Governor Steve makes the leap at Alpharetta's Polar Plunge fundraiser!

DG Steve joins Decatur in its annual STAR student awards presentation

DG Steve and DGE Cynthia join South DeKalb as it installs its peace pole

DG Steve with our visiting Peace Scholar at Peachtree City Rotary

Happy Belated Birthday, Rotarians! Rotary just celebrated its 121st birthday on Feb 23! I want to thank each of you for making an impact in the world. Your service projects and generosity to polio plus are making differences in so many lives. In fact, our district just exceeded over $906K total giving and we are well on our way to exceed $1M this year.

In this month’s March Rotarian Magazine, President Francesco Arrezzo discussed how critical water is to connect communities. Rotary Foundation has invested over $230M in projects on this area of focus!

Speaking of water, freezing water that is, I participated in the Alpharetta club’s annual Polar Bear Plunge and helped them raise over $230K in donations to help them make a big community impact. Overall the event raised over $800K and was a master class in partnering up and making an impact in the community! I highly recommend other clubs look at this as a fundraiser in your area and “R&D” it *(“Rip it off and duplicate it!”). Great work!!

REGISTER: We are in “registration season” for our district! President Elect Learning (PELS) will be over when you all see this but please register for District Leadership Assembly and District Conference. Remember RYLA is approaching fast too and we need you all to contact the RYLA team to give them student number estimates. There is also the 3 district Atlanta United game on March 7. Sign up at the district website calendar ASAP.

Membership: I am pleased to announce that our district chartered a new Rotaract Club, Rotaract Club of Southern Crescent, sponsored by RC of Griffin! I signed charter paperwork for the new Georgia Rotary Professional Alliance Club, sponsored by RC of Johns Creek North Fulton. Additionally, Membership Chair Audley Knight and his team, Jose Gonzalez, DGND Amy Benton, Anna Finn, Dave Schwickerath and Rick Clark have been engaged helping form up a new evening club with 35-40 members that will likely meet at the GA Tech Hotel and Conference Center in the evenings. Well done, team!

Foundation Giving: Overall giving is strong for the majority of clubs. YTD district giving for Annual Fund and Polio Plus is currently at $906K! I am amazed about how you all have been so inspired to give. Please send in your contributions as soon as you can if your club is aiming for awards in 25-26. We are looking at awards data by March 15 ahead of district conference and giving is highly encouraged throughout this Rotary year.

District Conference planning: We have 257 sign ups so far and increasing daily. Prices go up in early March. I asked the team to extend the next increase to March 3 to allow PE’s to attend PELS first and then sign up if they had not. We need to get our guest/meal count right. We have amazing speakers and fun activities planned. Please sign up and attend and connect! Agenda with speaker photos attached. We also are working on having a famous actress/Rotary ambassador attend and are still working this out with RI.

Service: I had several adventures in service this month and attending several very exciting programs.

• Rotary Club of Marietta invited DGN Buck Buchanan and me to meet Governor and First Lady Kemp in a very nice program. The club made the visit work very smoothly and honored the Governor with style and grace.
• I was invited to attend the STAR awards for teachers and students with RC of Decatur and was so inspired to see how bright our future is with these students. This is a very strong annual tradition there.
• I also saw the results of the RC of South Dekalb’s peace pole planting project at their wonderful meeting location, Privi at Stonecrest . That was a wonderful visit and experience.
• I also had the privilege to host former Rotary International Peace Scholar Pushpi Weekaroon who shared so many stories of her work and challenges driving peace in so many locales. She spoke to RC of Peachtree City in a very quick visit to Atlanta.
• Opioid grants: IPDG Gordon Owens has been communicating with each of the clubs that have requested opioid grant funding to move forward with any of the projects. This should lead to many positive outcomes for our communities now and in the future.

District Fun/Camaraderie Events for 2026: Please keep in mind the series of events set up for camaraderie and fellowship. You can see the district calendar for details contact Shawn Bendig of Rotary Club of Vinings Cumberland with questions.

• March 7 -- Atlanta United Soccer at Mercedes Benz stadium with all three Georgia Rotary Districts!
• Saturday, April 4 at 7pm – Atlanta Vibe Volleyball vs Orlando Valkyries Georgia State University Convocation Center 455 Capitol Avenue SE in Atlanta GA
• April 16-19 – District Conference – Lake Lanie Islands, GA
• May 16 – Saturday, 7:15pm, Truist Park – Atlanta Braves vs Boston Red Sox

I am available to do second club visits and help out with recognitions and club awards too if you want. Please contact District Secretary Mandy Timmons if you are interested in this.