This past Friday, RCSE met at SEDA for a presentation by Trip Tollison, CEO of SEDA, who gave us an update on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America off of I-16. Before Trip began his talk, President Mark Sprosty welcomed new member Emily Kurilla to our club and gave Bill Von Alt a Paul Harris Fellow +3 pin! Mark reminded everyone of the Back to School Breakfast and School Supply Drive for Haven Elementary. Once all Rotary business items were discussed, Mark introduced Trip.
Trip began with a history of Hyundai and how they came to chose Savannah for the location of their plant. 8500 jobs will be created and it is anticipated that a car will be produce every 45 seconds. Some interesting features that will be incorporated at the plant are solar panel parking and an ecological park and sports field for employees. Once the plant is up and running, tours of the site will be offered. The entire plant and area is a $7.6 billion investment.
There has been discussion about the water and sewer system with the addition of the plant. Trip encouraged everyone to visit the website http://truthaboutwater.org which is an online resource with the most up to date information. Finally, Trip talked about a campaign that SEDA is launching this Fall that will encourage people to relocate to Savannah since there are not enough industrial workers in our area. A huge thank you to Trip and to Mark for hosting our meeting!