Liberty Square Project update
President John's Message
At our meeting last week, I noted that where one door closes, often another opens. We recently had to decide to forgo our Honor Air trip this year due to delays in the permitting from the National Park Service and subsequent flight schedule difficulties.
However, another door opened. It was with great pleasure that Jeff Leatherman, Director of Roswell Recreation, Parks, Historic and Cultural Affairs, and Councilman Will Morthland came to our meeting and announced that the City of Roswell received a $2.2 million grant from the State of Georgia for a complete rebuild of the Liberty Square Park and associated Trail System connections and extensions. This park was previously selected by our Charity Committee and Board of Directors to be our Community Impact Project for 2022-23.
Coupled with this announcement, the City has also received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for Trail System improvements between this park and the Big Creek Park on the east side of GA 400. Roswell Rotary was instrumental in helping the City secure both these grants.
For more of the story on these grants,
In the winter of 2022 during my planning for this current Rotary year, Jeff and I met to discuss the possibility of Roswell Rotary receiving a competitive $10,000 District Grant from District 6900 which could be used to fund a Rotary volunteer built improvement to a park facility in Roswell. We arrived at the idea of helping master plan a long term strategy for improvements to the Liberty Square Park along with a volunteer driven small project. This undeveloped parkland is in the Liberty Square neighborhood off Warsaw Road which is within a federally identified disadvantaged section of our City, the only such designated area in Roswell.
When we did not receive the District Grant, our Charity Committee recommended using designated funds from the Golf and Tennis Tournaments as a Community Impact Project for this effort, allowing us to plan for more improvements to the park along with the City provided grading and landscape improvements. As the summer progressed last year, it became apparent that the City Council was reluctant to allow this partial approach to proceed as they felt that this park deserved to be on par with other parks in the City if any improvements were made.
Thus, when a grant opportunity from the State was offered last fall for improvements in disadvantaged neighborhoods, the Council jumped at applying for this grant along with Roswell Rotary’s support. Simultaneously our Club also supported the application for the USDOT grant which also was designated for disadvantaged neighborhoods.
In March, when State grant approval was delayed, our Board decided to release the Community Impact Funds we had set aside and distribute them to the many charities we support with our tournament proceeds.
Which brings us to last week’s announcement. Roswell Rotary has committed to being part of the planning process for this park. We foresee members helping facilitate the master planning of the park along with representatives in the neighborhood. Ideas include playground space, picnic areas, a community garden, and service as a trailhead for the expanded trail system. Groups such as the StarHouse Foundation, which has a large presence at Mimosa Elementary, the Fulton County Board of Education, and the Roswell Police are also interested in the outcome for this park facility.
At this stage it will be about 6 months before the grants are processed and planning can begin. If you would like to be part of this effort, please let me know.
Drug Companies and PBMs- Alan Greensmith Program Speaker
The pharmaceutical industry provides life changing and lifesaving medications. Pharmacy Benefit Managers have become important partners in bringing these branded medications to U.S. employers and patients. Unfortunately, we in the U.S. pay 3-10 times as much as the rest of the world for the very same medications. These inflated prices are impoverishing Americans while straining companies and government. Roswell Rotary Member Alan Greensmith reviews how we got into this situation and shares strategies to help employers get pharmacy costs in control. Please join us at this week's meeting to learn more.
Alan Greensmith - Bio
Education:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA
St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, MBA in Pharmaceutical Marketing
Employment:
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals - Director of Sales
Grifols USA Biotech - Senior Director of Sales
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia-Chief Commercialization Officer, FODMAPs U.S.
Veracity Benefits - Director
ENGEDI RX - Managing Director
Family:
Married to Kitty for 37 years
Son Creigh, former Naval Officer, now Georgetown Law School
Son Brett, Army, Captain, 101st Airborne, currently deployed to Slovakia
Rotary: Proud new Roswell Rotary Member
Past President Moment
Terry Taylor - 2021-2022
Has it been a year since Terry was president? My how time has flown. This week Terry reminds us of what we accomplished last year - things like our first Community Impact Project - Teen Talks podcasts and videos, our Global Grant water projects in Panama, starting a satellite club, the Heavy Hitter Award winners, and much more. Come hear from our most recent Past President this week about his year 2021-2022.
After Hours Meets TONIGHT!
Identifying Your Core Values
After Hours will welcome Courtney Rodebaugh, Chief Programming Officer for LeadAbroad, to speak on Identifying Your Core Values tonight at 6:30 at The Artillery Room @ Gate City! Courtney develops and operates all logistics for LeadAbroad programs around the world, with their main focus currently in Europe, Central America and South Africa. She is also responsible for recruitment, training and management of their international staff, vendor relations, LeadAbroad curriculum, risk management and new program development.
Courtney is a UGA graduate, mother of three, and sister to RRAH member, Ashley Doran. LeadAbroad is an innovative, purpose-driven organization focused on leading transformative experiences at home and abroad, serving students from 70+ universities. Learn more at www.leadabroad.com
Picture Refresh Opportunity - Thurs. June 8th
Last Chance for a New Directory Headshot!
Need a do-over of your headshot for the Roswell Rotary Directory? Or just an upgrade because you are looking better than ever? Or even just want a change? Well, you are in luck because on Thursday, June 8th you will have an opportunity to get your headshot retaken. Couldn't be easier! You'll be at Rotary anyway!
2023 Run the River 5K/10K Race
Help HomeStretch Run Homelessness Out of Town!
20th 5K/10KRun, 5K Walk, 1M Fun Run
When: Saturday, June 10, 2023
Where: St. Andrew Catholic Church 675 Riverside Road, Roswell GA 30075
Rain or shine: We Run!
The Run the River Race benefits HomeStretch, Inc.
Our mission is to guide working, homeless families to permanent
housing and lasting stability. We are a non-profit agency in North Fulton
County that has been serving working, homeless Atlanta families for more than
30 years, helping them break the cycle of poverty and reach and maintain
economic independence. Proceeds from the Run the River Race help us to keep
delivering safe, affordable, and quality housing and life-changing services for
working, homeless parents and their children. We greatly appreciate your
support at any level.
For
more
information
contact:
Lee Hollingsworth lee@leehollingsworth.com
678-576-4838
Friends of Bulloch Hall Event
Magnolia Ball June 10
Click here for information and to buy your tickets!
Alive in Roswell - June 15th
Food & Beverages will be provided by Roswell Rotary. These events are so much fun and Roswell Rotary's tent is THE PLACE to be. Be there!
