep fighting at the front.”
Khorunzhyi said Ostroh has accepted more than 2,000 people that have been displaced as a result of the war, as well as providing help for war wounded. Ostroh is also providing shelters in schools because “education is crucial to our future” and they want to keep the kids in school.
Also, Khorunzhyi said Ostroh hasn’t forgotten economic development, despite the war. He said the city had recently established an industrial park and was actively seeking grants and investors.
“Thank you,” Khorunzhyi said. “… [I can’t] tell you how much we appreciate Beaufort.”
During a question and answer session, John Trask, who has been to Ukraine three times in the past two years, asked the Ukrainian delegation, “How is the morale?”
“It is not easy,” Kyryliuk said. “… We believe in our victory, but in order for our victory to happen faster, we need support and the shoulder of our friends. It is easier when we find out we are not alone.”
When asked what Ukraine needed, Kyryliuk said, “In general, it is important that you be our advocates. Advocate for Ukraine in the U.S.”
Materially, he said, “Today, we need something, tomorrow we find it. Then on the third day, we already have another need.”
Ukraine’s delegation said they would meet to discuss what they may need most the soonest, and Beaufort’s Rotary leaders said the two sides would converse again soon.
“Thank you very much for your support. It is very important,” Kyryliuk said. “When we have partners like this, our victory is assured.”
The Ukraine delegation ended the meeting by singing a hymn titled, “God The Great, The One, Save Us Ukraine.”
Trask, who said he may go back to Ukraine again in the near future, was impressed by the meeting and what it means for those watching on the Beaufort end.
“They’re being introduced first-hand to real people that [the war] is really affecting their lives. It’s like putting a name to a face. It’s not something you read in the paper. It humanizes it for this crowd,” Trask said “… It’s effective. I think it’s really effective. If you just get two or three people to decide to do something, that’s two or three now and some of them may really do a Mother Teresa. This was a good thing.”
Watch the Meeting
If you’d like to watch the ZOOM video call between the three Beaufort area Rotary Clubs and a delegation from Ostroh, Ukraine, visit https://bit.ly/40um0rX. The code is &4Qd5B+g. Video 2 is the complete meeting.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
