You are receiving the weekly Decatur Rotary Club newsletter because you have been a guest of the club recently. If you'd like to unsubscribe, click here. We hope to see you at our next meeting.
Weekly luncheon meetings begin at 12:15 pm
on Fridays unless otherwise noted.
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FRIDAY
AUGUST 16 Meeting/Speaker: Thomas E. Brown
U.S. Marshal and Author
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FRIDAY
AUGUST 23 Meeting/Speaker:
Maurice Kenner
Public Defender, Atlanta Judicial Circuit (Fulton Co.)
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FRIDAY
AUGUST 30 No Meeting
Enjoy the
Labor Day holiday!
Announcements
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Building Peace, One Young Person at a Time
Do you know a high school student who would like to spend a year living in another country? Rotary Youth Exchange students learn new languages, discover other cultures, and truly become global citizens.
Exchanges for students ages 15-19 are sponsored by Rotary clubs in more than 100 countries. Rotary awards a scholarship worth $25,000 for students living and attending school overseas.
Student applicants must be 14 to 17 years old at the time that they apply. For more information and how to apply, click HERE. Applications for the 2025-2026 school year opened on August 1, 2024 and the application deadline is October 15, 2024.
Spread the word to your friends, family, and neighbors! Contact John Bennett for more information.
John Bennett and Minelli Sargent, outbound student going to South Korea.
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Pitch in to ‘Rise Against Hunger’ this Sunday! Decatur Presbyterian Church is excited to host another Rise Against Hunger event on kick-off Sunday August 11. This counts as a Rotary Service Project.
As always, we will worship together at 10:30 am. Following worship, all are welcome to join us for a light lunch in the parlor at 11:30 am. There is no cost to the meal, but donations are welcome to help offset meal costs and share any remaining donations with Rise Against Hunger. Register for lunch here.
Register to be a Volunteer
We will be packing 14,040 meals so we need lots of volunteers of all ages. Our goal is to have 125 volunteers. Please use this link to let us know that you will be coming to help pack meals on August 11. We will need help setting up at 10:30 am and cleaning up at 2:30 pm. Please select these options too if you are able to help.
Donate if you can
We have committed to raising $5,616 to cover costs of supplies and shipping of the packaged meals to their destination. Please donate to help us reach this goal. All donations must be received by August 8. Click here to donate online. Or, donate to the church directly and note "RAH event" in the memo line.
Childcare
The nursery will remain open through the completion of the event for any children three years old and younger. All ages are invited to help with the RAH event. We noticed that it was a little big for some younger children last year so we are offering an alternative project for young children or children who need to serve in a smaller space. We will pack hygiene kits for the Threshold Ministry, serving our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Register here.
Parking
Free parking is available in the church lot on Church Street as well as the Sycamore Street lot. There are additional lots around the square that may have a parking fee.
Entering the Church
Come to the awning entrance that faces Church Street. There will be a registration table set up to sign in and receive further instructions. Volunteers will be there to direct you to lunch, childcare, or the packing event.
Want to know more about Rise Against Hunger, check out their website.
FODAC Service Day Draws a Huge Turnout,
Decatur Club Sends Nine Volunteers
The FODAC Service Day was a huge success with more than 40 volunteers meeting at the 57th Fighter Group restaurant, which was our rally point. Volunteers from Decatur, Atlanta, Stone Mountain, and many more clubs, drove an assortment of trucks, vans and trailers to pick up donated medical equipment to be recycled into the community by this fantastic organization.
Group shot of all the FODAC volunteers and FODAC staff members.
The Decatur team gets its instructions.
Kris Webb, who provided one of her vans, and Dee Raeside, far right, with two unidentified volunteers.
FRIDAY, AUG. 2 | 2024
Birthdays
Desiree Peagler, Aug. 3
William Harshman, Aug. 13
Dave Jollay, Aug. 15
Membership Anniversaries
Tom Adams, 45 years
John Bennett, 18 years
Laura Brookshire, 1 year
Marion Curry, 2 years
Doug Park, 10 years
Desiree Peagler, 18 years
Donna Phillips, 2 years
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August 2 Meeting Recap
Business Profile: The DeWoskin Law Firm
Long-time member and attorney Dan DeWoskin shared his firm’s story with the club. Dan spoke about how he loves to win and hates to lose. “We have built our client service model because people do not need us on good days. They reach out to us only when they have encountered a legal dilemma. We guide our clients through the legal process from beginning to end. There are no surprises.”
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Please Team Up! The Decatur Board of Directors Share Their Visions for the New Rotary Year
President Larus asks all members who are interested to team up with one or more board chairs to help accomplish our initiatives so we can have a successful Rotary year.
Our objectives are:
• Great, Interesting and Fun Meetings
• Growing the Club
• Giving Back to the Community
• Letting the Community Know Who We Are
Public Image | Art Rosser
First, Art asked the club what ideas they had to improve the club’s public image and after taking many suggestions, he laid out his clear vision for uplifting who we are in the community. He has already hit the ground running, taking over photography for events and working with Kelly Caudle and Dudley Larus to make the newsletter the best it can be.
Membership | Jason Conn and Lawrence Sharp
Jason and Lawrence are bullish on increasing membership and challenged members to help grow the club to 100 members this year. Jason laid down a challenge to visit the Atlanta Rotary Club on August 19 to see what another successful club is doing. He also passed out a very interesting document entitled “Strengthening Membership” that provides ideas how to be the best member one can be and also how to grow membership.
Decatur Foundation / Fundraising | Alison Weissinger
Alison’s vision of raising $50K this year is clearly an ambitious marker that opened the eyes of many in the crowd, but Alison is unfazed. We need many of the club faithful to join Alison in her endeavors with the Foundation this year.
To help with the Foundation and Fundraising, contact Alison.
Service | Doug Park and Maria Alvarez
Doug and Maria want to revitalize our service initiatives and align projects with causes that are near and dear to our members’ hearts. They too have hit the ground running, having already started a project to give leftover food from meeting lunches to the North Decatur Presbyterian Church Food Bank.
Programs and Meetings | Herb McCoy and Jennifer Topple
Herb and Jennifer have already been hard at work researching and nailing down wonderful speakers. While it’s hard to surpass the effort of our previous chair, Stacey Stevens, they have been doing a fabulous job making meetings more fun and lining up speakers that will draw large crowds. They just announced they have booked award-winning journalist Jeff Hullinger. But doing this job means tapping into the entire clubs’ contacts, so please contact our chairs with your ideas.
Jennifer Topple and Herb McCoy explain what they are doing to provide great speakers and exciting meetings.
Rotary International Foundation | Marion Curry
Marion is all about the Rotary International Foundation. With years of experience, she is ready to take the Decatur Club’s initiatives to new heights. Already working on several international and local grant projects, and now teaming with Maryann Carthopoulis for Polio Plus and also reaching out to the club to join her, we are looking at a big year!
Marion Curry shows her magic Rotary Hat as she explains her vision for Rotary International.
Scenes from around the room at our most recent meeting. Individuals are identified from left to right.
Jamaal Ellis and Doug Robinson share a laugh before the meeting.
Decatur FODAC Volunteers: Dudley Larus, Leo Ladefian, Dee Raeside, Bob Ettensohn, Jason Conn, Doug Robinson, Kris Webb, Luis Abularach . . . and Art Rosser, who took the picture.
Gloria Kusmik takes care of business
Greeter Maria Alvarez (center) makes Andrea Arnold and Gyimah Whitaker feel welcome at the door.
Thirsty Thursday: August Edition
This month we gathered at Decatur's new hot spot, Casa Balam, recently opened in the former Ted's Montana Grill space, but completely transformed with a menu featuring modern Mexican fare and a luxe vibe.
Thanks to Gloria Kusmik for making all the arrangements! She'll announce our September 5 Thirsty Thursday location in the next few weeks.
Dudley Larus, Jason Conn and John Bennett enjoying an adult beverage together.
RJ Jawanda, Doug Tozzi and Tom Adams enjoy a great story.
Leo Ladefian and Jane share a laugh with Charlie Lutin.
Thank You to Our Club Sponsors
We are grateful for the support of our local sponsors, and we encourage our members to support them in return.
John Bennett and Minelli Sargent, outbound student going to South Korea.
Marion Curry shows her magic Rotary Hat as she explains her vision for Rotary International. 
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