Rotary Club Of Aiken

Graham Neff, Clemson University Director of Athletics
2026-06-08 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Newberry Hall, 117 Newberry St SW, Aiken, SC, 29801, United States
Graham Neff was named Clemson’s 14th Director of Athletics on December 23, 2021 in the midst of his 13th year at Clemson and is now in his fourth year in the role. During his tenure, Neff has established himself as a forward-thinking leader with a focus on student-athlete well-being and academic and athletic success. Additionally, he’s helped to navigate a complicated national landscape, working closely with key stakeholders to stay at the forefront of the issues with an emphasis on the impacts to Clemson.
He’s overseen significant facility development, including investments in football and a women’s sport expansion project to house Clemson’s new lacrosse and gymnastics teams, and in 2025 opened the 55,000-square-foot Watt Family Performance and Wellness Center. He led the bringing of Clemson’s multimedia rights in-house, developed a comprehensive NIL program and launched a streaming service, Clemson+. Recently, Clemson announced the formation of Clemson Ventures, which is an innovative take on commercial revenue generation within the athletic department, including sales, media creation, digital marketing, NIL and events verticals. Additionally, IPTAY has seen record-breaking growth in the past two years, which included the largest gift in IPTAY history.
Academically, Clemson’s graduation success rate has been above 91 percent for eleven consecutive years, tops the nation among public Power Five institutions for two straight years with a 96 percent mark for the most recent data release, and student-athlete total GPA has been above 3.0 for 12 straight semesters.
All of this led to Clemson being named one of Front Office Sports’ Best Collegiate Athletic Departments nationally.
On the field, it has led to significant results. In the 2022-23 season, Clemson’s teams won four ACC championships in a single season for the first time since 1998-99. In the 2023-24 year, four programs advanced to national quarterfinals in a single season, an accomplishment that had not occurred since 1979-80. In 2023, the men’s soccer program claimed its second national championship in three years. Men’s soccer also won the 2023 ACC title, while there was a historic run by the men’s basketball program, which knocked off powerhouses Baylor and Arizona in the NCAA Tournament. Women’s soccer advanced to its first College Cup as well.
Clemson made its return to the College Football Playoff in 2024 after claiming the ACC Football Championship and won an ACC Championship in Softball and Women’s Indoor Track & Field in 2024-25, as well as NCAA appearances from Lacrosse (Sweet 16), Men’s Soccer (Sweet 16), Gymnastics (Regional Quarterfinals) and men’s and women ‘s tennis.
Neff has been in senior leadership positions within Clemson Athletics since 2013, including as chief financial officer and director of capital projects prior to his most recent role as deputy director of athletics. Neff has helped oversee the build and financing of more than $200 million in facility improvements, aided in the continued development of IPTAY, and served as a sport administrator for football and men’s basketball.
Neff works consistently with key university stakeholders, including the university Executive Leadership Team, The Board of Trustees, IPTAY Board of Directors, Athletics Council, as well as several university committees and appointments.
During his time as a sport supervisor, the football program won two national championships, the men’s basketball program made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 run in 2018.
Neff has helped develop several key areas of the department, including the financial philosophy, fundraising, student-athlete welfare, and external operations management, and in 2019 was named one of Sports Business Daily’s Power Players and in 2021 was named to SBJ’s 40 Under 40 list.
Prior to his role as Deputy AD, he joined Clemson in April 2013 as Associate AD of Finance and Facilities. Before Clemson, Neff served two-plus years in several senior administrative roles at Middle Tennessee State Athletics, with emphasis in finance, facilities and external operations.
A civil engineering graduate of Georgia Tech, he served as a student manager for Coach Paul Hewitt and the men’s basketball program, advancing to a Final Four in 2004. Neff worked in the Financial Advisory Services group at Deloitte and Touche from 2006 to 2008, prior to returning to a finance and ticketing role at the Georgia Tech Athletic Association. He earned an MBA from Georgia Tech in 2010.
Neff and his wife Kristin have three sons, Grady and twins Emmett and Nolan.

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Chuck Munns, Denmark/Greenland
2026-06-15 12:30 - 13:30
Greenland is the world’s largest island, a self-governing autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Situated between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, it has a population of roughly 57,000 people and its capital and largest city is Nuuk. Despite its name, over 80% of its landmass is covered by an imposing ice sheet.
Key Characteristics
Geography & Climate: Greenland is physically part of the North American continent but politically and culturally tied to Europe. The vast majority of the island is glaciated, leaving only the coastal areas habitable.
Economy & Resources: The island relies heavily on subsidies from Denmark, which make up roughly 20% of its GDP. However, as climate change accelerates and the Arctic opens up, the territory is increasingly viewed as a hotbed for shipping, rare earth minerals, and other valuable resources.
Culture & Society: The majority of the population is of Inuit descent, and the culture is heavily shaped by deep traditional ties to hunting, fishing, and community. The official language is Greenlandic (Kalaallisut).
\nGeopolitics & Exploration
Due to its highly strategic location between North America and Europe, Greenland is an important military asset, housing U.S. installations like the Thule Air Base. Tourism is also a growing sector, drawing visitors to experience massive calving glaciers, dramatic fjords, and the midnight sun.

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End of the Year Celebration
2026-06-22 12:30 - 13:30
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Installation Ceremony
2026-06-29 12:30 - 13:30
We will take the opportunity to reactivate the ceremony to install our new president, officers, and board members at the June 30 meeting.
Long-term members will recall the ceremony in which all past presidents participated. An invitation has already been sent to our past presidents requesting their participation if available.

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Don Hutchins, NATO yesterday, today and tomorrow?
2026-07-06 12:30 - 13:30
Don will be discussing the origin of the Alliance, its achievements and growth over the years, and its potential roles in our future world.

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International Committee
2026-07-13 12:30 - 13:30

Mary Beth Ree, SRS Museum
2026-07-20 12:30 - 13:30
The SRS Museum is uniquely situated to narrate the amazing history of the Savannah River Site. The SRSM was established to preserve and interpret the technological and scientific achievements, the social impacts, and the ecological accomplishments of the SRS, while inspiring future generations to pursue technologies that improve our world. The SRSM shares the historic and scientific accomplishments of a region indelibly changed by science.
Free guided tours are available upon request. We ask that groups call ahead to be scheduled. The SRSM tours cover the Site’s pre-federal history, the production era of SRP, along with the ecological and legacy management currently ongoing.

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