Without a doubt, Roswell Rotary Club loves celebrating our local and remote hometown heroes. With November being National Veterans and Military Families Month, and DG Steve Ivory focusing on services for Veterans, RRC President Trummie Lee Patrick III saw an opportunity to coordinate a three-peat service project. We packed 100 boxes for Naval personnel on ships around the world the first week of November, honored an amazing veteran with an entrepreneurial spirit the second week of November and the third week we stuffed backpacks for local homeless veterans.

Twice a year we pack boxes for an active military group that has a connection to Roswell or an RRC member. Championed by RRC long-time member Ralph Rowland, the members are asked to not only donate specifically requested items through an Amazon Wishlist but also stay after to pack, tape and address the boxes. This year the 100 boxes were done in about 30 minutes because all meeting attendees were invited to participate. The committee had organized the pickup line so each person who picked up a box, grabbed one of each item with a note from Roswell Rotary and a local Interact Club student was on top. The filled box then moved to the taping/addressing table and stacked on a palate ready to be delivered to the USPS. It takes a village and an organized team, but the engagement of all is the magic that is Roswell Rotary Club.

New RRC member Retired Lt Colonel Michael Mizell, introduced RRC President Patrick to Veteran Chris Cathers, Founder and CEO of the Brothers Keeper Veteran Foundation. We honored Cathers as our November Hometown Hero and, a week later, we stuffed backpacks for homeless veterans at our New Member Social that were paid for with a secured Rotary District Grant! Sponsored by long-time RRC member and fellow retired Army Veteran Roger Wise, Mizell is a full-time champion for veterans through his volunteer position with Path Light Counseling Services as Director of Community Veterans Outreach. https://pathlightga.org/

Cathers is literally walking inspiration in human-form. Diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, the Brothers Keeper Foundation was created out of a desperate sense of providing help for veterans in need with no barriers to a solution. With a life enriched by experiences in the Special Forces and CIA, Chris has faced formidable challenges of his own, battling both PTSI and cancer. These trials ignited a deep personal determination to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health issues and to establish a proactive veteran-focused outreach program. His transformative story stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the human heart. Established in 2020, the Brothers Keeper Veterans Foundation is proof of that commitment by providing a robust network of support to ensure these individuals receive the care and understanding they deserve without exception. https://bkvf.org/

Having inducted 25 new members into RRC since July 1, President Patrick realized he had to keep them! Inviting all new members in the last two years as well as the board members past, present and future, he hosted a New Member Potluck at his home. Serving his signature smoked pork-butt bbq, side dishes filled the tables for about 75 guests. It was a great night of fellowship, introductions and deeper connections with a mission: To stuff backpacks for homeless veterans that Mizell and his team will be able to distribute across the streets of metro-Atlanta.