DG George with Thomasville Rotarians receiving the governor's award coin Danny Braddy, Fran Milberg Mary Beth Donaldson, DGE Andre Marria, and Teri Hurst White

DG George with Thomasville Rotarians receiving the governor's award coin Danny Braddy, Fran Milberg Mary Beth Donaldson, DGE Andre Marria, and Teri Hurst White

From Our District Governor

Take Time During the Holidays to Imagine and Celebrate All We Can Do

By George Granade

I hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends and are looking forward to more celebrations as we move through the rest of the holiday season. There are two celebrations coming in 2023 that I’d like to remind you about:

  • District Conference will take place April 27-30 at the SanDestin Beach and Golf Resort. We are going to have fun with the “Green Acres” theme. Be sure to look at some reruns of the TV show so you will know who the characters are. There just might be a contest to see who will be best dress as one of the characters from the show. You’ll be able to register for conference and make hotel reservations through the District Website starting December 15.
  • The world of Rotary will celebrate in Melbourne, Australia this year at RI Convention – May 27-31. You can register for convention now, and I also encourage you to take a look at the Australia and New Zealand trips put together by our District 6900 Australia team (John Neill, Cheryl Greenway and Lorri Christopher) and featured here in the newsletter. I’d love to have you join us.

As we near the end of the calendar year, we are halfway through the Rotary year. It’s a good time for club leaders to be sure you are updating your membership, service project and other Rotary items, so you know – and we know as a District – how we are doing in these areas. [more]

RFHA Receives Funding Support to Boost Polio Eradication Efforts

By Marion Bunch

The Rotary Action Group for Family Health and AIDS Prevention (RFHA) is honored to announce the award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a two-year pilot program in the amount of $3 million. This will support the roll out of the Rotary Family Health Day Program in a number of countries and will include messaging, advocacy, education and surveillance on Polio as part of our integrated Disease Prevention program at Community level. The focus will be to integrate Polio specific activities and vaccination into the Rotary Family Health Days, and to support expanding the programs into countries where these have not been held previously.  [more]

District Conference Update

Save the Date for 2023 District Conference

By Cheryl Greenway

We hope you are planning to join DG George and Jill Granade for a Green Acres extravaganza in beautiful SanDestin, Florida! Mark your calendars now to attend District Conference April 28-30, and get ready to register and make your hotel reservations starting December 15 on the District Website.

Rotary Convention

Add Australia and/or New Zealand to Your 2023 Rotary Convention Experience

By John Neill

Are you considering attending the Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia next May 27-31? If you are, we have an opportunity for you to not only attend the convention but also see the major sights in Australia and New Zealand with a group of fellow District 6900 Rotarians. You can avoid all the hassle making all your own air, hotel, tour reservations etc. and reap the benefits of group discounts.

We are working with Indus Travels, a well-known and respected international tour provider to offer two all-inclusive* trips from Atlanta.  If you are interested in booking a trip we must hear from you by December 22. [more]

District Leadership

Nominating Committee Selects Steve Ivory as District Governor Nominee Designate (DG for 2025-26)

By George Granade

The District Nominating Committee met on Saturday, November 19, 2022 and interviewed qualified candidates nominated by their Rotary Clubs. I am pleased to announce that Steve Ivory from the Rotary Club of Peachtree City has been selected by the committee.


Steve served as President of the Rotary Club of Peachtree City in 2020-2021 and was recognized with the Sheffield Leadership Award. He is a Will Watt Fellow and Paul Harris Major Donor. Steve currently serves as an Assistant Governor.  He is married to Anna and they have two daughters, Kayla and Claire.  Steve is passionate about Rotary, community service and GRSP. [more]

Value of GRSP

Oglethorpe Students Value GRSP for Personal and Professional Development

By Katheryne Fields

Four Georgia Rotary Student Program scholars believe Oglethorpe University provides the perfect backdrop to help achieve their professional as well as personal goals. The group agreed that participating in GRSP has benefitted them in many ways. They said they appreciate the efforts Georgia Rotarians are making on their behalf.


[more]

RYLA

Want to Learn More About RYLA?

By Jaclyn Donovan

If your club has never participated in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program – or if it’s been a while – and you’d like to know more, all you have to do is invite Jaclyn Donovan to visit your club. She’ll be happy to share with you about all things RYLA and the great opportunities it could provide for young leaders in your … [more]

Our Rotary Foundation at Work

Global Grant Supports Down Syndrome Education/Literacy Center in Brazil

By Bob Koncerak

The Rotary Club of Alpharetta just returned from a fantastic project trip to Pelotas, R.S. Brazil.  With support from the Peachtree City, Dunwoody, Atlanta Brazil, Stone Mountain and Roswell clubs, Alpharetta serves as the international partner for both an Education/Literacy Global Grant and a Down Syndrome training & service center building project.  Two clubs from District 7710 in Maine are also participating.

Carolyn and Peter Johnson, both District 7710 PDG’s, joined the group in Brazil. Carolyn is a Cadre Partner, and at one point had global RI oversight for all Education & Literacy projects. Her support and enthusiasm was key to getting global grant approval.  The sponsored organization, known as “APADPEL” (Association for Parents of Down Syndrome Pelotas) will be featured in the December edition of RI’s Education and Literacy newsletter. Fundraising and grants to date have raised more than $150,000.  [more]

Club News

Douglas County Supports Local Schools

By Nell Boggs

The Rotary Club of Douglas County counts the support of students and families at our local schools as one of our top missions.

Recently the club helped make a field trip to the Georgia Aquarium possible for all first graders at Beulah Elementary by paying for bus transportation. This was the first group at Beulah to go on a field trip since COVID. Rotarians Tekmekia Gilchrist and Michelle Porter were at the school early that morning to send students on their way! Rotary believes that out-of-the-classroom experiences are an important part of learning.

On November 16, the club delivered turkeys and all the trimmings for 20 families in need at Lithia Springs High School. Rotarian Joe Williams headed up the project, and Mitzi Blackstone, head counselor at Lithia, coordinated with the families.
[more]

A GRSP Opportunity for Georgia Students

Oslo Summer GRSP Scholarship Opens for Georgia College Students with Jan. 10 Application Deadline

By Katheryne Fields

While Georgia Rotary Student Program spends the year hosting international college students, we are thankful for the one opportunity that allows college students from Georgia to spend the summer attending school and exchanging cultural customs in Norway. The GRSP scholarship application for International Summer School at the University of Oslo for summer 2023 is open.


The Norwegian Rotary Advisory Board partners with GRSP each year to offer the scholarship. The scholarship dates are June 26 to August 4, 2023 and includes students from all over the world in a diverse cultural program in the beautiful city of Oslo, Norway with six weeks of academic achievement and international goodwill. Students must have recommendation of Georgia Rotarian. Application deadline is January 10, 2023 through GRSP website: www.grsp.org/oslo-application. Applications will be reviewed and all applicants will be notified by the end of January. [more]

Club News

Dunwoody Invites You to Join Second Annual Whiskey Raffle

By Bob O'Brien

You have an opportunity to participate in this year's drawing for a special bottle of Blanton’s Gold whiskey - in the third phase of this year's Rotary Club of Dunwoody Whiskey Raffle. Proceeds benefit the Rotary Club of Dunwoody Charitable Fund. The drawing will be held on Thursday, December 14 at the Dunwoody Tavern, as part of the club's monthly Thirsty Thursday event.

Whiskey aficionados will recognize Blanton's Gold is a higher proofed version of Blanton’s. The bottle we are offering is valued at $400. It is generally available only in International markets and duty-free outlets (if you are lucky). Tickets are $30 apiece, and we are only selling 150 tickets. You can purchase tickets online at Whiskey Raffle (whiskey-raffle.com [more]

Club News

Columbus Helps Build Community Farm

By Julie Bond

The Rotary Club of Columbus recently completed service project days at the George Washington Carver Garden. Volunteers helped clear the land by cutting down trees, clearing thick briars, and clearing tall weeds. This work was to prepare the area for the construction of a greenhouse in that space. The club will return later to complete that phase of the service project and has invited members of the public and other civic organizations to collaborate for future service dates.
[more]

Interact Update

Newnan Interact Club Says Thank You!

By Becky Stone

The District 6900 Interact Conference was held on Nov. 5 at Global Impact Academy. One of the service projects the students participated in was collecting school supplies for Newnan High School students and teachers after the tornado destroyed their school in 2021. This project not only provides needed supplies, but let students and teachers know that they are not forgotten. The Newnan High Interact Club responded ... 
[more]

GRSP

Applications Open for 2022-23 Barbara M and Donald L Thomas Peace Award

By Jacque Digieso

Since 2002, The Rotary Club of Roswell has administered an annual award established from the Charitable Remainder Fund established for GRSP by a generous donation from the Thomas family. This award recognizes a deserving GRSP student from the current class who exemplifies the Rotary motto of Service Above Self. The funds make it possible for Georgia Rotarians to financially assist deserving GRSP students.

Due to COVID restrictions, the award had been suspended. However, we are pleased to announce, the award has been reinstated for the 2022-23 Rotary Year. Each Club President will receive a copy of the application form and instructions.  [more]

GRSP Update

GRSP Weekend in Alpharetta Focuses on Helping School

By Katheryne Fields

From fireside chats, to sprucing up a park and school plus learning how to tailgate, Georgia Rotary Student Program scholars made many memories in their student weekend sponsored by the Rotary Club of Alpharetta in mid-November. Any time all or most of our 44 international college students serve, sweat and gather in one spot is always encouraging. GRSP scholars washed the playground and buses at The Lionheart School for children with autism or other communication needs and helped spread pine straw in nearby Wills ParkSpecial thanks to weekend chair and GRSP Trustee John Norton along with President Katie Rocco for their excellent hospitality, plus to Rotarian Mickey Rogers for his pit-master barbecue skills and the Rotary Club of Roswell for helping serve as weekend hosts. Students will spend the holidays apart and gather in February for the GRSP Leadership Weekend.
[more]