From Our District Governor

Welcome to Our New Rotary Year!

By Steve Ivory

I’m truly honored to serve as your District Governor for 2025–2026. As we begin this exciting new Rotary year, I want to extend heartfelt thanks to DG Gordon Owens and the 2024–2025 leadership team for their outstanding service. Their vision, dedication, and commitment have built a strong foundation for us to build upon.

This year, guided by Rotary International’s message - "Unite for Good" - and the principles of the Rotary Action Plan, our focus will be on growing our impact, expanding our reach, enhancing participant engagement, and increasing our ability to adapt. Together, we will continue to serve our communities, continue our efforts to eradicate polio, empower youth, and strengthen clubs through strategic and forward-thinking leadership.

As we unite for good, we’ll also celebrate and do service projects with our "Service Heroes"—Rotarians, Teachers, Police, Fire, Medical, Mental Health, and Military personnel, who go above and beyond in service to others each and every day. I encourage each club to recognize and lift up these everyday champions of Rotary values. I encourage all club members to actively participate in their club and join teams and committees to help carry out the meaningful work that Rotarians are known for.  [more]
This business selling fresh produce at a reasonable price to residents in a Honduran town was funded by a Rotary Global Grant

This business selling fresh produce at a reasonable price to residents in a Honduran town was funded by a Rotary Global Grant

Our Rotary Foundation

Looking Forward to A Bright New Rotary Year!!

By Bob Hagan

Thank you, Rotarians, for your outstanding support of The Rotary Foundation. Because of your dedicated commitment to our cause worldwide we are able to create lasting change around the world!! We had a banner year in District 6900 for 2024/25.

Because of your hard work with our Foundation, Rotary International funded 458 district grants, 1210 global grants and 69 disaster response grants this year collectively through The Rotary Foundation. These grants allowed Rotary members to tackle the urgent needs of communities and build a better future for all! [more]

August 15-17 | Athens

Join Us For GRSP Conclave

By Katheryne Fields

Rotarians and guests are invited to Conclave to welcome the Georgia Rotary Student Program Class of 2025-26 in Athens - August 15-17. Conclave is hosted this year by District 6910 and under the direction of the Athens, Oconee County and The Classic City of Athens Rotary Clubs. This is the kickoff event for the GRSP year and allows the international college scholarship students to interact with one another as well as Georgia Rotarians. Highlights include a keynote address by Dr. Anna Westerstahl Stenport, Dean and UGA Foundation Professor of Arts and Sciences, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences - a native of Sweden who spent her first year of college as a GRSP scholar at UGA, and Saturday evening’s GRSP Cabaret, where we will be entertained by our new GRSP students. There are many more opportunities for fun and fellowship

Registration is now open for Conclave. The UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel has a block of rooms set aside for Conclave participants - with a special GRSP limited availability rate for those registering by July 2. Please visit the GRSP website at www.grsp.org to register for Conclave and to link to hotel registration.  [more]

Laws of Life

Mark Your Calendars: Teacher Workshop Luncheon Returns + Founders Celebration Announced

By Carol Gray Walker

We’re back in person! Register now for the 2025 Teacher & Rotarian Workshop Luncheon

 

After being held virtually last year, the Georgia Laws of Life Teacher & Rotarian Workshop Luncheon is returning in person—and we couldn’t be more excited to gather again face-to-face. The luncheon will be held on Friday, August 22, at the Emory Conference Center Hotel in Atlanta.

 

This special event brings together teachers, Rotary Club members, and supporters from across Georgia to learn, connect, and celebrate the impact of the Laws of Life Essay Contest. All participating schools and sponsoring Rotary Clubs receive two complimentary tickets, and attending educators are eligible for continuing education credits and substitute reimbursements.

Also Save the Date for the Founders Celebration: October 9 at the Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta. [more]

End Polio Now

Could This Be the Year We Stomp Out Polio?

By Bob Hagan

Remember we are this close to the eradication of Polio worldwide!!

Eradicating Polio is still THE number One initiative of the Rotary Foundation. Every dollar counts and we still have the Gates Foundation 2-1-dollar match to go along with the goal of every Rotary Club pledging $1,500 per year. We can certainly meet our goal! How pleased I am that our Polio Chair this year is Wynita Cannon of the Rotary Club of Americus. Her cell is 229-886-7459. Wynita’s email is: WLScannon@gmail.com

Wynita is more than eager to assist with ideas, fundraising, programs, etc. Please reach out to her or me if we can help you in any way. Polio is a plane ride away. We must halt this terrible disease, and we are so close, so let’s make that happen for the children of the world, they are counting on us! Let’s work together to End Polio Now! [more]

RYLA

Let's Go Back to RYLA 2025!

By Jaclyn Donovan

Another great RYLA in the books! With the support of 33 clubs from around District 6900, RYLA 2025 directly impacted the lives of 104 students and we have high hopes for the positive change they will bring back home to their schools, teams, clubs, and communities.

The days were packed with a wide range of learning experiences on aspects of leadership such as communication, conflict resolution, teamwork, trust, and how personalities influence interactions. Students were given opportunities to build confidence in themselves while expanding their comfort zones. With the help of the Americus Rotary Club, we were once again able to bring in “Rise Against Hunger” for a meal packing service project that produced 14,256 meals for families in need. We fought with the South Georgia summer weather, but with a staff always prepared to pivot to Plan B we managed to complete all activities with minimal interruption. There was enough good weather to be outside when we needed to be and enough air conditioning to cool us off afterwards.

[more]
This community park in Houston TX was funded in part by a Rotary Foundation grant. Our contributions help keep the Rotary legacy of doing good in the world alive for future generations.elp

This community park in Houston TX was funded in part by a Rotary Foundation grant. Our contributions help keep the Rotary legacy of doing good in the world alive for future generations.elp

Our Rotary Foundation

Heroes Among Us – D6900 Goes Above and Beyond!

By Lee Hollingsworth

Rotary Foundation fund-raising fun? Hardly. Look up “drudgery” and you’ll see our assignment this past year: form a committee to reach out one-on-one to fellow Rotarians, explaining why we included the Rotary Foundation in our wills. Goal: inspire others from example to join us in the Bequest Society, the most painless way to give!

We all knew that a strong and generous Rotary Foundation is the quiet, but essential, life-blood of Rotary’s unique self-funded, and incredibly FUN, service to our fellow man.

It worked. This Rotary year, the committee TRIPLED the Bequest Socety Commitments from year prior!

Need help in YOUR club? Want to make Foundation fundraising easier—or more inspiring? Please lean on our experience. Especially if you're a PE or incoming Foundation Chair, reach out to our District Major Gifts Officer at Lee@leehollingsworth.com for ideas and support. [more]

Rotary Means Business

Taking the Summer Off!

By Carter Stout

Rotary Means Business is going to take the summer months off.  Carter Stout is looking for four or five additional people to help with planning our Fall activities.  If you’re interested in helping, please let him know.

Our Rotary Foundation at Work

African Global Grant Partner of North Atlanta Club Receives a District Award

By Jon Yaeger

The Ethiopian Rotary Club of Addis Ababa – Central Mella won the Anna Award for "Most Impressive Project and Best Maternal Child Project" at the Centennial District 9212 Conference in Mombasa.

The club is North Atlanta’s "boots on the ground" partner in a five-year Rotary Global Grant project to provide supplemental folic acid tablets to women at risk, aiming to reduce spina bifida and other birth defects.  Hospitals in Ethiopia distribute the tablets, with 1.8 million purchased to date from an Indian supplier.

Other global partners in this initiative include the Rotary Clubs of Coppell, TX, Raleigh, NC and Addis Ababa West, along with the Reach Another Foundation (RAF) of Oregon and Ethiopia, working with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MOH).  The Rotary Clubs of Dunwoody and Tyrone contributed. Rotarian Dr. Yakob Ahmed is the RAF’s Country Director. Dr. Ralph Peeler of the North Atlanta Club is the principal of the club’s signature project. [more]

Everybody’s Job: Setting the Stage for Public Image

By Kathryn Igou

As we enter the next Rotary year with new teams, boards, and presidents, we are seeing the role of public image become even more significant. An important principle for our own Roswell Rotary PI team is “If you don’t tell people about it, it didn’t happen.” In an era dominated by social media, instant videos, and continuous communication with numerous distractions competing for attention, it is crucial to ensure that the efforts of Rotary Clubs receive adequate exposure throughout the community. [more]

Club News

North Cobb Smoke on the Lake Celebrates 15 Years

By Ada Wikina

North Cobb's Smoke on the Lake is a popular annual BBQ festival held at Logan Farm Park in Acworth, Georgia, traditionally taking place over Mother’s Day weekend. It is hosted by the Rotary Club of North Cobb and serves as our largest fundraiser, with 90% of net proceeds supporting local charities and 10% benefiting international causes.

The event has become a major regional attraction, drawing over 12,000 attendees and featuring more than 30 competitive BBQ teams from across the Southeast. The whole club membership gets involved in one way or the other, directing traffic, manning the different parking lots, selling taster tickets, welcoming guests and having fun!! [more]

Club News

Griffin Daybreak Honors Local Fifth Grade Students

By Debby Daniel-Bryant

The Daybreak Rotary Club of Griffin honors exceptional fifth graders in the Griffin-Spalding School System every year. There are 11 elementary schools, so 11 students, selected by their teachers, are recognized by club members at their fifth-grade graduation programs. Rotarians present these students with a certificate and a medal after highlighting each student's accomplishments. Students and their families are also invited to a Daybreak meeting for breakfast and to be recognized as a group. This year, we had seven of the students and their families able to come to the breakfast meeting to be recognized - Riley Monroe (Orrs), Chloe Stone (Moore), Alejandra Tellez-Beltran (Jordan Hill), Vivian Benefield (Futral Rd). Messiah Stroud (Crescent), Kayden Lloyd (Cowan Rd), and Kendrick Sims (Anne St) - all pictured with Debby Daniel-Bryant, President Elect, Daybreak Rotary Club. [more]

Dunwoody Rotary Joins Anchor Place Respite Celebrating One Year Anniversary!

By Mark Galvin

Dunwoody Rotarians joined Anchor Place Respite Care in mid-June to celebrate a major milestone - the one-year anniversary of Anchor Place! What an incredible celebration at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Dunwoody, GA. Huge congratulations to Mary Cohen, the program’s dedicated leader, who has guided this vital community resource from its early days to the thriving success it is today. A special shoutout to Rotarians Charlie Augello and Louise Barden for their unwavering support of this program.
During the celebration, Mary took time to recognize all the amazing supporters who made this first year possible, including RCD volunteers Louise and Ron Barden, Jackie Cuthbert, Fred Bounds, Tina and David Philpot, Les Woulfin and Anne Glenn.

It truly takes a village of volunteers to make programs like this work! And we're proud to have been part of the start of this fine program and an integral part of its future! If you want to know more about starting a respite care program in your community, contact Charlie Augello at italian@e48thstreetmarket.com.
[more]

Club News

Lake Spivey Clayton County Welcomes "Rotary 101 and Beyond" Speaker

By Trina Kolawole

The Rotary Club of Lake Spivey/Clayton County extends a heartfelt thank you to Renee Welch for serving as our guest speaker during our June 4th, 2025 meeting, held at the beautiful Hearts to Nourish Hope building in Riverdale, GA. Renee shared invaluable insight during her presentation, "Rotary 101 and Beyond," inspiring our members with her decades-long commitment to service and Rotary leadership. [more]

Club News

Midtown Atlanta Celebrates Strong Year

By Deirdre Dixon

 The Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club held their last meeting for the fiscal year June 24th at Ansley Golf Club. There were reflections on the great programs, visit from the District Governor, service projects, the newly formed Past Presidents Council and more. The club is excited to welcome the incoming president, Juanita Sheppard to bring … [more]

Club News

Brookhaven Packs Lunches for The Sandwich Project

By Judith Fuller

The Brookhaven Rotary Club held its last meeting at the old Brookhaven Town Hall, and ended this Rotary year, with another community service project.  Club members and other volunteers spent their lunch hour making dozens of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for The Sandwich Project. The Sandwich Project is an Atlanta-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose volunteers assemble and donate fresh, homemade sandwiches to help meet the food scarcity needs in Metro Atlanta. [more]

Club News

Nigeria First Peace Pole Project

By Ada Wikina

The commissioning of the inaugural Nigerian Peace Pole Project by the Rotary Club of North Cobb (D6900) and the Rotary Club of Umuahia (Nigeria District 9142 in May was a resounding success, marked by community involvement and a powerful message of unity. Held in Mater Del Cathedral Umuahia, the event drew a diverse crowd including Abia leaders, priests and community members, all united in their commitment to peace. The atmosphere was filled with optimism and hope as the peace pole, bearing the message, "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in multiple languages, was unveiled. Thanks to North Cobb International Service Chair, Lao Rimanelli for coordinating this special event. [more]