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Lunch Meeting Friday, Jan. 16 Historic DeKalb County Courthouse 101 E. Court Square
Weekly luncheon meetings begin at 12:15 pm
on Fridays unless otherwise noted.
Friday
January
23
MEETING Dr. Gymiah Whitaker
Superintendent, City Schools of Decatur
Friday
January
30
MEETING Scott Richards
Police Chief,
City of Decatur
Thursday
February
5
Thirsty Thursday
Mellow Mushroom
340 W. Ponce de Leon Ave.
5:30-7 pm
. . . . . MLK Day Service Project
January 17-19
Our annual MLK Day service project is this weekend and next Monday, January 17-19, 2026. We have been assigned a house to work on, and there’s lots to do.
Please register for your shift by clicking THIS LINK. Be sure to indicate that you are with a “group or organization” (Decatur Rotary), and be sure to sign the release.
The Decatur High School PTSA invites the members of the Decatur Rotary Club to join us for a delicious morning breakfast and community fun at the inaugural PTSA Pancake Breakfast. Bring your family, friends, and neighbors to support the school while enjoying a hearty breakfast together. Come and go based on your schedule during the three-hour window.
Date: Saturday, January 24 Time: 8 to 11:00 AM Location: Decatur High School Cafeteria
. . . . . SPECIAL FUNDRAISING EVENT: Murder Mystery Dinner and Drama!
Lucky you! You’ve been invited to the Dunn Speakeasy for the wedding of the year! In this “married to the mob” event, you’ll never know who to trust. With the two families merging together, someone is bound to lose power, which means someone else will lose their life! Get on the trolley and solve this case with your fellow detectives.
Dress like the cat’s meow for this mafia wedding! Flapper dresses, zoot suits, feather boas and headbands, pinstriped suits, and fedoras are all appropriate. Traditional wedding attire is nifty too!
Dinner and a show for one price. Lots of fun for everyone, and everyone is a suspect! Invite all your family, friends, and other Rotarians!
When: Friday, February 27 at 7 pm (no meeting that day)
Where: Decatur Historic Courthouse
Good cause: Fundraiser for the Decatur Rotary Foundation, which supports community grants, youth programs, service projects, and more.
Tickets: Early bird price until 1/31. Click HERE to purchase.
Note: The Zeffy ticket platform automatically adds a donation to support the app. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THAT!
1. Before submitting payment, select the drop-down menu at "Help keep Zeffy free"
2. Select OTHER
3. Put in the amount $0
4. The donation to Zeffy is deleted
. . . . .
PROGRAM UPDATE: Rotary Youth Exchange, Outbound Students
Outbound coordinator Kelly Caudle pictured with Ellie (left) and Celie (right).
RYE students at first training session
Our club will sponsor two high school students, Celie and Ellie, to study abroad for the 2026-27 school year as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) program. Celie is going to France, and Ellie is going to Italy. This past weekend the students began preparing for their cultural journey along with other students from Georgia and Florida.
This cultural immersion program trains young people to be Rotary cultural ambassadors, and a central aim is to spread peace. The teens are excited but nervous about living with host families and attending classes taught in a foreign language. Exciting times ahead!
. . . . . Milestones
Anniversaries David Ewing, 30 years
Doug Robinson, 13 years
Bryan Markowitz, 11 years
Charles Lutin, 4 years
James Herndon, 2 years
Nichole Simms, 1 year
Elizabeth Sullivan, 1 year
Danielle Jones, 1 year
Birthdays Pete Pfeiffer, January 1
Bill Mealor, January 4
Alan Dishman, January 19
Lawrence Sharp, January 23
Doug Robinson, January 27
Meeting recap: Jan. 9
Last week, our lunch speaker was unable to attend. Instead, we talked about the special events coming up and our MLK Day service project.
President Alison reported that former club member and past president Houston Smith died on December 30, and Tom Adams informally shared a few memories of him. A visitation will be held on Jan. 16 at A. S. Turner and Sons. Read the obituaryhere.
We had several visitors again at the last meeting:
Simone Singleton, guest of Maria Alvarez
Davidson Hepburn, guest of Herb McCoy
Dr. Mareba Lewis, Elizabeth Childers, and Angelyn Wright, guests of Will Rountree
George, Emily, and Celie Howard, guests of John Bennett
Philip Reed, visiting Rotarian from Hickory, NC
We hope to see you again soon!
Scenes from around the room at our most recent meeting. Individuals are identified from left to right.
Dudley and Genevieve promised that the 1920s-themed murder-mystery party next month will be a fun evening
Shara Sanders gave the invocation
John Bennett introduced our 2026-27 outbound exchange student, Celie, and her parents
Willie Acree spent time with some of our visitors
Nick survived Alison’s five question quiz
Tom shared memories of Houston Smith
Thirsty Thursday at Bench Warmers: Maria and Jack
Thirsty Thursday at Bench Warmers: Nick and Lawrence
Thirsty Thursday at Bench Warmers: a good group!
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.
OVERVIEW
RYE students at first training session
