The Rotary Club of Richmond Hill recently elected Chris Fettes to serve as president for the coming year. He takes over for Past President Brad Brookshire of Ameris Bank.
Fettes, Coastal Electric Cooperative vice president of engineering and operations, has been an active Rotarian since 2009. He was also named Rotarian of the Year.
Alex Tucker was named the Rotary Club’s “Jim Bayens Rookie of the Year.”
Fettes plans to lead the club to promote youth leadership in the coming year, with goals to become more visible in the community.
“If our club is to attract young leaders, we must adapt to their lifestyle and commitments. Not just work commitments, but also family commitments,” he said. “We want to build upon a teamwork philosophy because it takes all of us to bring about positive change in our community and in our world.”
Fettes’ ideals operate in tandem with this year’s Rotary International theme, “Making a Difference,” and the club motto, “Service Above Self.”
In fact, that motto was a major attraction for Fettes when he first became acquainted with Rotary.
“I liked what Rotary represented,” he said, “and I liked that we had a world mission, a local mission and a community mission.”
Last month Fettes attended the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, where more than 40,000 Rotarians from all over the world converged to advance their goals to promote peace, fight disease, support education, grow local economies, save mothers and children, and provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Rotary is still making progress in the fight to end polio, while taking on new problems, such as human trafficking.
Fettes grew up in Myrtle Beach and received his engineering degree from Clemson University, where he met his future wife, Emma, whom he affectionately calls “Gidget.” She is a STEM teacher at Richmond Hill High School.
The family moved to Richmond Hill in 2007, where Chris accepted the manager of engineering position with Coastal Electric Cooperative and was promoted to vice president two years later. Fettes became active in local community organizations, where he served in various leadership roles, such as board director and chair of the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce.
He and his wife live near Fort McAllister with their 14-year-old son, Porter, and their 10-year-old daughter, Gabrielle.