Meeting

Report

 
RUTH SHAW
President and Chief Executive Officer, Duke Power Company
by Jim Kothe
       
Today we were honored to have a presentation by former Charlotte Rotary President, Ruth Shaw. She is currently the president and CEO of Duke Power Company, which was the subject of her talk. Duke Power recently celebrated its 100th Anniversary Year and Ruth shared with us her perspective on the legacy of the company.
 
She reviewed the company's early history and the vision of its founding leaders, including its primary investor and namesake, James Buchanan Duke, as they helped turn our region from an agrarian to an industrial economy. This included not only creating the grand design for a regional electric superstructure, but also, the "textile raid" which was successful in bringing the textile cluster of the nation's economy down to the Carolinas. The company's legacy also includes an early Duke Power policy for "giving back" to the community, through the Duke Endowment and Duke University to name just a few.
 
Ruth then addressed the company's current areas of focus. The company is exploring its options to add power generating capacity, either through new nuclear or coal resources. She stated that Duke Power has not built any additional capacity in the last 20 years.
 
Consistent with its legacy, the company is currently very involved in economic development throughout the Carolinas. Examples include recent grants to community colleges for manufacturing training programs and a "reduced rate" structure for its major existing industrial customers.
 
Industry leadership is another focus. Ruth is personally involved in the company's lobbying efforts in Washington to help create a new national energy policy. She also referenced the "citizenship and service" tradition within the company, as manifested by the substantial community involvement by its employees and retirees. In addressing the company's future, Ruth indicated that she believes Duke Power will continue to be regulated and that she looks for further consolidation within the industry.
 
Ruth's presentation certainly revealed that she hasn't lost any of her own energy! And, she obviously remembered well her tenure running our meetings, as she left plenty of time for Q & A and she finished on time! It was a joy to welcome home "one of our own."
   
Head Table:
Bill Loftin, Sr., Martin Waters, Catherine Browning, Joni Davis, Richard Bailey, Tom Robertson;
        
Visitors and Guests:
Invocation: Al Allison;  Visitors & Guests: Kitty Stutts; Health & Happiness: Worth Williamson; Song: David Erdman

 

NEW MEMBER PROFILE

Jill M. Santuccio Levine Museum of the New South Classification: Museum, Marketing 200 E. Seventh St (28202) 704-333-1887, Ext 258 jsantuccio@museumofthenewsouth.org

A third-generation Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow, Jill Santuccio comes to Charlotte Rotary, most recently from the Monroe Club where she was Sergeant-at-Arms, and from the North Meck Rotary Club prior to that. She is proud of her (almost) nine years of perfect Rotary attendance; and some of you may remember her father, John Santuccio, who was a member of this club in the early 1990s. She started in January as the director of marketing at Levine Museum of the New South and most recently was the director of public relations at Wingate University, where she also ran their $8.5 million dollar performing arts center. Prior to her tenure at Wingate, she ran her own public relations and marketing firm at Lake Norman for five years. Some of her most cherished projects were helping surpass the fundraising goal by more than an additional $25,000 for the new branch Cornelius Public Library and creating the logo that is still used by the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce.    Before Jill had her own PR firm; this daughter of two classical musicians and transplanted Yankee immersed herself in the world of NASCAR while the director of public and media relations for MAXX Race Cards in Charlotte. In addition to managing the public relations activities the season that Jeff Gordon won the MAXX Race Cards Rookie of the Year, she kept track of the statistics for more than 100 drivers and wrote the back of more than 10,000 trading cards over the span of three years.   Community involvement has been important to Jill throughout her career. In addition to serving in Rotary leadership roles, Jill was the founding president of the Lake Norman Jaycees in 1999 and led them to win numerous national and state awards. She is a 2001 graduate of Leadership Union and was co-chair of the program for the past two years. She was also a leadership giver for United Way of Union County, where she served on their Home Ownership Coalition as well as the Leadership Giving/Crystal Gala and Institutional Giving committees.   Jill is currently scouting a place to call home in Charlotte so she doesn't have to endure traffic on Independence Blvd., from Monroe much longer, and looks forward to becoming an active part of Charlotte Rotary.

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