The Daniel Island Community Speaker’s Series will continue on Wednesday evening, November 16, from 7 to 8 PM in the ballroom at the Daniel Island Club.
The speaker will be Rob Fowler, the Chief Meteorologist for WCBD television. It turns out that this is the tenth anniversary of the speaker’s series and Rob was their very first speaker back in November 2012. They thought it might be fun to bring him back for a re-run.
Rob is a very well-known personality in the Charleston area. Many of us invite Rob into our home every evening as we watch the local news and weather on WCBD. Rob has a special feature of his program called the “Three-Degree Guarantee”. He makes a prediction of what the high temperature will be for the next day, and if he is correct within three degrees the designated charity for that month will get $100. For many years the designated charity for May was Rotary’s annual Charity Duck Race.
Rob was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Betsy hit in September 1965. He was just five years old at the time, but the memory remains vivid to this day. He remembers the sound of metal bending, wind howling, and branches hitting the windows. When his family returned to the house the next day, it was flooded to the second floor. His curiosity was peaked and a career was born.
That experience prepared him for another hurricane that would launch his career as the low country’s chief meteorologist at WCBD – Hurricane Hugo – which hit Charleston in 1989. The main news sources at the time were TV and newspaper. It turns out that WCIV voluntarily left the air due to its location near Sullivan’s Island. And WCSC left the air due to technical difficulties. That left Rob and WCBD as the key source of information as Hugo approached. The rest is history.
Rob has won all the awards. Two stand out. His coverage of the hurricane earned him the Meteorologist of the Year award by the National Weather Association. His highest honor was when Governor Mark Sanford awarded him the Order of the Palmetto which is the highest award given to a citizen in South Carolina.
In addition to his day job, Rob is constantly visiting local classrooms, leading school or camp groups on tours of the station, and emceeing local fundraisers. His kindness and generosity is legendary. Every year since he arrived in Charleston he has been working with Toys for Tots to provide local children in need with toys on Christmas morning. When the toys are distributed Rob is right there playing Santa.
This event will be held on Wednesday evening, November 16, at the Daniel Island Club. There will be a cash bar and passed hors-d’oeuvres between 6:30 and 7:00 pm. The program will begin promptly at 7:00 pm and will conclude around 8:00 pm.
Please click on the link below to register.
This program, now in its tenth year, is sponsored jointly by The Rotary Club of Daniel Island, the Daniel Island Community Fund, the Daniel Island Business Association, and the Daniel Island Club.
For more information or questions, please contact Steve Slifer at steveslifer@outlook.com