DI Rotary Club had a ‘chili’ October

The Rotary Club of Daniel Island quite literally spiced things up during the month of October with a chili cookoff on the 26th.

Rotarian Beth Lee won the cookoff.

Scott Stephens, vice president of development of the South Carolina Historical Society, was a guest speaker at the club’s Oct. 12 meeting.

Stephens spent 10 years in manufacturing and owned several fast-casual restaurants before entering the nonprofit space. Stephens spoke about the beginnings of the S.C. Historical Society, which was started in 1855 by a Charlestonian named Louis Petigru. Stephens was a diplomat who got along with everyone. They started the society because they felt South Carolina was overlooked in American history. Stephens talked about the impressive lives of South Carolinians Eliza Pinckney, Henry Laurens, Francis Marion, and several others.

Jeffrey Jennings, senior manager of technical training at Volvo, spoke to the group Oct. 19 about how Volvo plans to move to an all-electric fleet by 2030. Jennings gave an overview of where the battery electric vehicle industry currently stands and where the future may take us. He spoke about how the average cost of a battery electric vehicle is $56,437 versus the internal combustion engine vehicle's average price of $46,329, how Tesla is the leader, and how you can expect more public transportation to become electric.

Rotarian of the Month for October was Chris Burrell.